CIS vs. UFP Scenario (Tactical Emphasis)

[l33telboi]

This thread is devoted to figuring out the tactical strengths and weaknesses of the two sides involved, not the comparison between the firepower they have at their disposal. So to this end, consider the Federation weapons, as well as the CIS weapons of equal strength, same goes for shields and armor. If this becomes confusing i can provide hard stats, but for now, let's try it like this.

What i would like to see, is what both sides should do to maximize their efficiency in the battle. What tactics are best, how should they position their vessels, how would unique techs become involved and so on. So none of that "They won't do it because we've never seen them do it before."

How tech interacts with each other is up to you, but evidence as always is needed to back up a theory. (EDIT: Any even somewhat canon source you like can be considered evidence, but normal "higher canon trumps lower canon" rules apply.)

Scenario:

A UFP fleet consisting of 1 Sovereign-Class Starship, 2 Prometheus-Class Starships as well as 4 Defiant-Class Starships square off with a CIS fleet consisting of 1 Trade Federation Battleship, 2 Munificent-Class Frigates and 3 Recusant-Class Destroyers. The CIS also have access to their fighters.

The battleground is empty space. No planets, no stars, no nothing, just empty space.

The two fleets will have complete knowledge of the other sides capabilities. They will start off about ½ly from each other, so FTL can and most likely will play a major role in the combat.

Oh, and if this gets to one-sided, as God of this thread, i reserve the rights to change the balance if needed. I'll post my own theories in a while, but first, i would like to see how you figure this will turn out.

[Socar]

How tech interacts with each other is up to you, but evidence as always is needed to back up a theory.

Speaking of which, what sources are we allowed to use as valid evidence for this topic?

[l33telboi]

Any even somewhat canon source you like.

EDIT: Normal "higher canon trumps lower canon" rules apply.

[AnonymousRedShirtEnsign]

Something to consider is that the UFP "fleet" has smaller, faster, more maneuverable ships and can out-number the CIS fleet 11 to 6. Additionally, all three UFP ship classes are specifically designed to be modern warships as opposed to only the CIS battleship (though the frigate does have some impressively large forward guns, a pity they won't be fighting a stationary target).

Tactically, Starfleet should make strafing runs using their superior sub-light speed and mobility, concentrating on the aft of the CIS ships. While it is possible for the Starfleet ships to sit there and slug it out, that is about the stupidest thing they could do as it would result in very heavy casualties (assuming equal weapon strength that is). Even assuming DS9 weapon ranges (rather than TOS) the UFP still has more advantages than the CIS. Trasporters could also be used to great effect once a CIS ship loses shields. The fighters don't represent much of a threat to UFP capitol ships. The UFP ships could also employ the use of tractor beams to hold the enemy in a good firing arc.

As for the CIS, they should try and nullify the UFP's sub-light advantages. The easiest way for them to do this is to disrupt the mass lightening effect of using sub-space fields. So basically have their fighters shoot the Warp nacelles, at-least then the CIS ships should be able to shoot the UFP ships with less than horrendous accuracy. It is possible that the CIS ships could use tractor beams the same way the UPF ships could (assuming they are similar tech), but for the most part tractor beams work when the target vessel doesn't have shields activated.

It is also worth pointing out that the commander of the CIS fleet will be used to fighting battles with expendable troops, so their tactics could be as bad as the Borg's, or as reasonably competent as the Dominon's.