Expansion Age Fleet Philosophy

Space combat in the Expansion Age introduced several new obstacles compared to traditional space warfare.

1. Pinpoint accurate long range kinetic weaponry
2. Potent electro-viral warfare
3. Extreme output electronic warfare
4. Massive fleet formations

Ships of this era are distinguished by their use of armored caps, relativistic weaponry, and centralized antimatter catalyzed fusion reactors.

Traditional armor is both heavy and bulky, incurring a large delta-v cost in military starships. Neutron and electron beam weaponry have incredible penetration and as such, ships would require a prohibitively thick plate to stop these weapons. During the Stellar and Fragmentation Ages, the solution was unarmored, highly maneuverable craft moving in erratic patterns to avoid damage. Expansion Age starships utilize metamat-a, also known as plasteel, as a lightweight solution to this issue.

Plasteel, while an elegant solution, is also hard to manufacture. Lifting solutions from the golden age of naval warfare, Expansion Age ships utilize an 'All-or-Nothing' armor scheme, focusing all of the armor at the front and around the reactor of the ship. The rationale is that a ship will always be facing towards the enemy, with flanking shots representing a defeat situation already. Smaller guided munitions such as strike craft and missiles could theoretically attack from a direction other than ahead, but these can be intercepted by the ships defensive weaponry.

Near light speed neutral beam arrays can be utilized at distances of light minutes via 'sweeping'. A fleet will fire en-masse towards a target and sweep their beams in set patterns. With enough volume of fire, even a maneuvering target will eventually be hit.

While decently effective, this technique is not energy efficient, and much of the outgoing fire will miss their mark. Furthermore, this tactic requires hundreds if not thousands of ships at minimum in order to effectively engage at maximum ranges.

Electromagnetic launchers such as railguns or coilguns are used to launch guided munitions at a percentage of the speed of light. These munitions are much slower than their particle counterparts but are capable of self-guidance and trajectory correction mid-flight.

The downside to guided munitions is the availability of ammunition. Compared to particle weaponry which can draw plasma directly from the reactor, munitions must be manufactured and require guidance systems.

Despite the cost, these rounds are more efficient per shot compared to particle cannons with a significantly higher hit rate. Various warheads or mission packages can be installed, further expanding the utility of this system.

Compared to the other two weapon systems, long range missiles and torpedoes rely on a slow and steady approach. These weapons are fired en-masse towards an enemy fleet and force them to either engage or maneuver away, which makes it easier to distinguish which contacts are decoys and which are real targets.

Missiles are arguably the most complex munitions in the arsenal, requiring power generation, propulsion, guidance, and ECCM systems. However, they are the cheapest in terms of weapon deployment. Torpedoes and missiles can be hot or cold launched from silos, out of electromagnetic catapults, released from strike craft, or even just dropped out of cargo holds. These weapon systems require very little infrastructure to work, and as such, can be installed on just about anything.

At standoff ranges, the only effective weapons are ones that are near light speed. The extreme range combined with extensive use of electronic countermeasures, heat, and optical decoys make it exceptionally difficult to track and engage targets. Most FTL capable races utilize particle weapon sweeping or relativistic guided munitions to engage at this range.

Fleets will typically posture for ideal orbits and attempt to waste the other fleet's delta-v and munitions before approaching closer at this range. Engagement time scales can stretch from weeks into months at this phase.

Ships within skirmish range no longer have to rely on massive fleet formations in order to identify and engage targets. High end sensors begin to burn through jamming and neutral beam cannons approach their no escape zone. Traditional missiles also become effective and are used in saturation attacks.

At this point, ships will typically enter a closed communication loop mode to avoid electro-viral attacks. Communication is done solely through messenger shuttles. Fleets break into smaller formations and execute pre-planned attacks before operating independently.

Along with the super-lethality of neutral beam cannons, strike craft take center stage at this range. Small, manned craft are capable of blending in with decoys in order to strike from unexpected directions. These craft rely on thermal and visual optics, and aiming is typically done manually with some assistance from the fire control computer. Utilizing strike craft in this manner makes them resistant to electronic warfare.

At minimum range, electron beam cannons are well within their no escape zone and can make short work ship crews and electronics.