Chris Campbell wrote:
And realizes "oh wait, that's silly, since I can just snipe out my
foes from half a star system away." We will never, ever need to mount
weapons on mechs for space combat. It isn't just an issue of mech
design, either -- we simply won't use small craft *at all* when it
comes to space combat. The scales involved make the idea ludicrous.
I'd say you're probably right, barring any sort of energy shielding or
maneuvering ability countering long-range fire. For example, one of the
main ideas for knocking down ICBMs was/is orbital lasers. Not because
they're cool but because the ICBMs can't dodge on the way up. Nice easy
target, burn it out of the sky. Now, if the ICBM was capable of
maneuvering well enough to avoid any long-range attack, then what?
So, if a space colony or battleship had a usable shield then sniping
gets you nowhere. You must close in and use something else. Targets
get smaller or get shielded. As with most combat, you're either in it
to destroy or capture. Destroy, sure, poor everything you have into it
until it explodes or fails. But capture? Like, a space colony or
individual ship? And if it's shielded?
Now, I'm introducing more outlandish crap but if we're already accepting
space colonies, mechs, ships and space combat then why not?
Very unlikely, since any society capable of building mechs will
already have superlative dedicated combat vehicles at its disposal.
The notion of needing mechs to do the job is, well, baroque at best.
Depends on the need, as has been brought up. Not having served in a
military unit that is based on an orbiting space colony and with
specific goals that have nothing to do with Earth-based warfare, I
couldn't predict how useful mechs could be.
Alfred.
--
--
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"Success is not no violence."
- President Bush, on trying to find a way to be able to claim future
progress and success in Iraq without having to achieve the
complete victory he used to state as the only acceptable goal.
Alfred Urrutia - Digital Domain - 310.314.2800 x2267 - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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