Zeppelin to lead full review of NS military

Zeppelin, the head of the NS Military is going to lead a full review into NS' military structure and equipment, both the Space Fleet and Terrestrial Forces. The review was ordered by Viceroy Caratore and is expected to report by the end of the year. The review will define future ship and weapon procurements and structures. However, existing orders for replacement ships already announced will be unaffected.

Zeppelin said funding was available to rebuild and strengthen the NS Military. Zeppelin is said to be keen for NS to field more smaller raiding style forces both in space and land modes.

One change already made is the end of the annual Ship Building Plans.

Ship Building Plan 2121/2122

The new Ship Building Plan for 2122/2122 has been published and is again heavy with light patrol assets, including the first series production Mariner 56A and more Okra 86Ls. 

Violet 57B (6)

Mariner 56A (2)

Okra 86L (4)

Mulberry 56A (1)

Kinetic 35C (1)

Corkscrew 51A (2)

Lavender 105A (2)

Pentekonter 44M (1)

Provider 71A (1)

Acadia 165A (2)

Depender 161A (1)

NS Ship Building Plan 2120/2121

NS has finally published it's next Ship Building Plan which begins next month. As with the last plan it is dominated by Protector 57As though will also include the first Lavender 105A unmanned combat ship and the first Acadia 165A Remote Support Tender. The number of the ships in the plan is noticably less than previous years (just 18 ships compared to 22 the year before) though this is due to the large Panther ILU program beginning.

The full plan is as follows:

Protector 57A - 7 ships
Kinetic 35C - 1 ship
Mulberry 36C - 1 ship
Corkscrew 51A - 2 ships
Lavender 105A - 1 ship
Pentekonter 44T - 2 ships
Provider 71A - 1 ship
Navelwort 86M - 2 ships
Acadia 165A - 1 ship

Second Windscorpion monitor delayed, maybe for good

The second Windscorpion 18A monitor will not feature in the next ship building plan according to VP (Technology) Knobhead. He said that the keel of the ship will not be laid down next year as originally planned. Some long lead orders would also be delayed, some have already been made but could be used for spares for the existing ship.

Knobhead said the second ship, to be called SS Heavy Attack Squad (the original name of the DDS/NS), had not been cancelled but could not say when it would be built. President Windscorpion is said to prefer the money being spent on cruisers. The Kinetic 35C fleet may receive a top-up order to bring the eventual total of ships built to twenty.

Ship Building Plan 2119/2120

The next Ship Building Plan for 2119 to 2120 has been approved following a meeting of the NS Poliburo and sign-off by President Sea Urchin. As expected the plan priorities Protector and Okra light patrol ships to enable to replacement of legacy UNPSP ships.

8 Protector 57A
1 Kinetic 35C
1 Mulberry 36A
2 Proxima Centauri 42A
1 Corkscrew 51A
2 Okra 96L
2 Pentekonter 44T
1 Emerald 116A
1 Extender 73A
2 Depender 161A

There may be extra ships added to the plan though after failing to build everything from the last plan NS may not be too ambitious this time.

Next ship building plan to be dominated by Protector

NS are currently drawing up the next ship building plan for 2119/2120. As expected it will be dominated by the Protector 57A which is entering mass production to replace the rapidly ageing fleet of legacy light patrol assets. It is thought eight will be built in the plan, though as three are still pending with the current plan that might be a tough act.

The light patrol fleet is on a knife edge even with the introduction of emergency Okra 86L patrol ships based on Coril shuttles. So many legacy ships are out of service or limited in what they can do (some ships are limited to orbital operations as they are now too fragile for superluminal travel) that two Isometrics and a Corkscrew have been drafted in to cover patrol circuits in recent weeks. A Provider transport will be used next week as there is little remaining slack in the fleet.

VP Ops Torus said that by later in the year enough Protectors should be available to begin easing the strain though things will be tight until 2121.

NS place order for 8 Okra

New Sparta has placed an order for eight Okra 86L light patrol ships, these are modified Coril shuttles that will be used in the light patrol role to plug a gap in NS' fleet due to the pending withdrawal of legacy UNP Space Patrol ships. The ships will be built on the NS export Coril jig and four ships have been added to the current ship building plan. The other four will be in the next plan.

The Okra will have extra weaponry, thought to be a TPM-VLS cell. They will also have an improved docking adapter and interior changes.

The Okras will be replaced by Mariner light patrol ships in the early 2120s. They will either be sold or join the NS special forces fleet, a decision to be made at a later date.

Final Ship Building Plan 2118/19 agreed

The next Ship Building Plan has been agreed at a session of the NS Politburo. The plan will begin in April and carry through until March 2119. The plan is dominated by the Protector 57A Light Patrol Craft which will begin mass production. There will also be four Fleet Combat Ships and four Medium Combat Ships built plus a number of transports and support ships including new special forces transports (Navelwort 86M).

Also agreed at the Politburo was the start of the Panther ILU and major updates for the Quasar and Mediterranean Sea (more details to follow).

The ship building plan is:

8 Protector 57A
1 Olympus Balista 23M
2 Kinetic 35C
2 Mulberry 36A
2 Proxima Centauri 42A
2 Corkscrew 51A
2 Zephyr 76A
2 Emerald 116A
1 Provider 71A
1 Extender 73A
2 Depender 161A
2 Navelwort 86M

Three more warships to be added to Ship Building Plan

Following discussions at the NS Politburo it has been announced that three more warships have been added to the provisional Ship Building Plan for the next financial year. These are an Olympus Balista 23M, a Mulberry 36A and a Corkscrew 51A.

The extra ships are being funded by delays to new land and air weapons. NS President Sea Urchin has said that all new land and air weapons development needs to be put on hold until a full review of the non-astral battlespace is conducted this year.

Provisional Ship Building Plan 18/19 published

The first draft of the next Ship Building Plan for 2118/2119 has been published. As expected the plan is dominated by the priority building of the Light Patrol Ship Protector 57A. Overall the plan is a lot lighter than previous years with just fourteen warships planned for construction compared to over twenty in the current plan (support ship totals are about the same). However extra ships will likely be added to the plan before it is finalised and signed off by the NS Politburo next month.

The plan includes:

8 Protector 57A
2 Kinetic 35C
1 Mulberry 36A
2 Proxima Centauri 42A
1 Corkscrew 51A
2 Zephyr 76A
2 Emerald 116A
1 Provider 71A
1 Extender 73A
2 Depender 161A
2 Navelwort 86M

Light Patrol Ship contest to begin next week

A contest between the Mariner 56A prototype and a modified Pentekonter in a form similar to the proposed Protector 57A is to begin next week. The winner of the contest will receive series production to replace the legacy fleet of light patrol vessels which are fast coming to their end of life.

SS Paris is still being modified to Protector standard (it is expected to be completed by the end of October) so Mariner will be evaluated first. The ships will be used in a number of patrol and combat simulations. As the need to begin series production is urgent the winner will be decided by the end of the year and series production will begin in the next Ship Building Plan starting next April.

Director of Technology Sea Urchin said that both ships had a chance though its known that he prefers the Protector (and will most likely be leading NS by the time the decision needs to be made).

Knobhead cut ship building plan at last minute

The finalised Ship Building Plan for 2117/8 was published a couple of days ago and immediately raised some eyebrows. While changes from the drafts published earlier in the year are expected the final plan was short an Olympus Balista 023M, a Kinetic 035C and a Mulberry 036A. It is understood that NS Commander Knobhead himself ordered these changes just days before the plan was published.

The reason is said, by insiders, to be due to be greater uncertainly in the astral-political situation around the UNP that has developed over the last few months. The downfall of the Utrek, the rise of a possible new threat in the shape of the Mantae and MBH becoming the new Dino Emperor has prompted Knobhead to want greater cash reserves in NS coffers. The cut in the plan will save 1.6 billion zarks which will be put (along with some other money) into a new NS contingency reserve.

If the astral-political situation turns sour quickly Knobhead wants NS to have the money and resources to immediately be able to step up munition production and fleet preparedness.

Provisional new ship building plan published

New Sparta has published a final draft its ship building plan for 2117/2118. As expected the new Windscorpion and Mariner classes have been added to the plan after production delays meant they slipped from the current plan. The rest of the plan has few surprises and follows on from the pattern of recent years.

It includes the first Depender multi-mission ships and the first of the new batches of Rome and Coril. The plan is as follows:

3 Warrior 016A
1 Windscorpion 018A
3 Olympus Balista 023M
3 Kinetic 035C
3 Mulberry 036A
2 Pentekonter 044M/T
3 Rome 046A
2 Corkscrew 051A
2 Proxima Centauri 042A
3 Mariner 056A
2 Emerald 116A
1 Provider 071A
2 Depender 161A
3 Coril 086M

Transports added to ship building plan

The second (and likely final) draft of the Ship Building Plan for 2116/7 has been released by the NS and as speculated by NS observers 3 Provider transports have been added. This is done mostly to keep the production lines alive for strategic purposes though there is a need for more transports due to the Aldebran expansion of NS space.

The plan is now:

4 Warrior 016A
1 Windscorpion 018A
2 Olympus Balista 023M
3 Kinetic 035C
3 Mulberry 036A
2 Pentekonter 044M
2 Falcon 047W
4 Corkscrew 051A
2 Proxima Centauri 042A
1 Mariner 056A
1 Triumph 066B
1 Alpha 121A
3 Provider 071A
1 Emerald 116A
2 Extender 073A

First draft of Ship Building Plan 2116/7 issued

The first draft of the next Ship Building Plan which will run from next month until March 2117 has been issued. The plan has a heavy focus on combat ships with only a handful of amphibious and transport ships to be built (though this may change as transports tend to be added to the plan late on). Notable new types which will make their introduction will be the Windscorpion monitor, the Mariner new standard small patrol ship and the Emerald unmanned transport.

4 Warrior 016A
1 Windscorpion 018A
2 Olympus Balista 023M
3 Kinetic 035C
3 Mulberry 036A
2 Pentekonter 044M
2 Falcon 047W
4 Corkscrew 051A
2 Proxima Centauri 042A
1 Mariner 056A
1 Triumph 066B
1 Alpha 121A
1 Emerald 116A
2 Extender 073A

Ship Building Plan 2115/6

The Ship Building Plan for 2115/6 has been published. There were a couple of changes from the provisional plan presented a couple of months ago with an extra Mulberry and 2 extra Alphas added. The Alpha 121 entry is also interesting as it lists the 5 new Nano Fighting Ships to be built as Alpha 121A/B. A new variant of the NFS has yet to be announced by the DDS though it is rumoured a longer-ranged variant is in development.

The plan is combat heavy with 4 bombers, 2 carriers (the first of the new Olympus Balista 23M), 7 Fleet Combat Ships and 4 Medium Combat Ships to be built. The Amphibious Warfare fleet will also be completed and a new hospital ship built.

Provisional Ship Building Plan 2115 posted

The DDS has posted the first public draft of its Ship Building Plan for the 2115/6 period starting in April. The provisional plan will likely undergo some modification before the end of March but will largely be as listed below. A number of new types will make their debut during the plan.

Warrior 16A (4)
Olympus Balista 23M (2)
Kinetic 35C (3)
Mulberry 36C (3)
Corkscrew 51A (4)
Pentekonter 44M (2)
Oceania 63A (2)
Triumph 66A (1) - built by the Clones
Alpha 121A (3)
Provider 71A (1)
Extender 73A (2)
Zephyr 76A (1)
Friendship 75A (1)
Nightingale 88A (1)

Ship Building Plan 2114/5

The new Ship Building Plan for the next financial year starting in April has been approved by the DDS Poliburo and there have not been any further changes to the plan since the last draft.

• 3 Warrior 16A
• 1 Kinetic 35C
• 4 Corkscrew 51A
• 3 Falcon 47A/W (built by the Dinos)
• 2 Triumph 66B (built by the Clones)
• 3 Alpha 121A
• 1 Provider 71A
• 2 Extender 73A
• 2 Zephyr 76A
• 2 River 75A
• 6 Coril 86B

The plan is seen as a transitional one with the final amphibious warfare ships being built and the next wave of new combat ships like the Warrior, Kinetic and Corkscrew getting underway in earnest. What will disappoint some though is the fact only 8 combat ships are going to be built next year though there will be 3 Falcons and 3 Alphas too. The DDS include these in their calculations, and equipped with TPMs they are certainly potent enough!

Fleet News (14/03/13)

• The two final ships from the Ship Building Plan for 2112/3 have been completed they being the Oceania 63A landing ship L156 North America and the Zephyr 76A oiler A182 Zebra.
• The Solaris 37C fleet combat ship H167 Regulus has been fitted with worm drive.
• The DDS are to reduce the active Starsystem 91X training fleet to 6 active ships in order to save costs and to prolong the lives of the aging ships. One ship in the fleet will be stood down at any one time, likely for 6 months at a time. X106T Oscar Wilde is the first ship to be stood down, it will be powered down following its current assignment. 

DDS publishes provisional ship building plan for next year

The DDS has published its provisional ship building plan for 2113/4, starting from next April. Like in the current plan the DDS plan to build 19 ships next year though they will cover a larger number of different types including the first Warrior 16A and Corkscrew 51As and the singleton Infinity 35X.

The next plan will also see the final Indy 35B and Freedom 41Bs built, the latter finally bringing to an end Isometric production for the DDS after 12 years (though the type will remain in production for export for a few more years). Five ships in the plan will be built outside of the DDS (3 Falcons by the Dinos and 2 Intruders by the Clones). Firefly has agreed the provisional plan though it will possibly be revised after consultation with the DDS Politburo before being finalised next month.