Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 179, page 181 - Maximum Attack Speed
The core of the tactics is very simple.

According to the intelligence provided by Ventress, Jedi generals like Alrix are accustomed to relying on their Force intuition to instantly discern the weaknesses in the enemy's formation during battle, and then striking the vital points like a precise scalpel, rather than relying on complex strategies meticulously planned before the battle.

Therefore, instead of racking their brains to design a "perfect" formation to counter the elusive Force perception, it is better to proactively adopt the most basic formation, exposing a known and controllable "weakness".

Use this obvious trap to counter Jedi's instincts.

Specifically, the No. 3 battle command formation is generally considered to have a weakness in that long, parallel battle line, which is relatively vulnerable.

Near the inverted V-shaped flank formation, the firepower of each ship can support each other, forming a dense crossfire network.

However, ships on parallel fronts find it difficult to do this.

Therefore, the tactical purpose of the parallel front is to act as bait, slowly retreating when the enemy attacks to lure them deeper, while allowing the inverted V-shaped flanks to accelerate forward and encircle them, ultimately completing a three-sided encirclement.

Aleks's goal was undoubtedly to concentrate his forces to break through the parallel battle line before the Confederate fleet could complete its encirclement on the flanks, cut the Confederate fleet in half, and then annihilate it piecemeal.

This is where the Confederate starfighters come in.

Fighter jets are fast and highly maneuverable, enabling them to quickly fill gaps, harass and delay enemy breakthroughs, and buy valuable time for the flanking fleet to complete the encirclement.

The key to the success or failure of the entire tactic lies in the timing and direction of the hidden fighter jets' attack.

If the enemy can anticipate this and mobilize forces from their weak points to counter it, the trap becomes meaningless.

At this moment, Renn's eyes were fixed on the tactical hologram.

The distance between the two fleets is now less than 5000 million kilometers.

At this distance, the most effective detection method is to track the high-energy exhaust plume emitted by the sublight-speed engine.

These tail flames are extremely bright and hot, radiating enormous amounts of energy in all directions, standing out like a lighthouse in the dark space.

In addition, the different configurations and energy characteristics of engines of different classes and models of ships can also help identify enemy ship types.

However, precisely because the exhaust plumes of the capital ships' sub-light-speed engines are so bright, hot, and have such a wide radiation range, they become an excellent shield to cover the exhaust plumes of small fighter jet engines.

The difficulty of distinguishing the faint, candle-like engine signals of a few or even dozens of light attack aircraft amidst the dazzling "campfires" of a group of capital ships is unimaginable.

Unfortunately, the Confederate mainstay, the droid starfighters, had limitations in tactical flexibility.

Performing such maneuver missions, which require precise timing, complex coordination, and on-the-spot adaptability, exceeds their conventional capabilities as pre-programmed procedures.

They excel at launching mass attacks using overwhelming numbers, but this sophisticated "decoy-ambush" tactic requires a higher level of command artistry.

Remotely controlling these robotic fighters from the mothership's bridge would inevitably result in signal delays, making it impossible to cope with the ever-changing battlefield situation.

Therefore, there must be an experienced commander on site who can assess the situation in real time and make the most appropriate decisions.

Ventress was the perfect choice for this role. She was not only a fearsome Sith assassin, but also one of the Confederate's top ace pilots.

In terms of practical experience in interstellar fighter aerial combat, she even surpassed the combined experience of all the frontline commanders of the 28th Mobile Fleet.

On the tactical screen, the signal of the engine exhaust flames representing the Republic Fleet was rapidly amplifying and spreading.

The originally sharp edges became blurred, and the intense energy radiations intertwined, forming a hazy halo that kept expanding.

In this state, it is difficult to accurately determine the real-time speed and vector of the enemy formation, because they are rushing towards us at high speed along a nearly straight course.

It can only be roughly estimated based on the intensity and expansion rate of its engine exhaust flame.

Ryan watched as the numbers representing the distance jumped wildly on the screen, the relative speed at which the two were closing in on each other was increasing at an alarming rate.

"The enemy fleet's acceleration is increasing dramatically," Little Tower calmly pointed out the key data change.

Renn nodded somewhat absentmindedly.

Our fleet is maintaining a relatively steady acceleration, with plans to stabilize at 500 standard gravity units.

This was both to maintain a tight formation spacing and to ensure the maximum sustained thrust of the refitted Lucrehook-class battleships. In contrast, Aleksandr's fleet had pushed its engines to their limits from the outset, and now the acceleration readings were skyrocketing to an astonishing 1000 units of gravity, with absolutely no sign of slowing down!

"How much gravitational acceleration can the Republic's 'Jeffier-class' Star Destroyer withstand?" Renn asked loudly, his brow furrowed.

“Under optimal hull structure conditions, it can theoretically withstand 2000 standard units of gravity,” Xiaota quickly retrieved the database information, “but even so, the organic crew members on board may still suffer severe or even fatal internal organ damage and brain hemorrhage.”

"Imagine."

Raine's gaze refocused on the enemy's chaotic markings, or rather, it couldn't even be called a formation.

Due to the significant differences in engine performance and thrust among the ships, the "Mediator Task Force" was unable to maintain a stable formation, resulting in a chaotic data stream.

"Pull up the vector diagram of the relative motion between the two sides."

Two sets of lines were instantly generated on the screen.

The lines representing the Confederate fleet are neatly parallel and all heading in the same direction.

The lines representing the Republic's fleet are like a tangled mess, with their direction and length constantly changing.

Renn's brow furrowed even more. "Calculate the current relative interception speed!"

A series of alarming numbers instantly appeared on the screen:
13859 km/s

14183 km/s

16431 km/s

17003 km/s

18098 km/s

……

The numbers are still skyrocketing!

What exactly is going on? !
The distance between the two sides was no longer simply "rapidly shortening"; the distance reading on the screen was flashing wildly, as if the refresh rate couldn't keep up with the actual changes.

Each time the tactical hologram is automatically updated, the marker representing the enemy ship jumps forward a large distance, as if it is making a discontinuous spatial jump.

Ryan subconsciously raised his hand and patted the edge of the tactical screen, wondering if it was a device malfunction.

But the cold touch and the report from Xiaota confirming that the system was functioning normally told him that this was not a hallucination.

The Republic Fleet is really charging at such a high speed, almost suicidal, and unheard of!
The originally anticipated one-hour engagement time was now rapidly decreasing in minutes, not seconds, whenever he glanced at the screen!

"Has the enemy deployed light attack aircraft?" Renn's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"The detectors have not detected any signals of enemy fighter groups leaving the mothership, sir," Little Tower confirmed.

What exactly is she planning?
This is not how interstellar fleet warfare should be conducted!

Renn glanced again at the rapidly decreasing estimated contact time.

At this speed, Alekss simply doesn't have enough time to unleash her fighter wing!

and many more……

Could she...

They never intended to release the fighter jets, did they?
Ryan shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off the absurd idea.

Any officer who has received basic interstellar tactics training knows that fighter jets are an absolutely indispensable key force in breaking through the No. 3 combat command formation!

(End of this chapter)