Archives

Filters

Pearls of Weber

A collection of posts by David Weber containing background information for his stories, collected and generously made available Joe Buckley.

VLS cells for light units

The RMN is unlikely to adopt such a system. To build box launchers or cell launchers with the minimum grav drivers to get a missile beyond the wedge perimeter rapidly enough, each box launcher or cell would have to be roughly the same size as an existing conventional launcher, and there is a reason they can fit so few of those into a broadside. The actual broadside space used up by an energy weapon is small compared to the volume within the hull which has to be found for it; the actual broadside space required for a missile launcher is huge in comparison. I haven't worked it out, and I don't have all my tech notes with me during the signing trip, but off the top of my head, I rather doubt that you could fit more than 15-20 (and 20 is probably high) cell launchers into a DD's broadside, and that would come at the expense of its entire energy armament. Attempting to create a long-range combat platform with that little sustainable fire and no energy-range capability would be out of the question for any RMN planner. If they were going to do anything to alter the existing conventional DD's missile armament, it would almost certainly be to replace existing offensive capability with additional anti-missile capability to help screen the wall of battle or for seeding among LACs in the same "A.A. Umbrella" function. I do not anticipate their doing even that, however. They regard the DD as a basic, all-round work horse type of unit, able to perform all light unit functions with varying degrees of efficiency, and they will refuse to give up that capability. Most of the same arguments would apply to any Peep consideration of the system, though I'd like to keep my options open a little longer on considering their attitude.