Quote:
Originally Posted by Onizuka-GTO
well if you want something recent, you could say they learnt it from the 117th (research) fleet that they wiped out 11yrs ago
|
That's a great point - the Ghost X-9 would have had 8 years to go into full production by then, so the research fleet could very well have had some of them.
The events of the deculture episode would make a lot of sense if the Vajra had discovered some weakness in the command protocols or AI; first jam the link back to the mothership, then broadcast your own attack transmission that screws up the Ghosts completely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onizuka-GTO
You notice in the first episode, that the Vf-25 and the 117th comms were affected as well, they had static and video-link degrading.
|
Yes, but I'm not convinced that was any worse than what would normally be expected under combat conditions.
More importantly, we could clearly see the effects of the jamming on the flagship's tactical display; the areas of effect popped up as marked spheres, and the Ghosts' telemetry cut off as soon as they entered those zones. By contrast, when the VF-171s engaged the Vajra the tactical display remained perfectly clear, and the Valkyries' telemetry data was completely uninterrupted up until the point where they were shot down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onizuka-GTO
Obviously the manned fighters have better EM protection then robots, due to the fact that you only need to shield vital system and not the entire system including the piloting A.I. itself.
|
Even if that's the case, EM hardening counters EMP attacks, not jamming.
Moreover, I'm not sure that the difference is that significant. The Valkyries are still dependent on electronics for everything from engine management to cockpit instrumentation and flight control. The AI is just one more black box to shield.
And even if the AI is extremely delicate and difficult to harden, the first things to be fried in an EMP attack against either a Valkyrie or Ghost are still likely to be the sensors, because they have to be both exposed and sensitive in order to do their jobs. A blinded Ghost is a kill, of course, but even on a Valkyrie it's a mission-kill; the pilot can still fly by looking out the window, but combat effectiveness will drop to nearly zero.