Step 5 --- Advanced COM signal work.

First Phase: timer ships. Any ship can keep a combat timer running, it does not need to be a warship. Thus you can have just one warship that collects the missions and opens fire, and many unarmed ships that stays at the plant maneuvering for position. Use your imagination, but here are 3 possibilities:

• Class 1 shuttle with a WHG, FTL, & ACB.
  
• A science and manufacturing ship that returns to earth regularly to start new manufacturing.
  
• A mining tender. Titan with 80 MIF/SMF/ATH/SAH. It goes into a sysem, fills all planets with miners/harvesters, runs the timer, then picks up the miners/harvesters before going onto the next system/mission.

Be aware and take into account that you will see open fire on a timer ship before you are actually ready to fire. If the mission is 1M power and your attack is also 1M power, the total timer will be 9 1/2 hours. If you are using a zero power timer ship it will show ready to fire at 5 hours, you will still need to wait an additional 4 1/2 hours. You can get around this by waiting 9 hours to bring in your COM flagship, and you will have only 1/2 hour to wait to open fire. Alternately you can let the timer ship run 10+ hours and open fire with your flagship upon arrival.

1. Once you have 2-3 timer ships working (3-4 if you include your COM flagship) it is time to get the combat officer. When you power down the timers will be shorter, and the extra money you make will make up for the cost of the officer.
   

Second Phase: Secondary warships. One at a time create or upgrade your timer ships to regular warships. Make them size 9 battleships and shield optimize them. They should be shield heavy, with 55%-60% shield power, 40%-45% weapons power.They also should be about half the total power of your flagship.

• Your flagship will still collect the mission, then hand them to the secondary warship that will be able to complete the mission most of the time. On those occasions that It can't you can always open fire with your flagship.