Homeworld Defense

[immhotep]

(nods) Indeed! Excellent suggestions. And yes, the British are exceptional when it comes to aircraft design. ^__^

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the side-view of the Abydos-class destroyer:

really like the ship design. you should post in the ships design threads, this is a great ship. if i could give you rep i would but for now ull have to just have my respect.

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

Well, I'm happy with respect. ^__^ Thank you.


And now... The contract!

Ahem...

"The United States Army requires a light, VTOL space-to-ground-to-space transport and general utility craft. It must have a total capacity for eight troops, or six litters, or 20,000 lbs of supplies. It must utilize weapons currently in the US inventory. It should not exceed 50 meters in length or 20 meters in wingspan, or 35,000 lbs empty weight. It must be carriable on BC-304 class starships, and SDD-305 starships. It is not required to have either a cloak, shields, or FTL technology, and will only be issued a small naquada generator to power inertial dampeners and a few other, smaller support systems. It will utilize one, 50mm railgun turret for defensive purposes. It may be based upon any design the contractor believes would be practical, or an entirely new design. The hull materials must be less-than 70% trinium, and less than 30% carbon composites, though any materials the contractor wishes to use may be utilized. Good Luck."

[Riv]

Based on the task order:

Do want complete specs including dimensions of the craft in question. Also you want to keep with technology (2006) as well as story continuity to date. Should we take into technology in R & D presently within the 5 year budget of Defense Department (07 - 11)

Once information is given, are you planning to draw based on information provided. Thanks

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

In repsonse to Riv's question:

Yes to all.

[immhotep]

am i allowed to retro fit a goauld needle threader and fit it with rail guns? i mean no shield, no cloak, VTOL, and oh actually nm it doesnt have the tropp, oh wait if i enclosed the ship with a cargo hold within the O part, with the main pilot controls central, we could have our own PJ's. what do ya think? sorta like a troop carrier part above the cockpit ( you have to know the ship look to understand this) extening behind the engines a little, and then rounding creating a C type end? rear exit hatch. and the bottom part under the cockpuit as a cargo hold. with the rail gun situated at the front end of the cargo hold ( in addition to the glider cannons it already has).

[marlowe54]

(nods) Indeed! Excellent suggestions. And yes, the British are exceptional when it comes to aircraft design. ^__^

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the side-view of the Abydos-class destroyer:

Kind of looks like a BC-304 on 'roids, maybe we should call it the Barry Bonds

[freyr's mother]

Noticed you neglected to mention China in that list..... of course China has never done anything bad in your eyes has it.....

Yeah, *cough* Tiananmen Square *cough*.

[zatniketel]

Question, how do we support ground based transportation in terms of fuel? Are these troop carriers going to carry large fuel bladders? Or are you proposing some sort of alternative energy source? I am wondering since most of these planets that are potential points of conflict don't have a road infrastructure, why ground based vehicles? Altitude is everything and why risk ground troops when you can hold a planet from space and bomb the snot out of them. And since cavalry is a concept, then use beaming technology to move troops around or some kind of orbital troop transport.

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

These craft are to give the ground troops more mobility once deployed, to act like "amphibious landing craft". They carry the initial troops in, who then secure areas for large-scale beaming in of reinforcements. In addition, they should be able to fit through a Stargate, thus making them perfect for emergency evac and resupply. They are also meant to provide more direct fire support for our troops, so that we wouldn't have to call in the big ships all the time.

I apologise for the mistake I made in it's dimensions-Translate that to an overall width of less than 5 meters (approx. 15 feet, to fit through the 'Gate), and a length of less than 60 feet. The other requirements stand, except for the rail gun. Replace that with a 60mm chain-gun turret, for use against ground personel and lightly armored vehicles and installations.

[Tealcfan]

With the threat of the Ori upon us, it seems clear that we're going to need to put everything we've got into producing a spacefleet that can pose a threat to them. That means large numbers of starships. That means, intensive resource and personnel management.

So, why not get the US Navy, who have considerable experience in building large, combat vessels, in on the Stargate Program? Among other military services. Not to mention, start developing newer weapons and technologies for use against the Ori and other threats in the galaxy.

First, let's discuss Earth's fledgling space fleet.

Building and Managing the US Space Fleet

The United States of America is the most powerful, economically and militarily, nation on the face of the planet. We began the Stargate program in the first place, and have acted as the leader of the world in most aspects related to it. Mainly because we have enough money, people, and resources to take up most of the burdens using the Stargate entrails. This is not arrogance-this is simple fact. We have money and resources to spare several times over in research and development, as well as a hell of a lot of firepower to work with. And we have the responsibility to use that power effectively and wisely, and so far we have. The BC-303 program, for instance. However, we can always do better.

The US Navy has large shipbuilding facilities. Presuming the Daedalus and other Earth starships are built modularly, a shipyard facility designed to move several-hundred-ton sections of ships to the right places for assembly is vital. Hiding it from the general public would be relatively easy: Use submarine construction facilities, which are covered over to be safe from satellites and prying eyes. Or, simply build each section separately, and bring them together in a secure, hidden location, so that any civilians assume they're parts for a normal vessel. Newport News Shipbuilding has the best facilities, including seven graving docks, a floating dry dock, two outfitting berths, five outfitting piers, a module outfitting facility, and various other shops. Plus, the largest dry dock in the Western Hemisphere, over 600 meters long-More than enough to house a Daedalus-class starship. To launch them, simply cloak the vessel and fly it out, rather like submerging a submarine and heading out.

Speaking of which, the US Navy's submarine crews are probably the best qualified out of all the US's military personnel to run a starship: Months on end in an enclosed space, with a hostile, airless environment surrounding you, with only sensor readouts and computer screens to tell you exactly what's going on outside. Adding submarine-style tactics to our space forces would be a big help (running silent, for instance). Plus, ballistic missile submarine crews know how to run a nuclear-powered vessel, that carries nuclear ordnance, and launches it via vertical-launch tubes. The training would also be a lot easier than with Air Force crewers.

Since our starships are, at the moment, combination battle-carrier-troop ships, crewing them with people who would already know how to run carrier operations, ship-to-ship combat, and landing troops on hostile shores would make things a LOT simpler, and cheaper. Not to mention faster. The Air Force is best at developing new technologies and managing spaceborne operations-The Navy is best at running ships, carrier operations, and troop landings. Probably, they have Navy personnel helping them right now, but making the Stargate Program a major part of all the services would make things run much more smoothly in many ways.

The US Army also has a lot of experience in ship and ship operations, believe it or not. They run troopships of their own, as well as sea-borne special operations. In addition, diverting a number of Army troops to Stargate operations would grant the SGC more manpower to go through a gate and engage enemy forces. You wouldn't have to nessecarily make them into SG-teams. The Army regulars would work in support of SG-Teams, providing more firepower and warm bodies that the SG-teams can guide and lead into this new battlefield.

The Army is also more experienced in armored combat. While most aliens we've faced have not used armored vehicles in combat, pulling troops from our forces who know how to fight with vehicles against infantry would give us a boost. Even a Prior would have some trouble against a group of Bradley fighting-vehicles supported by infantry. Finding a way to transfer a few light helicopters through the Stargate wouldn't hurt either. Until we make our own version of the Puddlejumper, we have to make due with what we've got.


International Space Fleet

Foreign assistance is something we've got to get running. The Russians, as a former superpower, have the ability to run nearly as many programs as the USA. They are already building their own space fleet-They have the needed facilities and isolated areas nessecary for such an operation, plus many facilities for the production of air/spacecraft, a great deal of space-support infrastructure, and plenty of ground troops and special ops for the SGC.

The British would have a bit harder time building their own spacefleet in the Home Islands-Remember, we have to keep these operations secret from the general public. The British have a few submarine construction facilities of their own, which would serve nicely to build smaller starships. At the very least, they can provide ground troops and supplies to the SGC, and crews for ships the US and Russia can build for them.

France can assist about as much as the UK, also given their high population density, but I think their resources would be better spent on building F-302s and other advanced craft. They have extensive aircraft production facilities with Dassault, and a bit more open space for secret development programs than Britain and other European nations. Plus, they have their own nuclear program, and could serve to help build missiles and reactors with naquada. We don't want to put all our eggs into one basket, after all, and the sheer cost of these programs would be a strain on any nation.

Canada would be very ideal for construction of starships-A great deal of their infrastructure is devoted to shipbuilding, and they have lots of open, sparsely-populated areas for secret testing and facilities. Plus, Rodney McKay came from Canada. 'Nuff said.

Japan would work best for developing and building newer weapons, computers, and other technologies. Not to mention a lot of components and smaller pieces of ships. Building full-blown starships in secret would be a bit difficult, except in small numbers.

China would be able to keep up with Russia in starship construction, as well as building a number of technologies and weapons systems, but I'd prefer we be a bit wary regarding China. They remain an oppressive regime, that no doubt would love to get their hands on advanced technology and use it to spread "the worker's paradise" to the rest of the Universe. Then again, maybe they'd finally get rid of the Communists in order to help the rest of their fellow Tau'ri defeat the menace that is the Ori. Or at least, focus on saving the galaxy rather than politics, which is something every nation should work on.

Multiple other nations involved in the spacefleet program could devote numerous resources: money, manpower, support, shipbuilding, training, refugee sanctuary-Far too numerous to cite here. As in the Atlantis expedition, every nation has something to contribute. Every person on the planet has the ability to help in saving the planet.


Fleet Order of Battle

Daedalus-class starships will be the primary "heavy" capital ship of the Earth fleet, as well as variations on that design. Prometheus-class vessels are a good choice for a smaller, slightly cheaper starship to be constructed. New starship designs, built with the basic components of the BC-303 vessels, are not out of the question, and would be cheap alternatives to an entirely new design of vessel. Destroyer, frigate, and armed support-type vessels could be built in this way. Focusing on the current starship designs is for simplicity and ease-Using what we already know and have will let Earth get a much larger fleet up in a shorter amount of time.

Ideally, every ship should be equipped with Asgard shielding and hyperdrive technology at the very least. Asgard sensor and transporter technologies also help, but are not as absolutely vital to combat, as demonstrated by the Prometheus in it's battle against Anubis's fleet.

Weapons systems, for the most part, will be modified missile types already available (such as Western AMRAAM missiles, and the Russian AA-series). These weapons will be equipped to be operated in space, and given naquada-enhanced warheads for ship-to-ship combat. Additional modifications could be the addition of inertial-dampening technology to give the missiles greater speed and acceleration, and add an extra EMP burst to their detonations. Sensor-avoiding technology would also help, but it would depend on the resources available.

Most ships can probably get by, defensively, with slightly-modified CWIS systems in use by naval vessels, like the US Phalanx-Vulcan and UK Goalkeeper. Combined with sensor direction, these systems can easily destroy most enemy fighters and munitions, and provide fire support for ground troops in a pinch. Small, defensive missile batteries, like the US RAM-116 system, would also be big helps. Rail guns would be available, and have already proven effective against Wraith Dart formations.

To prove effective against capital ships, however, rail guns need to be either upgraded in calibre, fire rate, or firepower. Upgrades in calibre would mean making a larger, heavier shell. This means more kinetic energy in the hit, which equals more damage. A faster firing rate means more hits in a smaller space of time, which can be as effective as bigger shells, but requires more ammunition. Firepower refers to increasing the power of the shells themselves-Such as giving them naquada-tips, which (as seen in "Singularity") can produce a pretty big bang when it hits a reactive substance (like, say, energy fields ).

Finally, support vessels: The F-302 is the front-line choice, but this does not rule out modifying existing aircraft with alien technology, or building new ones. Transforming an F/A-22 Raptor into a space-borne fighter would be rather impractical, but very sweet all the same.

TBC...

sry.. lost you at building and managing the us spacefleet

[Daryl Froggy]

These craft are to give the ground troops more mobility once deployed, to act like "amphibious landing craft". They carry the initial troops in, who then secure areas for large-scale beaming in of reinforcements. In addition, they should be able to fit through a Stargate, thus making them perfect for emergency evac and resupply. They are also meant to provide more direct fire support for our troops, so that we wouldn't have to call in the big ships all the time.

I apologise for the mistake I made in it's dimensions-Translate that to an overall width of less than 5 meters (approx. 15 feet, to fit through the 'Gate), and a length of less than 60 feet. The other requirements stand, except for the rail gun. Replace that with a 60mm chain-gun turret, for use against ground personel and lightly armored vehicles and installations.

will the turret be manned or un-manned? Also, is remote dialing of the stargate a possibility?

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

will the turret be manned or un-manned? Also, is remote dialing of the stargate a possibility?

The turret will be remote-controlled. Remote dialing is not an option yet. The ship is generally intended to go through the Gate when control has been achieved. Of course, we can always improvise...

[Daryl Froggy]

So I'd guess that means I can't have Ion drives on it can I?

[Andrew Joshua Talon]

It's going to be like our version of the Puddlejumper-Designed for rather short missions and to support big ships. Think of it like the off-world UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. Or a Huey. They'll operate from bases and ships, and not on their own since they won't have hyperdrives. So no, ion drives are a bit overkill. The F-302 doesn't use ion drives, and it gets by fine, right?

[Daryl Froggy]

One more question(I think) is it possible for this ship to have some type of anti-gravity unit similar to what the larger ships like the Daedalus use to hover in place or will we simply use swivel motors and inertia dampners to get a similar effect?