The DDS were hoping to commission the first Panther destroyer D101 Panther (though as the ship is as yet still officially a test ship it is operating under the build number M21065) at the beginning of 2108 but some problems during final trials will delay that at least for a couple of weeks. The ship suffered vibrations while conducting a top speed test near Rathun's World. As M21065 reached 980c it began to lose stability and had to be taken out of hyperspace. The DDS think this is down to the hyperspace field and should be adjustable.
On the way back to Solaris M21065 suffered a failure in it's primary rectifier on one of it's engines. It was able to continue it's journey using back-ups. These kinds of teething troubles often happen on new types, the DDS said and would be solved.
M21065, when it is commissioned, will be at 90% of Panther capability a DDS source has said. Further work will have to be done to get the ship that extra 10% mostly in terms of data integration and throughput. Though the source said that even 90% of a Panther will be better than most other ships in the known galaxy. The next Panther M21066 (expected to be D102) will introduce an integrated 5036-A combat suite which will be retrofitted to M21065. Both ships will also receive an early version of the iSAS-P nuclear attack systems which should fully be ready by the Summer. Its expected the Panther will also be able to operate MRM medium range missiles after some modifications.
