[FT] Defending with SMLs

I'm preparing a big FT scenario to run with my gaming group -- the first
time we'll have used the Fleet Book rules -- and I need some input.

The attackers are stock NSL ships -- my largest fleet.	The defenders
are a
mixture of NAC, ESU (maybe armed with a Heavy Beam Weapon or two; I
haven't
decided yet) and FSE -- my second largest fleet.  Basically, the
defenders
are going to need to get some refugee ships off the attacker's board
edge,
and the attackers need to prevent this.

I mentioned the "escort" rules that I intend to use in a post a while
back;
short form is that escorting ships will be able to interpose themselves
between their charge and a single attacking ship.

All-in-all, pretty straightforward.  But...about 50% of the defending
force
is FSE.  Armed with lots and lots of SMLs.  I have no experience gaming
with this weapon system, and I'm not sure if it is entirely suited for a
defending force.  I have about half a dozen Trieste class DHs; I've been
considering replacing the SML launcher (with two salvos) with a class
one
battery and three class twos (three arcs each).  This would give a total
of
two class ones and four class twos, and would seem to make it better
suited
for escort duty.  I don't want to redesign the entire FSE force, though.

Are the (inexperienced) defenders likely to have a problem?  If nothing
else, they will probably be out of missiles after the third turn, and
since
there's going to be close to a hundred ships on the table the game is
likely to last for a while.  My players DO prefer relatively slow
velocities -- 12" is considered to be dangerously fast in one of our
games
-- and I'll be using asteroids to encourage this, so the SMLs should
have a
good chance of hitting.