Friendly Discussion on Strike Craft in SARP

Ok, we've all seen how powered armor design and importance as caused the nearly total downfall of strike craft as seen in many science fiction shows and in real life. What do I mean by strike craft? I mean aerospace fighters and the such, small craft meant for fast attack operations.

I'm sure many are thinking, "With the speed Corvettes, Destroyers, and Gunships have, who needs small craft with smaller payloads?" But this question just points fault into powered armor being used for space combat just like it points fault in strike craft.

Another thing is the usefulness of high speed bombers like the Uriko (that has rarely been seen anyway). With the capability of delivering torpedoes to an enemy craft at a much shorter range the a capital ship can as well as an ability to increase the accuracy of such dangerous weapons going up against anti-missile defenses.

But in the case of the Star Army of Yamatai, Star Army of Nepleslia, and the SMX, strike craft no longer seem worthy of notice except for a close air support and high speed bomber role.

Going by this line of thought, one would think this is the end of the Age of Strike Craft. Thinking this however would be sorely misplaced.

There are new species being developed for SARP everyday, though most can't seem to make it to roleplaying status and are left to rot. Some new species are mainly created to join one of the more powerful nations, while the rare few strive to at least have their creation strike even a relatively small impression upon the SARP universe. To this end, less technological races will probably still strive to create strike craft.

Of course, this maybe brutally hard due to most technologically-inclined species heading the same route as Yamatai and the other major powers. But considering the major powers technology to the developing races, powered armor for space combat is pretty much pointless and is not truely cost-effective for those without the necessary technology.

This is when strike craft truely shine. Though less effective again the military might of major powers, and what minor civilization would want to bring the Hammer of God down upon them anyway, strike craft are the most cost effective solution for a variety of reasons.

First, the evolution from Aircraft to Aerospacecraft is relatively simple. The basic foundation of the design is already there and all that needs to be applied is the right technology and a few minor modifications for it to be effective.

Second, a strike craft doesn't need to be purely a one-man, missile-delivery system. Sure, high-speed interceptors are chicken feed to power armor, but they are gold against high-speed bombers. High-speed bombers are cakewalk for both armor and interceptors, but against larger ships they truely shine. Even small gunships, much like the Modified Huey's and AC-130U's of Vietnam, are great inclusions into the Strike Craft description.

A final reason would absolutely have to lead back to the technology issues of powered armor space combat. Minaturization of the technology necessary for a minor power to create even weaker powered armor than the major powers requires a vast amount of resources and time to research and implement, even with help from the major powers. During this time, resources could be spent creating vast fleets of strike craft that take relatively little time and effort to research and create. Thus leading to an effective fighting force to defend against pirates and other minor civilizations, since no minor power would dream of taking on a major power anyway.

There you have it, strike craft can never truely die from SARP. Though they are hardly effective for use by major powers, the up and coming minor powers of the SARP universe could efficiently build up a sizable policing and defense force necessary for any interstellar civilization to have. Though this doesn't remove the fact that capital ships are also important to the equation, a squadron of strike craft can definitely be helpful in a pinch.

Forgive me if I'm repeating you, but I still think the Uriko should be utilized more. That's why I wanted the bomber for my little company.

Indeed, strike craft haven't been used enough in the roleplay. I mostly think its because no one either remembers them or can't think of a proper use for them.

And on a side note, what company would that be?

I agree, and I'd like to see more strike craft. I'd also like to add a caveat, though: power armors are popular with major powers because they're small. Remember to make accomodations for fighter storage on ships. You can't just stuff them in a passageway like armors.

Wes: Very true, it's pretty efficient too. But again, that's because the major powers have the technological backing to do so. Minor powers can afford no such thing.

You will also like the fact then that Abwehr will probably not be dropping strike craft for powered armor anytime soon. Not just due to technological barriers but barriers of tradition as well. They don't think infantry fighting in space is practical, making their powered armor, primitive as it maybe, highly specialized for ground and boarding actions.

DJ: Ah, I see now.

My thoughts is, and if this was said and I missed it is...Interceptors...you have power armor, why not utilize fast attack strike vessels to sweep through and pick off the power armor.

They can also be used in large scale battles to pick off and disable anti-missile batteries, after all, if the missiles don't get shot down...the enemy craft fall apart faster do they not?

There is also the option of having long ranging scout craft, as I do not know the precise limitations of the sensors I can't say much other than, sometimes it's just good to have another set of eyes out there.

I disagree that strike craft are going out of favor -

The NDI is probably the only major power in this RP that considers its array of strike craft (The XF-14, the XB-32, and the newer, less common XF-21) as some of its most potent weapons.

At least in the NDI paradigm, strike craft are considered serious threats to all warships. Between the Uriko bombers and XF-14s equipped with anti-warship missiles, a squadron of craft can cripple an enemy capital ship.

Factor in that strike craft are smaller, which means inherently stealthier, which means they are far more likely to get in range of their stand-off weapons before they can be engaged by a ship's defenses.

In this high-tech space setting, fighters and bombers should have the same advantages warships do, just on a smaller scale. Warships are for overt warfare; strike craft are covert.

Even against advanced power armor designs such as the Mindy/Mindy II, the superiority fighters (properly designed, mind you) should not be considered at a disadvantage. For example, a single XF-14 with its weapons payload could easily dispatch nearly 100 Mindy outside of the range of their aether rifles. After reading RPs with the Miharu and other Star Army warships, we all know just how deadly missiles can be and how beam weapons are limited by their speed. Power armor are designed to be small and as such it's prohibitive for them to carry the kind of missile payloads fighters can.

So understanding this, the role of power armor is for close-in combat, whereas strike craft are for long-range combat. Power armors are a threat to fighters only at close range where their superior acceleration and comparable beam firepower bridge the gap.

Derran, your post makes a great deal of good points. The NDI craft, yes, could easily turn the tide for their favor against the armor-favoring powers in the RP.

The problem is...since when does the NDI actually do anything in this RP anymore? The only NDI things I've seen lately are the NSS Alliance and the occassional Super PHALANX armor.

This isn't an insult, it's a legitimate question.

Well, there wasn't really much for the NDI to do, truthfully, but now that the SMX offensive is up and running, that gives the NDI a reason to send in a few battle groups to help out their allies.

I'm just not sure of where to post.

There's plenty to do! XD

I'm handling Tsuyosa right now and I'd like to keep it that way for the moment, but Tsuyosa's more or less about a battle of attrition. The mishhu forces sent there were the same forces that took over the area formerly held by the 5th XF, so the bright side is that those battlegroups are not fresh (they have missing ships, their vessels are already damaged and they don't have their full torpedo/mecha complements).

The rest of the mishhu forces are actually mostly in Kimura trying to do the same thing for the rescue ships which came from the 1st XF, 1st SF and 2nd SF. While forces from the 5th XF kept to themselves (again ~_~; ) and decided to head for Tsuyosa, the rest of the rescue vessels headed for the currently best defensive spot the south has: Hanako's Star.

However, that means a good part of Melisson's troops are breathing down Yui's neck while the mishhu forces coming from the other side of the Sakura's gap are also attacking.

Add to that Yui decided to send ships out to attack the defending mishhu fleet (the Mishhu have roughly 1100 warship committed which are split in three: the Sakura's gap attacking force, Melisson's fleet which went the roundabout route and smashed the 5th XF, and finally a defending force that garisson the worlds seized), so, things are kinda tight.

If you ask me, the best thing you could do is talk it over with Wes and have those NDI squadrons go where they would be the most needed: to alleviate the pressure at Hanako's star. If the 1st expeditionary fleet is routed from it's position at the Sakura's gap, the odds of them being able to keep the systems south between 20-30 ly of Yamatai are pretty bad.

This would also cut off Lor from the rest of the Empire, and, by this point, the Mishhu are not going to just nicely turn the Lorath into slaves. They'll annihilate them.

Hey now! Why'd you have to bring us into this?

Anyway, speaking of the Lorath, I intend to make Strike Fighters a very importaint part of the Lorath fleet plan. An example of this intent can be found in the Hawk Fighter Bomber

DocTomoe said:

Hey now! Why'd you have to bring us into this?

Click to expand...

Because of Lor's location on the star map?

I heartily suggest relocating.

A slight bit off topic here, aren't we.

But yeah, Derran has a good point, as usual when it comes to furturistic space craft. I had missed the specific point that armor are more close-range combat than strike craft and thus the two sort of co-exist in a way.

So yes, a major power could have strike craft much like in the way the NDI have. So here comes the next question, why don't more powers have strike craft along the lines of NDI.

True, we see that Nepleslia has some, but only because it got a helping hand from the NDI. Yamatai has bombers, but you never see them in any RP-thread...even as NPC-based craft. And the SMX....do those pods count as armor, strike craft, or a perverted mix of both?

Power armors are better because it allows for more character action on the ground, in small spaces, through boarding, and even in space, when they're used. "Strike craft" seem in general better for IC reasons, but OOCly they remove a factor of teamwork, I think.

Not really when you consider most strike craft are grouped into elements in order to survive. Most squadrons in RL go by elements of two for the most part but can be raised to four when necessary out of a squadron of 12-18.

Ahhh, I worded that wrong. Not "teamwork" as much as it usually forces all the players to suit up and go somewhere to do something. Strike craft would allow a pilot (such as Masako) to leave the ship and contribute to a space battle, but everyone else is still high and dry.

PAs are also good character shields.