A UNP freighter, which had been turned back from Lem 619 by Clone warships, has finally arrived at the planet after being escorted by a UNDF warship. Clone ships shadowed them throughout though there were no incidents or attempts at contact made.
The UNP freighter is reported to have been carrying machine parts and general supplies. It will be loaded with ore from Lem 619 mines for it's return journey next week. The UNDF warship will remain with it until then.
A civilian freighter operated under a UNP registry has been intercepted and stopped by a Clone warship as it approached the Lem 619 system. The captain of the freighter was told that they would not be allowed to continue on their journey, the freighter was forced to turn around and head for Aldebra.
The UNP has complained to the Clones about this violation of interstellar space law. The freighter has been told to hold station and will rendezvous with a UNDF warship. It is not known if an attempt may be made to head to Lem 619.
The Clones have placed an exclusion zone around the Lem 619 system. They said that no ships, civilian or military, will be allowed into the Lem system and none can leave. Lem 619 is an unaligned planet, thus the Clones have no jurisdiction in that region of space. Lem 619 has called for assistance.
A UNDF ship is reported to have been sent from Aldebra to monitor the situation. A Molab freighter en route to Lem is thought to have been ordered to hold position, some three light years from Lem.
Both the UNDF and CIN have called on the Clones to raise their exclusion zone.
The UNDF are said to be considering it's options for supporting Lem 619, the unaligned planet which is facing a possible invasion by the Clone Star Empire. UNDF Commander Torus is said to want to send Lem orbital defence weapons and air defence systems though the UNP are more cautious and could wait to see what happens.
Molab is already reported to have sent drone technology to Lem, a second ship is rumoured to be on the way though increased Clone patrols in the area may hinder attempts to reach Lem.
UNDF think the military build-up and reconstruction work taking place in the Taragargi sector of the Clone Star Empire is due to plans for a Clone attack, however they do not think the UNDF will be attacked. The alert status is being kept at it's current elevated level and UNDF will continue to deploy extra assets to UNDF South as a precaution.
Four Molentic Tuul cruisers are reported to have arrived at Taragargi. Six transports are also en route to the planet from Cloneworld, it is rumoured they are carrying men and equipment from the 4th Armoured Division of the Clone Army.
UNDF has increased it's alert status to AMBER which means that, while no imminent attack is thought likely, UNDF will increase it's readiness and surveilance.
It has not been stated why the alert status was increased, a decision by UNDF Commander Torus, but it is likely due to the mysterious military build-up by the Clones in their Taragargi sector.
UNDF has begun the deployment of the new Silver Dart micro-SAM system designed to combat mass drone attacks. The missiles are small and can be fired in large numbers to defend against the kind of mass drone attacks that proved so deadly in the Miliaris conflict.
UNDF Terrestrial Forces have deployed sixteen land mobile Silver Dart systems, which carry 250 rounds. A hard sited version with 1000 rounds is also in development.
The OA-25 Advanced Close Support Aircraft (ACSA), which will be the backbone of UNDF air power over the next few decades, has begun flight testing. This is a highly flexible aircraft powered with a hybrid ducted fan. The first version is expected to replace the Clone built A-85 in COIN duties.
The second version, expected in the early 2130s, will have enhanced attack capabilities and will replace the A-12 NDAA.
After New Sparta (as UNDF was then) decided to get rid of it's amphibious warfare fleet and later on deeply cut it's Terrestrial Forces it was wondered what UNDF would be aiming for with it's land forces. Zeppelin has revealed the new SSD Land Warfare Doctrine which answers some of these questions.
SSD stands for Space Superiority - Special Forces - Drones. Instead of trying to land a powerful armoured brigade on enemy territory, UNDF will aim to keep it's edge in space and control that area of the battle sphere. On the planet itself special forces (UNDF Marines are being greatly increased in size and scope) and a new generation of drones will be used.
UNDF are expected to reveal their plans for drone warfare, both defensive and offensive, later in the year.
UNDF is looking into a so-called "chain worm drive" which is where multiple worm drives operate in series to result in extreme performance. It is thought that a Lavender 105A unmanned reconnaissance ship may be fitted with a second worm drive, this will then be used to perform double worm jumps in sequence. This could result in an equivalent speed of 10000ec!
However, there are a lot of unknowns with this technology. This is why DF want to test it with an unmanned ship first. If it is successful then DF are considering building a test ship based on the Type 35 platform with no fewer than four worm drives! This is known as Project Red Shift and could produce the ultimate rapid response ship. An equivalent speed of 20000ec would mean a ship could reach nearly all of UNDF in minutes.
One source says that tests with the Lavender could begin next year.
UNDF has offered the four Black Triangle 126A War Fighting Ships plus their tender ship to the Remedians to bolster their fleet. The Black Triangles are potent warships though have no current role in the UNDF fleet. The ships have been offered to the Remedians on an unlimited loan.
The Remedians have become increasingly concerned with the resurgent Utrek. UNDF have also increased their fleet deployment in the area. The Remedians are said to be seriously considering the loan.
UNDF will send three more ships to strengthen it's presence in the Remedian Belt. The ships will be stationed at Remedia Prime and will perform patrols along the Remedian-Utrek border. Although the Utrek have not noticeably caused any issues for the Remedians, there is the worry this could change.
The Remedians have said UNDF should consider joining a grand coalition against the Utrek, though that itself is starting to fade away after the Clones said they are also not in a position to join in.
The final major upgrade of the Provider 71A fleet, it's Multi-Update Life Extension (MULE) has begun with the first two ships completed. These are 71-105 Flying Boxcar and 71-108 Lodestar. Both are now working up to a return to operations by next month.
The Provider MULE includes a new engine, a Proton RM-07MEGA e-Core as well as a full structural overhaul and refresh. The ships will be fitted for fractal communications and have improve data security protections.
After the completion of the MULE programme, the Provider fleet will be able to reach their planned end of life in the second half of the 2130s when they will be replaced by an as-yet unannounced new transport.
UNDF Engineering has said that the n-Core testbed successfully completed it's first batch of bench tests including the extended maximum thrust "torture test". Whilst the engine has proven to be reliable it has fallen short of a number of key targets such as fuel economy and signature management.
A DF source says the issues are not a disaster, software tweaks and some modifications to the engine management system may help resolve these issues without requiring any major redesign. DF are still hopeful the first Tachyon family engine based on n-Core will be ready by 2130.
UNDF Commander Torus has said that UNDF will not be involved in any near-future coalition against the Utrek unless UNDF is attacked itself. There has been talk lately of a grand coalition of the CIN, Clones, Raegris and UNDF joining up to take on the Utrek (though not through any official channels).
Torus said that the UNDF Space Navy is not in a position to take part in any long-range offensive operation. She said that the fleet was badly degraded during the MBO regime and war, the fleet has only recently got back to a minimum strength level to cover major commitments.
"The fleet is continuing to rebuild but will not be in a position to even think about such an operation until the early 2130s. Not that there has been any actual concrete objectives stated." Torus said.
A DF ship, thought to be SS Jurassic commanded by Caratore, has been attacked by a strange cargo ship which it is suspected was crewed by a Utrek agent. The transport, which appeared to be an ancient Tarbotian type ship was intercepted in the DMZ. UNDF officers boarded the ship and found a human crew woman. However, this turned out to be a shapeshifter alien who killed the three UNDF officers.
The "ancient" ship was then found to be heavily upgraded. After a brief skirmish, Caratore ordered a retreat due to being outgunned. They were pursued by the cargo ship but managed to destroy it using their SROPS, which was destroyed.
SS Jurassic has returned to Aldebra for repairs. DF are analysing the sensor data from the incident and say they have detected Utrek type energy signatures. Shapeshifters, an alien species heard about by DF though not yet encountered, are known to be used by the Utrek Jintara Omox secret service.
While work on the Advanced Rome 216A continues, a new ship type has appeared on various DF Engineering documents and lists. This is the Type 216X which has appeared on the list of pending worm drive geometries to be created to allow the ship to safely make a worm jump. According to the details of the geometry it will be similar to the Advanced Rome but longer and have a mission wing like the Repulse 51B.
The second place Type 216X has appeared is on a list of n-Core engines being developed. A second generation engine with around 20% more thrust than the Tachyon PM-01A to be fitted to Advanced Rome is being developed. Analysts say the details of the Type 216X seem to match the planned Isometric family replacement planned for the second half of the 2130s.
The ship, when completed, will probably not be known as Type 216X as UNDF often use designations like this as placeholders. Indeed, it has been rumoured that the Isometric replacement could be the Type 220. As yet we are a long way off. DF's priority is to get Advanced Rome into service by 2130.
UNDF has chosen the Tachyon family name for it's next generation n-Core engine. The first ship to deploy the new engine is expected to be the Advanced Rome 216A early in the next decade. The engine is listed as the Tachyon PM-01A n-Core though the name may change by the time it enters service.
The Advanced Rome will launch with a Proton RM-01GX2 e-Core engine. This will be an upgraded version of the existing RM-01GX.
The Utrek Federation has said that they have not been involved in supplying rebel groups in the Clone Star Empire - East. However, they said they could not rule out private groups or other powers using Utrekian ships or agents for their own ends.
UNDF has meanwhile reported on an incident where an alien of unknown identity was able to lure three UNDF officers, including the second officer of the SS Jurassic, to their deaths. The alien was killed though it is thought the alien may have been trying to destroy the Jurassic and harm the blockade. UNDF are considering sending more ships to the area.
After the capture of several Utrek registered transports in the Clone Demilitarised Zone carrying suspected materials for rebels on planets such as Rendrial 4, the Dino SS and UNDF-IS held a joint investigation. It is understood a Utrek broke under interrogation by the gentlemen of the SS to reveal he is a Jintara Omox operative (the Utrek secret service).
Whilst it was clear (though never acknowledged) that Freedom Miliaris was supplied directly by Molab, who supplied the other smaller rebel factions in the CSE-E was never fully established. Now it appears that the Utrek may have been supplying rebels on planets like Rendrial 4 and Laalande 21649. If this is the case then it has very serious implications for the security of the Clones and in general for that region of space.
A Clone Intelligence team is heading to Starbot to meet with their Dino and UNDF counterparts.