The report on "Future Close Quarter Space Warfare Trends" says that as offensive stand-off weapons like TPM get more deadly then enemies may aim to get in very close to the DDS in space combats. One possible offensive weapon may be the use of special forces to infiltrate DDS ships and sabotage or even seize control. The Zones have used this tactic a lot in fact.
Ship-board security is the responsibility of a small team under the overall command of the First Officer but the number of specialist security personnel is small (DDS crews on the whole are small). The report says that the DDS should form a specialist branch of the Prowler special forces (part of Internal Security Special Forces - ISSF) optimised for space combat. These "space marines" would protect against incursions and also be able to mount offensive operations themselves. "The future of space warfare is a tight matrix of competing and countering technologies, the DDS needs to be proficient in all possible offensive and defensive measures in order to possess the correct one to unlock an enemy defence and push for victory" the report concludes.
Firefly has asked ISSF Commander Torus to examine the feasibility of such a new force.
- The DDS have begun work on an improved version of the NDAA A-12 light attack aircraft which is currently in production. 29 have been delivered of an order for 121 so far. The A-12PE could enter production in 2114 and comprise the final 40-50 NDAAs built. Improvements could include an uprated engine (one is in the works) along with improved avionics and aerodynamic refinements.
- The number of T-88++ tanks in HCS service has dropped to 300, the type will be finally withdrawn in September and for many years was the backbone of the HCS with 220,000 tanks in total built! The remaining tanks are nearly all the final T-88++ R7A variant.
