Good morning, cadets! Welcome to the Astro-Naval Tactics course. I hope you’ve been enjoying your first few days of officer training and are looking forward to your future careers in the Joint Space Command.
Let’s begin with an introduction to modern space warfare.
It isn’t like what you’ve seen in the movies. There are no behemoth battleships slugging it out at ranges of a few kilometres. In fact, no one is slugging it out. I’ll tell you a secret: the warships you will, one day, fly aboard are so fragile that any battle will be decided by the third shot. The only defense that will spare your ship from being crippled by a single railgun round, or destroyed by a single missile, is to avoid being hit entirely.
The modern naval engagement is fought at ranges between 300 and 300,000 kilometres. No, let me correct myself - it is fought at ranges of several light-minutes. What happens when you are within weapons range is simply the finalisation of what happens in the real battle, the battle of detection, evasion, and prediction.
In order to initiate a battle, you must detect the enemy. This may sound simple, but it is not. They could be disguising themselves, jamming you, or simply running so dark and quiet that they are indistinguishable from the void of space. If you do not detect them, but are detected yourself, the enemy has the advantage and may destroy you at their leisure. A laser shot cannot be detected before it arrives, which means an undetected foe can remain stealthy until it is already too late.
In order to survive a battle, you must evade the enemy. This is the other side of detection. To ensure you see first, you must ensure you are seen last. Fly dark. Fire your engines only when it is necessary. Use tightbeam communications so you are not overheard. Maintain your ship’s stealth systems. Once you are detected, change course frequently to avoid railgun shots. Utilise jamming to throw off missiles and targeting systems.
In order to win a battle, you must predict the enemy. Strategically, use your intelligence assets, such as informants, drones, traffic control records, and so on to predict where your enemy may be found. A well-planned ambush is the most effective form of both detection and evasion: it allows the use of advantageous stellar terrain, of traps and deceptions, and of surprises. Tactically, read patterns and think ahead to predict where your enemy will be. This is how you can defeat evasion and land the hits that will win the engagement.
I won’t lie to you, cadets. This will involve hard work, hard thinking, a technical mindset, and in the field - a good deal of luck. In action, you can, at any moment, have your ship ruined beneath you, leaving you to suffocate drifting in space. This can happen with no warning at all. That’s if you put in your best effort and learn every lesson from this course.
If you don’t pay attention? It will happen to you.
Good morning. Welcome to the introductory briefing for the Starship Command Training Programme.
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the basics of spaceflight. If you are not, please raise your hand now and I will schedule you a flight back to school. Today I’m going to familiarise you with what actually happens in a fleet battle. You may think you already know, thanks to popular media. Most of that is inaccurate.
Let’s start with a simple, common element - ships exploding. There is a devastating blow, or the ship’s shields are worn down, and the whole thing detonates. In entertainment this is how every ship dies. In reality, this very rarely happens. In modern combat, ships are well-protected and have good structural integrity. While it may have been possible to destroy early pre-FTL starships with a single strike, today’s warships are defeated by attrition. Even a full penetration with a spinal lance weapon is unlikely to disable a capital ship; there are redundancies and backups, and you have a very low chance of hitting a fully-stocked arsenal and causing a runaway antimatter detonation. The ship will be damaged, crew will be killed, but it will not die. Even when totally beaten, a ship does not explode. It’s more likely that it will have been disabled by destroying all its weapons and knocking out its engines. With enough firepower concentrated in the right places it may even be broken into a few large pieces. But it’s very hard to instantly annihilate a warship. With that in mind, we turn to the strategies required to win such a battle of attrition.
First, Detection. You must find the enemy before you can kill them. Offensively, you must use probes, gravitic sensors, and good planning to locate the target. Space is very big, and unless you are both in jump space at the same time, finding something that isn’t in the same system is a hard task. Defensively, you must hide yourself, using signature masking, well-timed jumps, and the cover of interstellar geography.
Second, Interdiction. Any enemy ship will be equipped with a jump drive. You must either catch them in normal space and prevent them from jumping, or use missiles to knock them out of jump space. If you can’t fix the enemy in place, they can simply leave as soon as you start winning. We’ll go over the mechanics of interdiction in a later class.
Third, Positioning. Once the enemy has been located and interdicted, you must position your ship so that your weakest defenses are least exposed, while allowing your firepower to be fully unleashed on the enemy’s weakest defenses. In a fleet battle, positioning becomes even more important - you must also consider the positions of other enemy ships, and ensure your own fleet is positioned to best support you. Positioning was our greatest advantage in the War. League battlegroups had good initial positions, but were very rigid. Our tactical jump technology allowed our ships to rapidly re-position and exploit the enemy formation’s weaknesses.
Now, let’s try putting these principles into action in a small-scale practical exercise.
Greetings, commander. Welcome aboard AAQS Feerliz Endjen. This is your ship speaking.
I am a first-cohort Feerliz Endjen-class corvette, of which I am very proud. I was launched three years ago by the Cayd Rock Fleet Shipyard, and have spent the intervening time training and working up.
I understand this is your first time commanding a warship. Allow me to explain how I will operate under your command.
As a ship of the Cayd fleet, I am capable of fully autonomous flight, including landing, docking, faster-than-light travel, and precision maneuvering. Simultaneously, I can command my onboard complement of drones and Huskarls, and control my internal systems, without any loss of performance. I am also capable of engaging in ship-to-ship combat when so authorised by my commander.
Despite my ability to operate independently, it is my duty to carry out your orders exactly and without question. Further, it is my duty to protect you and assist you in your own duties for the throne of the Rock.
I will now run a systems check.
All sublight engines are online and ready to provide full thrust. Stationkeeping is currently relative to Cayd Rock.
My jump drive is online and can initiate a jump in less than five seconds.
All particle lances are operational and can be made ready in under two seconds.
All secondary particle guns are operational and can be made ready in less than one second.
My gravitic arrays are online and ready to operate at full capacity.
All missile launchers are loaded and ready to launch, although warheads are not armed.
My long-range and short-range superluminal sensors are online in all spectrums.
My long-range and short-range superluminal signals arrays are online in all spectrums.
All shield generators are online and operating at 50% power, with 100% available.
My main and secondary power systems are online and operating at 12% of maximum load.
All internal systems, including life support, are operating normally.
75% of my drone complement is aboard, and 25% are deployed as part of my local network. 5% of those aboard are currently in scheduled maintenance.
100% of my Huskarl complement is aboard, with 20% active and 10% in scheduled maintenance.
Matter stores and provisions are at 89%. I can sustain five people for up to 20 years without resupply, although I am capable of self-replenishment from ambient resources.
I am currently tracking 53 objects in controlled flight within 1,000 kilometres, and a further 3,798 within 1 AU. I am tracking 6,322 objects over 5 centimetres in length in uncontrolled flight within 1,000 kilometres. None of these objects appears to present a threat. I am in communication with 21 elements of the Cayd fleet within this system.
According to all parameters, I am ready for any potential mission. Would you care to brief me on our first deployment together?