That doesn't mean that there's one at every planet. If there were there wouldn't be any "lost" planets.
Yet it does happen. It's just as risky for ASF and CF, which should be in plentiful supply to keep all those pirates and raiders from landing. There also wouldn't be any need to hire Mercs to defend against pirates. The functions of the SC depend entirely upon their design. Some are made purely for military purposes but even civilian ones can be
re-purposed.
Why must all planets have rare aerospace craft but far more plentiful mechs are completely absent? And why can only space-going craft make a recon flight? You can do that in a balloon.
If the risks were so great, why would anyone attack a planet to begin with? And military pilots who refuse to fight cease to be pilots. They become prisoners. Besides, they'd be escorted by the squadron of ASFs on the planet. And if the SC never take off, why wouldn't the pirates steal them too? And aircraft far more vulnerable than crop dusters have been used to spy on invasion forces.
"Lost" planets aren't lost because there are a lack of Jumpships. They're lost because they're not worth visiting by Jumpships.
Sure, a civilian SC can be repurposed, but for a defenceless SC it's far more risky than an ASF, not "just as". And there would still be plenty of need for mercs, because one SC or even ASF can't fight off a lance of Mechs let alone more.
You're not getting it, so I'll repeat what I said earlier: planets need at least one SC to do civilian extra-atmospheric stuff, maybe science experiments, maybe passenger interface with visiting ships, maybe maintaining the planetary positioning satellite net, what have you. Plus, it's established fact that many planets rely on conventional forces rather than Mechs, as the preference of Great Houses is to concentrate Mechs in viable numbers rather than spread them in penny packets across the whole universe. Same with ASFs. The lack of Mechs therefore doesn't preclude the lack of Small Craft.
I didn't say ONLY space-going craft can make a recon flight. You are welcome to do that in a balloon, and see what happens when you float that sloooooowly over the heads of the raiders.
What risks are you talking about? I was talking about the risk of an SC going up against raiders on a Dropship, occasionally with ASF support. You seem to think it's viable. I'm saying it's not. You work out the risks and tell me what you think.
You're right. Military pilots who cease to fight become prisoners. Was there a point you were trying to make with this information?
What squadron of ASFs?!?! There is NO squadron of ASFs in this scenario! I repeat, we're talking about a poor planet that can only afford to have a couple of SCs. Where in the world are you pulling a squadron of ASFs from?!
Try rereading the previous posts, think about what you're trying to propose, and write a coherent argument to support your proposition.
Mine is simple: Small Craft are space-going vessels more complex than Mechs and hence less numerous. However each planet has more need of at least one or two Small Craft than they are in need of Mechs. This is because Small Craft are highly useful for non-military civilian purposes whereas Mechs are not. Therefore each planet should have at least one or two Small Craft. However, it is unlikely that such civilian Small Craft are used in planetary conflicts, because they would contribute very little to the fight and deploying them risks an important piece of civilian equipment in what is essentially a suicide mission against inevitably superior destructive forces.
Hey I once with a friend designed and fluffed a "cropduster" support plan, that could with the right hardware be converted into a lowtech scout and ground attack plane. They sold well to backwater planets who could use the dual role crafts.
As long as the pirate in question have no more aerospace assets then Dropship, 1 even Sabre fighter can ruin a whole wings day
In which case the pilot(s) is probably trained as a dual-role operator, not just anyhoo local civilian pilot. I think the only time this could be useful is for a high-level recon flyby knowing the pirates don't have ASF of any kind. But how would one know that?
A whole "Mech lance or company" is what you're trying to say I think, not "wing". Well it's theoretically possible. But I wouldn't take the chance. Even a measly little Leopard has a big enough aft gun to punch out a Sabre.