McAvoy wrote:An Intrepid is too small I think. They were having trouble with the Klingons on board. If I remember it was 250? If anything, a Starship Troopers type of landing is probably the best.
The Intrepid isn't only carrying the troops, it is acting as a relay. The ship lands, synchs its transporters with a troopship in orbit, and receives the combat personnel. The combat personnel then debark on whatever is used (modified Argos?). If the ground forces get injured, the ships serves as a hospital.
There is the dangers of transporter blockers, which is why the transporter pads are linked. If the jamming is bad enough that transporting is impossible, that makes it a target for heavy platforms, not where I would send shuttles in (chances are, they've got anti-shuttle weaponry as well). I'll land a ship outside the jamming range, and beam down troops and hoppers to send in. No need to expose shuttles to orbital fire, a shielded ship is much more sturdy.
I tend to classify Star Trek defenses into two groups:
1) Detectable from orbit - this include transporter jammers or similar. Since the attacker knows where they are, he can send Federation fighters on strafing runs, depending on the local defenses. As a defender, since I know that I can be detected, I know I can expect visitors. To avoid a random jerk in a shuttle popping in, I'd want to defend it so shuttles get shot down, and fighters have to evade. This means shields and a few anti-shuttle weapons. Heavier shields and weapons would be used for larger facilities.
2) Sneaky - You are not detectable from orbit, meaning no active transporter jammers. I'd want to place them near natural locations that cause problems with transporters, but not invest a lot into them. They can get popped by anything, so stealth is their best defense. The best use for these locations is a small force with remote anti-shuttle weapons. You take out the weapon, but the controlling force is in cover, and readying another weapon.
If I just place a transporter jammer, someone can pop by in a shuttle and destroy it in a few seconds (or snipe it from orbit). This will barely interfere with their plans. I could deploy hundreds of them across the planet, but based on "Conundrum" (where the Ent-D popped a half-dozen moving pods in a couple seconds), the tactical officer would pass that off to a lieutenant with a few Ensigns to assist while the senior staff discuss landing operations. As a result, I want the jammers defended, shielded, and with weapons to make the attacker have to take them seriously.
If the attacker has enough forces to pop sites from orbit, then regular transporter jammers are a minor issue, and anti-starship weapons and shields are the key. They might beam down or land in a shuttle, but without the starship in orbit they will have a much harder time surviving (unless they are named characters).
In real world terms, imagine if a location in Iraq had a powerful radio jammer, so American troops couldn't communicate in that area. Would we drop in an Airborne unit to deal with it, or would we send in a bomber, cruise missile, or other high explosives first?