After many years of development (and mishaps) the Dinos have finally cleared their wormhole drive (known as w-drive) for operational use. The next generation star drive generates artificial wormholes to travel instantly through space time. The current Dino w-drive can make a jump through space-time (called a w-jump) of around 5 light years. There have been many technical challenges to overcome to clear w-drive for use. The first successful w-jumps were made 8 years ago but a number of accidents early on have meant the Dinos have restricted it's use until they could man-rate (or rather dino-rate) the technology.
Finally after a 3 year period without mishaps the technology has been cleared for operational use. W-drives are currently fitted to 4 Dinomark PTs but will be fitted to all new PTs from next year and selected ships will be retrofitted with w-drives this year. The final test of the w-drive was a mission by an unmanned probe which made over 300 w-jumps and covered over 1,500 light years. The probe traveled to the far edge of the Utrek Federation and appears to have found the Utrek at war with a previously unknown race known as the Mantae. Further analysis of data gathered by the probe will be undertaken by a joint Dino-DDS team.
W-drive will give the Dinos a huge advantage and the secret is being guarded incredibly tightly. The Dino Republic at it's furthest point is about 80 light years across so in theory a ship could travel it in 16 seconds and not the weeks it currently takes. In reality w-drives require a lengthy recharge between w-jumps and the distance of a jump cannot easily be modified meaning that hyperspace drive is still needed for the end of the trip unless the journey to be taken can be exactly divided by 5. The time between w-jumps is a secret though a DDS blog is reporting the time at nearly 9 hours. Its not known if Dino ships can operate using hyperspace drives while the w-drive is recharging. However even if not, being able to make 2 w-jumps in 24 hours (or to be exact 18 hours) means the ship can travel 10 light years in a day.
By comparison a ship traveling at 1000c (the limit of current hyperspace technology) takes around 8 and 3/4 hours to travel a light year so roughly speaking Dino w-drive is equivalent to a speed of 5000c. As the time between recharges comes down than that equivalent speed will increase.
The DDS are of course working on their own w-drive but predict it will be "at least 10 years and probably 15" according to a DDS Research paper. However the DDS intend to use it first on a UCV thus they can have w-drive in operational use years earlier as the safety and physiological problems (w-jumps can have a harmful effect on living creatures, this alone delayed the Dinos for 4 years) will not arise. Even so the DDS say people shouldn't expect a working operational DDS w-drive before 2115.
