The Z6 cannon has been cleared for service and will appear on new ships next year, the first is likely to be a Solaris III destroyer which is expected to enter trials early in the new year. It has just been fitted with the first production version of the Z6. Retrofitting older ships may not begin until 2111 because the DDS wish to totally prove the reliability of the new cannon before they go for it wholesale.
The next generation Z Cannon InterPhase (better known as Zip) reached an important milestone this week. A static benchtest of the latest build achieved a dual phase beam for the first time. DDS Research will aim for quad and then full multi-phase in the next few months. Field tests on a spaceship will probably begin in 2111. A recent publication said that Zip cannon could replace the Z6 in around 2114. DDS Research have admitted that Zip has proven far more complicated and difficult than they thought. Originally they were planning to get Zip ready for service by... about now!
