Solomani Confederation (Military)

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

Q. We could also just have one groundscale weapon quarter tonne compartment, and stick it in front.

R. Modularize it, and you could exchange it for a cargo pod, or sensors.

S. You could mount a virtual fimpointed weapon system, but still have to power it.

T. If it requires physical ammunition, that magazine needs space.

U. And space, is at a premium in a TRI Fighter.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

V. Triangular Restructured Ironick

W. It looks streamlined.

X. You could laser polish the surface.

Y. And fill in the knicks with melted nickel iron.

Z. And cheap gravitational tiles installed.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

1. One tonne nickel iron, one and a half tonne single cockpit, quarter tonne groundscale weapon.

2. Balance two and a quarter tonnes.

3. Engineering manoeuvre drive factor/eight, two fifths of a tonne, budget/energy inefficiency, five and one fifth power points.

4. Basic systems one power point, half a point minimum, modified by usable space, two fifths of a power point.

5. Total power point requirement five and three fifths, 1.142857142857143 tonne prefusion power plant, budget/increased size.

6. 1.542857142857143 tonnes engineering, one tenth of a tonne fuel.

7. Cargo 0.6071428571428571 tonnes.

8. Assuming that the Confederation Navy doesn't accept the lowest bidder, a standard fusion reactor could be installed, budget/increased size 0.4666666666666667 tonnes.

9. 2.616666666666667 tonnes, balance 2.383333333333333 tonnes.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

A. TRI Advanced would be a technological level fifteen variant.

B. Manoeuvre drive would be boosted to factor/nine.

C. Followed by a highly technologized standard fusion reactor.

D. The space saved could be utilized by increasing the nickel iron content, to reconfigure the hull to a buffered planetoid.

E. This would double hull armour to factor/four.

F. And if it's Darth Vader's personal craft, you could add either stealth or reflec.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

G. I don't think the Confederation Navy would bother with any variant below technological level fourteen.

H. Unless, there's an export model.

I. It would have to be advanced enough to be effective, and unless the plan is to milk the buyers with after sales service, easy enough to maintain.

J. Maybe counter insurgency, patrol, anti piracy.

K. And, I'd guess, felonious feline foiling.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

L. Costwise, a budget variant costs half of that of a highly technologized one.

M. It really becomes a question of opportunity cost, how the more expensive variant permits the opportunity to leverage spacecraft design.

N. There's no space within the TRI Fighter to screw around with afterburners.

O. I'd have to figure out if it made tactical sense to add a factor/three or six rocket, including the requisite fuel capacity.

P. Though maybe, if used for one hundred critical dogfight rounds.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

Q. Upright pyramid seems ideal for a drop pod configuration.

R. Factor/one manoeuvre drive seems sufficient, at least for the drop.

S. Though, in theory, factor/zero would give you a one way soft planetary landing.

T. We can always add spring coils.

U.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

V. At some point we'd get to the TRI Interceptor.

W. I think we have to increase tonnage, and the only one that makes sense would be thirty five tonnes.

X. Which is seven times larger than the original.

Y. Which allows a monoturret, which would be more a TRI Space Superiority Fighter.

Z. The question would be twelve or thirteen points more hull armour.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

1. At five tonnes, you tend to get squeezed for space.

2. So the compromise is usually what get's left out.

3. At thirty five tonnes, it tends to become a question of cost, because you only have access to a monoturret, and the rest of the weapon systems are hooked up to the firmpoint.

4. Cost being electronics and protection.

5. And the more it costs, the more you want to protect your investment.

6. And, of course, resources that happen to be human.

7. In theory, training a pilot, and making him a team player, takes time.

8. Whereas you can just programme a drone.

9. But Traveller is humancentric.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

A. Thirty five percent buffered planetoid configuration would be one and three quarters tonnes.

B. Plus one and half tonne cockpit, quarter tonne groundscale compartment, two fifths tonne manoeuvre drive, one tenth tonne fuel tank, three tonnes.

C. Balance one tonne.

D. If power plant: six and two fifths, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen, sixteen two thirds, eighteen three quarters, twenty one plus.

E. Basic systems minimum 0.325 points, manoeuvre drive four points, 4.325 points.

F. Laser three, fusion nine, particle six, plasma four and a half, rail one and a half.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

G. Budget manoeuvre drive, either limited range one hundred diameters, or inefficient, or enlarged.

H. Five and two fifths power points, or half a tonne.

I. Budgetted firmpointed weapon systems, enlarged.

J. Particle beam and pulse laser are already maximum range.

K. So, energy efficient.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

L. At this size, you probably would want to skip the monoturret.

M. And virtual weapon systems, like computers, take up no space, especially if enlarged.

N. But one issue with medium ranged weapons, energy and kinetic, exception self propelled ordnance, is that they are now adjacent range.

O. Sandcaster is somewhat ambiguous.

P. Though in a dogfight, would range matter?

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

Q. Groundscale weapon systems don't have energy requirements, nor run out of ammunition.

R. Except maybe missiles and rockets, where it would be specified in relation to their magazine(s).

S. Kinetic ammunition needs space.

T. Whereas, for all intents and purposes, energy weapon systems have infinite ammunition.

U. So it becomes a question between crew and spacecraft endurance on one side, and how long you expect it to be engaged in combat.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

V. Technological level fourteen, five tonne buffered planetoid, unstreamlined, organic hull armour factor four, one and three quarter tonne wastage, twenty kilostarbux.

W. One and a half tonne single cockpit, ten kilostarbux; basic sensors; factor/five computer, thirty kilostarbux, intellect/library/manoeuvre.

X. Firmpointed torpedo grapple, one tenth of a megastarbux; quarter tonne mounting, five kilostarbux, man portable fusion gun, one hundred kilostarbux.

Y. Basic/gravitated/minimum 0.65/0.325/0.1625 power points, factor/eight manoeuvre drive four power points; factor/eight manoeuvre drive, two fifth tonnes, four fifth megastarbux; half a tonne advanced fusion reactor, seven and a half power points, half a megastarbux; one tenth of a tonne fuel tank.

Z. Since this would be the default design, half a tonne cargo, 1.565 megastarbux.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

1. Half a tonne is not enough for sensors.

2. Electronics and software is potentially going to cost more than the platform, or the weapon systems.

3. High Guard has the ultralight fighter at seven megastarbux, and the light one at ten.

4. Without sensitive sensors, reconnaissance probably is out the window.

5. Unless the pilot is looking out the window with binoculars.

6. That does leave point defence interception, patrolling, ground attack, and training.

7. It's an interesting question as to what you can squeeze into a torpedo repurposed as a weapon or sensor pod.

8. Give or take, I'd say a missile pod with three default sized missiles.

9. And who knows how many smaller missiles or rockets.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Authorized Volunteer Armed Long Range Yeomanry: Organization

Omnis pugnat, quis renuntiare potest.


Provisional Squadron
. on the job training
. surface deployment
Cavalry Guard Squadron
. equestrian
. ceremonial
. Home
. Secretarial Guard Corps
Suicide Squadron
. penal
Aerospace Squadron
. smallcraft
Security Squadron
. spacecraft security
Environmental Squadron
. planetary environmental specialists
Space Squadron
. space environmental and microgravity specialists
. spacecraft assault
Spacecraft Squadron
. spacecraft specialists

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

A. Thirty five percent volume organic armour factor/four.

B. No extra cost.

C. Five percent structural integrity, seven and a half percent per armour factor.

D. Stitanium: ten percent per armour factor, two tonnes, one hundred kilostarbux.

E. Crystahl: five percent per armour factor, one tonnes, two hundred kilostarbux.

F. Bonded super dense: three and one fifth percent per armour factor, 0.64 tonnes, three hundred twenty kilostarbux.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

G. The question for the export model would be, what does the customer expect?

H. If you think about it, activating the afterburners, assuming they're installed, during a dogfight, does you give the imitative, but likely degrades the crew's performance, if pushed too far.

I. If it becomes a race to the bottom, it might just be better to drop out early, and target beyond close range.

J. Which would mean, the mostly energy based weapon systems become the equivalent of a close in gun, though there appears to be no exception for the railgun, even if the energy input is reduced.

K. Which would mean that rounds require their own independent propulsion.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: TRI Fighter

L. Manoeuvre drive factor/six seems standard, for whatever criteria most space forces seem to have.

M. Which means that technological level twelve appears to be sufficient.

N. We'll have to replace the fusion gun with a plasma one, at half the damage.

O. The lower the technological tree you go, the more attractive the organic armour becomes.

P. The temptation for an afterburner increases.

 

[Condottiere]

Confederation Navy: Zhodani Meet and Greet

1. It took a second reading before I got it.

2. Instead of squadrons, task forces and (fleet) fleets, naval formations tend to be called fleets, and ranked.

3. Or, maybe, tiered.

4. A Fleet of the Third Rank is conceivably a Fleet Squadron.

5. Nominally, consists of a four hundred kilotonne battleship, three (really) heavy hundred kilotonne cruisers, and twelve hefty destroyers.

6. If there are logistics and escort vessels assigned to it, I haven't seen it, yet.

7. A Fleet of the Second Rank is nominally four of the previously mentioned formations.

8. First Rank is supposed to be the equivalent to a sector fleet.

9. Presumably, Fourth Rank would be a cruiser squadron.