Re: Planetary Invasions

Interesting... a few comments.

The Desert Storm analogy can be pushed even further... remember that the sortie
rate over Iraq was only about 2000/day, and a single Scout/Courier with a pulse
laser can hit more than that number of targets daily.  A small invasion force
relative to the planet's size (population) will have the same effect as DS's
attacks; over a period of weeks, total descruction of transportation, air/
space assets, hardened bunkers etc.  A large one will do it in days.  A really
intense attack can do it in a matter of hours.
        I can see an attacking force holding at altitude 10-50,000 km and
establishing a free-fire zone against planetary defense craft and ground
facilities, while doing realtime recon/intel/targeting which would feed into
a ground targets list which was hitting things within minutes of their being
identified as targets.  As soon as planetary defences are out, the task force
would approach closer and drop troops and concentrate on battlefield support...
imagine a intel/targeting system good enough that a trooper with a rifle can
be identified and targeted from orbit... it would be possible and practical
on these scales...

- - -george
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