New Arit will upgrade and refurbish it's fleet of 5
Solaris II frigates in order for them to serve into the early 2120s at least. The DDS will contribute to the upgrade programme with assistance by
DDS Engineering and some "free" equipment though it is likely to still cost the Aritans some 300 million zarks to upgrade the ships (a large sum for them) but they consider it a price worth paying as the upgraded Solaris ships will be a key part of their fleet.
The upgrade will include:
- Full refurbishment and replacement of worn parts
- New life support system and improved environmental control
- TPM-2 launcher and improved laser cannons
- Extra auxiliary laser weapons
- Passive sensors and 5036-A tactical suite (ex-DDS)
- Improved docking bay able to support Coril, SROPS and Fulcrums
- New databus and improved computer systems
- Recored engine and upgraded engine management systems
- New reactor cores and upgraded power system
- Combat Ware 2.0 support and improved internal security systems
- Various minor updates and improvements
The upgrade programme is due to begin in a few weeks (the Aritans say they can't delay the upgrade because of the war because the ships are literally at the end of their fatigue lives). Each upgrade is scheduled to take around 5 months each ship.
