In a new feature the noted space warfare analyst Dr Pheodore T. Vincent of Janes Space Warfare will be writing of the pressing issues of the day. In the first instalment Dr Vincent discusses the sale of DDS ships to the Raegris and the future possible market for DDS sales.
The sale of DDS warships to the Raegris is a notable coup for the DDS, beforehand they have just sold their old ships off, either surplus like the Quasars or crap like the Intrepids. But now they have an order for brand new ships. Is the Raegris merely the start of a highly profitable business for the DDS?
The answer is probably no. There arn't many potential customers for new ships, in our region of space anyway. Other than the Raegris the only power that could afford brand new ships would be the Bolitic Confederacy and selling advanced military technology to them would sour DDS relations with the Dinos at a time (with the Clone Empire turmoil) when good relations with a fellow Central Power are essential. Wheras the Raegris probably will buy more ships off the DDS (especially more Rhombus) the market for new ships is limited.
So that leaves the sale of older ships. Now there are more potential customers here, such as the Aritans, but the supply of ships is limited. Actually the only older ships left available are Solaris frigates (some of which will be sold to the Aritans), unless the DDS wish to raid their training fleet. Minor powers like Artic cannot even afford those. One possible solution would be to build less powerful ships based on the Pentekonter platform, maybe even leased to save money.
So I expect that to be the true market for DDS warships, cheap yet capable warships bringing in some useful money. The time of huge export orders worth billions is probably now and will not be repeated, however smaller sales and leases worth millions are certainly not to be sniffed at. (c) Dr Vincent 2106.
