KIDI- Kerbal Interplanetary Defence Initiative

[Lazurkri]

I don't even see why a carrier needs armor in the first place. I have an idea for a very expendable carrier that is unarmored and carries small fighters on the exterior. It is basically a probe core, 2 Kerbal containers, fuel tanks, and NERVAs.

Well, generally, AIRCRAFT are cheap... the CARRIERS are not. I mean, look at how INSANELY expensive a Nimitz class aircraft carrier costs; at least a billion dollars, if not more, much more. Thus, you want to protect your investment. Thus, armor. Well, armor and CIWS, SAM launchers, CAP patrols, Aegis class cruiser defenses....

That and I've seen a few sci-fi carriers that were more along the lines of auxiliary carriers (IE, they CAN carry fighters, but that is NOT their main purpose). Kinda like how the japanese had the Type B1 class subs that could carry a seaplane.

[Sliinty]

I'm gonna say I disagree on the long burn time/ long range thing. its easier to hit things with very short burn time and short range, so you still get high velocity (albeit less efficiently) and hit more often, after all, the Coriolis effect is annoying. The drill missile is awesome, but lets face it, the impact tolerance for any vanilla part shouldn't really be 999...

[sgt_flyer]

after my drill, i'm develloping a new small dumb rocket for ultra light fighters - typically for mosquito class fighter lets say that... it seems pretty effective against shades (even at ranges < 100m, as they still don't have a good accuracy - still working on that ) they only have 5 parts. and no, i didn't put a structural pylon in it as a warhead - and it's not a nosecone either

[minerman30]

50% because i like making extremely weird and durable ships regardless of size and purpose, 50% because it looks awesome and it was a nice challenge.

Well, generally, AIRCRAFT are cheap... the CARRIERS are not. I mean, look at how INSANELY expensive a Nimitz class aircraft carrier costs; at least a billion dollars, if not more, much more. Thus, you want to protect your investment. Thus, armor. Well, armor and CIWS, SAM launchers, CAP patrols, Aegis class cruiser defenses....

That and I've seen a few sci-fi carriers that were more along the lines of auxiliary carriers (IE, they CAN carry fighters, but that is NOT their main purpose). Kinda like how the japanese had the Type B1 class subs that could carry a seaplane.

I understand that, I'm just saying that a cheap, disposable carrier would seem like a good idea, as it could be very efficient and hold a large amount of small fighters. Maybe even a carrier that could externally carry the smaller carriers, for interplanetary missions.

[Rikimaru Tsuki]

Getting the Tortoise to space is more complicated than i thought. so far no success

[Sliinty]

How much does it weigh?

[espm400]

Now, I don't have any large space-faring ships on my current save, since I started fresh after getting DRE, FAR, IonCross Crew Support, and RemoteTech all at once (now that was a helluva big change). I did however, get bored about a week or so ago and decided to make some real life fighter/X-plane analogues. Some things still bug me about them, like the over-sized control surfaces as well as not being able to find a certain F-16 cockpit that I know for a fact I've seen in the forums here somewhere. That being said, they all fly very well, with the exception of the X-29, which flys great until it hits trans-sonic speeds, and then ... physics...

From left to right:

YF-23 Black Widow II - Still very much WIP

F/A-18 Hornet - Very controllable but not as manuverable due to stock control surfaces for aesthetic reasons

F-15 ACTIVE - My personal favorite. Can easily pull off a variety of Pugachev's Cobra maneuvers and take some very hard landings in stride (the two often coincide...)

Predator-esque Drone - Not much use other than target practice.

F-16 - Tends to pitch down, but otherwise, very maneuverable.

Background:

X-15 - Flys well, but having issues with drop craft

X-29 - Very maneuverable at sub-sonic speeds, loses all control surfaces at mach 0.95 thanks to DRE

I'm probably going to work on some European and Russian designs once I finish these. I'm just not investing much in space right now, seeing as .21 is coming soon.

Here's a few more pics:

Ill fated X-29. Notice the lack of engine and control surfaces

2x X-15 c/w dropship. Yes, I know they didn't drop upside-down...

Standard pre-ACTIVE upgrade F-15 loaded for bear (also before I widened the gap between the tail planes.

[_The_Burn_]

Well in theory, there is no need for armor on carriers, since they generally stay out of a battle. But it is often good to have armor on a carrier, since a airtight, er, uhm, spacetight defense is hard to acheive. One craft can always get through and screw the carrier over. An example would be in the American vs the British carriers in WWII. The American carriers had a wooden deck and would be devastated by Japanese Kamikaze attacks, whereas the British carriers often had 3 inches of steel armor on the deck, therefore were only minorly damaged by similar attacks. Whenever you don't have complete superiority, it is a good idea to have armor.

[andrew123]

Didn't the wood make it easier to make on-sight repairs to get the carrier fully operational again? I mean, I see the merits of armor, but the advantages of easy repairability is also what helped the M4 Sherman annihilate the superior German Panther and Super Panther tanks (Along with American numerical superiority). This could also be said of the me-262 with its horrible jet engines and weak modularity when pitted against the P-51 mustang.

[Rikimaru Tsuki]

How much does it weigh?

Final stage is 224.29 tons currently.

[Rikimaru Tsuki]

Work on the Tortoise may have to be suspended until i get home from vacation, laptop doesn't like the immense lag.

[Sliinty]

Lifting over 200 tons in one piece is difficult, but not impossible... try sending it up with some empty tanks maybe?

[Bannon]

While working on an update for the Chimera-class and a liquid fuel version of the Firefly Fighter, I was thinking of making a unified classification/designation system for ships that fall under this thread or any ship in KSP in general that works within the parameters of KSP. I was also thinking that this could be used by the KIDA crew though I'll leave it to them to decide on it.

Kerbal Space Program Ship Designation Scheme

[Organization/Role][Ship Structure][Weight class][Theater of Operation]-[Specialization][Series Number][Special Designation]

Organization/Role

M – Military (All military aligned craft fall under this category)

G – Government (All government aligned craft fall under this category)

S – Scientific/Research (All Scientific/Research and Exploration vessels fall under this category)

T – Transport (All Civilian shuttles and Commercial cargo falls under this category)

L – Logistical (All infrastructural and logistical craft fall under this category)

R – Recreational (All Luxury craft fall under this category)

C – Commercial (All commerce related non-transport craft fall under this category)

Ship Structure

M – Modular (All ships which have detachable components that are critical to the ship’s design. May include up to multiple Senior docking ports for the modularity of the ship. Does not include craft with detachable components that are not critical to the ship’s design)

S – Singular (All ships which have no detachable components whatsoever that are critical to the ship’s design. May include docking ports only up to regular docking ports for logistical or transport purposes only. Does not include craft with any detachable critical components.)

D – Discarding (All ships which have detachable components that are not critical to the ships design. May include up to senior docking ports for the purposes of logistics, transport, or mission-critical operations. Does not include craft which have detachable components that are critical to the ship’s design)

Weight class

S – Super Heavy (All ships above 250 tons falls under this category)

H – Heavy (All ships between 150 and 250 tons falls under this category)

M – Medium (All ships between 50 and 150 tons falls under this category)

L – Light (All ships below 50 tons falls under this category)

Theater of Operation

A – Atmospheric (All atmosphere bounded craft fall under this category)

I – Interplanetary (All craft capable of exiting and re-entering planetary orbits fall under this category)

L – Terrestrial (All craft bound to the surface of a planetary body fall under this category

O – Orbital (All craft bounded by the orbit of a planetary body fall under this category)

T – Trans-operational (All craft capable of self-contained transfer between any of the above mentioned theatres of operation.)

Specialization

Military

A – Cruiser (All ‘Heavy’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships that fall below 500 parts.)

B – Battleship (All ‘Super Heavy’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships between 500 and 700 parts fall under this category.)

C – Carrier (All ships that carry other craft that engage in direct or indirect combat with other ships fall under this category.)

D – Destroyer (All ‘Medium’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships below 500 parts.)

E – Frigate (All ‘Light’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships between 200 and 500 parts fall under this category.)

F – Strikecraft (All ‘Light’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships below 200 parts fall under this category.)

L – Engineering and Logistics (All ships that perform non-combat support roles in the maintenance and operation of military assets falls under this category.)

T – Transport (All ships that carry other craft that do not engage in combat with other ships fall under this category.)

V – Multirole (All ships that perform significantly varied roles fall under this category.)

X – Prototype (All experimental ships fall under this category.)

BA – Battlecruiser (All ‘Heavy’ ships that engage in direct combat with other ships between 500 and 700 parts.)

BB – Dreadnaught (All ‘Super Heavy’ ships that engage direct combat with other ships above 700 parts fall under this category.)

Government

Scientific/Research

Transport

Logistical

Recreational

Commercial

Series Number

[Self-explanatory]

Special Designation

[Optional. Internally determined by fielding organization]

Military

Engine type

IE – Ion Engine (All Ships with Ion Engines as a primary propulsion system fall under this category)

LE – Liquid Engine (All Ships with Liquid Fuel Engines as a primary propulsion system fall under this category)

AE – Atmospheric Engine (All Ships with Liquid Fuel Air-breathing Engines as a primary propulsion system fall under this category)

H – Hybrid (All Ships with a hybrid engine setup fall under this category)

Following this system, the baseline Chimera would be designated MMHI-V01 being a modular interplanetary military ship which happens to also fill multiple roles (Direct combat ship and Carrier) and is the first ship of the series. The Firefly on the other hand would be MMLO-F01IE being an orbital light strikecraft with the capability to mount additional modules that is the first in its series. Of note the [Special Designation] for this is for the type of engine used by the original Firefly with IE denoting Ion Engine Propulsion as I'm also developing an LE variant.

All of this of course is just a suggestion and in many ways, is still WIP so I'm also sharing this so that it can be improved upon and modified if necessary.

[Comrade Jenkens]

Bannon: Wow that must have taken a while!! If people could standardise on a certain system then it would be much easier to judge craft by what they do compared to similar ships.

[Comrade Jenkens]

Edit - Double Post

[sodopro]

Wow. That is a really well organized system.

I'm sure KIDA would take something like this, but not sure about the rest of KIDI.

[Bannon]

An interesting note about the designation scheme though, I tried to classify Macey's Battlecruiser, the Vanguard into this system. At 268 parts and 140 tons, the Vanguard is just 10 tons shy of being designated as a Cruiser. It ended up as a Destroyer. The formal designation being MSMI-D01. So in terms of raw power of the ships in question, this system in my opinion doesn't really grasp what the actual ship is really capable of. Then again, Macey's ships are all geared to be low part count but highly efficient with enough room for some aesthetic flare so I don't think this system works with his series as well as I was expecting it to.

[Sliinty]

The vanguard is actually more of a destroyer imo. You should start a thread about classification on its own. Id say one flaw to your system is there should be a featherweight, sub ~15 ton category

[Comrade Jenkens]

The vanguard is actually more of a destroyer imo. You should start a thread about classification on its own. Id say one flaw to your system is there should be a featherweight, sub ~15 ton category

Agreed as there are many light ships on this thread

[andrew123]

The MIG-31 and Taurus cruise missile!

Here it is, folks!

Mig-31

Taurus 1

Taurus 2

Mods are: FAR, novapunch, lazor dll and cam, sceppie's small parts pack, and taverio's pizza and aerospace.

Craft files

Mig 31 + Taurus 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1eaxbof2d81um4n/Mig-31RE%20Taurus.craft

Mig 31 + Taurus 2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9v06bflw5ic0g55/Mig-31RE%20Taurus%202.craft

[donlokiman]

Been stuck on SSTOs as of late.

This is by far my most successful SSTO design. Flies quite brilliantly in atmos, it can manage a 80km x 80km orbit and barely have the fuel to deorbit, but it has enough fuel to circumnavigate kerbal on jets I imagine.

And I hate SSTOs lol

Edited July 16, 2013 by donlokiman

[Comrade Jenkens]

I struggle with SSTOs as well Most of mine can only just reach orbit.

I'd really appreciate sabre engines equivilants being added to the stock game

[RogueMason]

The following vessels represent the best warships commissioned by Mason Shipyards and Industries as of yet. Almost everything is stock (the only mods are the sunbeam lasers and some quantum struts on the Hawk launch stage). Other vessels are in development, but I thought I'd show these off anyway:

Atlantis class Torpedo Frigate:

Armed with 8 Helix Guided Torpedoes, the Atlantis is a formidable vessel. It is also a tough nut to crack as only a precise hit will cause any significant damages.

Preliminary testing points to the ship having the ability to reach Duna with relative ease. The class is an advanced remake of the old Atlantis class originally commissioned in 0.17.

Callisto class Reconnaissance Frigate:

The Callisto is armed with 4 Helix Guided Torpedoes, and was originally armed with 2 Sunbeam Lasers, but torpedoes can be left in orbit near to a target while the recon vessel can observe from a distance. Lasers may well be re-implemented. There is a quirk in the fuel pump system that results in fuel being drained from the portside faster than the rest of the ship, but the estimated range of the Callisto is Duna, nevertheless. An advanced sensor package is located on the bow.

H-37C 'Hawk' Light Short Range Fighter:

The Hawk has been around for a very long time due to its reliability and likeability. Its small fuel supply and standard engine render the vessel short range only, with the furthest typically being MKO (Medium Kerbin Orbit), but one is currently sitting in Minmus orbit. 2 Sunbeam lasers are the ships only armament. However, a next-gen model is likely to be created.

R-49 'Reaper' Medium Fighter:

The Reaper is a brand new medium fighter, and testing has proven the vessel to be very efficient in its lethality. A nuclear engine plus 4 ion engines give the vessel a slow acceleration but a long range, with Duna as a potential destination. The fighter is armed with 4 Hellhound Dumb-Fire Torpedoes that can ravage the target vessel with great ease.

[Comrade Jenkens]

Rouge Mason: That's a really nice looking set of ships. Any chance of stock versions to download?

[RogueMason]

RogueMason: That's a really nice looking set of ships. Any chance of stock versions to download?

Not just yet. With 0.21 looming, I'm going to wait, and only once I've converted/remade the designs, I'll start up a thread entitled 'Mason Shipyards and Industries'. Watch for it in the Rocket Builders sub-forum. Another option would be to keep checking the codex (the link for which is in my signature) and see if Mason Shipyards is linked, which like I say should be after 0.21 releases

Also, just correcting the spelling of my username in your post there, don't worry