Dreadnought or Mothership

[De3ta]

Dreadnought it is. With the information provided, a Hammer shall be more useful than a Sickle.

 

[Havocfett]

I'd go for the Dreadnought, assuming the description is accurate that's some pretty impressive concentration-of-force that it can manage.

 

[Tasrill]

Because...

1. It takes time to deliver supplies from your systems to the frontlines.
2. Said convoys would be a prime target for attack. One thing that the enemy would do if you go on the offensive is to try to sneak a squadron of frigates (possibly with a freighter for resupply) or a light cruiser behind your lines to raid your convoys in attempt to stop your advance.
3. Even if they can at least slow it down and force you to commit ships to intercept them and escort your convoys.
4. Most freighters are slower than warships at FTL speeds.

Having a mothership means that a fleet far from home is able to better keep up its strength and lessens the requirements. Moreover it would be in a position to produce more topedoes or shield generators and have them on hand if there is a pressing need for said things without waiting months for it to arrive from the main shipyards. It can also be useful in setting up support bases along the way.

Torpedoes and fighters have an maximum acceleration of 40g, gunships have a top of 30g, covettes and destroyers have a top acceleration of 20g, for destroyers and cruisers its usually between 18 to 12g and battleships have a top acceleration of 8g. Both superships can match a Battleship at STL speeds. Drive systems are gravitic.


Yes, interdiction fields can force ships out of hyperspace and make them do an emergency transition back to realspace.

Zor

Click to shrink...

Unless military ships can also hot swap cores out then civilian ships are going to be as fast or faster then military ships over anything more then 2 jumps. Even at the slowest speed of 300 c for the civilian ships and 600c for military if the civilian ships are simply 3 jumps ahead the military ships can not catch them in any anything no measured in weeks. Add into that the need for stations ever light year to relay ftl coms along with the one light year ftl sensor range and ambushing a convoy becomes nearly impossible except at the very front lines.

Depending on the FTL com propagation speed you can easily have a situation where the position of any ship penetrating into enemy space is quickly known by everyone which limits the ability to intercept shipping to say the least. The relay stations themselves are much better targets to hit then any convoy as taking on out cripples hot swapping, coms, and sensors all in one blow.

It would be dangerous though as all it takes is a small force with an interdictor to pin any raiding force in place till a force could be mustered to destroy it. That won't save a relay station but that danger makes raiding much more of a gamble.

 

[Ironanvil1]

The Mothership also combines two functions entirely mismatched by timescale into one vessel. Short term resupply of consumables, on the days/weeks level, you want out with your mobile combat vessels, yes, but actual ship construction, on the scale of months/years, doesn't make any sense to have mobile, when you'd be far better off with such an effort sitting stationary in a nice heavily defended location churning out new construction.