The Rome has proven to be a highly useful and flexible ship in DDS service. The key to this is that it was designed from the off to operate singly for extended periods away from home and so tends to have tools to suit any task, and the combat module system means it can be easily specialised for a role as needed. With 15 out of a planned 22 in service the DDS are now considering increasing the fleet with an improved model, currently known either as Rome II or Rome-100.
The new Rome would be slightly larger and would have greater endurance. It would be further enhanced for it's role as "The DDS" to isolated communities and alien races with improved diplomatic facilities and a larger docking bay to allow 2 SROPS or 1 Coril. Performance could also be increased by around 50c though the improved engine, an evolution of the Hitachi HS-760GX, would be further optimised for low-maintenance and reliability.
The DDS are also looking into an export version of the Rome, it been considered ideal for existing and future Pentekonter-E customers as an affordable and compatible "upgrade path".
