Sirius Business - a C# Aurora forum game. v2.5

[blue emu]

Yes, the main problems are:

1) Our RADARs are all AWACS vessels and therefore can be knocked out by long-range missiles, leaving us blind.
2) Without an airfield, we can only launch from hangars and carriers, which again are vulnerable to enemy missiles.
3) Both the majority of our Fighters and most of our missiles are slower than the enemy. So they are most useful against an opponent who is closing in on us.
4) Many of those 300+ Fighters (and many of the missiles) are up to 50 years old.

I would much prefer to ambush the enemy at close range... but that would require surviving thousands (?) of enemy long-range missiles first.

 

[blue emu]

Some notes on our OOB (Order of Battle):

Of the three Fighter-base Space Stations that our Tugs had dragged into Harmony orbit, only one carries modern Fighters. Another carries older Fighter models that are only marginally faster than the ships that they will be opposing, while the third carries completely obsolete Fighter models that are actually slower than the Modron ships. All the Space Stations have magazines loaded with two-stage missiles, but the models of missiles vary widely, from fully modern (Equalizer 2030) to obsolete (Penetrator 2013).

We also have ten Carriers of various models in the Sector Fleet, again equipped with widely varying marks of Fighters and of missiles. Every exchange of fire is going to be a logistical nightmare as I need to check and make sure that each ship and Fighter is firing and reloading the ammo that it actually HAS in its magazines. The hangars on the Carriers are the same size (and can take the same air group) as the hangars on the Space Stations.

We also have two empty-ish Mountain-class Tenders on hand... one of which had brought the Harmony Sabres here, and the other had brought more than a dozen of our new Fighter-AWACS models, to equip the existing squadrons. The Mountains have bigger hangars (12,000 tons capacity instead of 8,000 tons) but have no magazines at all and so they cannot re-arm Fighters.

I'll try to put together a complete list of everything we have available, for my next post.

 

[blue emu]

Our OOB of available forces. Almost all of these are in orbit around the planet Harmony itself.

 

[son of liberty]

Will it be enough? How long to get the airfields up and running?

 

[blue emu]

I'm trying to gather everything in Harmony orbit in order to gain a measure of shelter from those incoming enemy missiles. If there are thousands of them coming then I'm afraid we're doomed, but we should be able to weather a few hundred.

What really worries me is that they are firing those missiles from 200 million km away (seriously) and their launch platforms are headed AWAY from us... as if their range extends much further (since they don't want to accidentally step out of FC range of their own missile salvo).

Will it be enough? How long to get the airfields up and running?

The air bases are self contained Space Stations, moved into position by a Tug, so they arrive already operational. But they are no real substitute for that spaceport that I sent (but hasn't had time to arrive). As space stations, they can be destroyed by a few hits. Actual spaceports are ground installations, and much harder to knock out.

I expect to lose this fight. We might be able to heavily attrition them, though.

 

[Wagonlitz]

Hopefully they won't push their luck and keep going for more systems.

 

[randakar]

Our main missile defenses here are the 4 phalanxes and the 20 storm class gauss PD vessels, I presume. The ones without shields.

Plus whatever size 1 missile launchers we have on the attitude and other main fleet vessels, I guess.

Not sure what is wise here. The emotions and the phalanxes at least have shields. But they can't approach the enemy because they aren't fast enough to close the range.. So better to use their beam weapons to weather the missiles coming in, I guess..ditto for the sabres. Though those at least have stealth, right?

 

[blue emu]

Our main missile defenses here are the 4 phalanxes and the 20 storm class gauss PD vessels, I presume. The ones without shields.

Plus whatever size 1 missile launchers we have on the attitude and other main fleet vessels, I guess.

Not sure what is wise here. The emotions and the phalanxes at least have shields. But they can't approach the enemy because they aren't fast enough to close the range.. So better to use their beam weapons to weather the missiles coming in, I guess..ditto for the sabres. Though those at least have stealth, right?

Sabres have no stealth, and no anti-missile defenses except for small size and their own gun.

Emotions (and Phalanxes) do have jammers, though.

 

[Iche_Bins]

Can sabres help with pd-fire with their guns?

 

[blue emu]

Can sabres help with pd-fire with their guns?

Not really. They get penalties against targets moving faster than 25,000 kps (and the incoming missiles are over 78,000 kps).

 

[randakar]

How far away is the closest jump point? I am presuming 'too far' but if anything is close enough to have some ships hide there it may be worth it.

 

[randakar]

Also, can we forbid the civvies from entering the system? The modrons can probably follow the traffic back to earth if we're unlucky, maybe we should tell them to get the hell out of dodge

 

[blue emu]

The Modron fleet is headed for the civvies that are leaving the star system. They are firing missiles at our forces defending Harmony, but are chasing the civvies.

I'll post a sit-rep later.

 

[Wagonlitz]

The Modron fleet is headed for the civvies that are leaving the star system. They are firing missiles at our forces defending Harmony, but are chasing the civvies.

I'll post a sit-rep later.

Sounds like they already know the jp then...

 

[randakar]

Sounds like they already know the jp then...

That's hard to avoid with all of the civilian traffic moving through it. Unfortunately.
I really hope our shipbuilding and station production can get us something that will serve as stopgap JP defenses soon. We'll need them one way or another.

 

[Nikolai II]

That's hard to avoid with all of the civilian traffic moving through it. Unfortunately.

Given the range of their gunnery radar, it seems possible that their normal sighting range for uncloaked vessels is "the entire system"?

 

[randakar]

Given the range of their gunnery radar, it seems possible that their normal sighting range for uncloaked vessels is "the entire system"?

Don't underestimate how big star systems can get. 200 million km is a large distance but not system spanning.

That said, civilian ships are huge and have large thermal signatures. They are easy to detect in general.

Honestly them chasing the civvies is good news. Let them waste missiles on shooting irrelevant freighters, less to spend on the fleet.

 

[blue emu]

Here's a sit-rep (situation report).

The Harmony star system:

The Modron warships (and Freighters) are mostly in the inner star system. They seem to be ignoring our mining colony at bottom left, and instead are firing missiles at our warships grouped near the planet Harmony while chasing the Freighters and Tugs that are headed for the jump point out to the Lernae star system (at top left). One Modron warship is already positioned on the trade route.

The main Modron battle fleet:

The missiles are headed towards our fleet, but the Modron ships appear to be chasing the civvies.

Our own forces are grouped near the planet, and are rushing to seek shelter in the anchorage where the PD tyrrets can assist their anti-missile defense.

Our main fleet is only 10 minutes from entering the anchorage... hopefully it will arrive before the enemy missiles do. Force Randakar is already inside.

 

[Wagonlitz]

Are the Freighters carrying anything important?

 

[blue emu]

Are the Freighters carrying anything important?

They brought stuff to Harmony, and are now heading back home empty.