After Action Review # 9: Meteor Battle Over Zenya

 

Stardate:  Fiday, 118-130 ABY

Subsector: Shannekam

Planet: Zenya

After Action Review:  Observation of Zenyan System Defense Forces vs. Meteor Storm

Region:  Planet-wide 

Early Morning, Prime Meridian Time

Yesterday (Forday, 117-130 ABY), the planet Zenya was bombarded by a meteor storm.  As reported, most of the meteors struck in remote areas, but several cities were hit. Damage and casualty reports are still coming in from these urban sites.

It could have been worse.  Thanks to the Zenyan Planetary Defense Force, it wasn't.

A few large asteroids were detected nearing Zenya-III's orbit.  Several starships were dispatched to intercept.

The following pictorial summary illustrates the course of action: 

A Zenyan task force consisting of two destroyers and six frigates, fire a salvo of concussion missiles at the approaching asteroids.

 

Every missile hits its target.  The ships' ready-racks are now depleted.

 

The multiple warhead detonations cause the asteroids to fragment.

 

The Zenyan starships engage the smaller asteroids with laser and blaster fire.

 

The asteroids shatter into meteors, still approaching Zenya-III.

 

The Zenyan ships fire another laser volley.

 

Three meteors are destroyed.  The Zenyan ships attempt to block the meteors' glide-path.

 

The frigate Umoja is struck by a meteor, while the remaining ships fire another volley.

 

The meteors are destroyed, but so is the frigate Umoja.

 

The destroyer Shupavu is struck by a meteor.

 

The Shupavu explodes, while two additional meteors are destroyed.

 

The remaining frigates form-up around the destroyer Shujaa and eliminate two more meteors.

 

Despite the defensive formation, the frigate, Galana is hit.

 

As the meteors pass the starships' defensive perimeter, incoming rocks are engaged by Zenyan fighters.

 

"Scratch four meteors!"

 

Another flight of Zenyan interceptors engage.

 

Three more meteors are destroyed and the interceptors break off.

 

As the meteors enter Zenya-III's upper atmosphere, they're engaged by planetary defense sites consisting of surface-to-space missile batteries and turbo-laser cannons.

 



Several more meteors are destroyed by the defense site salvos, before plummeting to the surface.



The Zenyan Planetary Defense Forces established a hasty, but reasonably affective layered defense against the meteor storm. 

 

The question remains, however:  How did several large asteroids approach Zenya-III without being detected in the first place?