It seems no hostile can resist the initial and frequently subsequent head-on attacking runs. With the shields you have in the GG Steltek Drone Campaign, facing these ships head on for any length of time can lead to a badly crippled and helpless ship.
Exploiting the above irresistible characteristic of the hostiles allows frequent quick kills, but as always, timing is key.
GG Recipe For Survival
1) load up on dumbfires
2) approach from as far away as possible the enemy who decides to take you on with a "12 to 12" heads on attack; this may require afterburning away from the fray and then heading back into it when you're out around 8-10,000 clicks, especially if you've autopiloted right on top of the enemy ships, or even may require that you don't use autopilot, but fly manually the entire way to the desired nav point
3) once the initial energy bolts from the attacking enemy ship start to hit your ship, fire 1 or 2 dumbfires and pull off the attack vector in order to prevent total shield loss and susequently armor/component damage.
4) expect to hear that explosion as the ship you fired upon goes "pop" about 80-85% of the time
When facing heavy odds FF missiles for talons, DF for all others.
I rely on this method the get the enemy numbers down when I'm facing 1 on 4 or more odds, especially with the Kilrathi. In many of the scripted missions, especially those with enemy Kilrathi or Merc demons, it almost is mandatory to whittle down the ship numbers to a level where dogfighting with guns becomes possible. Using this 'head-on-dumfire-hit-and-run' tactic I was able to finish off all the demons in the Palan Mission 3 from 10,000 clicks away without even smudging the wax on my centurion.
Remember to land and re-load up on dumbfires or any of the other missiles and repair as needed, as the mission stays active with your progress intact (say you've knocked out 4 of 8 demons blockading Palan but have run out of missiles and no longer have a nominally operating ship due to damage) as long as you don't attempt to save.