You're underestimating how big a planet is, and also the need to make enemy army groups and cities go away, especially when said things are covered by theater shields. There's also always the time when we need to make an enemy ritual site F-Off Right Now, or such.
I suspect that compared to the venerable laser-based weapons batteries used by the Sword Frigate, the Calvar-Pattern Macro-Cannons in use here suffer from inferior damage per shot, accuracy, resistance to damage, and endurance (ammunition concerns yo.)
Well, yes, although if you look at the video game specifically you'll find that long range (although no longer than the equivalent weight macro-cannons) guided missiles are a thing... in the hands of the navies of Chaos. Not so much the fleets of the Imperium.
I am assuming that Warhammer happened to the Sword, where the hull is what is called a Sword and different places will arm their ships differently based on tradition and availability.
Either or. Either older designs or multiple manufacturers for local militaries.
Eh... A moderate bombardment probably doesn't even kick up as much mass as a volcanic eruption. So long as you don't go "we will work this planet over until no Human could live there again" it'll be fine.
Right, so my idea for future ground forces was to take those, mount antitank missile launchers on the turret and use them to make Combined Arms Armies in the form of Mechanized Infantry with what is in effect light tank destroyers.
Works for me. Want to add supporting elements like SPGs or Combat Lighters?
As nice as air support is, Imperial ground armies are not allowed to have their own air force. Those are the jurisdiction of the Aeronautica Imperialis, who are a part of the Imperial Navy. But yeah, they'd of course keep the artillery as well.
Y'see, they aren't here right now... Plus if you want to get technical they would be part of the Calavar PDF/SDF. Which are outside the Imperial remit (well, until they get tithed, but they aren't here right now and even if they were they would just be doing the same thing as you have them doing and so pretty much get plugged back into your command structure as the only hierarchy still loyal and intact).
Yes, that's how it goes in practice, but it means that legally we can't have them as a formal part of an Army's chain of command. We'll just include hangars for atmospheric craft like Lightnings and Thunderbolts on our purpose-built Troop Ships.
Why not? I suppose you could go the Imperial route of having Aerial Armies in addition to your other ones, although that reduces their integration with friendly forces in the area they are operating in.
Because the one whole reason for the law is that the Imperium doesn't want any army to have full combined arms capability (the Horus Heresy showed how bad those can be to fight when they are against you), since if they turn traitor that makes them a real pain to eradicate. Just having a ground-bound formally Combined Arms force is skirting the edges of being acceptable, and I'd rather not risk the Imperium declaring us to be renegades out of paranoia.
Well, if that is your choice then.
Yeah probably.
It's guided missiles Linty they're not exactly lost technology.
So spam Hunter-Killers? I mean it's not completely unworkable, but keep in mind that due to 40k tanks being able to, well, tank missiles to the face it's not exactly going to be effective in the tank hunter role as you might expect from IRL BMPs and the like built on the premise.
If it's only the one that can be slapped to the hull, sure. But here is, for your consideration, the Chimerro. Something akin to that system shouldn't be too difficult to manage, especially since it is called the most basic modification you could make on a Chimera, apparently even more so than adding extra armour.
True. The main problem is logistical (these are big missiles, fired in large numbers) and the fact that "Space Magic" exists that can coopt your missiles, doubly so if there is some flaw in their construction. So instead of building hundreds of sensor heads built to penetrate ECM and survive the rigors of space combat you would instead have your ship fire lasers or unguided shells.
I'm not saying it's unworkable, or even a bad idea, just saying that you should remember that it's not a true substitute for real anti-tank equipment.
Well, true. Even said Chaos ships makes limited use of them. And nobody puts them in broadside mounts.
I mean, we could also replace the hull-mounted heavy bolter with a lascannon, if we want/need more anti-armor punch. It has an autocannon turret and port holes for individual arms to deal with infantry, which should be sufficient.
Nice. I'd say the hull itself would probably serve best as a fleet tender, replace the hangars with cargo and repair bays, maybe install some hull armor and rapid shields on the thing.
Actual conversion will be bought during the Construction phase, but yeah, that would be a useful capability to have.
We only have 4 design actions, and we need to shore up our existing ships and prep for making proper ships of the line, there's only so much time in this action economy. Besides, most ships are capable of repairing themselves in time save for catastrophic damage that nothing short of a shipyard could fix. The tender's role there is to ferry materials and the repair crews around.Actual conversion will be bought during the Construction phase, but yeah, that would be a useful capability to have.
Doubly so if you, I don't know, actually made a proper Repair Utility component.
I never specified a Segmentum, even in my notes (so don't expect Swarm Fleets, Tau, or other mostly localized threats), and the period is mid-M.40. So a little pre-canon.
