Detect vs. Identify

Great comment made on detection vs. identification. Interestingly
enough, in
real life, fighters with advanced missile systems capable of engaging
60+
miles out rarely are allowed to engage such targets (state of conflict
has
some impact) and we've seen spectacular evidence of missed calls
(oops...Airliner!...) in target ID. 

Probably even in the GZGverse, unless the system is uninhabited, there
will
be contacts of civilian and other military nature floating through a
system.
Merchants tend to make unexpected appearances. So chances are even if
you
*can* detect a target, you'll still need to get close enough to make a
good
identification and I can see lots of ships masking their profiles as
innocuous merchant shipping (even worse, Q ships), if not attaching
themselves to rocks that enter ballistically and provide a sensor dead
zone
of cover. 

Also, someone commented about detecting the shuttle manouvre drive out
to
the asteroid belt. I'd assume better drive technologies in 2183, and I'd
question if the example in question  stated how long it would take to
detect
a random unknown blip at that distance (that is to say, I'm not saying
the
sensors aren't accurate enough, merely that they have to aim at the
right
place and there are a lot of potential right places). 

Ultimately, it boils down to what kind of PSB keeps you happiest. Hide N
Seek or Knows All. We can probably justify either (heck, for all we know
the
ships funnel hull heat off into N space) with some work. So, to each his
own! 

Thomas Barclay
Software Specialist 
Defence Systems
xwave solutions
www.xwavesolutions.com
v: (613) 831 2018 x 3008

Alea iacta et pessimo resulto factura est.
 
Ave, Caesar! Te morituiri salutimas!