[gurps] [VEHICLE] of the week 680 ? Hybrid Starfighter

[Onno Meyer]

> It depends whether you want "boat vs boat" or "plane vs. boat".
> 
> Eric Funk

As Roger pointed out, the usual GURPS tech doesn't give you 
the choice. Tech that works for a fighter works for a large
cruiser, and PT boats are not just large fighters.

What can you do to justify small starfighters?

* Cut the flight and engagement ranges. When the range is 
  measured in lightseconds, big weapons and sensors allow 
  a big ship to target a little fighter before the little
  fighter can close, and swarm tactics are no solution
  unless you use a FTL drive to bypass the approach.  

  But when fighters dodge among a cluster of asteroids or 
  habitats, ranges will be shorter. A little ship with a 
  sufficient sensor and weapon can defeat a larger, more
  expensive ship with 'overkill' and 'overreach'. 

* Introduce restrictive rules of engagement to prevent 
  'beyond visual range' kills. No military force would 
  accept such rules unless it can afford it and tries to
  gain the 'moral high ground', but non-military forces 
  (like cops or bounty hunters) might well be forced to 
  close to knife range before they can open fire. Again
  the extra capability of big ships will be wasted. 

* Remove large, organized groups that could afford big 
  ships (i.e. governments and their military). If each 
  unit is purchased by a single anarcho-capitalist or 
  at best by a company, there will be no big ships. 

* Make it necessary to cover a large volume with a 
  limited budget.

When all is said and done, I could see little fighters 
either with a suitably advanced FTL drive or operated 
by non-state-actors in a L5 or belt community. 

Of course I know what's supposed to come out, and that
might skew my analysis :-)