Morrow Aviation Assets

[stormlion1]

Drone wise I would figure the project wouldn't have the most up to date designs if they had them at all. But how about the AAI RQ-2 Pioneer? They used those during the 80's and the 90's and were landed by crashing them into a net! Plus they have the distinction of having Iraqi troops try to surrender to one flying overhead.

[welsh]

ArmySgt- nice little dramatic story telling. But it also raises a point. Given the awesome air-to-air combat and air-to-ground repressive capacity of a technically efficient air wing, there comes back the problem of balance and gaming.

My worry is that giving Morrow too much of an air wing against a technologically relatively unsophisticated population would seem to a game of strawmen. Your Morrow F-5s vs KFS P-47Ds seems unbalance. Given a choice of challenge, better to let the bad guys have the edge and put the onus on your team to figure a way to respond.

I think a better story might be of your Morrow team trying to evade getting hit by KFS P-47Ds- a better challenge. Or even your Morrow team trying to figure out how its recon helicopters could engaged the P-47Ds. Or maybe your Morrow Team needs to figure a way to hit the P-47Ds so that they are not a threat, because the KFS is using its military edge to coerce local communities to its bidding. If you give your team F-5s to deal with the KFS, or any real threat, than the challenge of your story begins to diminish.

With regard to energy- I am a bit worried that the fusion reactor/power plant is a tech that is easily abused and potentially lost. If every aircraft or vehicle is running with a long life fusion power plant under the hood- what happens when that plant blows up in combat, or is captured by a technologically superior or equivalent entity.

Why not minimize the use of fusion powered plants as energy generators, and allow your vehicles to run on long-life batteries. To regenerate, the team to find a viable power source capable of recharge. But I admit, this breaks from canon.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by welsh

ArmySgt- nice little dramatic story telling. But it also raises a point. Given the awesome air-to-air combat and air-to-ground repressive capacity of a technically efficient air wing, there comes back the problem of balance and gaming.

My worry is that giving Morrow too much of an air wing against a technologically relatively unsophisticated population would seem to a game of strawmen. Your Morrow F-5s vs KFS P-47Ds seems unbalance. Given a choice of challenge, better to let the bad guys have the edge and put the onus on your team to figure a way to respond.

I think a better story might be of your Morrow team trying to evade getting hit by KFS P-47Ds- a better challenge. Or even your Morrow team trying to figure out how its recon helicopters could engaged the P-47Ds. Or maybe your Morrow Team needs to figure a way to hit the P-47Ds so that they are not a threat, because the KFS is using its military edge to coerce local communities to its bidding. If you give your team F-5s to deal with the KFS, or any real threat, than the challenge of your story begins to diminish.

With regard to energy- I am a bit worried that the fusion reactor/power plant is a tech that is easily abused and potentially lost. If every aircraft or vehicle is running with a long life fusion power plant under the hood- what happens when that plant blows up in combat, or is captured by a technologically superior or equivalent entity.

Why not minimize the use of fusion powered plants as energy generators, and allow your vehicles to run on long-life batteries. To regenerate, the team to find a viable power source capable of recharge. But I admit, this breaks from canon.

The KFS either has in storage or can produce quickly AAA to meet a new airborne threat. Currently their adversaries don't field anything and the KFS air arm has complete air dominance. It will be a shock to the KFS pilots if the are engaged by a Project stinger missile.

The Commando Scout may have the elevation to engage slow moving aircraft like a helo.

The Warriors of Krell certainly have stingers in their possession acquired from captured bases, caches, and teams.

The Lonestar State could produce gun type AAA but currently cannot produce sophisticated electronics.

The Deseret Republic is steam / 1880s

The Brotherhood (or what is left) could conceivably have ZPU-2, ZPU-4, and ZSU-23-4 that are operational without electronics. Any missiles would probably have been expended or lost due to time and exposure.

The Soviets in Washington State and Florida probably don't have any missiles either for the same reasons. However, they would have all the gun type AAA with severely depleted stocks of ammunition.

[stormlion1]

Dumb question, in front of many VA buildings there generally is some piece of military hardware. A Artillery Piece, Cannonballs, Bofor AA guns from WW-II. Could survivors use the Bofor AA Guns as a template and produce there own AA guns for themselves? Sure they have been demil'd but it shouldn't be hard to figure out what has been removed and replace it and then just making the ammo is just a matter of small scale industry. I could see KFS doing so after they lose air supremacy or even before to use as ground weapons.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by stormlion1

Dumb question, in front of many VA buildings there generally is some piece of military hardware. A Artillery Piece, Cannonballs, Bofor AA guns from WW-II. Could survivors use the Bofor AA Guns as a template and produce there own AA guns for themselves? Sure they have been demil'd but it shouldn't be hard to figure out what has been removed and replace it and then just making the ammo is just a matter of small scale industry. I could see KFS doing so after they lose air supremacy or even before to use as ground weapons.

Certain groups mentioned above could feasibly do so. The guns are not that hard to make for some. The quality of steel, the machine tooling, and the educated machinist being the highest limiting factors to make AAA.

It is the electronics that stops it all cold. The AAA round relies on the proximity fuse (a mini radar) to detonate the HE shell near an aircraft. This was a huge innovation on the U.S. side in WW2 to counter the Japanese naval pilots. This relies on the manufacturers ability to produce transistors and miniature circuitry.

[LBraden]

I think honestly, if, to use a term used by my science teacher, the fecal matter is hitting the rotary air impeller.

The idea of Proximity fuses will be thrown out of the window for just getting enough copper jacketed lead and anything ELSE that can be shoved down the barrels into the air, yes it does mean you need a hit, but I think even the heavy-duty and versatile Hind would have trouble flying after taking a 20mm round though part of the engine block, or a few large holes in the tail boom.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by LBraden

I think honestly, if, to use a term used by my science teacher, the fecal matter is hitting the rotary air impeller.

The idea of Proximity fuses will be thrown out of the window for just getting enough copper jacketed lead and anything ELSE that can be shoved down the barrels into the air, yes it does mean you need a hit, but I think even the heavy-duty and versatile Hind would have trouble flying after taking a 20mm round though part of the engine block, or a few large holes in the tail boom.

Hey! Nice to see you back!

I hope the Morrow Project muse has ignited your digital palette.

Actually the Hind could shrug off a 20mm as it is armored but, I can see where your going. Yes, a quad .50 either on a trailer or on a truck would be bad mojo. A 20mm vulcan would be bad news for most stuff.

The trouble with gun AAA is it is very local and there is the danger of stuff coming right back down on your head.

Currently the KFS is the only faction that appears capable of producing fuzed AAA ammunition. Everyone else could make solid or impact fused (20mm and larger) munitions in small lots (under 1000).

The proverbial "Wall of Lead" is still effect at defending a point or structure.

Missiles though extend that defense and make it capable for one unit to defend a significant portion of airspace.

Take a Quad .50 and it is good for 2000 meters. Compare this to the Chaparral and the effective range of 17, 700 meters.

The KFS does field .50 M2 machineguns so some inherent capability for AA defense exists already and troops would just need training.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by stormlion1

Dumb question, in front of many VA buildings there generally is some piece of military hardware. A Artillery Piece, Cannonballs, Bofor AA guns from WW-II. Could survivors use the Bofor AA Guns as a template and produce there own AA guns for themselves? Sure they have been demil'd but it shouldn't be hard to figure out what has been removed and replace it and then just making the ammo is just a matter of small scale industry. I could see KFS doing so after they lose air supremacy or even before to use as ground weapons.

The only problem with reverse engineering something like a Bofor 40mm AAA piece is determining if the tolerances are in specifications on each part.

That part could be large (over spec) or it could be small (under spec) and with either that can mean all kinds of performance gremlins crop up when trying to use the new manufactured bits.