Subject:
|
Re: Dropship Role ( Was: Re: New MOC - Wyvern Dropship)
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.space
|
Date:
|
Sat, 2 Dec 2000 01:15:27 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
931 times
|
| |
|
|
:::Shaking fists in air, voice echoing into the sky::::
Damn you Muffin Head! DAMN YOU!!!
Just kidding. My total knowledge of the Aliens dropship is from the movie, but
my brother does own the book you're talking about. Whole lot of good it does
me.
The only think I can comment on (and have any hope of not getting slapped down
so hard my head will spin -AGAIN!) is that anti-personal weapons won't do much
good against a land based ion-cannon or such.
Beyond that, all I can think of is a "Quick! Look over there!" And I go off
running the opposite way.
<Grin>
Evil Wayne
In lugnet.space, Mark Sandlin writes:
>
>
> > From: "Wayne McCaul" <wmccaul@horizonhouse.com>
> >
> > Okay, here's my .02 cents (which has recently been devalued to .001 on the
> > dollar, but that's a different story).
> >
> > This could be getting more off track, but I believe it's a matter of
> > numbers. You're ship needs x amount-fuel to move y amount-mass and adding a
> > big guns changes both of those numbers.
>
> I'm not talking about adding big guns. Just a small antipersonnel turret
> that could fire a combination of grenades and (lasers or bullets).
>
> > Then, as your ship gets bigger to
> > accommodate, it becomes slower and a better target. And any dropship has got
> > to be one of the most juicy targets there are - a ship filled with soldiers
> > ready to invade? What could do more damage to the enemy's plans than to take
> > those out?
> >
> > So you want to get into battle fast; a lighter ship equals more
> > maneuverability. Any extra weight should probably be added as armor,
> > shielding, stealth and other defensive systems (chaff, ECCM's etc.) to
> > survive the drop. The number one priority here is getting the troops into
> > battle.
>
> I think the value of a small antipersonnel turret would be worth the
> increase in weight, and would not noticeably compromise flight
> characteristics or fuel usage.
>
> >
> > So whether or not you need fighters is up to the operation. If you've been
> > carpet bombing the enemy, you might not need them, simply flatten an area
> > you want to land in. If you're trying to get your troops on the ground
> > without turning the whole city into one giant charcoal briquette, then you
> > might need some air/space support to get your people in.
>
> Agreed, but unless you're going to have a special purpose fighter with a
> turret hover directly above your dropship for cover fire, the less expensive
> option would be to add a turret to your dropship.
>
> Remember, in the military, your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
>
> >
> > BTW: One thing you forgot about Aliens is that the dropship does require an
> > unusually large amount of support - mainly the Sulaco (sp?) which carried it
> > there and, presumably, anywhere else it's needed.
>
> The Sulaco carries dropships, but its role is much larger than just a
> dropship transport. It is designed to deploy troops and also maintain
> superiority over Space and Air. The Sulaco has anti-Space weapons as well as
> orbital bombardment weapons, which allow it to achieve total domination of
> the skies.
>
> The Sulaco's primary armament consists of eight XIM-28A ASAT
> (anti-satellite, read: orbiting vessels) missiles, which it uses as a
> first-strike weapon against orbiting enemy vessels.
>
> Secondary armament consist of two 800MeV turboalternator powered Neutral
> Particle Beam Cannons, firing into the starship's forward "cone," each
> capable of disabling a target's electronics and instrumentation at ranges up
> to 100,000 km.
>
> Short range armament consists of a dorsal and ventral turret, each mounting
> twin railgun launchers that fire kinetic ammunition at velocities of over
> 12km/sec. These are less accurate vs maneuvering enemy vessels than beam
> weapons, however, since a single hit from a railgun round is capable of
> inflicting catastrophic damage to a space target, they remain the most
> powerful close-range weapon in the Sulaco's inventory.
>
> Point defense is provided by the port and starboard laser turrets. These
> mount 80mW fee-electron laser capable of vaporising small targets such as
> railgun rounds, or disabling incoming fighters and missiles at ranges up to
> 20km.
>
> The main magazine forward of the shuttle launch bay stores the orbital
> bombardment ordinance. The Sulaco carries 80 free-fall guided-entry vehicles
> which are capable of carrying a variety of warheads from bunker-busting
> kinetic penetrators to high-explosive and nuclear, as well as decoys.
>
> > And what does that get
> > you? An APC and a couple of squads.
>
> The Sulaco has sufficent cryo-sleep capsules for up to 90 crew and
> passengers. The operation of the Sulaco and her sister Conestoga- class
> starships is fully automated. This effectively permits the vessel to pilot
> itself and fight space battles without the assistance of a crew, who might
> be incapacitated or in hypersleep.
>
> In Aliens, we saw that the Sulaco carried two dropships. Presumably, there
> was at least one more APC stored on the ship as well. I'm certain that there
> is sufficient space on the vessel for at least two more dropship/APC teams.
>
>
> > I admit, that's can be enough, but the
> > soldier-to-energy ratio is sort of high when a warship is needed to get a
> > dozen men anywhere.
>
> The squad sent to LV-426 was on a special assignment, so it should not be
> assumed that the Sulaco was operating with a full load.
>
> > (But I know what you mean about the dropship itself
> > being one bad-muther...)
>
> Indeed, the UD-4 Cheyenne dropship was designed as a combination dropship/
> ground-support gunship. I'll spare you the rest of the technical specs.
>
>
> ~Mark "As a matter of fact, I do own the Colonial Marines Technical Manual
> and I have the afternoon off" Sandlin
|
|
Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Dropship Role ( Was: Re: New MOC - Wyvern Dropship)
|
| (...) Yes, I have out-geeked you for the day. you just come back when you're ready for another geeking. (...) It's a fun book. I recommend any fan of Aliens buy it. (...) This is true, but a fighter might have a hard time with these too. Better (...) (24 years ago, 2-Dec-00, to lugnet.space)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Dropship Role ( Was: Re: New MOC - Wyvern Dropship)
|
| (...) I'm not talking about adding big guns. Just a small antipersonnel turret that could fire a combination of grenades and (lasers or bullets). (...) I think the value of a small antipersonnel turret would be worth the increase in weight, and (...) (24 years ago, 1-Dec-00, to lugnet.space)
|
17 Messages in This Thread:
 
  
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
