[Taqwus]

A few decent ships (CA -> BB) with PD V's (still fairly cheap research), Combat Sensors or Talisman, and a base +20% experience (Adv. Military Science training facilities) should be able to thrash a large number of fighters. PDC V + Sensor III + Experience => +130% to hit, versus a max of -110% def (small fighter -80%, small ECM III -30%), and the fighters have to get w/n 3 IIRC in order for any of their weapons to be in range.

FWIW, when I did my 2 HC + 2 DN + 224 HvFtrs versus 8 DNs, none of the DNs was heavily PD (no more than 4 each), and still most of the fighters were destroyed even when I controlled the fighters, waited until all had been launched, and swarmed them at the correct distance (i.e. so they hadn't been shot at until the same turn they attacked, and that was by PD). If two or three of the DNs used the remaining weapon space for PDs, that might have been enough to tilt the balance. It would have also bought, for most purposes, near-immunity to missiles.

They should still require maintenance, given that they need to be fueled, armed, trained with (they require life support and cockpit, so these aren't remote-controlled fighters. Might be an interesting component -- saves space, perhaps allows some experience to be accrued by carrier and used by fighters, but expensive), but they're not superweapons.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night