EW

Hello Again

On the topic of EW, I'd very much like to see a two tier system. By
that, I
mean a system that features a type of very simple EW (as suggested by a
number of people who eschew SFB EW) and another tier that integrates
relatively smoothly and allows a more advanced resolution of EW that is
more
full featured. 

Various goals have been stated, and can be summed up as:
	1) Keep (a basic) system simple
	2) Use classed (Class-1, Class-2, etc) systems so as to permit
scaleability and to follow FT doctrine
	3) Use d6 so that all those poor FT-only players who only have
D6
don't have to buy more dice <*wink*>
	<I'm only kidding - FT has a D6 flavor to it so it makes
sense...>
	4) Not invalidate existing designs. 

What possible areas do we need to cover:
Search Sensor Suites
Fire Control Suites
Stealth
Decoys
Jammers
Cloaking Devices
Doppelganger Systems
Civilian Systems (assuming they differ from military)
Active vs. Passive
EMCON levels

Search Sensors: Used to locate objects in space. By 2183, this suite can
be
taken to include Electromagnetic Scanning (EMS) systems (covering pretty
much the whole EM spectrum) as well as Gravitic Sensors which pick up
distortions in local space. Generally, these provide information of the
variety "there is something there" at the furthest ranges, and as you
close
in "this is what it might be" until you get to the closest range and you
get
"this is what it probably is". Because it is a composite suite of
sensors,
it picks up emissions, gravitic signature, any reflected radiation from
hulls, etc and it works in concert with existing shipping databases to
help
estimate what the most likely target class for the given combination of
gravitic signature, emissions, and reflected signature indicates. These
are
systems designed to scan wide areas of space in a more generalized
manner.
Search Sensors would be operate in both passive and active modes.

Fire Control Sensors: These systems are used to "illuminate" a target
system
- to get a hard lock for intelligence and for targetting upon an object
previously identified (usually) by Search Sensors. This is a narrow scan
system with a higher, more focused power output than that employed by
active
Search Sensors. Fire controls are an active system. 

Stealth: Stealth includes a series of technologies on a ship which
restrict
its emissions (shielded hull) and help absorb or deflect away from the
source incoming active scans. This system may also include technologies
to
fox gravitic sensors and to fox visible light scans. Stealth is
effectively
a passive system.

Decoys: A decoy is an object which appears to be a ship and which may be
carried by a ship in order to fool enemy ships targeting - though the
decoy
is likely to be seen-through at closer ranges. A decoy is an active
system.

Jammer: An active system designed to mess up a target ships sensors and
fire
control systems. It can be applied (at a reduced effect) to an area of
space, rather than focused opon a single target. It can confuse all
varieties of sensors. 

Cloaking Systems: Stealth is a form of cloaking, but the cloaking
systems in
FT would be considered a phased-cloak in ST parlance (roughly). They
represent the formation of a small pocket universe which effectively has
some correspondence with the real universe, but while in this pocket
universe, no ship can see out, nor can that ship be seen. Though one
would
think this is an active system, it removes the ship it protects from our
normal space so it is not an active system as far as locating it. 

Doppelganger Systems: Systems that let battleships fake the electronic
and
gravitic signature of escorts, and escorts fake the electronic and
gravitic
signatures of battleships. These are active systems. 

Civilian Systems: Civilian ships tend to be equipped with far lower
quality
sensor suites than the simplest military vessels. They often tend to
have a
reduced range of sensitivity and their instruments tend not to be as
acute
as their military counterparts. 

Passive vs. Active: Active scanners give one a better resolution and a
greater chance to detect targets. However, they tend to illuminate one
as
the source of emission and therefore lighting up active scan systems is
like
announcing "I'm over here!" to the world. Passive scanners tend to have
poorer resolution, depend more on inferrential conclusions, but provide
a
higher degree of anonymity to the scanner. 

EMCON (Emissions Control): Civilian ships often leak emissions very
noticeably. This includes intentional intership radio chatter in
convoys,
active scans, leakage from drive and other power systems, etc. There
should
be multiple levels of emission control, and the higher the level of
emissions security (and capability), the harder a ship will be to
detect.
Two crews operating the same ship in two different situations could have
vastly different levels of EMCON, due to skill, disposition and
situation. 

In a little while, I'll venture some thoughts on how to include these
various areas within a system of EW/ESM and a simplified version for
those
who don't fancy detail or complexity. 

-----------------------------------------------------
alea iacta et pessimo	|  Thomas Barclay
resulto factura est	|  Software Specialist 
------------------------|  Defence Systems
ave, Caesar!		|  xwave solutions
te morituiri salutimas	|  www.xwavesolutions.com
			|  v: (613) 831 2018 x 3008
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