Macross SEED

[Valles]

---

Hey, why just 688s? I was having fun imagining this sleek little gunship based off something that'd once been the spiritual heir to the Russian Alpha Class.

---

So was I, actually, since the 'artist's impressions' I'd seen of next-generation submarine designs mostly looked... well, a lot like the Alfa class. ^_^
Hm. Depends whether we decide that any of the Deep Angel project's speculations panned out.

---

The rings _do_ increase your target profile significantly, though. Not something I'd like to ride into combat in.

---

Not neccessarily that much, actually, I think. My suggested pods are only about a third to a half the diameter of the main hull and not terribly long, besides, and the structural ring supporting them maybe ten feet broad and seven deep - just enough for the actual structural members and a somewhat cramped hallway, which isn't much given the boat's overall size.

---

Would this sort of thing be a viable modification (I mean, we have transforming combat mecha, for crying out loud, it shouldn't be too hard to pull this sort of mod off).

---

If you can come up with a way to make it work mechanically, I'd be glad to consider it. At the moment, though, I think that the best we could do would be to transfer the ring's momentum to an internal flywheel and lock the pods up against the carosel's support pylons.

---

What would the subs do for weapons, though? I'd imagine going for missile weapons. Maybe mines too if you're going with the forward recon philosophy and giving the subs some sort of silent running (not real mines - more like autonomous missile pods with passive sensors and proximity triggers, and not terribly much capacity).

---

Torpedo tubes can launch missiles today. There might or might not be an off-the-shelf design suitable for spacegoing use; if not, the boffins will probably come up with one within a couple months. Also there's the possibility of cramming appropriately shaped canisters full of your Valkyries' medium-range missiles, to help cope with mecha.
And, of course, you can always just bolt things to the outside - Desdroid weapons pods on makeshift turrets would be particularly effective. If you pare your elbow room down enough, you could actually fit enclosed bays for, I'd say, up to four Valkyries in the front ends of your engine nacelles.
Hiding, detection, and radiators are adressed fairly comprehensively here and here.

---

Shall we try for a little more diversion than there was in G SEED when compared to plain Gundam?

---

I'd be surprised if we managed to avoid it.
For Manfred and the lovebirds, well, we'll see how things work out.
Ja, -n
(*shocked that somebody else suggested the threesome first*)
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."