Oh, nicely done, sir, nicely done.

On Fri, Oct 10, 2014 at 9:36 AM, John Groth <xxxxxx@cox.net> wrote:

>
> Erik Grierson, one of AuricTech Shipyard's most talented consulting
> designers, would like some clarifications on the Request for Proposals (RFP)
> that ought to follow from this friendly discussion:
>
> 1. Is the 100-dton size of the legacy Type-S a hard-and-fast limit to ship
> size?  If not, what is the largest ship that would be acceptable for service
> in this multi-mission role?

I'd think the _preference_ would be 100 d-tons so the new ones would
fit where there are already Type-S's carried.
I think they'd accept that the requirements might prevent that.

>
> 2a. Will the Imperial Navy requirement include 6G acceleration, so as to be
> capable of maintaining station with warships?

That would be a bonus

>
> 2b. Will the Imperial Navy require this courier design to exceed the by-now
> standard J4 for front-line combat squadrons?

Meeting J4 would be the minimum

>
> 3. Will the IISS accept a design proposal that includes the expense of a
> warship-caliber sensor/commo suite?  If not, how much will the IISS be
> willing to spend on sensors and commo equipment?

I'd think the current Type-S adjusted to TL would be enough.

>
> 4a. How many commando troops does the Imperial Marine general want a single
> ship of this type to carry "behind the lines"?

Minimum would be a fire team (4)

>
> 4b. Do the Imperial Marines require the proposed ship to deliver said
> commando troops directly from orbit?  Will they accept a proposed ship that
> needs to land to deliver commandos (Mr. Grierson suspects that the other
> services would *strongly* oppose using any of *their* allocation of such
> ships as landing craft)?  If the proposed ship must be capable of delivering
> commando troops directly from orbit, what means of delivery are acceptable?

I'd think the Marines would accept landing, but I'd also think that
with battle dress for the target TL stepping out the airlock in low
orbit might suffice.

>
> Fortunately, the Imperial Army's requirements boil down to carrying mail
> more quickly.  As such, the Imperial Army appears to be upset with neither
> the cargo capacity nor the data capacity of the Type-S.
>
> From the snippet of discussion posted above, the AuricTech management team
> has guesstimated that a ship capable of 6G/J4 acceleration, able to deliver
> a 4-person commando element, carrying a sensor array that would be of value
> to both IISS and the Imperial Navy, with a mail capacity that meets the
> Imperial Army's needs, will probably require a ship of about 300-400 dtons
> (though we will endeavor to keep the ship well under 200 dtons).  We look
> forward to seeing how closely our assessment matches the final RFP, how our
> feedback influences the final RFP, and how we closely we can meet the final
> RFP.
>

Look forward to seeing it.

I'd sketch for TL 16 or 17, given that the IISS's view is that it's
going to be an attempt to leapfrog out of the "we're behind the times"
problem.