On Wed, 31 May 2006 16:44:09 -0700, Mark Borgerson wrote:

Why are you assuming that the command post does not move? I see no
reason that a mobile command post and multiple mobile transmitters
could not be used.

"I see no reason why all of the problems with my idea can't
be addressed by making my system even more complex."

You already have a large number of Predator-sized UAVs (the
Predator has a wingspan of almost 50 feet and is about 28 feet
long, by the way, for a payload of about 450 pounds), which
are apparently equipped with a sensor suite that can image
ships in visible light and IR (it would kind of suck to not
be able to see your target several miles away in haze, or if
it was dark out, so I'm assuming you've already thrown in
multispectral imaging capability, or hey, why not synthetic
aperture radar) plus a laser rangefinder and sophisticated
ESM receivers that can classify and locate enemy radar emissions,
plus a Mk 1 Electronic Brain that can fuse all the sensor data,
analyze images to reliably identify specific ship types from any
angle and in any lighting conditions, and decide all by itself
to engage targets with the weapons that also somehow have to
fit in that 450 lb payload.

Oops, I almost forgot the swarm of decoy aircraft that match
the radar, IR, visual, and ESM signature of your real attack
UAVs (so the enemy can't easily classify them as decoys and
ignore them), but are just there to make things more confusing.

Now you want to add a mobile command infrastructure, presumably
with a horde of mobile decoy transmitters to make the actual
transmitters harder to target (if the decoys aren't mobile,
after all, they won't be very effective decoys.)

What happens if the ships you're trying to attack are below
the horizon from your coast? Better add a satellite
communication system so you can still order your UAVs
around when they're more than 20 miles offshore.

Or hey, wait a minute, the UAVs are autonomous, so why not make
them submersible too? If they're attacked, they can just dive
into the water and continue the rest of the way to the target
safely. At one stroke, you've just rendered all of the enemy's
sophisticated air defense systems useless!

I think there might be a point somewhere in there when the
leaders of Ashcanistan will tell you and your Asymmetrical
Warefare-O-Matic system to get lost, and go back to their
original idea of using WWI-era naval mines and suicide
speedboats to inconvenience the naval forces of the
Great Satan.


ljd