Author Topic: Navy Special Operations Command (Rapid Tactical Response Unit re-titled)  (Read 2693 times)

maxcarrion

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Navy Special Operations Command (Rapid Tactical Response Unit re-titled)

The previous thread I did on the Rapid Tactical Response Unit highlighted that what I was designing in my head was not, in fact, a rapid tactical response unit but a Covert Special Operations Command.  As such I’m moving it over here to continue the project and re-entitling it Navy Special Operations Command (NSOC)

Old Thread https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63178.0

The Navy Special Operation Command is a covert platform from which sudden, unexpected military actions can be launched – analogous with a current day Navy Seals/Marine Commandos/SAS style force with an interplanetary reach.

A single Command will be housed in a customised civilian aerodyne dropship to allow it to blend into civilian traffic and make covert, in atmosphere hot drop insertions, as suggested in the original thread I’m going to go with a Buccaneer

The Command will be primarily a BA force mounted in WIGE IFV (up to 50T) which will act as Transport and Armour element – some transport, support and additional functions will be provided by small craft and other WIGE vehicles with VTOLs planned to act as sky cranes.

 - 60 suits of PA(L) armour will protect Engineers, computer techs and other light combat units
 - 60 suits of medium BA will provide main line infantry units
 - up to 60 tons of heavier BA will be carried to assault heavier targets – especially hardened anti air targets that cause a disproportionate threat to the WIGE IFV
 - 18 WIGE IFV each with 5T of infantry space will carry either 10 PA(L) or 5 Medium suits into battle
 - 6 IFV will have a more substantial (10T) infantry carry to allow them to land the heavier BA in full squads
 - 6 Combat Vehicles will provide support (2 arrow IV WIGE, 2 recon WIGE, 2 recovery VTOL)
 - 2 aerodyne small craft, each with 2 small vehicle bays will allow the combat vehicles to be moved around with ease.

I'll start putting out threads for custom designs later in the week

namar13766

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Are you going to link the new designs here?

maxcarrion

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28 SDR-1 Shadow Drake Omni WIGE allow NSOC to modify their drop force based on requirements
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63815.0

60 Suits of second generation "SEAL" PA(L) suits protect enigineers, technicians, specialists and light infantry
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63801.0

30 "Strike" suits give a general infantry capability to the force
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63802.0

30 Fast Quad "Greyhound" suits provide fast, stealthy, versatile ground units
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63803.0

30 "Ravager" Heavy Combat Quad Assault BA (not named in source so I have added it)
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=63803.0

Not specced
2 lift VTOL (heavy VTOLS with lots of lift hoists to retrieve 50T WIGE's)
2 aerodyne small craft (after light vehicle bays there will not be a lot of space for much else)
1 Buccaneer dropship (Take a buccaneer and fill it with bays to fit for this crew
1500T for 30 light vehicle bays
400T for 2 small craft bays
leaves 400T for better quarters, cargo/mission equipment, spares etc - this is pretty sparse where the crew could easily get over 250 (150 BA operatives are not going to live in the Shadow Drakes), ~100 bay personnel/vehicle crew etc.  I would suggest that the NSOC rarely operates at maximum capacity as it would be unsustainable for more than a few weeks but even 1 empty vehicle bay increases cargo capacity substantially.  Normal operations might be 2/3rds capacity.  At full capacity 4 light vehicles could be emptied into the shuttles to free up 4 vehicle bays for cargo but things get very cramped


Daryk

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Since those WIGE's have 20 tons of pod space, a 30 ton combat VTOL could carry them as external cargo...

maxcarrion

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*searches through rules*

Am I right in thinking that a 30t Vtol can mount 4 lift hoists and lift up to 60t?  That'd do it and still provide a combat unit rather than a support one

It'd also allow you to lift it with pods fitted

Daryk

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Yep... I asked that very question (among others) in the rules forum some time back.  My point about the pod space was that a 30 ton combat VTOL could do it without lift hoists...

maxcarrion

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OK, so I’m just going to do a little fleshing out around numbers and organisation

The organisation seems an appropriate size to be referred to as a Battalion so should be headed up by a Lt Col or full Col.  We’ll then split into

Battalion Support
Modified Buccaneer dropship – 12 crew including Col
2 Small Craft (in bays) – 8 crew including techs
2 Carryall VTOLs (housed inside small craft as standard) – 4 crew/techs
Total Support team = 24
Total Hardware Weight – 400T assuming VTOLs counted as “in” Shuttles – 100T of unused cargo space in Shuttles (est)

NSOC Company
8 Shadow Drake WIGE – 32 crew – I’ve reduced this from 10 as it was very tough to fit 10 and all the extra crew; all the BA will fit into 6 Alpha + 2 Bravo (or 5 Bravos allowing 3 additional loadouts)
20 SEAL PA(L) – 20 crew
10 Strike Med BA – 10 crew
10 Greyhound Med BA – 10 crew
10 Ravager Assault BA – 10 crew
Total NSOC Company headcount – 82
Total Hardware Weight 400T assuming BA stored inside WIGE (48T of BA total including 50 pilots)

Buccaneers are fluffed as having 3 cargo bays, a 1000T port a 1000T starboard and 300T spaced out above the transit drive.

If we quarter the 2 large bays we can have 500T each for 3 companies and 500T for the Battalion support – so lets start
Port Bay
2xSmall Craft Bay 400T
8xLight Vehicle Bay 400T (first company vehicles)
Supplies Bay 200T – used for materials most likely to be transferred into the craft bays or needed for first company vehicles

Starboard Bay
8x Light Vehicle Bay 400T (second company vehicles)
Main Bay 600T

By making the 4th quarter a cargo bay this bay “can” be used to house a whole 3rd company but for longer duration missions can also store substantial supplies and spares – practically speaking a Buccaneer will likely only house 2 companies most of the time and even when carrying a full 3 will rarely suffer from having to transfer the WIGE into 2nd companies vehicle bays for drops.

The final 300T we’ll turn into living quarters
1x10T stateroom for the Col = 10T
4x7T 1st class for ranking officers = 28T (nominally 3 company captains and ships captain)
30x5T steerage quarters for Low ranking officers and NCOs = 150T
3 Infantry Bays per Company (96 capacity each) + 1 Bay for additional crew = 50T
Brings us to 238T with 62T of space for further amenities (kitchen, infirmary, gym, small arms armoury etc. and a little cargo stowage near the quarters)

Daryk

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A Colonel commanding SEALs? Blasphemy!  :D

Intermittent_Coherence

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I think you have this backwards. SEALS and SAS are in fact covert special ops. For the most part so are Marine raiders.

For rapid tactical response what you might want to use as model is Task Force Ranger from Black Hawk Down.
You'd have a small core of Tier 1 units(SEALS, SAS or Delta) backed up by much larger Tier 2 units(Ranger or Marine Raiders/Force Recon).

Their mission profile would be more getting your foot in the door, setting up a beachhead and keep the enemy off balance while you muster larger conventional forces.

maxcarrion

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I think you have this backwards. SEALS and SAS are in fact covert special ops. For the most part so are Marine raiders.

For rapid tactical response what you might want to use as model is Task Force Ranger from Black Hawk Down.
You'd have a small core of Tier 1 units(SEALS, SAS or Delta) backed up by much larger Tier 2 units(Ranger or Marine Raiders/Force Recon).

Their mission profile would be more getting your foot in the door, setting up a beachhead and keep the enemy off balance while you muster larger conventional forces.

I would say that the intended mission profiles are very much in line with modern SEAL or SAS mission profiles but that the unit sees significant changes as it cannot rely on other services for support – you can’t do a HALO drop from an army Hercules, take out a target, then extract via marine Black Hawk back to a Navy destroyer off the coast if the Army, Navy and Marines have no presence within the system so the NSOC has to bring enough options to be able to take care of business.  I’ve listed some previous SAS/SEAL missions that I think are very analogous with the expected profiles I was planning for NSOC but NSOC also needs to provide transportation in and out and backup if things get messy. 

Operation Crusader (SAS, 1941) 65 men are para dropped behind enemy lines and attack 4 airfields destroying over 60 aircraft.  In some ways this is the typical mission I had considered for NSOC

Embassy Siege (SAS, 1980) A small unit of men assault a building, eliminate a hostile force and free hostages

Gambia Hostage Rescue (SAS, 1981) A small unit of men rescue hostages from armed hostile forces

First Gulf War (SAS/Marine Force Recon 1990) Small units dropped behind enemy lines to do recon, destroy strategic objectives and guide precision munitions to target

Operation Neptune Spear (Navy SEALs 2011) Small units penetrate fortified compound to eliminate terrorist leader

D-Day Landings (NCDU, later SEALs 1944) Small unit of demolition experts clear obstructions in preparation for a massive assault

Vietnam (SEALs 1965-72) Training indigenous populations (less likely from NSOC) and carrying out ambushes, hit and runs, rescue and recon missions

First Gulf War (SEALs 1990) Planted explosives along the cost to convince enemy forces that an amphibious invasion was imminent causing the defenders to commit their troops in the wrong direction for the actual overland thrust.

 

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