Fluff question: ASF coverage

[Alain Dumont]

The fluff on several dropships notes that it's unwise to try to land said dropship unescorted, or something to that effect. 

What constitutes reasonable protection for a group of 2-3 Unions trying to land 'Mechs?  Are the 2 ASFs they can each carry sufficient as a group?   Should the golf balls be preceded by an assault aerodyne?  Or do most mercs and raiders simply try to burn in fast enough/far enough away to avoid contact entirely?

[Stormfury]

Most planetary defenders do not attempt to engage invading or raiding forces until they are in or near orbit. 'Mech units are assigned their air cover they have in order to repel attackers or take care of defenders when they go on the offensive.

That said, mercenary units are (usually, there are a handful of exceptions) short on ASF elements. Since the Great Houses have always made use of mercenary formations as sacrificial goats so their regular military does not suffer as badly, this probably provides defending forces with additional incentive to go after the mercenaries when they deploy with regular forces- easier prey coming in, and if you can get them before they land you can go after the real game.

To provide a more concrete answer, though, we need some more details; what is the defending force and intended landing site like? If the defenders are a bunch of infantry supported by a handful of tanks and all the enemy ASF have been taken care of, so long as the intended LZ is not in a location heavily mined by the defenders and surrounded on all sides with hidden positions, all should be good.

The larger and better-equipped the defenders are, the more problematic it becomes.

It should also be noted that what most captains want to avoid is having to put down under fire in order to disgorge troops. One of the advantages of 'Mechs is that they are readily deployed via combat drop, either from space inside a coccoon or inside atmosphere with a drop pack. Some of the best even deploy via hover-drop, where the DropShip halts just above the ground and unleashes its cargo; the Nova Cats are famed for their use of that maneuver.

Vehicle and infantry transports have a more difficult time of combat dropping their charges, and are the ones that are usually most susceptible to attacks while grounded. It's an even bigger problem given how many infantry and vehicle transports are Aerodynes.

Assault DropShips are relatively rare; they are held in reserve as defenders or deployed to particularly vital assaults. If the world is an important one or the unit they are going to one of high prestige, they may be able to garner such support. Mercenaries are even less likely to have one at their disposal.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

What constitutes reasonable protection for a group of 2-3 Unions trying to land 'Mechs? 

  That's where intel on the target is crucial- What would the defenders have? What you have to do is reverse the roles: If you had a planet to defend, what would you have and how would you use them?

Are you facing IS or Clan? IS forces are more dangerous in that they have more leeway in mass attacks against dropships while most Clan pilots would be interested in one-on-one duels against the defending ASF. Six IS ASF concentrating fire on a single Union could take it down in short order.

  If you are sneaking in for a raid you don't need any. If you expect ASF and conventional fighters, where will your ASF land once their dropships break atmosphere?

Are the 2 ASFs they can each carry sufficient as a group?

Against an alerted world? Most planetary defenses can field two or more conventional aircraft for each ASF in its inventory. Conventional fighters may be fragile but dropships are at their most vulnerable when they are on their final descent. Never underestimate conventionals.

 

Should the golf balls be preceded by an assault aerodyne?  Or do most mercs and raiders simply try to burn in fast enough/far enough away to avoid contact entirely?

  The last thing I would send after fighters would be a bomber.  I suggest a carrier and have it add to your fighters and act as an orbital base.

[Alain Dumont]

What prevents mercs from fielding ASF?  Is it simply a matter of cost, or availability, or something else?


Seems like if they can afford 'Mechs, they ought to be able to afford ASF, so I'm thinking maybe it's availability, or lack of proper facilities to support them, or some such.

[Stormfury]

AeroSpace Fighters are relatively rare. Nobody can get enough of them, and the Great Houses have the money to procure and pay more pilots and ASFs than anyone else.

'Mechs are a lot more easy to obtain, as are pilots for them.

[Colt Ward]

Just a note, look back for a topic of mine about a Leopard getting shot down . . .

It was done by a lance, in atmosphere.  The only damage to the fighters was the nose armor on a Seydlitz was shot off.  The merc ASF lance consisting of a LCF-R15, F-90, RGU-133E, and SYD-Z1 managed to shoot down the Leopard as it was trying to land reinforcements.  The Leopard had weapon bays, avionics and a thruster crit out, lost control, stalled and then plowed into the hillside.

Now I grant, nothing got internal, so the DS was recoverable . . . it was still a quick lesson on why contested landing is BAD.

[Alain Dumont]

That's my main concern...what sort of force do I need to have or hire in order to be reasonably prepared? 

I realize if the Wobbies are there with Warships, we're boned anyhow, but barring that, what's a reasonable level of precaution?

[Stormfury]

Whatever you can fit on your unit's assigned transports. Mercenary air cover is light at best, usually topping out at half what a regular military unit has at the same size.

[Alain Dumont]

Ok, thanks for the input.  Gives me something to work with.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

  If you are quipping a mercenary unit, the good news is that you can configure your equipment however you desire -There are canon all-ASF mercenary units, such as the Hell's Black Aces (an ASF regiment) upon which any unit may choose to model itself.

  As a unit commander, the only hassle about ASF is logistics -ASF armor isn't standard 'Mech armor so you need to reserve DS tonnage for the needed space for techs and other support requirements. ASF also need ground facilities if you want to maximize their ground attack capabilities in a timely manner- Operating an ASF wing out of DS in space is slow going and you cannot utilize underwing ordinance when you reenter atmosphere. When fielding ASF and aerodynes taking an airfield is crucial.

If you refer to any of the mercenary books you will see the evolution of the BT universe- From Mercenary's Handbook (FASA 1701) to the most recent publications the use of ASF has increased to where there are few, specialized units without ASF.

[serack]

actually they have changed that areo can carry ordanance past space/atmo barrier all areo are now considered to have internal bays for ordanance.

i did not know of this until a discusion on another thread :)

[Stormfury]

Yes.