Subcompact jumpships what do?

[kashim12]

I'm read about the Subcompact jumpdrive and I know that the only ship that used it was the Bugeye.  That was the only use of it that I'm aware of.  Say your faction has the tech and the logistic infrastrure to build them in good numbers what would you use them for?

[Hellraiser]

The Bugeye pretty much called it.

Recon/Surveillance would be #1

#2 might be "Assassination" on the epic scale.
Jump in, launch a few nukes, jump out.
No one saw anything but an unmarked cargo ship.
Basically a Mule-Q w/o the need of its own Jumpship.

Problem is the cost, if it wasn't for the SL being rich, I doubt anyone makes these since both functions can be done if your willing to use some stealthy designed DS with a JS.
Something like the Clan Hunter-LFB or Tramp-LFB would both work well as JS in this role to get out quick even if they have not been charging their drives for a full week.

[kashim12]

Wouldn't they be good for use as patrol vessels?  That's if you could bring the stupid costs down. I'm thinking turn them into pocket warships, with cap missiles and sub-capital weapons.

[Giovanni Blasini]

The cost is probably just too high for that, and you could build more capable 100,000 ton patrol ships at a fraction of the cost.

That said, they’d also make viable special operations platforms for raids if built out right, due to their small size and emergence signature.

[Cannonshop]

I'm read about the Subcompact jumpdrive and I know that the only ship that used it was the Bugeye.  That was the only use of it that I'm aware of.  Say your faction has the tech and the logistic infrastrure to build them in good numbers what would you use them for?

Tech and infrastructure?

Point them outward from the periphery, in numbers, survey for habitable worlds, find a world, use the rest of the infrastructure to get the hell away from the crazy people, build another yard, keep going.  Most of human space is so fought over and used up, it's literally not worth keeping or fighting over.

[Fallen_Raven]

I'm read about the Subcompact jumpdrive and I know that the only ship that used it was the Bugeye.  That was the only use of it that I'm aware of.  Say your faction has the tech and the logistic infrastrure to build them in good numbers what would you use them for?

Lying about production to siphon off the budget for more useful projects. They are far too expensive to be useful when you could get a real Warship or several conventional Jumpships for the cost. Practically speaking, the absolute best use for sub-compact drive technology is to submit the designs to your enemies procurement office.

[kashim12]

So Recon and Raids if done right,  What about a stealth Special Operations support build?

[Hellraiser]

So Recon and Raids if done right,  What about a stealth Special Operations support build?

Honestly, all 3 can be on the same platform.

Any Raid/Spec Ops is going to want a lot of Recon gear to stay stealthy & see/find anything.
A single Cap Missile launcher allows for sabotage on a Nuclear scale.
Finally Spec Ops just needs some extra crew quarters & a Small Craft bay or 2.

[kashim12]

Honestly, all 3 can be on the same platform.

Any Raid/Spec Ops is going to want a lot of Recon gear to stay stealthy & see/find anything.
A single Cap Missile launcher allows for sabotage on a Nuclear scale.
Finally Spec Ops just needs some extra crew quarters & a Small Craft bay or 2.

But wouldn't Spec Ops need for stealth for Insertions and Retrievals?

[Hellraiser]

But wouldn't Spec Ops need for stealth for Insertions and Retrievals?

Its a Dropship sized unit.
The only "Stealth" your going to get is to visually look like another ship, have comparable size to another ship, and pack in a lot of electronics that are pure "fluff" instead of game rules.
There isn't real stealth in space, there is just looking like you belong there.
Appear to be a cargo ship off loading a small shipment via small craft but really inserting/recovering a Spec Ops team is all you can do.

And that entire profile of at most 2 Shuttles & some extra Steerage quarters is going to be under 600 tons in terms of construction stats.

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

Speaking of the electronics, most dropships or bigger military vessels are able to generates ECM by themselves, without need for an additional gear.

Since sub-compact warships are capped at 25,000 tons, they are ill suited for anything related with combat. As said above you better have a patrol warship that resembles civilian jumpships. Even the 10,000 tons assault dropships are far better combatant.

Well, at least the lighter weight gives an advantage - it generates less traces when they jumps.

[Cannonshop]

Speaking of the electronics, most dropships or bigger military vessels are able to generates ECM by themselves, without need for an additional gear.

Since sub-compact warships are capped at 25,000 tons, they are ill suited for anything related with combat. As said above you better have a patrol warship that resembles civilian jumpships. Even the 10,000 tons assault dropships are far better combatant.

Well, at least the lighter weight gives an advantage - it generates less traces when they jumps.

That depends thoroughly on what you're packing in the few weapons bays you've got.  If it's energy weapons? you're absolutely right, same for most ballistics that might fit.

but, y'know...strategic mobility plus nuclear ordnance changes things quite a bit, and while you can pack more on a dropship, that dropship can't go anywhere out of the system without a fragile jumpship to carry it, and can't pull in-system jumps on it's own, and CAN be lured into the wrong position to be of any value whatsoever as a defense unit simply by responding to your arrival.

By the time he gets to where he can respond to you for real, you've already accomplished your mission and he's shit out of luck.  Pull the local defenders into responding in one direction with the ultralight, and drop your invasion in where they aren't, or conduct your raid where he can't make interception in a reasonable amount of time because he was responding to a light strike bird.

or if he doesn't you can do fun things to his shipyards and other strategic assets, cripple his trade economy, attack his bases...see, you just need some imagination here-in a straight fight, sure, but if you're giving a straight fight you're using it wrong.

[wolfgar]

and the bugeye in MML is so damn buggy (pardon the pun) that you really can't work on adapting it that well

[Daryk]

Cannonshop has the right of it... Strategic mobility plus nukes is a "win" button every time.  I can only imagine the terror a Kowloonese sub-compact ship could unleash without being caught... 

[beachhead1985]

I'm read about the Subcompact jumpdrive and I know that the only ship that used it was the Bugeye.  That was the only use of it that I'm aware of.  Say your faction has the tech and the logistic infrastrure to build them in good numbers what would you use them for?

Thanks for this!

I totally missed this tech in developing my own version for a non-canon missing link between a warship-scale "Armed transport" and a very large jumpship.