Thursday, April 22, 2004

A Space Battle

That Buck Rogers Stuff

The primary tactical function of a battleship is to engage and destroy the enemy naval forces, which obviously supports the naval mission of protecting friendly shipping and ensuring control over the space.  The essence of space power will (like sea power) rest in the ability to dominate space.  You do that by denying use of it to the enemy.  And you do that by destroying his navy if it comes out of port.  But how will this happen, and what will future battles look like?

A lot depends on the political nature of the war in which the battle takes place, and the geography of the solar system.  (Interestingly, this will be constantly changing – as the planets, moons and asteroids orbit the sun, each at their own pace, the distances and relationships between them will change.  There will not be, as on earth, constant or permanent sea-lanes, straights, or territorial waters.  From month to month, minimum energy orbits between the planets will be in constantly different arrangements.  It will become easier to get to one place, and harder to get to others.  This will affect naval strategy.) Further, what will each power be trying to achieve or trying to protect?  Is the goal invasion and conquest, or merely to frustrate the goals of the enemy? 

The greatest naval battles involving battleships were Trafalgar and Jutland.  In each case, the British were trying to frustrate the enemy.  That is to say, the British had no desire to follow up a naval victory with large-scale invasion.  However, the French in 1804 and the Germans in 1916 needed to defeat the British in order to achieve other desirable goals.  All the British need to do is to defeat the enemy fleet, and everything else follows.  Let’s assume that the Europans, long the dominant power in the outer solar system, are content with their control over trade routes in the Jovian system, and between Jupiter and the outer planets.  They are growing fat and rich on the trade that passes through their ports.  However, the Titanians, upstarts and growing powers in the Saturnine system, are deeply unhappy that the arrogant Europans get all the money and all the glory.  They want their own share of the trade with the populous inner system, and further want a piece of the growing pie that is comet harvesting in the Kuiper belt at the outer edge of the solar system.  (Which the sneaky Europans are poaching on.)


Posted by Buckethead on 04/22/04 at 09:48 PM
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