From: 'Jet Jaguar'
To: soc.military.starfighters
>Is this really an issue with a dedicated combat spacecraft, even in Fenspace? I can see some private security companies wanting to buy a handful of them and you might get a very rare individual order from an asteroid racing team, but they're not going to be something you can mass-produce for retail sales like the Bolitho
Retail sale is the whole point. Out here in the Belt, help can be an hour away at best. A lot of people forget that. We've been raided twice on Frigga. The second time, the relief force took so long to show up we'd already started cleaning up the mess by the time they arrived. People need to be able to defend themselves in a crunch, not just rely on Great Justice showing up. We've seen with the United Belt Alliance crap that there's more than just Boskone wolf out here looking to blow over people's houses.
We're not the only ones. It's better that people out here have something to rely on that's cheap to own, easy to maintain and can actually stop an attack, than having a squadron of golden unicorns patrolling an hour away.
While there is always a balance between firepower and protection, at this sort of price-point, something has to give way. If we armoured the Wasp, there's no way it could carry weapons with enough punch to damage an enemy fighter and still maneuver as fast. If we keep the standard armament, and up-armour, we loose speed. Not only does that make us an easier target to hit - especially by weapons that render armour irrelevant like that rotary coilgun thing - it makes it harder to get a good firing solution on the enemy.
When it comes right down to it, you need to be able to stop the enemy. In priority, armaments will always outstrip protection. There's no point in having protection, if your armament is too weak to do anything. In it's own way, good armament provides protection, by stopping the enemy before they can get into a position to hurt you. Being small and made mostly of composites means enemy fighters have a harder time getting a solid lock without getting closer. Being maneuverable makes dodging a missile trivial. Being able to carry the exact same kind of missile, means being able to slay giants.
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Meta There's something peculiarly familiar about parts this argument.... but I can't quite put my finger on it.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
To: soc.military.starfighters
>Is this really an issue with a dedicated combat spacecraft, even in Fenspace? I can see some private security companies wanting to buy a handful of them and you might get a very rare individual order from an asteroid racing team, but they're not going to be something you can mass-produce for retail sales like the Bolitho
Retail sale is the whole point. Out here in the Belt, help can be an hour away at best. A lot of people forget that. We've been raided twice on Frigga. The second time, the relief force took so long to show up we'd already started cleaning up the mess by the time they arrived. People need to be able to defend themselves in a crunch, not just rely on Great Justice showing up. We've seen with the United Belt Alliance crap that there's more than just Boskone wolf out here looking to blow over people's houses.
We're not the only ones. It's better that people out here have something to rely on that's cheap to own, easy to maintain and can actually stop an attack, than having a squadron of golden unicorns patrolling an hour away.
While there is always a balance between firepower and protection, at this sort of price-point, something has to give way. If we armoured the Wasp, there's no way it could carry weapons with enough punch to damage an enemy fighter and still maneuver as fast. If we keep the standard armament, and up-armour, we loose speed. Not only does that make us an easier target to hit - especially by weapons that render armour irrelevant like that rotary coilgun thing - it makes it harder to get a good firing solution on the enemy.
When it comes right down to it, you need to be able to stop the enemy. In priority, armaments will always outstrip protection. There's no point in having protection, if your armament is too weak to do anything. In it's own way, good armament provides protection, by stopping the enemy before they can get into a position to hurt you. Being small and made mostly of composites means enemy fighters have a harder time getting a solid lock without getting closer. Being maneuverable makes dodging a missile trivial. Being able to carry the exact same kind of missile, means being able to slay giants.
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Meta There's something peculiarly familiar about parts this argument.... but I can't quite put my finger on it.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?