GUN ROF/PULSE LASERS/PD/RAILGUNS/IR FOLLOWUP MISSILES

[Caseck]

Using either mass-drivers or liquid propellent plus projectile, or multiple main guns, it should allow the guns a higher rate of fire.

This would allow them to be more effective against point defenses.

On the point defense side, I would use a VRF Gauss gun instead of a beamer for higher rates of fire. It would allow more rapid engagements of targets. (At the price of having finite ammunition.) LADAR fire control means automatically spotted when PD fires.

The lower energy requirements would allow them to be mounted on more vehicles as well.

Also, do point defenses have firing arcs?

High wattage beam or pulse laser-tanks in the release? Yeah, it's a lot of waiting on batteries/capacitors, but still... Unparralleled range and accurracy! Heavy hitting.

Laser artillery using "mirrors?"

Chaff rounds to blind point defenses? [i'm talking 120mm rounds] Or multiple warheads on main-gun-rounds?

Ladar point defenses and detection thereof? Laser detectors/ranging/diretion?

Slew-to-cue (as on M1 Abrams?) turret automatically slews to direction round impacts tank from?

[ June 03, 2006, 09:20 PM: Message edited by: Caseck ]

[Redcon-5]

quick note: The auto slew on he Abrams is directed by the TC. He picks the new direction and once the gun is fired it moves to the new direction. It is not fully automated (YET )

[Caseck]

Nukes?

(Weren't O.G.R.E.s nuclear armed?)

[ June 03, 2006, 07:21 AM: Message edited by: Caseck ]

[Caseck]

Forgot to mention, a PULSE laser would act more like a conventional round. It would have a specified penetration of steel it could vaporize. Not an ablative type weapon like the BEAMERS.

(More like the effect of a long-range plasma beam, of the type a HEAT round generates...) If you've ever seen the "beam" from a shaped charge it looks just like a 50m incredibly straight fork of lightning.

[R/L: Courtesy of the US Army providing me with 84mm HEDP delay fuzed rounds to bounce off of tank hulks, and watch detonate in midair... RAAWS.]

Plus, unless it's a multi-lens type laser, the lens would have a cooling period after it shot. (Concurrent with the battery/capacitor probably not a big deal.)

[ June 03, 2006, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Caseck ]

[Caseck]

PULSE lasers: I would assume putting that much energy through that small a space would have a similar thunder-type sound effect by ionizing the air. Similar to lightning.

Would be cool to hear in an environment with atmosphere.

Beam divergence/attenuation depends very much on atmospheric density. If the atmosphere is very thick, it would cause the beam to spread out, and it WOULD have an effect similar to a very powerful beamer.

If you like using your laser tank on VENUS anyway.

[Caseck]

And of course, in a vaccuum, beamers and pulse lasers should be invisible.

And flames on vehicles [in a vaccuum] from oxygen fires should look more like a blowtorch. Smoke would cloud in more of a ball instead of rising straight up through convection...

[ June 03, 2006, 09:08 PM: Message edited by: Caseck ]

[Caseck]

Ah, I love Sundays. Nothing to do except run, workout, play raquetball, and post on my favorite SCIFI forum...

IR FOLLOW-UP MISSILES:

Requires:

1 ATGM equipped with flare/strobe.

1+IR followup missiles, tuned for appropriate flare/strobe.

Simple. "Lead" ATGM launched. Followup missiles launched subsequently. Followup missiles follow flare/strobe [i.e. guidance] of lead ATGM all the way to impact.

Just like multiple warheads to combat reactive armour, except separate missiles. Hit same location as lead missile. If the lead missile gets shot down, followup missiles go ballistic. Maybe they hit... Maybe they don't. In effect they become a close sheaf of artillery if the "Lead" missile doesn't make it. If "lead" missile outright misses, IR followup missiles will follow to point of impact. Bigger space between missile "train"=looser sheaf.

IR followup missiles are simple and cheap. They can be fired by either the "Lead" missile launcher, or by other units able to see departing missile flare/strobe.