Refitting on-the-fly with mobile depots: viable flexibility?

Pre-Rubicon I had been thinking a lot about the potential PvP flexibility offered by mobile depots. You might be flying around in railgun Moas (for example) and then come across an assault frigate gang. Couldn't the FC just drop a mobile depot and all your Moas are suddenly fitted with blasters, micro-warpdrives and a tackle module?

Further discussion ~after the break~!





Well, the actual Rubicon expansion doused those plans a bit with two limitations on the depot's use:

1. The mobile depot has to be placed for a minute before it goes online. 
2. The mobile depot is personal. Others cannot use a depot that your character drops. Further, it impossible to trade the depot in space via jettisoning it to a can. 

As such, using the depot to refit on the fly is something that far fewer fleets will do. Firstly, any refitting may cause you to lose your engagement window. A minute can be a long time in Eve! In that minute the fleet that was on the other side of that gate might decide to leave, their scouts might detect you etc. Not to mention the fact that if the other fleet detects a large number of depots on scan, they will be able to guess what you're doing! Secondly, if the depots are personal then every single member of the fleet must remember to bring one.However given their low production cost, this is not as much of a problem as would first appear.

So what would be a cheap hull, good for the current meta, to try this with?

Well, with all the frigate gangs roaming around, rapid light missile Caracals? Consider starting out with a fleet including 10 of these:

[Caracal, HMMWD2RLML]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
F85 Peripheral Damage System I

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
EM Ward Field I
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Prototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile
Prototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile
Prototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile
Prototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile
Prototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile

Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

With decent skills that a 250dps anti-frigate machine that shoots out to around 60km and has cap to last it around 2 minutes. Cap time goes up to 3 minutes if you are not running the shield hardeners.

Of course, if you encounter a 'real' fleet on your roam, you don't want to be using Rapid Light Missile Launchers. Each Caracal (and logi) drops a depot and refits to this:

[Caracal, HMMWD2RLMLAB]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
F85 Peripheral Damage System I

10MN Afterburner II
EM Ward Field I
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Heavy Missile Launcher II, Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile

Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

That's a standard heavy missile afterburner fit that does about 300dps with good skills at around 60km. It also has just under 40k EHP (with 70/60/60/70 resists) and is cap stable.

The fleet has transformed from an anti-frigate skirmish gang to a kiting doctrine that can take some punishment. Refit your scythes as well!

What do the Caracals need in their holds then? Well:

x1 mobile depot
x5 Heavy Missile Launcher IIs (and appropriate ammo)
x1 10mn afterburner II

I'm assuming that those mods won't cost more than 10mil and will probably cost substantially less.

I would like to test before I endorse it completely. However if you do want to take out a fleet that is a very hard-counter to one doctrine (e.g. frigates) but is not good against anything else (rapid light missile Caracals) then this could be a good back-up plan.