From: Thomas Barclay <Thomas.Barclay@s...>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 03:08:14 -0500
Subject: PDS/ADFC/ADS
1. ADS killing does not seem like cheese. It seems like a viable thing to do. Look at it this way - you end up spending a rack of resources to do the job. So they aren't spent on other things. And killing ADS opens up the enemy force to other engagements. 2. Oerjan's comments about CG and some other rounds not being stoppable (or HKPs) I do have to ask him to re-examine. IF I remember the report I heard, the Phalanx system deflected (with 20 or 25mm rounds) a 2000 lb 16 inch projectile from a battleship. So why is a CG warhead so hard to stop? It'd be harder to track than the (presumably ballistic long range) shot from the BB, but the round is smaller and easier to deflect or destroy is it not? I know they haven't stuck Phalanx as PDS (for reasons of size/cost and various operational concerns - don't want a tank throwing off 20mm rounds in the vicinity of friendly gropos) on AFVs, but as it gets smaller and cheaper, we may see a system like a high slew rate rapid fire railgun throwing slivers at high mach numbers used to engage and defeat even HKPs. 3. As an alternative to 2, I'd also point out if the lasers they are working on are anywhere near successful, it is quite likely that (in a Nval context, and this can't help but eventually make it to the table for ground units) air units will be nullified as a threat unless they have OTH attacks. Anything coming over the horizon would be swept from the sky with a laser. Now if we can get a high energy, rapid targetting laser, I think GMS and even HKPs (possibly even plasma streams) may be in danger of disruption and destruction. Of course, the tactic to beat this is the swarm/DoS style attack. But that requires more sophisticated GMS (maybe all GMS in 2183 are mutli-round firing with a slight delay thus letting them beat ADFCs)? 4. Regarding armour on AFVs. In SG2, you're given (I don't use, but the rules call for) 1 armour rating for the whole vehicle. It is simple, and justified from the PoV that if everyone is now deploying top attack munitions, top armour must match. When we go to grav, we need to protect the bottom (similarly as mines advance we need more bottom armour). So it is believable that all 6 sides of an AFV need good armour. I've heard one suggestion about a BMP is that it have bad rear armour to keep the crew pointed in the right direction - if so, I'd sure develop a rear-attack GMS to take advantage of this flaw..... If anyone has played microarmour, (challenger style), you'll recall that a big part of staying alive was not being spotted. Once spotted, if the enemy had a decent gun, you died. I think this will be doubly true in the Tuffleyverse. Stealth, optical and spectral camo will be key. He who shoots first from a good hidey hole and then scoots to another will be the spoiler. Tom