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Old 10-01-2017, 02:35 PM   #11
lwcamp
 
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Shooting defenseless targets, most likely. I'd expect TL10 sensors to have little trouble picking up 16 cm shells, and ballistic flightpaths make them come over the horizon at you high and dumb for easy point defense.
It's worth noting that the projectiles for the modern railgun project are designed to be maneuverable and guided. Among other things, they are envisioned to be capable of shooting down incoming missiles and enemy aircraft.

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Old 10-01-2017, 04:23 PM   #12
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

Would that make missile dogfights a thing?
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:26 PM   #13
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

With the submarine vs. surface ship question, another possibility is that everyone is visible, but the water provides decent protection, so everyone hides beneath it. Its like having a bunch of armor.

I suspect that with TL10 technology, all wars are either nuclear doomsdays where only truly stealthy forces survive, asymmetric conflicts where navies provide support roles, or limited engagements where the naval forces are used for bluster rather than starting anything that could trigger nukes. We don't know what the winning strategy for TL8 is, let alone TL10. The poster who suggests a number of strategies without knowing which one is right has a solid scenario.
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:30 PM   #14
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

If there is a good power source would a laser grid network knock down the missiles?
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:34 PM   #15
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

At TL10 there would be no surface ships. Every vessel in the navy would be capable of flight and submerging.
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Old 10-01-2017, 04:44 PM   #16
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

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At TL10 there would be no surface ships. Every vessel in the navy would be capable of flight and submerging.
Isn't that what they said about what naval tactics would be "now" back in WWII?
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Old 10-01-2017, 05:00 PM   #17
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

That sounds more TL 10^ than any reasonable TL 10. Compromises must always be made. Advanced tech just changes what those are.
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Old 10-01-2017, 05:10 PM   #18
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

What makes TL10 special such that it suddenly becomes a good idea to create an airframe that has a strong enough pressure hull to handle submersion? I think that my non-flying sub, my non-submerging surface ship, and my non-submerging airplane are individually much cheaper than the submarine airplane. They're probably cheaper enough that I can buy 2 or 3 of each for the cost of one submarine airplane. Each one is also more capable in its role than the multipurpose craft because it doesn't have the deadweight of features designed for the other two roles.

Multirole vehicles are rare in history because of the deadweight penalty problem. They're only developed for specialized uses when you really need to be multirole, like amphibious landing tanks or tilt-rotor aircraft. What changes at TL10? Living Metal doesn't show up until TL12 canonically, and even reconfigurable systems in Spaceships are TL11 and crazy expensive.
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Old 10-01-2017, 05:22 PM   #19
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

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At TL10 there would be no surface ships. Every vessel in the navy would be capable of flight and submerging.
That depends on what you think a navy is for. If you think it's for fighting other ships, sure. If the point of a navy is to be a mobile forward base for air, amphibious, and/or ground assets, it's going to be a slightly more durable freighter, and will operate on the surface. It also won't operate outside of zones where people are actually likely to shoot at it, unless the point is to put a target up there where shooting it is an act of war (arguably this is the point of navies by TL 7).
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Old 10-01-2017, 07:12 PM   #20
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Default Re: [Ultra-Tech] What would naval warfare at TL10 look like?

First I think there will be a big role for submarines, because not only are they stealthy, but the water acts as a lot of free armor for them.

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That depends on what you think a navy is for. If you think it's for fighting other ships, sure. If the point of a navy is to be a mobile forward base for air, amphibious, and/or ground assets, it's going to be a slightly more durable freighter, and will operate on the surface....
I think this is perhaps the most important question. What is the role for a TL10 navy. Traditionally, a navie's job has been to protect sea traffic, attack enemies sea traffic, attack land targets, and show the flag in distant colonial regions.. At TL 10, additional roles of attacking/defending undersea settlements might be added.

One needs to ask how many of those missions at TL 10 will be done by a wet navy, and how many will be done by air/space forces. It is easy to imagine a TL 10 setting where space based assets can target and attack surface ships, land targets, and possibly even submersible craft. Also, show the flag type duties would be reduced in worlds with rapid telecommunication and fast air travel. In such a setting a navy would have a very different job.

I am thinking of a large role for naval craft as floating mobile anti-air facilities. As listed above, another role would be for mobile bases as listed above. You could have a submarine with a blue-green laser strong enough to attack orbital targets and/or a hanger full of aerospace fighters. Bonus points if the aerospace fighters can be launched without surfacing. Its job would be to keep hidden until a conflict broke out and then attack orbital assets.
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