EW Questions

Here are some EW questions for the list body:

1) Can you attain a sufficient firing solution from passive means to launch
guided ordinance? Or must you run active mode systems to provide a fire
control solution?

2) Thinking about this (in the abscense of hard facts), I'd assume that:

- Passive sensor systems would be bad at short ranges, worse at medium
ranges, and pretty awful at long ranges BUT because they don't rely on
reflected signal, they work out to further ranges than active systems
- Active systems work excellently at short range, moderately at medium
range, and don't work worth a tinkers damn beyond that (too much space to
cover, impossible to put a meaningful amount of energy density out to these
ranges

By this, I might imply (no specific numbers here) that, to detect an enemy
bogey, your sensor ranges might look like

Passive:    120"
Active:      60"

but to get a good read on target, your sensor ranges might look like:

Passive: 30" Active: 60"

<This is just a "for instance">.

Does this have anything to do with how modern sensors work across spatial
distances?

The drill usually runs as: Enter system, passive sensors on (give a crappy
picture of close space, but also a picture of further off space) When you have
reason to suspect other ships about, or if you don't care, on go the active
systems (to give a closer picture of near and far space) If you have located a
bogey by way of active or passive search arrays,
you can fire up your narrow-scan fire control rig if you wish to attain
a target solution

Tom

> 1) Can you attain a sufficient firing solution from passive means to

Yes, but it's quite alot more difficult. Not necessarily, but it helps.

> 2) Thinking about this (in the abscense of hard facts), I'd assume

Correct here, except about the range thing. Active virtually always has better
range.

> - Active systems work excellently at short range, moderately at medium

Active works better at almost all ranges better than passive, but tends to be
directional. Also it increases YOUR chance of detection by the baddies.