Evaluate This Stye of Planetary Bombardment

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-09 05:49pm

In my fic that I'm working on, the warships of both sides' fleet hurl what are essentially boulders of matter/antimatter at each other. This can be problematic when it comes to bombarding planets because a warship bombarding a planet will cause rampant destruction and nuclear winter without any hope of precision. As there are only 50-70 inhabitated planets, this becomes something of an impracticalty.

While there are 'precision bomber ships' which are essentially scaled down warships with pinpoint accuracy and tiny little dots of antimatter or conventional weapons, they're expensive, difficult to deploy, vunerable and attack, and aren't good against much else.

However, holding the orbital highground are important. Therefor, I have devised this method of bombardment; orbiting 'rocket platforms'.

When a fleet engages in battle for a planet, it'll try to secure at least on part of the planet's orbit. After clearing away enemy fighters, it'll deploy what are essentially platforms with sensors and rockets and such. The platfoms go around the planet in geosynchronous orbit, attacking enemy posititions in and around the orbit held by your fleet and generally securing it for your troops. They are defended by both your warships and your fighters and their defense(and destruction) is the main reason snubfighters exist.

Any thoughts?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-12-09 05:51pm

Why not just drop nuke MARV's from orbit ? It gives a reliable yield and weapons effects along quite high accuracy.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-09 05:56pm

That's essentially what the platforms do; they just provide a place to shoot from without taking up valuable weapon space in the warships.

Plus, there are Interceptor batteries on the ground with can and will intercept most conventional weaponry unless the platfom has some form of high-tech jamming equipment.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-12-09 06:02pm

How do you get the platforms to the planet? It would seem simpler to take whatever transport bring them there and just load it with the weapons. Ground defenses are probably best dealt with by dropping a bunch of scramjet cruise missiles over the horizon. They airburst some nukes to fry the optics and fire control of the defenses and they you drop something else to blow up the main target. Nuclear airbursts produce little fallout so contamination should not be an issue.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-09 06:14pm

How do you get the platforms to the planet? It would seem simpler to take whatever transport bring them there and just load it with the weapons. Ground defenses are probably best dealt with by dropping a bunch of scramjet cruise missiles over the horizon. They airburst some nukes to fry the optics and fire control of the defenses and they you drop something else to blow up the main target. Nuclear airbursts produce little fallout so contamination should not be an issue.

Well, the platforms are really cheap, mass-producable, and can be in many locations at once. If the defense fries the transport, it's toast, but if they have to nail two hundred of these platforms, it takes just a bit longer.

And, most of the ground attacks involve precision strikes whilst trying to take the target(usually a city) intact. Nuclear airbursts seem to be mutually exclusive with that goal.

SAMAS · Post by **SAMAS** » 2002-12-10 11:19am

Unless, of course, they vape the transport before it can release any platforms. Something like that would only be useful a few times at best, then the transport would be Priority Target #1 every time.

Better to just have the warships have the ability to do it themselves.

Now, if they did it defensively, as in after securing Orbit completey, they can be used in a Pacification role, helping troops out on the ground in case the ships are unavailable.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-10 04:17pm

Transports = extremely heavily armed, armoured, protected, and shielded. They deploy platforms, troops, and armour.

Defensive sounds good.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-12-10 05:35pm

HemlockGrey wrote:Transports = extremely heavily armed, armoured, protected, and shielded. They deploy platforms, troops, and armour.

Defensive sounds good.

Then if the platforms can fit inside them then simply arming the transport with their weapons would work better. Replace the platforms weapons mass with weapons on he transport and replace the mass of the platforms support structure with even more protection or more weapons.