[Ypoknons]

I buy the spaceframe argument more. The techroom says that performance between the Scimitars and FS1 fighters are close, and plus, you find all kinds of copied or actual antique light arms in Afghanistan today, simply because they're better than nothing.

[-Norbert-]

I could imagine flying in a vaccum is less stressfull for the material of the vehicle in question than flying in atmosphere, extending the lifespan of the frame a bit.
Wasn't there also a mention of the Scimitar being a favourite of Mercenaries during (or before?) the TV-War? If so, then maybe some company continues to produce them, or at least part for them, for a while longer and with the need for mercs pretty much vanishing due to the UEF's nature, those fighters ended up in GEF hands.

[Flak]

The problem with old fighters is that they are probably no longer in production, both the crafts themselves as well as the spare parts so their number would be dwindling fast, from both combat as well as due to insufficient parts to repair them with. Though I do think it is possible for the Gefs may lay their hands on some old Fenris cruisers with modified armaments, those things can probably survive longer.

[General Battuta]

Gefs using Terran-Vasudan War era GTA fighters. I imagine there must be some lying around out there, and I imagine the Gefs would've stolen them. Heck, even an excuse to reuse the uglies from AoA

Gefs using upgunned Ulysses were in at one point but cut.

[ssmit132]

Gefs using Terran-Vasudan War era GTA fighters. I imagine there must be some lying around out there, and I imagine the Gefs would've stolen them. Heck, even an excuse to reuse the uglies from AoA

Well you could look at it this way. It's something like 50 years since the Great War that this occurs.

To put it into perspective, this is like saying "Why didn't those Bosnian blokes use Supermarine Spitfires?" when talking about Bosnia and why they didn't use old planes. And also, the military has this nasty habit of disbanding squadrons and crushing their aircraft after wars when the need for them becomes redundant.

And also, remember that these aircraft are like, made of material that suffers stress. Much like the aircraft of today, there's a point where you just can't fly it anymore without it being a safety issue due to the frame stress. I'd imagine most TV era fighters have flown to their useful lifespans and now spend most of their days in museums. Like most Spitfires were doing 50 years after WWII.

On the other side of the coin, the B-52 is over 50 years old and is planned to continue until 2040. But I suppose they're used in an actual Air Force (and therefore can have proper maintenance and refinement) as opposed to being in the hands of people like the Gefs.

[General Battuta]

Gefs using Terran-Vasudan War era GTA fighters. I imagine there must be some lying around out there, and I imagine the Gefs would've stolen them. Heck, even an excuse to reuse the uglies from AoA

Well you could look at it this way. It's something like 50 years since the Great War that this occurs.

To put it into perspective, this is like saying "Why didn't those Bosnian blokes use Supermarine Spitfires?" when talking about Bosnia and why they didn't use old planes. And also, the military has this nasty habit of disbanding squadrons and crushing their aircraft after wars when the need for them becomes redundant.

And also, remember that these aircraft are like, made of material that suffers stress. Much like the aircraft of today, there's a point where you just can't fly it anymore without it being a safety issue due to the frame stress. I'd imagine most TV era fighters have flown to their useful lifespans and now spend most of their days in museums. Like most Spitfires were doing 50 years after WWII.

On the other side of the coin, the B-52 is over 50 years old and is planned to continue until 2040. But I suppose they're used in an actual Air Force (and therefore can have proper maintenance and refinement) as opposed to being in the hands of people like the Gefs.

Don't underestimate them. They have surprising capabilities out there, and the Kostadin Cell is only one of many - not all of whom share its ideology.

[Ypoknons]

I think it really depends on how much maintenance you think FS strike craft need. Are they more like the latest modern fighters, which need constant upkeep and parts replacement? Or WWII era fighters, which are at a much lower level of complexity relative to technical know-how.

[-Norbert-]

Do the GEFs have some small factories to produce their own spare parts?
I guess a factory large enough to build complete fighters is unlikely, both due to logistics and the task of hiding it, but a smaller one for spare parts only might be possible.

[General Battuta]

Do the GEFs have some small factories to produce their own spare parts?
I guess a factory large enough to build complete fighters is unlikely, both due to logistics and the task of hiding it, but a smaller one for spare parts only might be possible.

The Gefs produce new ships and habitats at an unknown rate. Federation intelligence is unclear on the extent of Gef industrialization or logistical capability, given that penetration of their habitats is essentially impossible, but data from other sources suggests that the Gefs have grown adept at sustaining their populations using the ice, organics, and volatiles drawn from Kuiper belt objects as well as captured rocky/metallic asteroids from deeper in the system.

Manufacturing capabilities seem to vary widely between cells, with some maintaining cometary workshops and others turning to more exotic means.

[starlord]

pity that the blue planet wiki article doesn't show anything on the gef...

a definite idea though in WIH might be the eradication of the constadin cell (perhaps while flying a scimitar undercover...)

[Snail]

Kostadin Cell rats I hate those sub-human bastuds go home to your damn comets asshoels

[NGTM-1R]

On the other side of the coin, the B-52 is over 50 years old and is planned to continue until 2040. But I suppose they're used in an actual Air Force (and therefore can have proper maintenance and refinement) as opposed to being in the hands of people like the Gefs.

The 100-odd (or less) B-52s in service with the USAF and Air Guard exist upon the bones of the hundreds of them in mothballs or permanently disarmed sitting out in the Arizona desert.  There are major components that can no longer be replaced, too; the wing spars, for example, haven't been replaceable for more than 20 years. A B-52 with a damaged wing spar is going to permanently write one off; either itself, or another in mothballs.

Since the Gefs are (some of them?) engaged in active combat operations where their fightercraft get damaged, they've long since used up existing stocks of spare parts for any FS1 fighters they may have possessed. If they had any to begin with. It's very doubtful that the B-52 analogy could ever have applied and they had several times the number of active craft to use as spares.

[-Sara-]

pity that the blue planet wiki article doesn't show anything on the gef...

a definite idea though in WIH might be the eradication of the constadin cell (perhaps while flying a scimitar undercover...)

Stealth fighter anhiliation... Sneak in, take out several wings (given a timespan of 10-15 seconds before they can call for reinforcements) and somehow 'tag' a base, so that friendly reinforcements can finally locate a hidden base of sorts to force the Gef's to surrender.

[starlord]

yes, but an undercover mission to tap in their channels might help locate the base, and what better way to do that than at the help of one of their fighters? Also, it'l be an excuse to fly one more fighter (if it's not the meanest thing out there, then it represents more of a challenge...)

[Jellyfish]

Why just infiltrate a Gef base? Trick them into attacking Tev assets!
Particularly those the UEF dare not attack, like the Vasudans.

[-Norbert-]

If they did that, the UEF would only show the Vasudans that they were right not to trust the UEF and thus destroy any chance to ever reconcile with the Vasudans should it ever come to light.

[Dragon]

Spoiler:

GEFs already attacked Vasudans

Also, getting GEFs to attack GTVA would most likely work well for fighting GEFs, but wouldn't do much to GTVA, Scimitars won't stand a chance against AAA beam armed ships.

[Jellyfish]

And that's why you 'make' them attack logicstic ships.

If they did that, the UEF would only show the Vasudans that they were right not to trust the UEF and thus destroy any chance to ever reconcile with the Vasudans should it ever come to light.

If the UEF does it right, the GTVA won't notice who has been leading the Gef strikes.

[starlord]

question, why do the gef attack the vasudans? Why do they see them as a threat to their ecoterrorism agenda or to their idea of gaia?

[-Norbert-]

Spoiler:

I got the impression that the GEF didn't see the Vasudans as a threat, but as a tool.
First they just wanted to get the logistics ship for themselfs. Apart from being a very usefull ship by itself, it has lots of technology and information on board, not to mention spare parts in abundance and maybe even whole fighters.

The seconds attack was made to prevent the UEF from negotiating with the Vasudans, which might have put an end to the war (unlikely but possible), which wasn't in the best interrest of at least that particular GEF cell.

If the UEF does it right, the GTVA won't notice who has been leading the Gef strikes.

But if they don't it's gonna backfire badly.... a situation that I hope Steele to experiance in WiH2....

How about his gamble coming out, the Vasudans pulling out of Sol and Steele being demoted to wing leader and subsequently dueling with Laporte (kinda like the SoC missiong take two)? That sounds like fun.