Re: [FT] UNSC

stranger wrote:

> I've often wondered about this.  If the UNSC is formed up from the
member
> nations, then it seems that its technology would be limited to what
the
> member nations donated.  IN fact, considering its funding, personnel,
> logistics etc come from member nations, I would have thought the UNSC
to be
> actually weaker than the member navies, especially considering that
the
> member nations are at war, and have thus a huge build-up.  The UNSC,
at
> least as I understood it, is a defensive force, charged with policing
the
> core-worlds.	I imagined that the UNSC's strength was actually in its
> ability to tip the balance, considering its third-party neutral
status.  No
> one seriously challenges the UNSC because they can't afford to lose
ships in
> a battle against them, nor can they afford the sanctions that would be
> imposed.

All very good points, but there is another one to consider.  Each of the
member
nations has its own strengths and weaknesses (NSL are beam-whores, but
few/no
screens, FSE are missile/fighter heavy, NAC goes for all-around ship
design,
etc.), but the UNSC could be unfettered by such rigid design doctrine. 
IMNSHO,
the fleet which most closely approaches this is the ESU, but even they
have an
aversion to missiles and torpedoes.  If we assume that the UNSC is
getting its
basic tech and components from the other member-states, then it is also
not
unreasonable to assume that they would therefore have more money to use
for
research, and possibly/probably people dedicated to improving their tech
so that
the member-states will listen to them when need be.  I envision the UNSC
as a
smaller fleet, given their mandate of preventing conflict within the
core
colonies, but with ships that are, unit for unit, more powerful than
those of
other navies.  In other words, another navy or navies could conceivably
smoke
the UNSC if they so chose to do so, but would probably take such
grievous losses
that they would be easy meat for the remaining powers, which lines up
nicely
with your "neutral third party" statement.  Besides, the UNSC no longer
rotates
personnel from the member states following the defection of the limey
who stole
the torpedo schematics, but instead recruits people who will be loyal
only to
and serve only the UNSC.

Mark

>
>
> George