On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 12:38 AM, Ian Whitchurch <xxxxxx@neumannspace.com> wrote:

Im pretty sure the 3I would discourage these sort of fixed defenses, as they make it much more difficult for some Imperial Navy or other to keep member worlds in line if necessary.

I suspect such installations would be run by the Navy.

They could also be worth having if you want to discourage small raiding forces but, for whatever reason, dont want to use SDBs.

SDBs are useful, too. However, the SDBs may be in use someplace other than in orbit over the world.

(Yes, one answer is "build more SDBs" but that doesn't eliminate the urge to move them out of orbit to deal with other jobs. If anything, more ships means more excuses to use them for other missions than "planetary defense from close orbit.")

Im a little unsure why a deep meson site is a better option than a very big SDB -

Nobody can retask your meson gun for other jobs in-system.

the sensor systems feeding them data are still vulnerable to orbital bombardment even if the site isnt.

Leonard covered this pretty well. Passive optical sensors. ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Another version: potentially, every satellite in orbit gets a government issued 1.0 liter box installed at launch. Maybe only 10% of them have real sensors. And the targeting box detaches from the satellite on command. It'll be a mess, but the defenders will have time to clean it up if they win...

But it doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. If you've got the budget, several of both, with the meson guns providing cover for the SDBs, out to the limit of their sensors and fire control.

For that matter, the SDBs make handy forward observers/fire direction centers, if you equip everybody with meson comms.

(It would be pretty cool for an SDB to paint something in orbit with LIDAR, and 30 seconds later, the target disappears in an expanding cloud of rapidly decaying subatomic particles. LIDAR in this case mostly for theatrical effect; passive sensors should give you an excellent firing solution already.)

"Any sufficiently advanced parody is indistinguishable from a genuine kook." -Alan Morgan