Translation:Orbital ufo activity txt/en

UFOpaedia Entry

Proposal

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Col. Ingrid Falkland, Intelligence Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Proposal: Orbital UFO Activity

Good morning, Sir.

Let me begin by stating a few ugly realities.

1) All of humanity's space-based assets have been evacuated after the initial attack on Earth. Only a few stations and outposts are still running, and they have been remanded to military control, with only skeleton crews of volunteer military and civilian personnel.

2) We have just a handful of space-based weapons platforms, none of which are equipped to harm alien craft. The aliens have the ability to instantly exterminate any human endeavours in the solar system.

3) Our satellite grid is wide open and could be wiped off the map in an instant. Emergency landlines exist, but only for military use. If the grid does come under attack, comms between PHALANX command centres and assets in the field -- aircraft and ground teams -- will be hamstrung.

4) There is no doubt that there are alien craft moving in orbit, ferrying items and UFOs between Earth and the alien homeworld, and right now there is nothing we can do to stop them.

This leads us to only one conclusion: The space around Earth is no longer under our control. The only reason humanity retains any space capability at all is because the aliens have chosen not to destroy it yet.

Our shocking vulnerability from space is demonstrated in the fact that we've fought this war exclusively on the ground and in the air. We have no space-planes that can be adapted for combat, and designs for building them are years from completion. Not even PHALANX could create a workable combat plane in time to affect the outcome of the war with the technologies currently at our disposal.

What little orbital weaponry we have is severely inadequate. There are nuclear missiles which the UN won't let us use, and which would be far too destructive to help our research efforts if one of the colossal things ever managed to score a hit. There are experimental laser and maser platforms which are too underpowered to put a dent in heavy UFO armour. If the aliens decide they want to bomb us into extinction, they can just walk right up and knock. This is a situation that has to be remedied.

The only question we can ask about this orbital UFO activity is how we're going to counter it. Until now we've not been able to affect the situation, but with budget increases and our growing reputation in the UN, pieces are starting to fall into place for a new step to our strategy.

By far the most promising idea for a short-term orbital response weapon is to adapt one of the 'space guns' used by NASA and the European Space Agency to launch satellites and -- before the invasion forced us to evacuate our extraplanetary installations -- fire resupply packages at Tranquility Base colony on the moon. These space guns are essentially giant railguns with enough power to send a satellite-sized payload into orbit. With our library of UN research on electromagnetic weaponry, we can upgrade one of these guns into an anti-orbital weapon capable of knocking alien ships out of the sky. We're confident we can convince at least one of Earth's space agencies to lend us a suitable gun for the job.

There are problems, however. Obviously these guns can't move, being built into the side of a mountain, so the target would have to pass directly in front of the gun for us to have a chance to hit it. Since we can't count on the aliens to give us a point-blank shot, this has been a big stumbling block, but we believe there may be a solution: If the gun can't move in order to hit something, the bullets will have to move instead.

The plan calls for development of a special shell that is able to adjust its own trajectory with a suite of onboard rockets. We're currently pushing the UN to let us use a miniature nuclear warhead -- no more than 3 kilotons -- to make sure that any hit will kill. This orbital shell will be large, heavy, and a hell of a challenge to load into the gun, but it's absolutely necessary to give the project a realistic chance of success.

As you see, Sir, these problems can all be overcome, but we need to do some serious R&D and commit a good deal of funding to get it all working. Please lend your authorisation as soon as is feasible.

With kind regards,

Col. Falkland

Result

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Col. Ingrid Falkland, Intelligence Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Re: Orbital UFO Activity

Good morning, Sir.

The PHALANX orbital gun is tested and ready to rock. We have six shots. All we need now is a target and your authorisation.

For my full report:

We've finally carried out all the gun enhancements I mentioned. I'm sorry the work on the gun took so long, but we had to tear out all their old capacitor banks and replace them with military-grade capacitors of the same size. Then we had to put down new rails since the old ones were just too worn-out. Still, it was worth it.

Work on our new impact vehicle has also been completed. Over the course of the development process we decided to ditch the concept of an artillery shell, and are now referring to the impact vehicle as the 'Dragon' Space Missile. It's a semi-independent tracking missile, connected to our Command Centre by a laser beam, and guided by three systems at once: a beam rider, a huge infrared tracking array, and a manual adjustment interface in the Command Centre. We can plot the missile's course accurately to a circle less than a centimetre in diameter.

The UN has reluctantly allowed us to use the 3-kiloton mini-nuclear warheads we were pushing for, removing a lot of our concerns and limitations. With this warhead on board, it doesn't matter how hard or softly we hit a UFO. If it's hit, it's coming down.

The missile is able to adjust its own trajectory in and out of atmosphere. It's about the width of a VW Beetle and should inflict severe damage to any Carrier UFO it hits; hopefully enough to cause a crash, or at least knock it far enough down into the atmosphere to be engaged by our interceptors.

We should be able to fire several shots before the UFO can withdraw out of range or provide return fire to the gun. However, one way or another it's likely that the UFO will identify the target and attempt to destroy it from orbit. All personnel and vital equipment have already been evacuated.

We may lose the gun, but what we stand to gain is immeasurable. Technology that represents a fighting chance for humanity in this war. Nothing the aliens have left on Earth has ever been so important.

There's an alien FTL drive somewhere up there, Sir, and I mean to get my hands on it.

The gun is ready to fire at your say-so. I'll let you know as soon as there's a target in range.

With kind regards,

Col. Falkland

Research Tree Data

(This information for reference only; do not translate or include in-game.)

Prerequisites:
 Alien Origins
 The Alien Strategy

Opens:
 Orbital UFO Spotted