Cybertrance: If it gets included in BP, it's more likely to replace the Anemoi than anything else, I think. Looks far more like a GTVA ship than a UEF one anyway.
Hades: I said it before, but it looks really great.
not to mention I dont think the UEF has a position for a Logistics vessle, they even ***** about how stupid the GTVA is to deploy such large civilian ship into a combat zone, talking about the loss of the Collossus not teaching them that bigger is not always better
They're also complete hypocrites/morons for saying something like that, given how Sol would be a depopulated graveyard if it weren't for the Galatea, Bastion, etc. The Colossus, even if considered impractical, saved the entire GTVA twice over and almost singlehandedly crushed the NTF. It was certainly useful as a political/cultural/morale tool, with a 20-year, huge, joint Terran-Vasudan project that was crewed by 30,000 Terrans and Vasudans.
The statement was that bigger is not always better. Ultimately outside of the NTF rebellion, the Colossus did bugger all that couldn’t have been done as well by a intelligently deployed destroyer task force. Not only that but Command practically had a hissy fit over each time the ship was so much as scratched because it would take a massive amount of time to repair the damage. Then finally, when it's big moment to shine came and actually do what it was designed to do... the shivans out classed it again to a ridiculous degree. Not only that but in the BPverse even the GTVA admit that the strategy of super massive warships wont work vs the Shivans by not building any more ships of comparable or greater scale.
Oh, and the Wargods mocking the Tevs for building destroyer-sized freighters while in the middle of a bold, critical mission to neutralize/capture such a ship because it's giving them hell and giving the Tevs a huge logistical, tactical, and strategic advantage is just plain hilarious.
that mission actually emphasises the issue with the concept of massive scale lightly armed supply ships in combat zones because you indeed have a high value target that is inherently difficult to protect once located, and while the UEF struggle to locate them manually, given the force numbers displayed by the Shivans and their apparent ability to locate ships in space (eg the number of convoy escort missions that go belly up in all iterations of FS) they are a at best questionable solution to the GTVA's logistics needs
If you put the three Solaris-class destroyers together, they get surprisingly close to the size of the Colossus--and the UEF built all three when the only enemy they had was a loose band of pirates/terrorists using outdated fighters and small cruisers, while the GTVA could have been attacked by another Shivan invasion at any time, full of Shivan destroyers or even superdestroyers. The Solaris-class has got to be a logistical nightmare anywhere outside of Sol; it seems like it would flat-out run out of ammo in any kind of prolonged engagement, and good luck ferrying hundreds of Apoc torpedoes and thousands railgun slugs to such a ship every time it engages an enemy.
not this again...
Colossus = 6166 m
Solaris = 3496 m
Raynor = 3200 m
Titan = 2582 m
Orion = 2030 m
Solaris is 1.7 times the size of an Orion, the ship I assume is the Solaris' predecessor, which is not all that silly. The Colossus is again 1.7 times the size of a Solaris and 3 times the size of the Orion and no where near as well armed as a Solaris. Also can I draw your attention to the techroom for the Solaris which is entered into the Solaris wiki page. The tech room entry opens with...
Prior to the outbreak of the UEF-GTVA war, the Solaris class Destroyers were the most controversial pieces of military hardware in use by the Federation. They represented a massive investment of resources and manpower that, according to critics, was fundamentally unnecessary. Designed by an ad-hoc committee of the Federation's best engineering and tactical thinkers and built at Mars' Bradbury Fleet Yards, these enormous warships seemed like answers to a nonexistent problem.
So yes even the UEF called them a waste of time and resources, until the war broke out and as I have said previously, their lack of direct combat actions still leave them open to question.
The difference being that the Colossus was deployed in it's intended role as the GTVA's high profile shield vs the Shivans and it was found sorely lacking after only a few weeks at most. All three Solaris destroyers are still kicking and their large fighter wings are continuing to make an impact on the war 18 months.
and that is not to mention as a warship Solaris destroyers are designed for direct contact with the enemy and win or loose will probably acquit them very well. The Anemoi on the other hand would have been floating debris if the UEF were in a mind to shoot at it in ernest.
Finally when compared to their front line GTVA counterparts, they are not that big, less than 300 meters longer than a Raynor and 1000 longer than a Titan and the Solaris is built to do both jobs, something has to give and in this case it is physical dimensions.
All in all the Solaris is justifiable (after the fact), the Colossus was a good destroyer hunter but ultimately a joke as an answer to the problem of the Shivans. The Anemoi is just far too vulnerable for it's role, perhaps if had a reasonable defensive armament (it's hitpoints are not too shabby though), but as it is, if the UEF turn up wave the white flag, if the shivans turn up, pray your jump drive is charged and programmed.