JLB8

Comer's mission goes from bad to worse...

Ensuring Passage ends

Ensuring Passage finally ended last night and the 3 ships remaining in the deployment are now returning to base. The deployment was raised during the short Dino-ABBO war to protect UNP and DDS shipping from ABBO attack in the vicinity of the Northern Rim Worlds but that threat has now ceased.

However recent signs that the ABBOs may be operating again in the area did make the DDS consider retaining the deployment but they have instead decided to increase the frequency of scheduled patrols in the area.

Current deployments (30/06/09)

Ships in brackets are part of deployment but not on station (e.g. on route)

Force Voth

R107 Archer (flag)
F161 Sea Of Tranquillity
F137 South China Sea
F136 Barents Sea
F116 Cryptozoic
M102 Demostenes
M103 Sappho
P131 Fighting Falcon
P134 Merlin
A146 Argus
SKS Undian (Sirikwan)
(C110 Eurasia)
(F101 Cambrian)

Force Starbot

D109 Cougar* (flag)



F150 Sea Of The Hebrides
F103 Carboniferous (Windy flag)
F126 Mesozoic
A141 Extender
+ Starbotian fleet

* Starbotian crewed

Remedian Border Protection Force

C122 Photon (flag)
D151 Velocity
RS-DF1-03 (Raegris)
RS-DF1-05 (Raegris)



F110 Miocene
A150 Refinery
+ Remedian Police Customs Patrol

Ships returning to HQ

R105 Grenadier
F148 Solomon Sea
A142 Stratotanker

Aritans withdraw from Ground Shock

The Aritans were to play a key role in the forthcoming DDS amphibious warfare exercise Operation Ground Shock. They were to provide the bulk of the DDS troops and also provide one of the escorts. However the Aritans have now withdrawn from the operation saying they need all of their forces for "protecting New Arit" if they go to war with Telvin 802.

The Aritans have also called on the DDS for assistance though their fleet is superior to Telvin's. Although similar in size the Aritan fleet is of course upgraded with the latest DDS technology such as the TPM.

The DDS have been put in an awkward situation, Telvin is a neighbour of planets like Putri 500 and thus the DDS are not really keen on crushing Telvin 802 even if indirectly (such as TPM missiles turning the Telvin fleet into scrap in minutes). Arit is part of the DDS and the DDS are treaty (and morally as the Aritans have often helped the DDS) bound to assist. The DDS have called on both sides to settle their differences around the conference table. They have asked the Dinos to provide a neutral venue for talks.

Zanus will not stand

Zanus has said he will not stand this year in the Consul election which thus makes Jimmy's election later this year a formality (unless he is caught in bed with a dead girl or something). Zanus did say he would consider running for Consul at some stage but would remain an independent.

It is being speculated that Zanus has come to an agreement with the Liberal Party of Jimmy that they will not oppose him when he does decide to stand, perhaps next year though the Health Minister and Deputy Leader of the Liberals Spikeson is said to be keen to have his "turn" sooner or later.

With Jimmy now a near certain for 2110 attention is turning to 2111 which will be the first time Imperial Order and the Liberals go head to head. It will also be the last chance for people to become Consul before people who have already become Consul become eligible again under the 5 year rule. Ronald and GBH are both eligible for election again in 2112 and MBH in 2113. Winning an election against candidates of that calibre would be challenging to say the least.

El Diablo is the highest profile member of Imperial Order yet to take the office though the former Emperor still suffers from negative perceptions after his disastrous rule in the 2090s.

Aritan tensions with Telvin 802 escalate

New Arit's long running (as in centuries long) conflict with Telvin 802 has heated up following a couple of decades of cold war. Indeed some even though the conflict between the Aritans and their ethnic cousins on Telvin was a thing of the past after Arit joined the DDS and UNP. However a rugby match held on Telvin between the two planets was the catalyst for the renewed hostility. The game was supposed to bring the two planets together but instead descended within minutes into brutal violence and rape both on and off the pitch with an estimated 58 deaths. At first the UNP did not pick up on this as they thought it was a usual occurrance for rugby.

New Arit responded by sending an Intrepid class destroyer into Telvin space which Telvin had to force away using two of their Vormix class destroyers. No direct shots were fired. Arit is understood to have mobilised it's entire fleet and army. The DDS have called for calm.

DDS to keep tighter hold of money for ship building

The Fleet Development Review is ongoing (and only just started indeed) yet already announcements are coming out of it. From now on fleet development will become less ad hoc and more formalised with yearly ship building programmes which will be kept to barring emergencies or wars. The aims of this is to save money and to keep a tighter hold on spending which has often run out of control.

A "mini programme" will be announced for the rest of this year (though that "year" will run to the end of March 2110) and will outline how many ships including Panthers and SOTs will be built this year. Then next year a new programme for FY 2110 will be published.

Berlin to be cancelled? / Rome update

Although the Fleet Development Review, which will look at current and future fleet make-up and procurement, has only just begun it is now looking like the Berlin corvette class could be a casualty. A long-lead order for the type, the first for items that would not also be useable by the Rome class, has been deferred.

A rumour doing the rounds on DDS blogs is that the DDS may cancel Berlin and instead build 5-6 more Romes. The review will be completed and present it's findings next week but it is thought they acted immediately to defer the order as otherwise they would have incurred a costly penalty if indeed they did cancel the Berlin in the end.

As for the Rome the fleet is to receive a minor upgrade over the next week or so. Most of the upgrade will be software though there will also be a few replacements of systems (which in the Rome's case is very easy as it is a full OA 2.0 ship and so can simply plug and play new equipment).

Chaos at GHQ as traffic computer fried

DDS GHQ was thrown into chaos when a junior computer operator accidentally erased the operating system and database on the road traffic control system which coordinates and controls traffic flow in the busy DDS. Within minutes GHQ had ground to a standstill, despite a backup restoring the computer within 30 minutes the traffic problems lasted all day.

The computer operator was later disciplined by Windy Massive.

Contact lost with Long Patrol

A Dino Army source has said that contact has been lost with the Long Patrol which was a powerful group of Dinomark NGs sent to investigate the ABBOs. Tribune Comer was put in charge of the force. An unconfirmed report states that one NG was destroyed by a mysterious new ABBO missile which uses gravitational forces.

The last message from the patrol was that they were investigating a possible new ABBO warship, said to be a large battlecruiser. It is thought the ABBOs are jamming the communication channels.

Quarz unveiled! Or is it?

Redjec fresh from his sekrit mission on Dino-Land has claimed he has possession of a photograph that proports to show Quarz unmasked! Redjec says the photo shows Quarz in his spare time, out of his combat suit and in a maid outfit. Quarz replied that is not him and that Redjec is mean.

Clones poised for big new orders for transport aircraft

The HCSAF are about to announce a multi-billion zark contract to renew it's transport arm HCS bloggers have said. Around 100 C-440Ds, based on the CAC 440-5 airliner form the centerpiece of the order but also there will be an order for 20-30 military airlifters based on the CAC 460-2 airliner (which is a 440 with 2 engines basically) plus extra CCA C-485s on top of the existing order and a militarised version of CCA's new 425 regional airliner.

The orders are needed because the transport arm of the HCSAF is aging fast, the oldest C-440s are now fast reaching their end-of-lifes and the C-360 and C-420 fleets are also due for withdrawal within the next couple of years.

The HCSAF had been planning to recapitise it's C-440 fleet for some time but was waiting for the result of work on the Mark 5 of CAC's airliner. The Mark 5 has 2 fuselage plugs and can carry 20% more passengers or freight compared to earlier 440s. The fuel system has also been totally redesigned and gives the 440-5 an extra 27% range. Delays in developing the Mark 5 meant that the HCSAF ordered 15 C-440Cs (based on the Mark 4) to keep the transport arm going.

The 460 (which is likely to be the C-460 in military service) is a two-engined version of the 440-4 though also has a modified wing. The HCSAF are purchasing these for their VIP fleet to replace types like the C -360. The order is expected to be made official next week. The first 440-5s will be rolled out for civil customers later this year, the first C-440D is expected next year. The existing C-440C order (which has 8 aircraft to go) will be concluded though the final couple may be turned into the new model.

HCS-E computer systems hacked

8 computer systems of the HCS-East on Austini 55 and Woloron 12 have been hacked it has been reported. The army's mainframe was knocked out firstly by a denial of service attack and then this propagated to a number of other systems including HCS-E Space Defence Command. Benito placed his forces on full alert in case this was the prelude to an attack but none came and now most of the computer systems are back on-line.

The origin of the attack is unknown though the DDS and Utrek have been ruled out. Suspicion may fall on the attackers of a HCS transport ship a few days ago who are thought to be a faction of the 7 Sa Sao.

Task Force Windy sets out

Windy has departed from Starbot in his flagship SS Carboniferous accompanied by the Panther destroyer SS Cougar and I-1 Iona from the Starbotian fleet. It is thought Windy intends a reconnaissance on the edge of 7 Sa Sao space though is not intending to make contact with the 7SS.

Carboniferous is understood to have been fitted with a sigint pod which will be used for analysing 7SS communication traffic. The mission is expected to last for a couple of weeks.

Wild Down South

A Dino patrol has to investigate the ABBOs...

DDS to hold review of forthcoming fleet development

The DDS are to begin a review of current and forthcoming fleet procurement such as the Berlin class corvette. The review is required, says Firefly, because of the changing strategic situation and it is felt the DDS' current plans are not what the DDS requires.

Firefly will chair the review board starting on Saturday and they are expected to report back next week. The DDS want to move fast on this as long lead items need to be ordered soon for the Berlin and new build Quasar ILU cruisers.

F-45A production concludes for HCSAF

The 900th F-45A has been rolled off the production line for the HCSAF which concludes production of the type for the air force. Around 69 are still outstanding for the HCSN which will keep the factory busy at a lower rate until 2111. The first 150 F-45As of the HCSAF will then be upgraded to the later F-45A2 standard. This will keep the factory busy until 2113 when retooling will begin for the F-45C/K of which well over 1000 will be built.

In HCSAF service the F-45A has quickly gained a reputation for being reliable (only 1 has been lost to date and that has been attributed to pilot error) and highly capable.

DDS begin long-term peace talks with Utrek

A joint DDS/UNP team of negotiators has met a Utrek team at a secret location in the Raegris Central District. The DDS are hoping they can gain a lasting peace with the Utrek which will allow the DDS to ensure the sovereignty of it's allies along the border with the Utrek such as the Raegris and Remedians. It will also allow the DDS to reduce it's forces in Remedian space and redeploy them elsewhere.

For their part the Utrek are busy with the Mantae. Their bloody war with the mysterious aliens seems to have stabilised but only by the Utrek dedicating their attention to the fight. Both sides, for the moment anyway, will be content with a lasting peace.

TPM-2A3 update

The TPM-2 has been updated to A3 standard which has become the standard production type with immediate effect. A3's changes are mostly software updates. 14 bugs/issues have been dealt with plus target data filtering has been improved to better handle decoys and ECM. A more efficient engine burn algorithm has been written to increase range by 7% on average. These software improvements are also being rolled out to the stock of TPM-2A2s.

Where the A3 also differs is in some refinements to the missile release mechanism, the engine outlet (to reduce IR signature) and a reorganised internal space. A slightly larger warhead is currently being developed to fit into the larger space available and will be retrofitted to A3s at a later stage.

SOT production to be staggered around Isometric ILU

The Isometric 41A ILU programme is currently in low-rate phase 1 as it is sharing the Isometric production jig with the Sea Of Tranquillity 43D class new build. The plan was for the SOT class to be completed and then the jig could be used for multiple ILUs to quickly complete all 25 ships' upgrades. However the increase in the SOT order to 6 (and maybe 7) has meant this phase 2 of the ILU would be delayed.

The DDS have thus decided to postpone construction of the final 2 (or 3 if the DDS take up an option for an extra ship) SOTs until after the Isometric ILU has been completed. After F164 Sea Of Islands leaves the jig (scheduled to be at the end of this year) the jig will be given over completely to the Isometric ILU. Completing the ILU will take around 12-18 months. Production of the SOT will then resume after the ILU (thus 2111 at the earliest). This will allow the ILU to be completed much more quickly which will save money on a lot of the update processes because of economies of scale.

Assuming 3 more SOTs are built this will take around 15 months which will take up until around 2113. These later SOTs are likely to be of an improved standard and they will have a service life up until 2150.

Current deployments (23/06/09)

Ships in brackets are part of deployment but not on station (e.g. on route)

Force Voth

R107 Archer (flag)
F161 Sea Of Tranquillity
P131 Fighting Falcon
P134 Merlin
F136 Barents Sea
F116 Cryptozoic
M102 Demostenes
M103 Sappho
A146 Argus
SKS Undian (Sirikwan)



(C110 Eurasia)
(F137 South China Sea)
(F101 Cambrian)

Ensuring Passage

R105 Grenadier (flag)
F148 Solomon Sea
A142 Stratotanker

Force Starbot

D109 Cougar* (flag)
F150 Sea Of The Hebrides
F103 Carboniferous (Windy flag)
F126 Mesozoic
A141 Extender
+ Starbotian fleet

* Starbotian crewed

Remedian Border Protection Force

C122 Photon (flag)
D151 Velocity
F110 Miocene
A150 Refinery
RS-DF1-03 (Raegris)
RS-DF1-05 (Raegris)
+ Remedian Police Customs Patrol

Ships returning to HQ

HCSAF to replace A-84 with... A-84

The A-84 is one of the key types in the HCSAF, a reliable and sturdy bombtruck that has served on every front the HCSAF has been involved with since it's inception (like the F-40). However production ceased a couple of years ago with the type at the A-84F5 variant. Over 1700 remain in HCSAF service but many are of the older models and will start to reach the ends of their fatigue lives over the next few years. By the middle of the next decade the number of A-84s could drop to 1250, by the end of the decade less than 1000.

The HCSAF have recently begun to investigate a new attack aircraft to enter service around 2115 and after examining a number of options have decided to build A-84s again! The A-84NextGen will be, like the F-45C, a total redesign that just happens to look more or less the same as it's predecessor. The NextGen (which is likely to be called the A-84NG in service) will look pretty much the same as existing aircraft but will be totally new "under the skin" including a new data architecture, avionics suite, sensor backbone and engines.

The go-ahead has been given to begin development, the prototype has been pencilled in to begin flight testing by 2113. Much of the design work may utilise work done on the cancelled A-84G project. The HCSN are also looking at whether a navalised version fits into their plans.

Panther attack by 7 Sa Sao?

The DDS now think the attack on the HCS transport and SS Ocelot was by the 7 Sa Sao. Mysterious EM transmissions from 7SS space were calculated to be aimed at the ship which attacked the Panther destroyer. Early sigint of the transmissions, and the datalinks from the implants in the Type A's crew, indicates the transmissions are 7SS though unlike the type encountered before.

It is now being thought that another 7SS faction is behind the attacks not the Argon faction whom the DDS have dealt with before. Intelligence from an Eritran source has indicated each of the 7 factions had a technological distinctiveness and also an independent political philosophy. Windy has ordered his ship SS Carboniferous be prepared for a "long trip" by Thursday. He may be planning a reconnaissance of 7SS space (Windy is currently on Starbot).

All MTV now MTM

All 3 Molentic Tuul V cruisers have now been converted to the improved Molentic Tuul M standard which will be the unified standard for the 3 Molentic Tuul variants in the HCS Space Navy. HCS bloggers are reporting the 5 GX variant Molentic Tuuls will be the next to be converted which will take the programme into early next year. Then the bulk of the fleet, the 20 Molentic Tuul As will be modified.

The MTVs and MTGXs were the first to be modified as they are closest to the unified MTM standard with 3 cannons already though these weapons and other systems and equipment have also been upgraded. The ships are also receiving refurbishment and modifications to enable them to serve into the early 2120s when they are scheduled to receive a final refurb to take them to their early 2130s planned end-of-service dates. The 3 MTVs were the former VIP fleet of the HCS Space Navy, much of the former VIP suites had been removed and this process was completed as part of MTM. The extensive C3 suite has been retained however and has been upgraded and will become standard across the fleet.

Dance Of Death

The DDS investigate a hijacked HCS transport but they soon discover this is no ordinary piracy...

Panther destroyer damaged by mysterious alien ship

SS Ocelot, a Panther 35A class destroyer, has sustained moderate damage in an encounter with a mysterious alien ship of unknown origin. Ocelot was investigating the seizure of a HCS Type A freighter, then thought to be the victim of a pirate action. Ocelot tracked a cloaked ship using EM radiation emanating from the Type A and engaged it.

The alien ship, which does not appear to belong to any known space faring race, hit the Panther with an unidentified weapon which caused shield and main power damage, three crew members sustained minor injuries including one who was urinating at the time and suffered an electrical feedback pulse up through the urine stream and into his genitals.

Two HCS warships then arrived to chase off the alien craft. The Type A has now been recovered but the crew were all found to be dead after suffering from some kind of cranial implant. Ocelot has now restored main power and is returning to Rathun's World for repairs.

Strange energy emissions from 7 Sa Sao space

The DDS on Starbot have detected unusual energy emissions on a low band subspace channel emanating from 7 Sa Sao space. It is thought this could be a kind of 7SS communication. The DDS are attempting to determine the nature of the energy. A Marconi class EW/Elint ship has been despatched from Solaris to assist with it's specialist detection and sigint equipment.

The DDS are also interested as to the recipient of the energy as the beam is directed to a spot in DDS space. A DDS ship has been despatched to investigate.

HCS freighter attacked by pirates in DDS space

A HCS Type A freighter traveling from Gonas to Randalf 74 has been attacked by pirates while it travelled through DDS space (its a handy short-cut to pass by near to Saeou 6 for the Clones and the DDS don't mind the chance to examine plenty of telemetry!) Contact with the freighter has been lost.

The DDS have sent a Panther class destroyer to investigate. The region of space is not known for piracy.

The Future Is Ours

Redjec tries to save the future of the DDS...

Starsystem fleet to receive upgrade

The fleet of Starsystem training frigates will be receiving updates to their primary systems and learning environment over the next month. The two ships in reserve will receive the updates to the learning environment only (they are still to be used as static classrooms).

Greater use of virtual reality will be used in the main combat simulation chamber to add to the level of realism. A new engineering training suite will also be added and the battle damage control simulation improved. The ship will also receive minor upgrades to navigation and combat systems.

Cloneworld completes initial sea trials

The first new HCS Navy aircraft carrier CNS Cloneworld has completed it's initial sea trials and has returned to port for further equipment fitting including it's steam catapult and arrester wires. The carrier will begin aircraft launch tests when it begins phase 2 of it's sea trials in the early autumn.

The second (and now final) member of the class CNS Clone Empire is due to be launched in a few weeks. Work has also begun on the singleton Austini 55 carrier class ship for Benito's Navy. The HCS are hoping to unveil their next carrier class which will be twice the size of the Cloneworld class by the end of the year.

Long patrol to ABBOs sets out

A "long patrol" has set out from Xi in the Dino Republic to investigate the ABBOs and see what the mysterious mechanical warriors are up to. 6 Dinomark NGs under the command of Tribune Comer comprise the major part of the patrol though it is also thought that 2 Dinomark PTs are also heading to the area in a parallel Elint reconnaissance mission.

All of the NGs have been upgraded with the latest version of the Dino cloaking device. Comer said the purpose of the mission was to "investigate and not engage" which is why the mission is being carried out discreetly. The mission departed Xi after a 3 hour long performance by the Governor of Xi's Brass Band.

Dinos to take part in Operation Ground Shock

The DDS have named their next exercise deployment which will be the debut of the DDS' amphibious warfare capabilities and their new army. Operation Ground Shock will begin next month and will also include Dino and Aritan forces.

The list of space craft to take part has not yet been announced but it is expected both of the DDS' Intruder class landing ships will be included. The Dinos are to send 2 of their SX-98 landing ships to take part as well as some Dinomarks and 2 centuries of ground troops, likely to be from the 3rd Armoured Brigade. The Aritans will provide the DDS troops to be deployed as only the Aritan 1st Armoured Brigade is operational in the new DDS Army though some human troops will also be deployed in the special forces and support roles. An Aritan warship will also take part in as one of the escorts.

Further details of Ground Shock are expected before the end of the month.

Force Voth to be beefed up

When presenting the latest fleet deployment (which can be seen on this site) the DDS said that the pressure on the DDS fleet had eased considerably over recent weeks and would further improve when Ensuring Passage ended in a couple of weeks. A new exercise is planned to begin next month but will be mainly amphibious exercises so will not require that many fleet escorts.

Force Voth is to be strengthened with a dedicated detachment on Apassara. A cruiser and two more escorts are likely to be sent to join the force in a week or so. The DDS have denied this is a reaction to recent Bolitic manoeuvres though everyone knows it is!

Current deployments (16/06/09)

Ships in brackets are part of deployment but not on station (e.g. on route)

Force Voth

R107 Archer (flag)
F161 Sea Of Tranquillity
P131 Fighting Falcon
P134 Merlin
F136 Barents Sea
F116 Cryptozoic
M102 Demostenes
M103 Sappho



A146 Argus
SKS Undian (Sirikwan)

Ensuring Passage

R105 Grenadier (flag)
F148 Solomon Sea
AS01 Kalanham (New Arit)
A142 Stratotanker

Force Starbot

D109 Cougar* (flag)
F150 Sea Of The Hebrides
F126 Mesozoic
A141 Extender
+ Starbotian fleet

* Starbotian crewed

Remedian Border Protection Force

C122 Photon (flag)
D151 Velocity



F110 Miocene
A150 Refinery
RS-DF1-03 (Raegris)
RS-DF1-05 (Raegris)
+ Remedian Police Customs Patrol

Ships returning to HQ

F152 Aral Sea II

Soulaki cruisers to be upgraded

HCS bloggers are reporting that the Soulaki SL and SLB battlecruisers, the most powerful ships in the HCS Space Navy, will be upgraded and unified into one standard. The Soulaki SLK will comprise all 30 ships with upgrades beginning later this year as the oldest SLs go into their major refits.

The SLK will receive strengthened structures and engine upgrades to boost top speed to "the vicinity of" 750c though cruise is expected to be in the low 700s. Armament will not change though the cannons and missiles carried will be upgraded. The secondary quad-bank laser cannons will be deleted and replaced by a CIWS and externally carried missiles including one day CSM. The main triple-phase proton cannons will receive a ground attack mode though this is likely to mainly because of commonality with the Cosmos K (the main weapon at it's core is the same as the Soulaki's). Soulaki SLK will carry the in-development attack system however but it is thought ground attack will be firmly a secondary role.

The HCS are known to be working on passive sensors though Soulaki SLK will not receive them yet as the HCS are some way behind the DDS. The SLK will receive much improved datalinking however and a new main databus. All ships will receive refurbishment to enable them to continue operation until 2120 when the next refurbishment will be needed, all ships will also receive an increase to their design lives into the early 2130s (SLs were due to last until the mid-2120s originally).

Finally the Soulaki SLK's docking bay will be improved to add support for the forthcoming Nybble UCV. The upgrades will begin before the end of the year but the programme will take some years to complete. It is likely that further improvements like passive sensors may appear in later batches of SLKs.

Windy gives training to young male recruits

Windy has given a special training session to young male recruits after one of the Starsystem training frigates made an unexpected stop off on Starbot. First of all Windy was asked if the training would be "hands-on". He said yes but there would also be a large oral component.

Windy also ran a training exercise simulating an enemy attack using the Psychological Situation Suite on the Starsystem. The young men were trapped alone with Windy in a dark and confined space. Windy said he wanted to see how the young men performed under pressure.

However Windy said he was "dissatisfied" with the young men's physical fitness and put them in for some extra training which he led personally. "I sometimes need to come down hard on the lads." he said.

Fleet news (15/06/09)

Three new ships have joined the fleet though all transports of some description. A224 Rhone is the latest Thames 75B class utility transport. It has been confirmed that the Friendship / Thames platform will form the basis of the Type 23A/E auxiliary / export UCV carrier too. The DDS have yet to commit to a buy themselves of the type but have begun development because of strong interest from 3 customers.

A508 Charles is the 8th and penultimate Feeder 78A class shuttle, a 10th was planned but has been cancelled because it is cheaper to buy Coril 79B shuttles instead. A577 Naitron is the latest of those to be built.

Isometric makes history with first unmanned superluminal journey

Development ship SS Isometric has just made it's first unmanned journey at faster than light speeds. The ship is being used by DDS Research for UCV technology development. UCVs are something the DDS have experience with but only in small sub-light ships like the Ferret-E. To the DDS' knowledge no-one has purposely flown a ship faster than light without a crew before (not counting missiles or accidents).

This is a key stage of the Object Blue A project which covers superluminal UCV development. The trip was made near Solaris and lasted nearly 5 minutes. Isometric was taken up to 7c, accompanied by a Pentekonter (Starsystem T101 Beta Centauri which has been seconded to the Object Blue A is undergoing a refit). The next test in a few weeks will be much longer and be at higher speeds.

Green light given for Panther ECM module

The DDS have given the green light for the development and production of a number of ECM/EW modules for the Panther destroyer fleet. At the moment the only combat module the destroyer can carry is a tactical reconnaissance one but the DDS are keen to expand it's role.

It is thought the ECM module will be used for defence suppression and general EW support in situations where a Marconi is too vulnerable. The first module could come on-line next year.

Tinfish returns to service

The HCSN has a submarine again. SS Tinfish has returned to service following a refit and upgrade and resumes it's role as the HCSN's only submarine at least until the first Seawolf enters service next year. Tinfish has been fitted with the new SS-NS-3 cruise missile and gives the HCSN a modest ground attack capability from a submerged (and thus hard to detect) platform.

Tinfish has also been given improved communications equipment. It's role is mostly training for the HCSN though as the service attempts to build it's submarine force. When the Seawolf and later classes enter service Tinfish is likely to be returned to the museum from which it came!

Next generation Tapir unveiled

The second major new HCS AFV co-developed and funded with the Dinos have been unveiled. The Tapir Next Generation TRV-5HD was officially rolled out of the main Tapir factory in Ailier, Cloneworld and will begin trials before it's production begins for the Dinos to start with in 2110 and for the Clones a year later.

The 5HD is the biggest upgrade to the main HCS AFV for years. It has a new gun with much improved fire control and sights, a new generation of the engine and improved armour made of a new alloy (details are being withheld).

The Dinos initially will purchase 1000 5HDs and the HCS 500 though there will be 1000s more over the years. The HCS is estimated to have around 100,000 Tapirs in service and around ten percent are long overdue replacement.

Medical records leaked by mistake

A few dozen confidential medical records of DDS personnel have been accidentally leaked on-line and published by a number of magazines. The records were accidentally sent on a broadcast e-mail as part of investigating the Bolitic hack of the Medical Services database.

The records are all of a subset with people with similar ailments including Liaison Officer Gibson who was revealed to be suffering from anal bleeding, sores on his private parts and erectile dysfunction.

Dinos advise DDS on Bolitic info-warfare

Dr Forbidden invited Tribune Justin of the Dino Army to speak to DDS officers (via a video link) on the subject of Bolitic info-warfare last night. The Dinos have a lot more experience in dealing with Bolitic warfare of this kind and it is hoped they can assist the DDS in developing a defence for this kind of warfare.

Justin first of all explained why info-warfare is so highly developed in the Bolitic armed forces which has the stereotypical image of being super macho and masculine. "If you are strong and Bolitic you go into the army and fight with a sword and gun, if you are weak yet intelligent and Bolitic you go into the army and fight with a keyboard. Like all branches of Bolitic society there is honour to be found in any duty as long as you do your best."

Justin then went on to explain various aspects of the Bolitic info-warfare effort, each House has a dedicated team working on this kind of warfare and the Emperor has a central group of the best hackers and specialists. "They feed into the Bolitic war machine at every level, your recent medical record hacking was a typical Bolitic tactic. In any future combat between the Bolitic and DDS they will use this medical knowledge as part of their strategy. For example if ship X on the left flank has a first officer with a history of nervous illness they may decide to strike that flank."

Blackmail and distraction may also be used, Justin said. "The Bolitic have probably built a huge library of pornographic images." he told the DDS audience who suddenly sat up in their seats, "These will be used to distract individual officers, maybe keeping them up awake for longer so they will not be as alert and fresh. Child porn may be used to discredit people."

Justin went on to explain a case during a war between the Bolitic and Dinos some years ago where a junior planner at the Dino Army HQ had child porn put on his computer by the Bolitic so he would not be on duty during the attack. "It had a small effect as his replacement was not as good." Justin said.

That was the point, Justin concluded. "The Bolitic will use many simultaneous cyber attacks ranging from hacking of systems, to blackmail to disruption. Each on it's own only has a small effect but together it can have a serious draining effect on your ability to combat the "hard" Bolitic armed forces."

Sirikwanese ship joins Force Voth

SKS Undian, a Helwin class patrol ship of the Sirikwanese Space Navy, has joined Force Voth. This is the first time Sirikwan has taken part in a DDS deployment. The Helwin class ship is rather old and limited and so will not be of that much use to the deployment however will be used (as it is a Bolitic built ship) to help in training in some war games.

The Aritans are also aiming to send a ship to the deployment within the next couple of months, maybe one of their Pentekonters.

Gale-III Development Build 22

The latest Gale-III test was held yesterday, this time from a range in the West Clone Republic to test the missile from a different set of climate conditions. Build 22, like #21, was an ICBM test. The missile landed in the Northern Ocean.

The HCS are reported to be very happy with the Gale-III ICBM variant now and may now concentrate on the CSM variant for the rest of the year. Three new builds are planned to be tested in the rest of the year. However marrying the Gale-III launcher to the Nuclear Space Vehicle (NSV) part of CSM is not planned for some time yet.

Cosmos ground attack capabilities considered

The Cosmos K upgrades and some Cosmos S cruisers have been given a new version of the "super cannon", the most powerful weapon in the HCS Space Navy. This new version has a ground attack mode which saw it's debut in a recent amphibious operation where 3 Cosmos K gave support to landed troops.

The DDS have been analysing telemetry, public domain information (and information gained through espionage though of course will not admit to that one!) They think the Cosmos does not have an equivalent to the DDS Strategic Attack System but rather gets targeting information from other ships and ground positions. It is thought some Molentic Tuuls have an upgraded ground imaging system that allows for reasonable space-to-ground targeting and Red Lizard elite forces also use a laser illuminator to "light up" targets for the Cosmos to shoot at.

An integrated imaging, targeting and post-attack analysis suite similar to SAS is thought to be under development and will be fitted to Cosmos cruisers from next year. The current system is not as accurate as the DDS SAS + Rome + Z5g attack system (individual rivets on a tank on the ground can be targeted and struck from orbit) but is still reasonably accurate.

Windy on Starbot

Windy has arrived on Starbot which he intends to make his base for the next few months while he reviews the status of the DDS here, investigates the 7 Sa Sao threat and terrorises various aliens sexually. SS Carboniferous and SS Stoke City have formed Windy's mobile HQ. From here Windy can communicate and direct any DDS operations.

Windy says he hopes he can come face to face with some 7 Sa Sao again or, as he says, "Face to ass even better!"

Dr Forbidden warns of Bolitic info-weapons

Dr Forbidden held a media briefing at DDS Research yesterday where he warned of the growing threat of Bolitic info-weapons, especially what he called the "long-effect weapons". These are distinct from "immediate effect" weapons he said, which people already know about. These are viruses and other cyber attacks to disable ship defences and the like. But the long-effect weapons have recently come to light. These are viruses that are planted by the Bolitic and can take weeks or months to come into operation, often travelling from system to system until it reaches it's target.

Their existance was discovered by accident Dr Forbidden said. A subspace laser communications repeater on Proxima 7 was used for tests into new communications protocols recently, to facilitate the test all communications using the repeater was stopped but DDS engineers still detected data being transmitted by the repeater. They found that a virus in the DDS Medical Services mainframe array was sending medical records of DDS personnel via the repeater into the subspace communications network. A traceroute found the data was being sent to Pulsin in the Dino Republic and from there transmitted to the Bolitic piggybacking on commercial communications traffic.

The data stream was shut down but it is thought the virus had been in operation for some weeks. Data Forensic experts at DDS Research examined the virus and it is thought it entered via a DDS warship some months ago. The virus may have jumped between up to 7 different systems before it found the medical database. It then set up the data stream and began sending the medical records.

Dr Forbidden said DDS Research were now developing cyber-weapons to hunt out and destroy any other Bolitic viruses that may be in existance. All outgoing data streams were also being examined for any piggybacking unauthorised data. Recent upgrades to the communications firewalls and data security systems on DDS warships should preclude any further infections Dr Forbidden said though it is likely there are already viruses in the system, maybe waiting for a specific time to operate.

DDS open new data centre on Solaris

The modern DDS fleet, especially in the wake of Open Architecture has a lot of data flowing around. All ships constantly transmit back telemetry and sensor data back to DDS Engineering where this data is then filtered and analysed to help detect possible problems before they can be detected using normal methods and for trend analysis to help optimisation and upgrades. It is estimated that on the Isometric fleet alone the masses of telemetry data has allowed for a 17% increase in engine efficiency over the years.

However the DDS Engineering computer network has started to struggle because of the ever greater amount of data sent back and the increasing size of the fleet. The DDS have just completed a 310 million zark new data centre on Solaris which will become the new primary data store and processing centre of DDS Engineering. The existing centre will still be retained but will be used for alternative work and spare capacity.

The Central Data Processing Facility (CDPF) is at an undisclosed underground location on Solaris (the existing facility was above ground and it's location well known). It has 24 times the capability of the old facility though the DDS warn that even this will likely be maxed out by 2120. CDPF is designed to be easily expandable though so that should ensure there is always spare capacity. CDPF has begun working in parallel with the old facility and by the end of the year will have taken over completely. The old facility will then be shut down for 6 months for refurbishment and upgrade.

HCS conduct major amphibious exercise

It is well known that the DDS are planning to test their amphibious forces in an exercise in a few weeks, the HCS have decided to show the DDS how to do it when no fewer than 10 Intruder landing ships involved in a major amphibious exercise on Sandworld.

The HCS invested heavily in this exercise which can only be seen as a major show of force. It is estimated 40 ships in total were involved in the exercise. An entire armoured brigade and the best part of 2 infantry brigades were successfully landed at the target, the landing point secured by Red Lizard forces and patrolled by F-45A fighters launched by 2 Tiamon carriers in high atmosphere.

The HCS also showed off the new ground attack mode of the Cosmos supercannon when attacking a simulated enemy position in support of the landing.

Zanus to stand for election?

Jimmy's planned easy ride to power (he was set to only go against non-entities and madmen in the Consul election) has been dealt a blow after Senator Zanus, the defence minister, said he was considering standing too in order for democracy to be served.

Zanus is the only member of the senate not aligned to a political party (if we still count MBH as being in Veritas = Truth) and thus not bound by party rules. Imperial Order are not standing this year as the Liberal Party of Jimmy did not stand last year to give Cruggson a free run against Lakes. Next year both main parties will contest against each other but this year it looked open to Jimmy to cruise to power.

The Liberal Party have begun campaigning against Zanus in any case, ZBH repeatedly referred to the Senator as "Zay-nus" in a televised debate even though his name should be pronounced "Zan-us". A Liberal spokesman later said it was because of ZBH's regional accent.

Current deployments (09/06/09)

Ships in brackets are part of deployment but not on station (e.g. on route)

Force Voth

R107 Archer (flag)
F161 Sea Of Tranquillity
P131 Fighting Falcon
P134 Merlin
F136 Barents Sea



F116 Cryptozoic
M102 Demostenes
M103 Sappho
A146 Argus

Ensuring Passage

R105 Grenadier (flag)
F148 Solomon Sea
AS01 Kalanham (New Arit)
A142 Stratotanker

Force Starbot

D109 Cougar* (flag)



F150 Sea Of The Hebrides
F126 Mesozoic
A141 Extender

+ Starbotian fleet

* Starbotian crewed

Remedian Border Protection Force

C122 Photon (flag)
D151 Velocity
F110 Miocene
A150 Refinery
RS-DF1-03 (Raegris)
RS-DF1-05 (Raegris)
+ Remedian Police Customs Patrol

Ships returning to HQ

A157 Pentane
F134 Mediterranean Sea
D153 Progress
D107 Lynx
A144 Jetstar
C108 Europa
C110 Eurasia
R101 Missileer
F141 Sulu Sea
K107 Pliny
K112 Seneca
K119 Titus
E105 Fleming
A109 Flying Boxcar
A153 Butane
F152 Aral Sea II

Aritans plan to buy Isometric-E

The Aritans have said they will add the Isometric-E to their fleet in the next decade (a DDS reporter was heard to quip it will take them 10 years to save up the money). The Aritans said they would procure "2 or 3" mid-range Isometrics (similar therefore in specification to the Molab EMM) but with TPM-2 and more DDS support.

As a sign the Aritans are gaining confidence they stressed they were not hoping for a hand-out from the DDS of surplus used Isometrics or for money. "We have proved we are solid allies to the DDS with recent deployments in Ensuring Passage and Force Voth. The Aritans will continue to develop their fleet to take their share in responsibilities in protecting the UNP."

The brave Aritan words were tempered by news later on though that the Aritans have asked for UNP money to help fund their patrols of UNP worlds.

Unusual aliens encountered near Melon 4

A DDS warship under the command of Truman has discovered an unusual space capable (though not faster than light) alien race near Melon 4 outside of Remedian space who are thought to be called the Melitacons. One of the alien ships was encountered and it was found to be made of a kind of wood and steel! A survey team boarded the ship using personal cloaking devices to avoid detection and found the ship was totally without electricity and was powered by a fossil fuel furnace using a kind of steam for propulsion.

There has been reported an incident where the DDS ship suffered a loss of main power and hence it's cloak. It was fired upon by the Melitacon ship with a kind of kinetic weapon which caused some damage and some crew lost their lives. Truman decided not to fire back because of the massive disparity of technology between the two sides. "It would be like the crew of a helicopter gunship coming under attack from a native tribe armed with bow and arrows and deciding to fire back with a saturation napalm bombardment."

A UNP survey team may now further investigate the Melitacons. Many questions remain, the primary being how on Earth people with a pre-electricity technology level managed to get into space!

UV142 : Storm Detachment

• Power Of Heavy Metal - Lakes, Henry and Bolt go undercover...
• A Horror Beyond All - Its the end of the line for King Rathun...
• Awesome Job - We enter the world of Windy's mobile terror ship...
• The Melitacons - The DDS encounter a very strange alien ship...
• We Need Another Hero - Boxman tries to recruit Odourman to the DDS which is for real men (and women)...
• Endless Egomania - A day in the life of MBH...

Dinos explore holographic ship interiors

The Dinos have begun a project to explore the viability of generating a spaceship's interior using hard-light holography. With this the interior layout and fittings are generated on a needs basis depending on the ship's mission. For example a ship on a general duties mission may have itself set up for a normal crew complement while later on if could be set for a transport mission and reconfigure the interior to be largely empty.

The ship's interior would be a virtual representation though as it was "solid" (consisting of re-sequenced molecules) there would not be any need for VR equipment. The Dinos are to fit a holography lab into an old Dinomark XT next year for experiments into viability and survivability. Such a technology is being considered for the next generation of Dinomarks to follow on from the PT in the 2120s.

The advantages of such an approach are numerous, it would be much faster to reconfigure the interior of a ship (taking seconds rather than weeks), the interior could be "reality augmented" to assist crews and virtual crewing working alongside "real" crews would be possible.

Molab finally order 3rd Isometric

After a protracted series of discussions Molab have finally signed a 2.1 billion zark contract with the DDS. Molab did want TPM but Windy vetoed the sale, instead the DDS will go ahead and develop the QPM, a cut-down quad-phase version of TPM-1.

A 3rd Isometric-EMM and an 8th Pentekonter-E are part of the order plus all ships will receive an upgrade with improved sensors, 360 CIWS and QPM launchers. A 5th Extender-E and 6 Coril-Es complete the order.

QPM uses the delivery vehicle of the TPM-1D married to a new warhead though the guidance and countermeasures suites are not as advanced.

Endless Egomania

A day in the life of MBH

Clones begin project for next generation spaceship family

How long does it take to develop a brand new design of space warship? For the Clones it is about 10 years as it has been discovered by HCS watchers that they have just formed a project team to "create a family of warships to replace the Soulaki/Cosmos/Molentic Tuul". All three of these types will be withdrawn in the decade or so after 2120 (though some late Soulaki and Cosmos may survive as long as 2135) so a new design will be needed by around 2119.

The "family" nature of the project is interesting, the HCS intend to produce a flexible and extendible design that can serve in the heavy battlecruiser role down to the general purpose fleet asset. It may be a modular design will be adopted with a basic core and extra modules added depending on role.

The HCS are understood to be going to begin a "wide scale consultation exercise with stakeholders" i.e. ask people what they want.

Wayne King-Meiouf : The M Word

This time Professor King-Meiouf looks at developments on the far edge of the Clone Star Empire.

Beyond the far edge of the eastern part of the Clone Star Empire is a collection of worlds known as the Eritran Free States. This is a loosely aligned collection of ethnic Eritran planets. Why is this important because the Clone Star Empire (East) is largely the conquered Eritran Trade Federation and there are fears in the Free States that the Clones may one day decided to expand their frontiers.

That is why we have seen a build-up in space navies and armies in the Free States especially in the case of cash rich Molab who are starting to assemble a pretty useful fleet. The latest announcement of 12 ex-Utrek Kalahati Tuuls going to Molab has raised eyebrows on Austini 55 (or would have if Clones had eyebrows) as, although the ships are old, with DDS updates they could be quite formidable opponents. It also confirmed that the Molab build-up was with the Clones in mind not the Utrek.

One thing the Clones know for sure that a war with one Free State would mean having to fight all of them. Recently Eritran insurgents were linked to Sear N7, who are a weak power with no offensive warships, but the Clones could not attack Sear N7 without risking the intervention of Molab.

So let us see what the Clones could be facing if there was a war against the Free States, we are taking 2112 when all current known procurement orders come to fruition :

• 3 Isometric-EMM
• 10 Pentekonter-E
• 12 Kalahati-Tuul
• Various older legacy ships including Tarbotian Vormix and even a couple of ancient Dinomarks

The legacy ships can be largely discounted but the 25 other warships cannot! The Clone fleet, of course, is much larger but Benito's portion of the fleet is roughly equal to the responsive sizes of the two halves of the empire so he has around 20% of the HCS fleet. This brings the two sides much closer. The Isometrics are also superior to anything Benito has bar his Soulakis.

So the Free States and especially the M-word is something Benito can never ignore. It is known that Benito would like to expand his empire but the only way he can expand is to take the Eritran Free States but to defeat them it is likely he would need reinforcements from Captain Clone which are unlikely to come quickly. It is thought this is the main reason Benito is slowly drawing the CSE-E away from the west so he can begin building up his fleet outside of the restrictions of HCS planning.

The problem is by the time Benito can build up his fleet the Free States will be all the more stronger. It is forecast that Sear N7 and Oxsasx will buy combat ships within the next few years (Sear N7 is already a buyer of support ships from the DDS) and Molab will continue to expand their fleet. It may be in a few years the Free States may think themselves powerful enough to go on the offensive and retake the Eritran Trade Federation from the Clones. Then Benito may find himself without an empire.

Atomic Fist ends with a (big) bang

The large Atomic Fist deployment has ended following a final major exercise involving Pulsars with live nuclear missiles, Romes with attack modules, Ferret-E UCVs and Marconi EW. A large coordinated attack was made by the DDS on a target "base" which was defended by 20 Ferret-Es. The DDS trained in defending against the small attackers, 2 Ferrets were lost in the exercise. One due to technical failure and another flew into an asteroid due to operator error. The operator has been punished by deployment chief Commander MBF.

The deployment is now returning to Proxima 7.

360 CIWS Release 2

360 CIWS is the standard close-in weapon system of the DDS, based on a Raegris design. With 360 CIWS the whole outer structure of a ship is the "gun", energy bursts being directable in any direction with no gaps in coverage.

360 CIWS Release 2 has been developed in conjunction with the Raegris and will begin rolling out to replace existing installations on DDS and Raegris ships and be fitted on new conversions. Release 2 has improved reaction times, a longer range and the energy bursts can be variable in intensity to allow for striking different categories of objects (an incoming missile may require less energy to be destroyed than a UCV for example).

Zones arrive on Oscar, massacre already

A company of troops from the 1st Zone Infantry Brigade has arrived on Oscar as part of the HCS "peace keeping guests" force. The Zones have already slaughtered around 12 occupants of a human village near to their base. The HCS said the incident was regrettable and action would be taken against those responsible though no more details were given.

In reality the HCS have purposely sent the Zones there DDS sources say as this is part of an effort to remove all humans from Oscar before it can be bought into the Clone Star Empire. Some 60% of the human population has already left or is preparing to.

The human insurgency is continuing however, a lull in attacks was broken when 3 soft-skinned HCS vehicles were destroyed by IEDs killing 4 HCS soldiers. An army base was also struck by mortar fire though there were only slightly injuries.

Dinos build base on Sirikwan

The Dinos have begun construction of a base on Sirikwan which will be home to ground forces and Dinomarks. The base will be similar in scale to the Dino base on Loeuss and will typically have a few centuries of Dino Army troops and 4-5 Dinomarks. It will also be a stopping point for any passing Dinomarks on missions.

In a joint presentation with the Sirikwanese Defence Minister the head of the Dino Army Senator Zanus said the base was part of the new Dino foreign policy and military strategy and would look after Dino interests in the Sirikwan and Voth region of space. The base would also co-ordinate co-operation between the Dinos and Sirikwanese.

Sirikwan is being paid for the lease on the land with ex-Dino Army hardware. 25 more K-16M attack aircraft, 1000 more SM-26L rifles and other equipment have just been handed over to the Sirikwanese (which interestingly was delivered there by a Provider-EDA, the first mission of the new type in Dino service). A third Dinomark XT has also arrived on loan to help training before the Sirikwanese start to receive their new XTs next year.

Molab buys surplus Utrek ships

Since Molab began building a fleet of warships bought from the DDS it was speculated as to whether they considered the Clones or the Utrek their principle enemies. Now the answer is thought to be the Clones as Molab has concluded a 460 million zark deal with the Utrek for military hardware.

Molab is buying 16 second-hand Kalahati Tuul warships plus a large quantity of land combat equipment raging from firearms to tanks. The KTs will line up alongside the Isometrics and Pentekonters in the fast growing and quite impressive Molab fleet.

Molab said they are not turning their backs on the DDS though Molab has been playing hardball lately trying to get TPM. That will not happen but it has been reported they are interested in the Quad Phase Missile (QPM) which the DDS has designed for the export market.

Bolitic fleet returns to own space

F161 Sea Of Tranquility has reported that the Bolitic fleet that approached Voth space near Apassara has now turned back and has re-entered the Bolitic Confederacy. The Vosunite army troops who were thought to have been maybe preparing for an invasion have been spotted training on a Vosun planet near the Utrek border.

The rotated ships of Force Voth that were held back as a precaution have now been cleared to return to the DDS and will leave at the weekend.

We Need Another Hero

Boxman tries to recruit Odourman to the DDS which is for real men (and women).

Dinomark MX rolled out

The first Dinomark MX transport ship has been unveiled on Dino-Land. At first it was thought the first MX wouldn't appear to 2110 but now the Dinos are saying that is the in-service date. A fleet of at least 25 will be built to provide transport and amphibious support.

The MX is a scaled up XT, crudely its as if 4 XTs were put together. Most of the internal structure is given up to a cargo hold and a landing bay which can carry up to 4 tanks and deploy them using 2 ramps in "less than a minute after landing" it is claimed.

The MX is part of a multi-ship strategy by the Dinos which includes Provider-EDAs and SX-98s to massively increase the military transport and amphibious warfare capabilities of the Dino Army. As for the Provider-EDA the first Dino built version is nearly completion. The Dinos are considering increasing the order to "double figures".

UCV support carrier to be developed

The DDS have announced a 630 million zark project to develop and build 3 UCV support carriers which will support major deployments with Ferret-E and have specialized maintenance facilities over and above what the Missileer already provides. The rationale is that these ships will be able to reduce the strain on Missileers and allow "off-line" repairs to take place away from the battle but still in theatre.

The as-yet unnamed Type 23A carriers will be based on the Friendship/Thames platform. Unlike the Missileer 21A carriers the Type 23As will not have any other role though as they will be based on transport ships they will be able to carry cargo if needs be.

Fleet news (03/06/09)

Two powerful new ships have joined the fleet this week. Missileer 21A carrier R108 Yeoman and Panther 35A destroyer D111 Civet have both joined the 1st Fleet.

Yeoman is testing a number of upgrades which will be rolled out to the rest of the Missileer 21A fleet later in the year. These include an improved UCV control system, an improved main databus and better toilet facilities. The Missileer 21A is a SUP based design and thus has a "rougher" ride than other combat types as it is, basically a large freighter with ultra-heavy armament. The engine management system and hyperspace field optimiser are both being refined to reduce vibrations which has been known to affect the accuracy of weapons at speed.

The Remedian Police's fleet of Kalahati Tuul 39A destroyers has been assessed for upgrades and it has been decided to bring the older ships up to the HCS Kalahati Tuul 2N standard of the last 4 ships. This includes a higher performance and improved structural integrity. The older ships will be given engine upgrades, the DDS has purchased 7 engines from the Clones (5 are needed, 2 will be spares). The upgrades will be known as the Kalahati Tuul 39B and will keep the ships competitive for the next 10 years or so. The upgrades begin later this year.

Ronaldson to join DDS

Ronald's youngest son, Ronaldson, is to join the DDS in an attempt to "make a man" out of him. Ronaldson has been criticised for not doing his national service in the Dino Army but the effeminate Dino said he could not return there because of the havoc peeling spuds did to his cuticles and khaki is so out of season.

However Ronald has demanded his son "toughen up" and so has arranged for him to serve in a DDS aligned unit, the UNP Humanitarian Corps where he will help out in disaster areas. A Dino spokesman said that Ronaldson in the Dino Army faced "abuse, humiliation and violence", quite why the DDS will be any different is unknown.

Ensuring Passage to stand down at the end of the month

The DDS have announced the Ensuring Passage deployment which was set up to protect DDS and UNP ships from ABBO attack near the Rim Worlds will end at the end of this month. The deployment has already been cut back, and yesterday Caratore who had been leading the deployment transferred command as his ship left the deployment to return to Solaris for a refit.

The deployment is more a training exercise now with the new flagship R105 Grenadier conducting training with it's squadron of Ferret-E UCVs against the DDS and Aritan frigates also in the deployment. New commander Captain Peter Fhile said that the ABBOs were no longer active in the area though the DDS would continue to monitor the area and run regular patrols after Ensuring Passage had ended.

Current deployments (02/06/09)

Ships in brackets are part of deployment but not on station (e.g. on route)

Force Voth

R107 Archer (flag)
D107 Lynx
F161 Sea Of Tranquillity
P131 Fighting Falcon
P134 Merlin



A144 Jetstar
F136 Barents Sea
F116 Cryptozoic
M102 Demostenes
M103 Sappho
A146 Argus

Atomic Fist

C101 North America (flag)
C103 South America
C106 Africa
C108 Europa
C110 Eurasia
R101 Missileer
D101 Panther
F112 Holocene
F141 Sulu Sea
K107 Pliny
K112 Seneca
K119 Titus
E105 Fleming
A109 Flying Boxcar
A153 Butane

Ensuring Passage

R105 Grenadier (flag)
F148 Solomon Sea
AS01 Kalanham (New Arit)
A142 Stratotanker

Force Starbot

D109 Cougar* (flag)
F152 Aral Sea II
F126 Mesozoic
A141 Extender
(F150 Sea Of The Hebrides)
+ Starbotian fleet

* Starbotian crewed

Remedian Border Protection Force

C122 Photon (flag)
D151 Velocity
F110 Miocene
A150 Refinery



RS-DF1-03 (Raegris)
RS-DF1-05 (Raegris)
+ Remedian Police Customs Patrol

Ships returning to HQ

A157 Pentane
F134 Mediterranean Sea
D153 Progress
F108 Eocene

LLAD finally makes first flight

The LLAD (Long Loiter Attack Drone) MQ-14 has finally made it's first flight at a DDS flight test centre on Solaris. LLAD is a key part of the future DDS aerial strike arm being a subsonic UCAV with a very long endurance. It is intended to patrol large areas of territory.

LLAD was originally intended to fly late last year but technical problems have delayed it until now. The DDS are still hopeful it can enter service next year though they admit it is likely to slip to 2111 now.