Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- starship_weaponry_and_defenses [2011/07/24 16:38] – [Energy Weapons] hagalaz
+++ starship_weaponry_and_defenses [2011/07/31 20:10] – [Spaceship Defenses] - grammar edits, etc... hagalaz
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ===== Spaceship Defenses =====
-Spaceship defenses consist of passive defenses - **armor** and stealth - and active defenses - **evasive maneuvering**, decoys, and **electronic countermeasures (ECM)**. No progress has yet been made toward developing any kind of force field to protect ships.  ECM and decoys defend ships by attempting to spoof missiles into missing.  Evasive maneuvers are a last-ditch effort to avoid contact with incoming rounds, laser energy, and missiles.  Armor is the final protection a ship has against weapons that make contact with the ship's hull.
+Spaceship defenses consist of passive defenses - **armor** - and active defenses - **evasive maneuvering** and **electronic countermeasures (ECM)**. No progress has yet been made toward developing any kind of force field to protect ships.
-Nearly every corporation that builds starship components also has a division that manufactures shipboard countermeasures systems.
+ECM defends ships by attempting to spoof missiles into missing.  While stealthy radar-absorbing/deflecting coatings are available, it is nearly impossible to passively conceal a ship's location in space due to differences in temperature when compared to the cosmic background.  This is where ECM comes into play by confusing or even sometimes disabling sensors on incoming missiles.  Nearly every corporation that builds starship components also has a division that manufactures shipboard countermeasures systems.
+Evasive maneuvers, contrary to mental images conjured by people who have grown up on movies like the //Star Wars// series, are primarily an effort to avoid contact with incoming rounds, laser energy, and missiles by putting as much space as possible between your ship and the opposing ship's weapons without actually breaking contact.  Moving your ship so that something else lies between you and incoming rounds is also considered evasive maneuvering.  While some random movement at a distance can make it more challenging to hit you, all starships - even "space fighters" - are bound by the same laws of physics, and the closer you get to an enemy ship, the less likely you will be able to simply dodge incoming fire.
+Armor is the final protection a ship has against weapons that make contact with the ship's hull.
 ====== Prohibited Weapons ======