Re: Further thoughts on hitting with lasers

Binhan spake thusly upon matters weighty: 

> Fighters would probably stay thousands of km away from th target.  If
> anti-fighter defenses are so potent at ranges of .01 light seconds or
less
> then the obvious answer is not to get that close.  I would predict an
> increase in stand-off weapons that would allow fighters/bombers/attack
> craft to remain outside of the most effective defenses a ship could
mount.

Or else have so many fighters that they cloud the spacelanes.... (But 
that wouldn't be practical in any sane universe....)

> These might incude stealth munitions such as hyper-velocity stealth
> missiles that would have a really fast burn, maybe something that
imparts
> a velocity of several thousand km per hour and then coast into short
range
> of the target before firing a single pulse x-ray or particle beam
(Needle
> missile?) or detonating a large fusion warhead (normal missile)

And the missiles would have some limited manoevre capability 
themselves so that a straight ballistic track didn't work....

>	Fighters would definitely have to be heavily stealthed to have a
> chance to survive.  Although NORAD can track objects in orbit that are
> about the siz of a golfball, these are metallic, highly radar
reflective
> objects.  The F-117A for instance has the same radar signature as a
> metallic golfball a massive decrease in radar signature. 

BB I had heard. Golfball is the B-2. But I also heard that was only 
effective against modern radars and that by some quirky property the 
older radars would see it better (but that is a rumor). 

 I would assume
> that the B-2 has a similar reduction in radar profile.  The radar
profile
> on these planes has been reduced so much that IR and visual aspects
become
> bigger problems.  In space it would be much harder to reduce the IR
> signature of a fighter, active missile or even a ship since there is
no
> easy way to diffuse the exhaust.

Carry compressed liquid nitrogen or something and mix it with the 
exhaust.... (or something). Or get the fantastica drive that doesn't 
emit..... 

 Perhaps using multiple engines that are
> baffled from all directions except the rear might be a solution but
the
> enemy is still going to know that you're coming - a heat source of
> thousands of degrees kelvin showing up against a backdrop of 3 or 4
> degrees kelvin is going to kinda hard to miss, unless you dive out of
the
> sun...:)

Why do I feel like yelling Torah! Torah! Torah! and putting on a 
rising sun headband..... *Always check six, and watch for him to come 
in out of the sun....*
 
/************************************************
Thomas Barclay
Software Specialist
Police Communications Systems
Software Kinetics Ltd.
66 Iber Road, Stittsville
Ontario, Canada, K2S 1E7
Reception: (613) 831-0888
PBX: (613) 831-2018
My Extension: 2034
Fax: (613) 831-8255
Our Web Page: http://www.sofkin.ca
**************************************************/