I feel like we're inviting trouble and scrutiny if we go for satellites is all. Especially with our bad starting PR.
Having something we can and sneakily plan to convert later instead of 'lawl just aim down now' is better for avoiding interference IMO. And avoiding blatantly weaponizing space when we're not the premier space-capable group seems prudent.
So.. question? How viable is it if we make a fighter/bomber jet that is space capable that contain enough weaponry to fly to asteroid and bomb the whole thing up either via missiles or nuclear warhead?
The fragment asteriod can get clear out by the same jet using laser weapon, etc.
You're not wrong; it's why I've specifically tried to integrate a plausible deniability deception plan into the Twelve Paladins so they can be revealed as extending Joyeuse's range and ability to "just aim down" after they're launched.
Plus, y'know, by design the Twelve Paladins have some kind of Active Protection System barrier, and those can make it very annoying to kill something.
Having something we can and sneakily plan to convert later instead of 'lawl just aim down now' is better for avoiding interference IMO. And avoiding blatantly weaponizing space when we're not the premier space-capable group seems prudent.
I do like reading all the technical details people have come up with for their superweapon, it's very fun seeing how these things can be theoretically possible. I'm not too knowledgeable on it myself so my concepts fit into a single sentence.
I remember when I first played Ace Combat and saw the Arkbird, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I wish we could maybe have such thing but flying under our banner.
Alright I'm gonna throw my hat to the ring, this plan is a bit of inspiration from both @DragonMAtlas and @Silencian, basically I am introducing the idea of bringing the Arkbird from AC series.
[] Plan: Rising White Bird
-[] Name: Project Albatross
-[] Concept: A giant low-orbiting spacecraft design to operate both in space and in atmosphere, equipped with the best techs and weapons to divert/destroy the asteroid fragments from Earth with laser beams and other weapon systems. While also building a railgun launch assist facility to accelerate reusable large single stage to orbit craft/shuttles. The shuttles will carry the components and crew to the spacecraft.
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Fragment destruction
--[] Mobility: Stationary - Ground based railgun launch assist facility, Mobile - Orbital spacecraft.
--[] Location: On the island area administrated by the brotherhood of Nod.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Humanity as a symbol of peace, to protect the planet in a post-Ulysses world and "bridge" a path into outer space. (And if for some reason it becomes a weapon of war…well)
[I just had a thought of what if there was two arkbirds in this world and they both fought against one another during the events of Circum-Pacific War]
Project Able/Archer
Concept :
- Project Archer is a massive laser array, capable of repeated and rapid fire. It is designed to be created of modular units, allowing it be expanded or decreased in scope as resources allow. While each laser unit can fire individually to deal with small targets, intended operation is that they concentrate their fire on the asteroid.
- Project Able is a spacemining mission, a collection of nuclear equipped Tick tanks who will explore Ulysses. Individually, these thick tanks will be able to map the asteroid to figure out precise fault lines, and preplace nuclear charges to destroy dangerous fragmnets.
In ideal operation, both projects will combine their resources. Able will use local resources and nuclear excavation to craft a reaction chamber, while Archer will direct fire lases into this chamber to create a primitive, yet massive scale rocket engine. This engine will be used to deflect Ulysses into a planetary orbit.
Scope
Moderate/Moderate Approach
Fragment destruction/Fragment destruction => Pre-fragment reduction
Project ARCHER is deemed VIABLE by the technical staff. Project ABLE is deemed IMPROPERLY SCOPED by the technical staff as neither Antarc nor Chaldea have a native space program and GDI lacks any significant ground to orbit lift capacity which must be accounted for, along with the design and construction of the tick tanks themselves. Preferred build order would be to prioritize ARCHER and use spare resources on ABLE if available. Location of the laser array and a launch site must be indicated to a greater degree of specification than the Southern hemisphere. The goal of deflecting Ulysses into a planetary orbit also imposes additional time constraints, as the amount of deflection required grows as the asteroid comes closer to the Earth, and failure to fully deflect may instead have the fragments impact unprepared areas.
Concept
Erect a stasis shield to mitigate incoming fragments of Ulysses over wide areas around each Stasis Chambers.
Scope
Moderate/Small - Each Region will have Stasis Chambers. Totally will not be small scaled to fit for military use, no Sir!~
Approach
Mitigation... (not!Force Shield Ripper from StarCraft Heart of the Swarm)
Mobility
Stationary/Mobile - They're huge Megastructures, duh! It's.not like we'll make moving siege tanks with shields or something in the future right? (not!Striker Shoot Em Up Bosses)
Location
Aurelia.
Not sure on on Mandates...
Intent
To protect the world from devastation, to unite all people within our nation!~
Project SCREEN is deemed IMPROPERLY SCOPED and inefficient by the technical staff. The stasis chambers that are instrumental to its operation have no precedent in existing technology, and estimates on the amount of research required to develop them would place the projected scope at or beyond Monumental tier effort with Moderate tier impact. However, the advantages of possessing such technology are not to be ignored, presuming such can be developed at all.
[] Plan: Stone Splitter
-[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Durandal
--[] Concept: Excalibur 2.0, even bigger laser edition
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Pre-fragment Reduction
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: The highest point in the GDI's Administrative Zone.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Extend Ulysses mitigation efforts to Aurelia
--[] [Chaldea] End population flight
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
--[] [Joint] Secure International Trade
-[] Intent: For the world to bask in the light of the Brotherhood, both literally and figuratively.
I wanted to be conservative and stay at Huge scope, but we called ourselves the GDI. Ain't no use running away from the "Global" part of the brand! Monumental Excalibur it is! Durandal the stone splitting sword will save the world!
To that end, I've chosen Mandates that I think we want to accomplish along the way anyways. Diplomatic ones such as expanding the GDI's membership, with a particular focus on Aurelia, and securing international trade. I've also avoided mandates that will take away from our construction dice. We can stop the Chaldean emigration wave by showing progress in our construction project.
This 10K point construction project is beyond the scope of even the superpowers, but through belief in the Brotherhood, anything is possible!
As for concrete plans to actually accomplish this, I believe our diplomatic situation is actually good for attracting foreign members to help fund our project. There's Aurelia and Leasath who both love us, and we're positioned well to stop the war to our east which would score us a lot of points internationally. There's also the fact that both superpowers are neutral, and us being a responsible international actor by stopping the war could be an in for friendlier relations and eventually support, from both. It's going to cost us some concessions I imagine, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Project STONE SPLITTER is deemed VIABLE by the technical staff. Many members of the Global Defense Initiative include instrumental members of the Belkan Project PENDRAGON who are familiar with the key concepts for the design and construction of DURANDAL. Some members express concern that if the project is in an incomplete state come fragment impact, it may have no effect, compared to the staged approach given in Project ABLE.
[] Plan: Project Under
-[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Under
--[] Concept: Project Under is a way to prevent damage to our nations by submerging the whole Antarctica continent deep underwater while ensure that protection domes and infrastructure still operational, add underwater dock for submarines as it gonna replace most form of transportation in and out of nation.
--[] Scope: Huge
--[] Approach: Mitigation + Evaculation (Submerge the whole nation underwater to negate Tsunamis and Sea rising in advanced)
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: The whole nation.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Perform exploratory drilling
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Create a meaningful military
--[] [Joint] Secure International Trade (Carry cargo via submarines?)
-[] Intent: To safeguard our regions beneath the wave.
Aka. Let turn the entire Antarctica continent to underwater continent first before Ulysses do it for us, might also give us reason to build submarine that turn in to aircraft (from RA3) later on.
Or maybe just hybrid fighter jet that can travel fast underwater and in the air.
Project UNDER is deemed IMPROPERLY SCOPED by the technical staff. Carving the mainland possessions of Antarc and Chaldea off of the continental shelf along with all offshore island territories would be a labor of decades at best, without accounting for the required scientific and engineering capabilities which presently do not exist to create and sustain living spaces without access to sunlight and under such extreme amounts of pressure. Planner is reminded that Ulysses is projected to impact in thirty-seven months. A singular underwater city may be viable, but would have a limited impact as it would not preserve any existing infrastructure. However, the nature of life in Antarctica has kept the population of both nations such a sparse enough that such a structure may be able to contain the entire population under GDI protection. This would be at a minimum a project of Monumental scope.
So I decided to pick another legendary royal sword name, and then some more theming suggested itself. Use as my source material the Matter of France, rather than the Matter of Britain.
Plan Joyeuse
Name: Joyeuse (primary weapon system); Holy Lance (supporting technology); the Twelve Paladins (secondary orbital support platforms)
Concept: Excalibur, but better, with slightly more than aesthetic changes, and more focus on the system of reflector satellites mentioned in lore. The satellites allow Joyeuse to fire "bank shots" so it can properly defend a continental landmass against orbiting asteroids.
The core of GDI's plan to protect the southern hemisphere is clearly derivative of the Belkan 'Excalibur' ballistic missile defense system, but refined and upgraded from the original.
Joyeuse ('Joyous') itself is a massive chemical laser tower that refines and expands on the Excalibur design. Built to the same general scale as the thousand-meter Excalibur tower, Joyeuse integrates improved cooling systems, better beamline component redundancy than the original, and the exotic 'Holy Lance' pulse-laser system designed by Kane's engineers but rejected for installation by the Belkan government.
With the Holy Lance modifications, Joyeuse's beam would appear continuous to the naked eye (given sufficient anti-blinding and anti-flash protection), but actually consists of long pulse trains of "chirped" millisecond-range laser pulses, yielding instantaneous power output in the terawatt range. This allows the multi-gigawatt beam to act less like a heating implement, and more like a stream of hundreds of battleship-caliber explosive shells striking the target per second. While not helpful for the original Belkan BMD plans, is hoped to give Joyeuse optimal shattering power against the relatively frangible material of Ulysses. Much if not all of the asteroid is believed to be composed of frangible compacted rubble, explaining the expectation that it will fragment easily after passing the Roche limit.
Joyeuse is intended to be supported by the Paladin satellite constellation. These massive satellites will be launched on highly eccentric 'Molniya orbits' to ensure that there are always multiple satellites visible from Joyeuse's location at high latitude in the southern hemisphere. Initial plans are for a run of twelve Paladin satellites, to be lifted into orbit by hybrid launch systems that rely on an ambitious laser launch system for the first stage, followed by a relatively more conventional nuclear thermal rocket propulsion system (codenamed 'Timberwind') to insert the payloads into the correct orbit. Chemical propulsion would theoretically suffice for the upper stage, but nuclear propulsion permits heavier, more ruggedized satellites that will be more capable of surviving in the Kessler syndrome-like debris-rich environment expected in orbit after Ulysses arrives.
The 'Paladins' are expected to be greatly superior to the capabilities of the Belkan weapon, permitting much longer effective beam ranges. Instead of using orbital mirrors, the nuclear-powered Paladins will generate a nearly mathematically perfect reflector using the radical new Active Protection energy barrier concept. This technology, developed by Brotherhood engineers, is based on an old Yuktobanian project called 'Iron Curtain' which the Prophet has brought to our attention.
Using the Active Protection fields generated by the Paladin satellites, Joyeuse can achieve much greater beam focus at extreme range than was possible for the cruder, purely material mirrors employed by the Belkans. Thus, Joyeuse can "bank-shot" its laser pulse bombardment throughout much of Strangereal's orbital space and engage Ulysses fragments from many angles. It is projected that Joyeuse will be able to disrupt fragments headed for Strangereal's oceans using "bank-shot" beams reflected off the Paladins. This is expected to greatly mitigate global tsunami risks from the asteroid, especially in the southern hemisphere.
The ability to use the Paladins to break up fragments headed for continental landmasses is somewhat limited. While the beams would be relatively harmless except to any spectacularly unlucky fish or cargo ships at the point of impact if they struck the ocean, allowing the beams to use Strangereal's land surfaces as a target practice backstop would be wildly irresponsible. Fortunately, using a combination of direct fire mode and careful adjustment of the Paladins' orbits, favorable firing angles can be generated over much of the southern hemisphere, covering the continent of Antarctica and the southern peninsula of the Osean supercontinent, permitting defense against strikes directly threatening the land.
EDIT: It is hoped that the Paladin satellites can be passed off as heavily hardened and high-redundancy tracking and targeting assistance satellites, and that their ability to act as reflectors for the main laser beam can be concealed until the satellites are already in orbit. This may reduce the possible alarm adversaries may have about the Joyeuse system, by making it seem less likely that it could be a threat to ground-based targets outside its immediate line of sight.
Scope: Huge (7500 points). Joyeuse alone would be Moderate, capable of covering Chaldea, the Celestial Dominion, and Aurelia peninsula and disrupting most asteroid impacts against the land or parts of the ocean near the coast, mitigating the worst of the damage. When supported by the 'Twelve Paladins' satellite constellation, Joyeuse is more capable of covering Leasath and the Antarctic states on the far side of the continent (south of Usea) against direct impacts, and of burning down ocean impactors across much of the southern hemisphere. Thus, the Paladins allow Joyeuse to mitigate the tsunami threat in the southern hemisphere as a whole, though it will do relatively little for the northern hemisphere.
Approach: Fragment destruction. Joyeuse zaps asteroid fragments with hundreds of multi-megajoule laser pulses per second, hitting them like a blizzard of battleship-caliber exploding shells and smashing them into bitty little pieces.
Mobility: The kilometer-ish-high laser tower is, of course, not mobile unless something has gone very wrong, in which case its mobility can probably be described as 'downward' (CURSE YOU, DEMON LORD!). The orbiting force field mirror satellites are mobile by definition, though their orbits are predictable unless someone commands them to fire up the thrusters and do a maneuver.
Location: the highest feasibly available and quasi-accessible non-sacred mountaintop on the North Island in the contested islands. 70 degrees South latitude, 162 degrees East latitude, assuming the '180' meridian on the map is the international date line in the system being used here. Hope I got the latitude and longitude right; the idea is that this is built on a mountain in the equivalent of the North Island Volcanic Plateau. The mountain is possibly a volcano, and probably extinct, but making our superweapon technically a volcano base is just the cherry on top.
Mandates:
1) Extend Ulysses Mitigation. Given the need to cover both Chaldea and the Celestial Dominion, the desirability of covering western Antarctica (the part south of Usea) as well, and the basic concept of Joyeuse, it is if anything easier to extend coverage over Aurelia and Leasath than to not do so.
2) Establish World-Class Research Institutions. This system explores multiple ambitious space launch and exotic physics technologies, pushing the boundaries of what humanity believed to be possible even now, in the closing years of the twentieth century.
3) Expand GDI: We can almost certainly get Aurelia on-side, given the defensive laser coverage of much of their country. Leasath and the nations of East Antarctica (the Antarctic Republic and Nouvelle Erusea) can hopefully be persuaded to contribute resources to help ensure the Twelve Paladins actually launch, because we will need the laser reflector satellites just humble targeting support platforms to ensure coverage of their homelands.
Intent:WITH THE AID OF MY SECRET WEAPON, defend Antarctica with the VASTLY SUPERIOR design that should totally have been used for Excalibur if the Belkans who drove us out in '91 weren't HIDEBOUND REACTIONARY IDIOTS!. This will purely coincidentally give us a giant orbital doom laser system with hemisphere if not global range, which it would of course be wildly irresponsible to fire at the ground. NO LONGER WILL THE WORLD BE DOMINATED BY THE LEGACY OF THESE FOOLS!
Project JOYEUSE is deemed IMPROPERLY SCOPED by the technical staff. The Joyeuse laser platform itself is deemed VIABLE, but reviewers note the same potential drawback noted in Project STONE SPLITTER. The Paladin satellite constellation is an intriguing idea and is, for the most part, technically viable. However, practical concerns arise with the lack of any indigenous space launch programs (see feedback for Project ABLE) which must therefore be created in order to send the constellation of satellites into orbit. Additionally, though rumors of force field technology being developed persist, there is currently no working example of the technology requiring this to also be researched. Total project scope is predicted to be at a minimum Monumental without reworking to account for these factors.
[] Plan: To the sky -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project Asgard
--[] Concept: Project Asgard is about lifting the whole continent up above ground and maintain altitude, it design to be able to move the whole continent although slow due to its size, replace coastal gun for Anti air, Anti missile and anti nuke, as well as Subterranean work to make full use of the continents underground or at least the chuck that come with us.
--[] Scope: Huge
--[] Approach: Mitigation + Evaculation (lift the whole region upward to negate Tsunamis and Sea rising in advanced)
--[] Mobility: Mobile, Nuclear thrusters and various auxiliary system
--[] Location: The whole Antarctica.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Create a meaningful military
-[] Intent: To safeguard our future where the sky end and the star begin to shine. (aka. above the cloud)
So there a talk of lifting up the continent, and since I the one who want to submerge the continent here another plan to lift the whole thing up.
If this not working, I will scale down to Nation size.
And I mean if they shoot it down we can guarantee MAD protocol due to our impact power = our continent sheer size + velocity. At the very least it gonna be ugly to whichever nations our regions fall up on.
Or we could do something similar to Avenger 2 where thruster aim downward to create more destruction as final fuck you. (if most continent mass still intact we can achieve similar feat to the asteroid which wipe out dinosaur)
edit: I need name for the project, at first I thought I could go Hanging Garden of Babylon but that not fit the theme much.
edit 2: Just realize that if we success we can easily get stuff up on to orbits as we literally floating above the cloud.
Project ASGARD is deemed both NONVIABLE and IMPROPERLY SCOPED by the technical staff. Removing the entire continental mass of Antarctica from the Earth's crust would be an undertaking unlike any other in human history without precedent or comparison. Even if such could be done in little more than three years, and the continent braced against the stresses of takeoff, and every other nation impacted agree, the only form of propulsion known that could create the amount of thrust required to keep such an immense mass airborne is nuclear explosive pulse, requiring an immense and constant amount of fissile materials as well as creating a constant ecological catastrophe beneath the floating continent. A flying megastructure of some kind may be viable and serve as a mass evacuation system, but this is not what was proposed.
[] Plan:
What if we send Ace combat Pilot in to space?
-[] Name: Project Bifrost
-[] Concept: A fighter jet that design to operate both in space and in atmosphere, equipped with the best techs and weapons to divert the asteroid path from Earth with bombardment and weaponry.
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Fragment destruction + Pre-fragment reduction
--[] Mobility: Mobile (it a starfighter, nuclear thrusters is my guess)
--[] Location: Caulden.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Create a meaningful military
-[] Intent: To safeguard Humanity and to the birth of the greatest Pilot sho will ever live.
Aka. The ultimate aircraft the Player fly to end humanity threat. (Spend 10k points on one fighter jet)
Why not fit everything Monumental megastructure should have in to fighter jet that can go to space?
Project BIFROST is deemed POTENTIALLY VIABLE by the technical staff. A high-altitude fighter equipped with experimental weapon systems, be it tactical nuclear devices or portable laser systems, is indeed possible to create - potentially multiple with the full economic might of both Antarc and Chaldea poured into their construction. Currently however there is no possibility of creating a true starfighter as proposed, as any propulsion system capable of bringing the vehicle into space would be unwieldy in the extreme in atmosphere, and it is suggested instead to focus upon the fragment destruction mission.
Concept: A railgun launch assist facility (Hermes) to accelerate reusable large single stage to orbit craft/shuttles (Nymphs). The shuttles will carry the components and crew to assemble a laser orbital defense satellite network which will target and destroy Ulyssess fragments.
Scope: Huge to Monumental/Scalable. More launches completed means more laser satellites deployed thus having more lasers to shoot at Ulysses to protect more area of the planet.
Approach: Pre-Fragment reduction.
Mobility: Stationary - Ground based railgun launch assist facility, orbital satellite network.
Location: On the island area administrated by the brotherhood of Nod.
Mandates:
Extend Ulysses Mitigation Efforts to Aurelia - basically get them covered by the satellite defense network.
Establish World-Class research institutions - gonna need some good brains to build the Hermes and Nymphs system.
Expand GDI - get more resources to pour into making a more comprehensive satellite defense grid to cover the new nations joining GDI
Intent: A sparkling shield with which to defend our world from extra-orbital threats, and if the cannons can be shifted to point towards the planet… well thats just something we leave in the fine print.
Projects HERMES and NYMPHS are deemed VIABLE by the technical staff. The technical staff take especial note of Project HERMES, which may prove of interest to other planners presuming the capability of rapid space launch. HERMES itself is likely to be of Moderate to Huge scope.
Alright I'm gonna throw my hat to the ring, this plan is a bit of inspiration from both @DragonMAtlas and @Silencian, basically I am introducing the idea of bringing the Arkbird from AC series.
[] Plan: Rising White Bird
-[] Name: Project Albatross
-[] Concept: A giant low-orbiting spacecraft design to operate both in space and in atmosphere, equipped with the best techs and weapons to divert/destroy the asteroid fragments from Earth with laser beams and other weapon systems. While also building a railgun launch assist facility to accelerate reusable large single stage to orbit craft/shuttles. The shuttles will carry the components and crew to the spacecraft.
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Fragment destruction
--[] Mobility: Stationary - Ground based railgun launch assist facility, Mobile - Orbital spacecraft.
--[] Location: On the island area administrated by the brotherhood of Nod.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Humanity as a symbol of peace, to protect the planet in a post-Ulysses world and "bridge" a path into outer space. (And if for some reason it becomes a weapon of war…well)
[I just had a thought of what if there was two arkbirds in this world and they both fought against one another during the events of Circum-Pacific War]
Project ALBATROSS is deemed VIABLE by the technical staff. Reviewers note with appreciation the inclusion of a space launch system. Rumors suggest a similar design being developed by the Osean Federation, suggesting that there may be a possibility of acquiring assistance from their own researchers and engineers. However, the same concerns of incomplete construction providing no benefit persist.
Oooh... thinking about it, didn't the latest(?) Ace Combat sort-of ended on a note on space elevators? I wonder if we'll have space Ace Combat... hm...
The latter three plans are interesting though, so they'll likely have my vote!
Okay, so any attempt at exoatmospheric operations will be hamstrung by the fact that we don't currently posses space launch facilities. Which, in retrospect, not too surprising. Getting to orbit is easiest closest to the equator where we can take advantage of the planets natural spin for a bit more oomph, and we couldnt be farther from the equator.
I would say that building and financing orbital systems becomes much more viable IF we can rent existing launch sites.
Big-ass giant laser would do nothing if we don't make it in time, compared to lots of smaller giant lasers allowing faster construction and partial effectiveness even if not completed.
Makes sense, so the question is, do we want to go for broke on a plan or to be more safe in eliminating pieces via smaller installations?
I say go for broke personally. Mainly because I am attached to the big ass laser idea admittedly.
I mean, it's basically just the Arkbird. That's a thing that got actually built. Osea and Yuktobania threw it together in like a year too, though admittedly it had already been designed before then.
So.. Railgun Launch assist seem viable at least seem like solid plan too, here my edited idea of BIFROST. It turn in to 2 plan in one.
[] Plan: Rapid Deployment -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project Heimdall (can probably start this project after Ulysses deal with, )
---[] Concept: A Large Railgun turret launch system that able to use aircraft as payload, This launch system are build to be able to launch aircraft with enough speed to deploy immediately at certain range, the Railgun turrets got 270 degree of movement thus be able to aim the payload to exit the atmosphere or use the Earth high altitude orbit to help aircraft get to where its need faster. (Basically offload most launch system from aircraft itself that allows aircraft to have lighter load but still able to operate in both Atmosphere and in space)
---[] Scope: Huge (Only need enough to be able to get the aircraft in to orbit, the atmosphere slingshot range is just a bonus)
---[] Approach: -
---[] Mobility: Stationary - Ground based railgun launch turret.
---[] Location: On the island area administrated by the brotherhood of Nod.
--[] Name: Project Bifrost V.2
---[] Concept: A fighter jet which design to be able to handle the strain from potential Railgun launch assist in the future, equipped with best weaponry and technologies that we can muster to deal with asteroids that split from Ulysses, The plan is to go in send in a fleet to deal with asteroids in high altitude or in low gravity.
---[] Scope: Huge (one timed)/Small (repeatable) (Overall tech research then each fighter jet need Small point amount to build)
---[] Approach: Fragment destruction (Laser, Missle, etc)
---[] Mobility: Mobile (Nuclear reactor + Ion thruster? May have more effective thrusters need more research)
---[] Location: On the island area administrated by the brotherhood of Nod.
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To the sky to stop an apocalypse, Shoot those fragments down and make our continents safe.
aka. Copy part of Arkship's railgun launch assist create seperate plan then make a Moderate project that can make use of said launch system. So basically we end up with fighter jet with can operate in both low Orbit and atmosphere but can't really transfer from atmosphere to outer space without assist, not really a problem when you re entry though as gravity will assist.
Also I gonna argue that station all fighter jets at Heimdall launch turrets seem stupid that is half true as in case of War or something similar we can just fire up Heimdall and aim at where we want to deploy the fighter jets. (Still a problem if Heimdall got blown up)
Also I redesign the launch assist to something similar to Stonehedge but its launch aircraft at high speed toward where we want not just payload. (don't talk about war potential, The rapid deployment alone gonna be worth it)
I think instead of one-off Monumental-scale projects that do nothing if they're not completed, we should do modular projects that increase in effectiveness the more modules are built. That way we're both way more able to complete it by ourselves, and with enough luck and/or help and from others, can potentially expand it to protect up to the entire world. Projects like a repeatable laser array, or an anti-fragment fighter craft, or something similar can still be effective if we fall short of our ambitions, but can create something that if we build enough of it could Protect the entire Globe.
Project STONE SPLITTER is deemed VIABLE by the technical staff. Many members of the Global Defense Initiative include instrumental members of the Belkan Project PENDRAGON who are familiar with the key concepts for the design and construction of DURANDAL. Some members express concern that if the project is in an incomplete state come fragment impact, it may have no effect, compared to the staged approach given in Project ABLE.
...
Project JOYEUSE is deemed IMPROPERLY SCOPED by the technical staff. The Joyeuse laser platform itself is deemed VIABLE, but reviewers note the same potential drawback noted in Project STONE SPLITTER. The Paladin satellite constellation is an intriguing idea and is, for the most part, technically viable. However, practical concerns arise with the lack of any indigenous space launch programs (see feedback for Project ABLE) which must therefore be created in order to send the constellation of satellites into orbit. Additionally, though rumors of force field technology being developed persist, there is currently no working example of the technology requiring this to also be researched. Total project scope is predicted to be at a minimum Monumental without reworking to account for these factors.
Let's see. Durandal/Joyeuse itself has relatively modest area coverage. It doesn't have continental range, as we see in Ace Combat Zero with Excalibur that is essentially a similar design. I would be surprised if Excalibur would be 'Huge/Monumental' in isolation, in and of itself, simply because it was only built using the resources of one country the first time, and only covered one country to begin with without range extension of some kind.
It sounds like the biggest wall my project hits is my ambitious version of the Paladin satellites. The combination of the logistical difficulty of launching them into space at all, plus the APS mirror research being... ambiguously feasible. So I'd like to split the idea up and ask about the parts.
First, the laser launch system for the satellites. If we just wanted to launch normal satellites that were not giant nuclear powered APS platforms, the laser launch concept would have some advantages. I think that for us in particular it might well be a lot more practical than a mass driver system because it leverages technologies we already have, plus the part where it has cross-applications as a laser AA system. The existing "RTLS" platforms used to defend Excalibur, or something built to the same general scale, could probably be adapted to assist with satellite launch. This seems like the kind of concept that would have at least basic theoretical work done on it given that the Belkans canonically had the ability to launch satellites and had very impressive lasers, even if it's not specifically confirmed that they ever united the two.
Second, the Belkans canonically had range extender reflector satellites for Excalibur (thus their ability to hit distant targets with beams slashing down at an angle in Mission 8 of Ace Combat Zero. These, presumably, didn't do anything exotic like APS, and were instead just big-ass mirrors of some kind.
...
So I'm trying to get a sense for what the scope would be of:
1) Durandal/Joyeuse without the satellites, probably limited to covering most of the Celestial Dominion and Chaldea and Aurelia given the limits of where one could plausibly place the thing.
2) Durandal/Joyeuse supported by a network of something like the Belkan range extender satellite concept as they originally existed, with us either building or buying rocket launches or developing a laser launch system to help with getting them into orbit.
Laser launch is in the same general family of concepts that get batted around in real life alongside things like the 'mass driver' systems Osea uses in Ace Combat.
Technically we are not of the impact zone right? And only harm thing is Tsunami or water rising?
So can we set up some kind of barrier that break H2O molecules in to Hydrogen and Oxygen? Aka. Water splitting.
I mean we got strong enough electricity (Electrolysis) or Heat (thermolysis) then we can probably erect some kind of anti water barrier to counter Tsunami and water rising.
Technically this is similar in design to Firestorm defense grid (Tiberium 2, not 3) that just blast high thermal energy in to Stratosphere to stop everything from getting pass while the grid is active.
firestorm in Tiberium 3 become forcefield so nope to that.
[] Plan: Firestorm Lite -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project firestorm
--[] Concept: Build a coastal defense grids with thermal lasers turrets connected with multiples nuclear reactors (possibly to also develop nuclear reactor tech to fusion territory?) which build up insane amount of heat (5000+ Celsius) as it will shoot laser upward forming thermal laser wall along the defense grids that will evaporate water or aim at the Tsunami to focus fire on it, this thermal laser will break water molecule bond and will transform them in to pure hydrogen and oxygen. Each defense grid will need delicate nuclear reactors to function while defense grid need to be strong enough to withstand Tsunami and intense heat while operation. (basically laser wall that can be turn in to laser turrets)
--[] Scope: Huge
--[] Approach: Mitigation
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: around Antarctica
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Antarctica, To protect our sky and to make sure its belong to us.
And here is the counter plan, RA3 Cryo tech.
Which to be fair almost impossible to exist.
[] Plan: Cryostorm Lite -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project Cryostorm
--[] Concept: A reverse concept of Firestorm instead of Thermal replace with Cyro, Build a coastal defense grids armed with multiple Energy absorption beam turret that will drain energy from target to make them frozen solid, This coastal defense grids will be power by multiples nuclear reactors, while the energy absorption may need further researches to make it usable in larger scale, take Heat sink for example its expel heat to outside environment so why not crank it up to 11 and freeze the whole Tsunami.
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Mitigation
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: around Antarctica
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Antarctica, To protect our sky and to make sure its belong to us.
Project BIFROST is deemed POTENTIALLY VIABLE by the technical staff. A high-altitude fighter equipped with experimental weapon systems, be it tactical nuclear devices or portable laser systems, is indeed possible to create - potentially multiple with the full economic might of both Antarc and Chaldea poured into their construction. Currently however there is no possibility of creating a true starfighter as proposed, as any propulsion system capable of bringing the vehicle into space would be unwieldy in the extreme in atmosphere, and it is suggested instead to focus upon the fragment destruction mission.
Inspired by @DragonMAtlas's submission and the quoted response:
[] Plan DOGFIGHT AN ASTEROID
-[] Name: Project Fireworks
-[] Concept: Design a high-altitude fighter equipped with sufficient speed and firepower to intercept and destroy asteroid fragments before they land, then build as many as possible, up to enough to reasonable intercept all sizeable fragments.
-[] Scope: Monumental
-[] Approach: Fragment destruction
-[] Mobility: Mobile (Some kind of in-atmosphere thrusters.)
-[] Location: Somewhere in GDI territory? Plz help.
Not sure on the rest of it, but I think this would be a good in-universe solution, powered by Ace Combat absurdity.
Technically we are not of the impact zone right? And only harm thing is Tsunami or water rising?
So can we set up some kind of barrier that break H2O molecules in to Hydrogen and Oxygen? Aka. Water splitting.
I mean we got strong enough electricity (Electrolysis) or Heat (thermolysis) then we can probably erect some kind of anti water barrier to counter Tsunami and water rising.
Technically this is similar in design to Firestorm defense grid (Tiberium 2, not 3) that just blast high thermal energy in to Stratosphere to stop everything from getting pass while the grid is active.
firestorm in Tiberium 3 become forcefield so nope to that.
[] Plan: Firestorm Lite -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project firestorm
--[] Concept: Build a coastal defense grids with thermal lasers turrets connected with multiples nuclear reactors (possibly to also develop nuclear reactor tech to fusion territory?) which build up insane amount of heat (5000+ Celsius) as it will shoot laser upward forming thermal laser wall that will evaporate water or aim at the Tsunami to focus fire on it, this thermal laser will break water molecule bond and will transform them in to pure hydrogen and oxygen. Each defense grid will need delicate nuclear reactors to function while defense grid need to be strong enough to withstand Tsunami and intense heat while operation. (basically laser wall that can be turn in to laser turrets)
--[] Scope: Huge
--[] Approach: Mitigation
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: around Antarctica
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Antarctica, To protect our sky and to make sure its belong to us.
And here is the counter plan, RA3 Cryo tech.
Which to be fair almost impossible to exist.
[] Plan: Cryostorm Lite -[] Megastructure Design:
--[] Name: Project Cryostorm
--[] Concept: A reverse concept of Firestorm instead of Thermal replace with Cyro, Build a coastal defense grids armed with multiple Energy absorption beam turret that will drain energy from target to make them frozen solid, This coastal defense grids will be power by multiples nuclear reactors, while the energy absorption may need further researches to make it usable in larger scale, take Heat sink for example its expel heat to outside environment so why not crank it up to 11 and freeze the whole Tsunami.
--[] Scope: Monumental
--[] Approach: Mitigation
--[] Mobility: Stationary
--[] Location: around Antarctica
-[] Host Mandates:
--[] [Antarc] Protect ancestral fisheries and hunting grounds
--[] [Chaldea] Establish world-class research institutions
--[] [Joint] Expand GDI
-[] Intent: To safeguard Antarctica, To protect our sky and to make sure its belong to us.
I think we're mostly limited to technologies that actually exist in Ace Combat, because this isn't a proper Nod crossover so much as a cameo or expy. That's why I suggested, essentially, an uprated version of the canonical Excalibur and am reluctantly backing down to a less- or not-really uprated version.
Inspired by @DragonMAtlas's submission and the quoted response:
[] Plan DOGFIGHT AN ASTEROID
-[] Name: Project Fireworks
-[] Concept: Design a high-altitude fighter equipped with sufficient speed and firepower to intercept and destroy asteroid fragments before they land, then build as many as possible, up to enough to reasonable intercept all sizeable fragments.
-[] Scope: Monumental
-[] Approach: Fragment destruction
-[] Mobility: Mobile (Some kind of in-atmosphere thrusters.)
-[] Location: Somewhere in GDI territory? Plz help.
Not sure on the rest of it, but I think this would be a good in-universe solution, powered by Ace Combat absurdity.
I think the keyword for the propulsion system you want is "scramjet," that hits most of the right technobabble highlights. If I were proposing a design, it'd be air-launched (flown up into the air by a 'mothership' and dropped at high speed), then ignite rocket boosters to get up to high speed with the scramjets. That would be used to start a suborbital flight path, get up above the atmosphere, launch the nuclear-tipped missiles at an exoatmospheric target, and then re-enter the atmosphere.
A lot of handwavium, but a design concept like that should work. Sadly, it has less in common with dogfighting and more in common with bomber intercepts under radar ground control, because we probably can't develop something with the kind of deep-space mobility we'd want in the time available.
I'd actually be up for a High-Altitude fighter with enough firepower to destroy fragments. Only question is, what kind of weapons should it carry? I don't think the TLS would be sufficient for the job even if we pretty much already have the tech for it.
I think Leasath's SWBM (Shock Wave Ballistic Missiles) would work since they have absurd firepower even when miniaturized for a fighter to carry, but that was produced in the 2020s.
High payload missiles and Energy weapon which potentially give nearly infinite ammo. Is my guess especially when we gonna build something that got micro nuclear fission reactor on board.
I pretty sure our research dices gonna be busy.
Except if ace combat got some kind of nigh durable materials that can be vibrate to cut through everything to make a wings of said fighter be able to melee asteroids in half. (I know this is impossible I pretty sure Macross/Gundam have this as far as I know, but It worth a try not for asteroid but imagine dogfight melee later on where you just need to cut opponent jet with your wing)
I think we're mostly limited to technologies that actually exist in Ace Combat, because this isn't a proper Nod crossover so much as a cameo or expy. That's why I suggested, essentially, an uprated version of the canonical Excalibur and am reluctantly backing down to a less- or not-really uprated version.
I mean the Firestorm literally just laser array that got downscale to Laser wall then upscale again to become Coastal laser array/wall.
Plus we got +5 on [Laser] Project so I think its possible.
High payload missiles and Energy weapon which potentially give nearly infinite ammo. Is my guess especially when we gonna build something that got micro nuclear fission reactor on board.
I pretty sure our research dices gonna be busy.
I can only really think of the Fenrir's LSWM (Long range Shock Wave Missile) for missiles that can significantly damage an asteroid fragment. If we're using that, however, I think we're better off not having an TLS on the fighter since we're going to need every bit of power to make sure the fighter can actually catch up with the asteroid fragment.
Are we sure that we gonna end up with Fenrir frame? As I pretty sure that High altitude aircraft project not gonna be cheap.. (we literally put 10k project on a high altitude fighter jet)
Plus we may be able to improve its performance by doing multiples projects with may help in it mass production and performance later on. We may end up with something similar that what I about to say.
That not counting multiples research topics like railgun, laser, nuclear, engine, thruster, etc that will come later and then a project about factory to build fighter jet to shot down asteroids after all that.
Are we sure that we gonna end up with Fenrir frame? As I pretty sure that High altitude aircraft project not gonna be cheap.. (we literally put 10k project on a high altitude fighter jet)
Plus we may be able to improve its performance by doing multiples projects with may help in it mass production and performance later on. We may end up with something similar that what I about to say.
That not counting multiples research topics like weapons, engine, thruster, etc that will come later and then a project about factory to build fighter jet to shot down asteroids after all that.
Oh no, we're not going to be using the Fenrir since it's not really meant for the job. I'm more referring to their LSWMs since they're the only missiles with the firepower that could significantly damage an asteroid fragment while also fitting on a fighter.
If we're going to develop the LSWM sometime between 1996 and 1999 when it was canonically made on 2020 at the earliest, then we're going to really want Aurelia and Leasath contributing to the project since the LSWM was only made possible because of them and their research on particle weapons.
(not!Force Shield Ripper from StarCraft Heart of the Swarm)
