AccidentProne8
Space Marshal
I got a little tangent-y right there. My bad. But what are we doing for escorts? Forget about the whole dropship thing for now. Curiosity question on what peoples' thoughts are.
Bomber Squadron?
- Thread starter CitizenDad
- Start date
Huegpaynis
Space Marshal
Escorts are gonna be a thing, but we need to decide if they should be in-house or managed by another group under TEST fleet command.
AccidentProne8
Space Marshal
It is an interesting conundrum. The fewer people we have, the faster we can move, but the less flexible we are. Potentially, other groups in test could request us, and our policy could be that the onus is on them to provide the escorts.
On the other hand, in house escorts (I have a Super Hornet for the cause!) would be familiar with our eventual tactics and MOs.
CookieDoctor
Rear Admiral
I really like the sound of acting as QRF, it seems to lend itself well to the Retaliator role, why bring a gun to the fight when you can bring five and some boom boom? I also wouldn't be against acting on some mercenary work if TEST doesn't mind, gotta keep those torpedo bays full.
WarrenPeace
Space Marshal
For escorts, we should have a small group in-house for short-notice or no-notice jobs, where we don't have time to go out and recruit people for an op. For larger operations with advance planning, we should take the time to hire people on to fill out the escort role. That way we retain the flexibility associated with a smaller group, but can summon the cover for a larger operation when needed.
CookieDoctor
Rear Admiral
Isn't that what the fighter squadron and logistic guys are for? If we're doing a large planned operation then it stands to reason that personnel would be detailed to roll with us. it would be nice though to have a list of people interested in that kind of escort role up front but even that's contingent on them being available.
I think we should reach out to the fighter squadron and logistics guys to see what their intentions are for large operations and if they have QRF or flexible escort teams in place as part of their planned structure.
This.
I think we should definately have a few but for people that want to do escort flying as a career, they're going get a lot more to do if attached to their own squadron. They could perhaps express interest to us though so when we need escorts we ask them if their available first before putting it out to general escort-TEST.
Huegpaynis
Space Marshal
Good, good, let the theorycrafting flow through you.
Like I mentioned before, escorts are going to have to be a thing, but some of our deployments might not need them; we have no idea the relative power a flight of 'talis will have as compared to say, a squad of gladiators. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that for now, we should expect larger deployments to be screened by fighters assigned by fleetcom, but for smaller "pop-up" ops or emergency anti-cap scrambles (say to defend a mining group that got jumped by a hostile idris) we should have people willing or able to crew a fighter or three for escort and fighter screening.
Again, as we don't know a ton yet about how fragile some of these ships are going to be when kitted out for torpedo runs, the number of fighters required might not be huge. For example, we might only need one hornet to accompany a flight of say... 4 gladiators, unless they're flying into a known fighter-heavy zone, like an established fleet battle or an attack run on a carrier. Meanwhile, a tali group en route to a surgical strike on an enemy orion that's hassling the aforementioned miners might not need an escort at all.
What we should be aiming for is not neccesarily a "minimum" level of protection, but rather a proportional one, that is scaled to the needs of the deployment in question, as dictated by its makeup and deployment theater. Honestly, I'm leery of setting anything as a "standard" this early in the development cycle.
As an aside, one thing we might want to do is, as they flesh themselves out, work out a mutual deployment agreement with the fighter groups, giving them access to heavy ordnance and at the same time guaranteeing us a stable source of fighter cover.
Like I mentioned before, escorts are going to have to be a thing, but some of our deployments might not need them; we have no idea the relative power a flight of 'talis will have as compared to say, a squad of gladiators. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that for now, we should expect larger deployments to be screened by fighters assigned by fleetcom, but for smaller "pop-up" ops or emergency anti-cap scrambles (say to defend a mining group that got jumped by a hostile idris) we should have people willing or able to crew a fighter or three for escort and fighter screening.
Again, as we don't know a ton yet about how fragile some of these ships are going to be when kitted out for torpedo runs, the number of fighters required might not be huge. For example, we might only need one hornet to accompany a flight of say... 4 gladiators, unless they're flying into a known fighter-heavy zone, like an established fleet battle or an attack run on a carrier. Meanwhile, a tali group en route to a surgical strike on an enemy orion that's hassling the aforementioned miners might not need an escort at all.
What we should be aiming for is not neccesarily a "minimum" level of protection, but rather a proportional one, that is scaled to the needs of the deployment in question, as dictated by its makeup and deployment theater. Honestly, I'm leery of setting anything as a "standard" this early in the development cycle.
As an aside, one thing we might want to do is, as they flesh themselves out, work out a mutual deployment agreement with the fighter groups, giving them access to heavy ordnance and at the same time guaranteeing us a stable source of fighter cover.
WarrenPeace
Space Marshal
Hopefully, Squadron 42 will let us get a better idea of the durability of various bombers. Personally, I would favor a harassment/protection role for our escorts, preferably leaning towards more nimble ships like the 325a and Gladius:
1) Bombers and Escorts detect incoming enemy fighters
2) Escorts maneuver to screen enemy fighters away from Bombers as Bombers continue to target
3) Escorts engage fighters, but primary goal is actually engaging the enemy fighters to protect Bombers, not to score kills
4) Once Bombers complete mission objectives, Escorts make fighting withdrawal to cover Bombers' exit
This is a very rough, very loose outline of ideal conditions, but with good pilots (and not too much interference from Murphy) it should ensure that everyone gets home safely.
1) Bombers and Escorts detect incoming enemy fighters
2) Escorts maneuver to screen enemy fighters away from Bombers as Bombers continue to target
3) Escorts engage fighters, but primary goal is actually engaging the enemy fighters to protect Bombers, not to score kills
4) Once Bombers complete mission objectives, Escorts make fighting withdrawal to cover Bombers' exit
This is a very rough, very loose outline of ideal conditions, but with good pilots (and not too much interference from Murphy) it should ensure that everyone gets home safely.
AccidentProne8
Space Marshal
Well, I imagine three talis flying with their undersides together in a roughly triangle shaped formation on the traditional y plane, allowing the top gunners maximum coverage and alleviating the need for full time bottom gunners. The formation, if talented enough, could have a slight rotation, thus thwarting easy attempts to approach a blind spot and breaking apart only to release a glorious cavalcade of torpedoe-ught! I have a boner. Too much theorycrafting. I'll be in my bunk.
Quick question, if someone was looking at getting a Vanguard Harbinger, or a Retaliator for use on bombing missions, which would be better?
Huegpaynis
Space Marshal
Either; The only set-in-stone requirement that I'd imagine everyone would agree on at this stage is that "it should be able to carry torpedoes."
The vanguard and the 'tali both carry them, the 'tali's are admittedly going to be larger, but that's because it's a different goal that a harbinger. Get whichever suits your intended explosives delivery style, there will be need for both.
The vanguard and the 'tali both carry them, the 'tali's are admittedly going to be larger, but that's because it's a different goal that a harbinger. Get whichever suits your intended explosives delivery style, there will be need for both.
Will most likely be able to Solo (+1 NPC gunner) the Harbinger with minimal combat efficiency/cost losses per NPC vs the Tali.
But if you have some friends (& TEST is pretty big) the Tali will probably be hilariously fun to take on missions & try not to kill 6+ guys.
Like BossGuido said: up to you play style
First I wouldn't be opposed to melting my gladiator for a super hornet if they become available again if we do need dedicated escorts. Or I can keep my gladiator and if need be I can be a gunner on a larger ship when gladis aren't needed.
Second jus a question on how we are going to be able to stay functional. I.e. where will our pay be coming from? I mean I'm just about having fun personally, don't care about getting mega rich, but we will need to be able to have some sort of income to keep our ships fitted. Especially considering bombers are going to be destroyed, it's inevitable.
Second jus a question on how we are going to be able to stay functional. I.e. where will our pay be coming from? I mean I'm just about having fun personally, don't care about getting mega rich, but we will need to be able to have some sort of income to keep our ships fitted. Especially considering bombers are going to be destroyed, it's inevitable.
There will likely be contracts for killing of vanduul fleets and what not, so we should make money off of that.
So... i did something maybe a little dumb
my wallet hurts
in other news, can i join bomber squardron lol?
my wallet hurts
in other news, can i join bomber squardron lol?
AccidentProne8
Space Marshal
I'm pretty sure an accidental/spur-of-the-moment Retaliator purchase followed by immediate financial regret puts you in the majority group here...So... i did something maybe a little dumb
my wallet hurts
in other news, can i join bomber squardron lol?
Welcome!