Inferno Squad Raider Deployment

[Ave Dominus Nox]

150m

So this, the Raider Class Corvette, is going to be the hero ship for the new Battlefront II and it raised some questions for me.

So it seems that the new Inferno Squad is a unit of commando trained fighter pilots or pilot trained commandos in the vein of the old Rouge and Wraith squadrons from legends. If so I cannot see how the Raider is supposed to carry the fighters for Inferno Squadron or deploy Inferno to combat. From visual inspection it doesn't seem that it has an internal hanger bay, in fact legends says it doesn't and the model is the same between legend and Disney cannon. While it could be that they use external hard points like the Gozanti-Class Cruiser/freighter there doesn't seem to be any visible connection points for fighters or even shuttles to mount to.


83m

Also while it would be possible for the pilots of Inferno Squadron to simply be equipped with FTL capable fighters like the Defender, Avenger, Advanced, Phantom or specially modified TIE/LNs or Interceptors and travel with it, it would negate the purpose of having the Raider as a carrier ship and limit the long term viability of missions if Inferno couldn't eat, sleep, use the lavatory etc.

While its confirmed that the Raider can land on the surface of planets it would seem odd if that was the only way for the on-board "Black Ops" commandos to deploy. For example the Normandy from Mass Effect which was retro-fitted to essentially be an insertion vehicle for a Spectre and his/her team and it had a launch bay to deploy the MAKO in the first game and a shuttle and hover tank in the second. Landing also would expose the commandos only means of FTl travel to hostile fire and risk their chance of evacuation.

Previously Imperial Storm Commandos, also not quite sure whether Inferno are supposed to be storm commandos or something new, possessed the Imperial Escort Carrier which possesses a visible hanger bay from which the commands could launch their TIE Hunters and presumably troop ships/shuttles.


150m

While the same size as the Raider the Escort Carrier is designed to insert commando into combat while the Raider is a dedicated anti-fighter warship designed to patrol Imperial Space and escort larger capital ships. Unless Inferno's Raider has been modified I'm not sure how they are actually going get to and from ground combat, short of landing the whole ship, let alone participate in fighter combat.

All that said I'm excited to see the game come out.


So what do you think?

[Khaat]

I'm not seeing anything suggesting it carries fighters, only that it can be operated by a pilot and copilot:

These ships can be operated with a pilot and a co pilot and could be armed with ion cannons, dual heavy laser cannons, concussion missiles, and turbolasers.

But it is also listed as a transport (Legends side says 30 troops), so as much as you seem to want it to be a small carrier, it's really just a glorified gun-heavy transport. It's the evil Millenium Falcon, for Imperial Player Characters. And what's cooler than commandos? Commandos who fly starfighters.

"Anyway, that's just how I feel about it. What do you think?"

[Ave Dominus Nox]

I'm not seeing anything suggesting it carries fighters, only that it can be operated by a pilot and copilot:

These ships can be operated with a pilot and a co pilot and could be armed with ion cannons, dual heavy laser cannons, concussion missiles, and turbolasers.

But it is also listed as a transport (Legends side says 30 troops), so as much as you seem to want it to be a small carrier, it's really just a glorified gun-heavy transport. It's the evil Millenium Falcon, for Imperial Player Characters. And what's cooler than commandos? Commandos who fly starfighters.

"Anyway, that's just how I feel about it. What do you think?"

That was kind of the point a was trying to make. Battlefront II has it as the transport for the Commandos, but I'm not seeing how it supposed to transport a squad/squadron of commando pilots and their fighters and deploy them into battle.

Also I did just notice the two people crew which is... odd considering in legends it had a crew of 92 (15 officers and 77 enlisted) which is far more reasonable for a 150m long ship. Unless the Inferno's ship is heavily modified.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

[Adam Reynolds]

Some ship they are in clearly has hanger bays, but that could easily be a ship they are attached to rather than their main one. They are capable of using fighters when needed but that doesn't mean they necessarily have them attached.

That was kind of the point a was trying to make. Battlefront II has it as the transport for the Commandos, but I'm not seeing how it supposed to transport a squad/squadron of commando pilots and their fighters and deploy them into battle.

Also I did just notice the two people crew which is... odd considering in legends it had a crew of 92 (15 officers and 77 enlisted) which is far more reasonable for a 150m long ship. Unless the Inferno's ship is heavily modified.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

A crew of two may be able to fly it even in combat, but they can't exactly run the entire ship by themselves. You need the extra 90 people to allow you to maintain shifts and provide all of the various supporting elements that are needed as you expand the crew and go on longer endurance missions.

You could probably run a modern warship with around 20 people*, but they would have no ability to run shifts or have all of the various supporting elements that are needed.

* Sort of guessing, I have no idea how many it actually takes.

[Lord Revan]

Some ship they are in clearly has hanger bays, but that could easily be a ship they are attached to rather than their main one. They are capable of using fighters when needed but that doesn't mean they necessarily have them attached.

That was kind of the point a was trying to make. Battlefront II has it as the transport for the Commandos, but I'm not seeing how it supposed to transport a squad/squadron of commando pilots and their fighters and deploy them into battle.

Also I did just notice the two people crew which is... odd considering in legends it had a crew of 92 (15 officers and 77 enlisted) which is far more reasonable for a 150m long ship. Unless the Inferno's ship is heavily modified.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

A crew of two may be able to fly it even in combat, but they can't exactly run the entire ship by themselves. You need the extra 90 people to allow you to maintain shifts and provide all of the various supporting elements that are needed as you expand the crew and go on longer endurance missions.

You could probably run a modern warship with around 20 people*, but they would have no ability to run shifts or have all of the various supporting elements that are needed.

* Sort of guessing, I have no idea how many it actually takes.

Aye moderns ships can be "run" to certain degree (if only moved about) with a fraction of the full crew but a full crew would have 2-4 shifts per day meaning you'd need 4-8 people just to man the pilot and co-pilot positions, then you have things like gunners, engineering, logistics and medical staff and the roster fills up quite quickly.

IIRC the recomended crew for YT-1300 class freighter (the class Millenium Falcon belongs to) was 4-8 people though obviously 2 people can fly the ship if needed.

[Adam Reynolds]

Also, forgot to note that one of the major reasons for larger crews on warships than are strictly needed is that they are needed for damage control during combat. A container ship has a full crew of only 20, while a destroyer has 300 for something with half the tonnage.

While this is less true in space combat, as spacecraft don't flood and sink, in SW you do need to patch holes to maintain atmosphere and keep things like shield generators online instead. A more realistic solution is to simply for the crew to suit up, vent atmosphere and expect to take hits. Which is what is done in The Expanse, but Star Wars is obviously not exactly realistic. In the latter case a larger crew would be about replacing vital systems and casualties due to stray and random kinetic rounds, shrapnel or laser hits.

[RogueIce]

So what do you think?

I wasn't listening the first time...

But seriously, just because they're pilot trained doesn't mean they bring along TIE fighters or whatever everywhere they go. Plenty of Wraith Squadron missions had them leave their X-wings at home, after all.

Of course the reality is, "pilot trained commandos" is just there to justify the game mechanics, but in-universe there's no reason they'd need to bring around starfighters for every mission they do. With how fast hyperdrive is, especially in Disney Canon, they can always go back to a base or larger capital ship if they need to.

[PhoenixKnig]

Also, forgot to note that one of the major reasons for larger crews on warships than are strictly needed is that they are needed for damage control during combat. A container ship has a full crew of only 20, while a destroyer has 300 for something with half the tonnage.

Automation could be a factor as well