At a ceremony in the West Clone Republic the last 5 T-62Z support tanks were withdrawn from service with the 1108th Reserve Regiment. The T-62Z had never been a major type but the last few had soldiered on (probably forgotten) at a couple of remote positions on Cloneworld. Now the type has gone leaving the T-55Z as the only support tank.
As for the T-55Z the Dino sponsored development, the T-55ZDM, has passed a series of tests with few problems. T-55ZDM Milestone 2 will now be presented to the Dinos for testing and evaluation. If there are no hitches then Milestone 3 will follow in the early Summer. This will be the final development build and series production should follow soon afterwards if all goes well.
The HCSAF have unveiled a new UAV, part of their programme to develop a range of unmanned vehicles for patrolling the vast rural areas of the Empire. The RQ-1 and EQ-1 are long range reconnaissance aircraft, the EQ-1 having a Sigint role. Another UAV is the MQZ-1 blimp being co-developed with the HCS Navy. The second example has entered service, it has some slight modifications to better handle wind shear and some guidance improvements. It is known as MQZ-1 Rev 1. The first blimp will be retrofitted with these improvements if they prove successful.
Finally the HCSAF have ordered 100 more new build A-85NT COIN aircraft which will keep the production line open until 2110. The navalised version the NTN was unveiled as a media briefing and couple begin flight testing in the Summer.
