Roger Myhre wrote:
-Actually I don't buy the idea of remote controlled fighters. Ever
-thought about the time lag in communications? And what kind of
-communicator do you use for control?
-
-Laser? Naaah it will be like aiming a 30,000km straw at a target you
-can't see. And it moves as well. If the communication laser loose the
-drone once it is lost for ever. And there is a lot of other things that
-has to work perfectly. Read Challenge 71.
-
-Tight beam radio? Better. It sends out a cone of radio waves. Much
-easier to keep the drone in control, but then we got jamming.
Actually, I think you will find that a laser can have any beam divergence
you like!
Check out the laser formulae in FF&S.
You can see the remote because you program it to send frequent messages to
you.
The advantage of a laser communicator is that the high frequency allows the
antenna to be much smaller than a radio frequency antenna of the same beam
divergence. Also a true tight beam radio communicator would be just as hard
to jam as an equivalent laser communicator!
-The comminication lag is the worst hurdle to get over. If the drone is
-10 hexes away the update wil take 2 full seconds just in communication.
-And then we got the reaction time with the controller. Even though we
-don't got crafts that can't maneuver on a dime anymore, there will be a
-lot of operations that need short response times or else the craft may
-be lost. Just a mudane thing as few controls cease to work properly.
The communications lag is a real problem if you are trying to do "seat of
the pants" flying by direct control but is less so if a certain amount of
automation is allowed.
By fitting your remote with sensors and a computer capable of determining a
target solution it can attack the enemy without direct intervention of the
controller!
The computer can also be programmed to perform evasive maneuvers!
The remote controller's function is to make "executive" decisions; which
ship to attack, when to evade, which sensors to use etc.
The K'kree CAN use this for remote fighters but whether they WANT to after
the effects of the virus on computer controlled weapon systems, particularly
on those in constant communication with other computers is another matter.
"A most unwilling suspension of disbelief"
Django