Victory on Delta 9

Earlier today the final ABBO stronghold was attacked by DDSAF bombers and sensor sweeps now confirm that no operational ABBO soldiers remain on Delta 9. The DDS have declared victory but it has been costly with over 6000 DDS soldiers dying in the fighting since the ABBO invasion plus 1000s of Deltan civilians. Environmental damage to the planet has also been severe with parts of Delta likely to remain irradiated wastelands for decades to come.

Now the attention is turning to Malau, a much tougher proposition but one which must be tackled. The population of the planet is being herded into dozens of "safety camps" on the planet and there is the fear the ABBOs may be planning to "cleanse" the planet or at least begin to in order to force the DDS' hand.

Other Fleet News (31/01/11)

• The Dinos have had a bumper month, they have added 3 Dinomark PTs, 4 Dinomark XTs and an SX-98 landing ship to their fleet.
• The Bolitic on the other hand are really feeling the effects of the war of succession on their warship production with many workers leaving to either join their Houses' armies or hiding. Only 1 Meltinan is reported to have been completed.
• The Porquatians have completed a Quagan 665 warship. There are reports the DDS are working with the Porquatians to offer an export version of the Quagan as part of the DDS exports portfolio.

Freedom 41B to be upgraded

The next 6 Freedom 41B frigates will be to a modified and improved standard starting with F178 which is due for completion soon. The main difference will be an ion scoop fitted under the main nose of the frigate. This gathers in ionized particles and other energy sources in space and these gathered materials are then converted into power using a pre-reactor fitted in the engineering. DDS Research think that the ion scoop could increase the range of ships by up to 8% and if successful on the Freedom will be rolled out to other ships in the fleet over the next few years.

The passive sensors and tactical systems have also been upgraded and there have been some unspecified modifications to disaster recovery. The first 6 ships in the fleet may receive these modifications late this year or early next.

• The DDS are reporting that FIDO VR capabilities are becoming vital in filling in gaps in personnel because of the war. FIDO VR allows for "off-ship" crewing using virtual reality and holographic projection if face-to-face interaction is required with "real" crew. The DDS says that this has allowed over 300 DDS crew members to return to action earlier from injury by crewing their ships remotely from a number of FIDO centres.

Media Guru
Windy finds out more about the Tarbotians' new allies.

DDS begin build-up for Malau attack?

AP has ordered the DDS South and Starbotian fleets to be put on full readiness (the so-called "24 hours alert") and has ordered 9 ships from DDS Central to re-inforce the fleet at Liberation. The DDS Amphibious Force has also been put on full alert. DDS bloggers think that an attack on the ABBO positions on Malau will occur within days of the final victory on Delta 9 which is thought to be days away now (the remaining ABBO forces are now surrounded at a stronghold near Illaton).

DDS expert Professor King-Meiouf thinks that the battle of Malau will begin by mid-February. "The cost will be very high but the DDS cannot delay it any longer. If the war rumbles on into the Spring then the ABBOs will have chance to regenerate their forces and the DDS will also be running low on cash reserves."

• The first 4 second-generation SROPS have been delivered following a delay in certification. The 76B has improvements to its docking bay, Canister TPM support and a number of other updates. 25 SROPS 76Bs are on order.

Wayne King-Meiouf : AP seeks to expand the DDS franchise

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

AP has been nothing if not energetic since he took over control of the DDS after the death of The Orchid. He has instigated a large number of changes to DDS policy and operations, usually with much play in the media thanks to his master of the dark arts Hibiscus. However one area of DDS change has been kept firmly in the background.

This has been the expansion in the Hoods and the new roles they are being found. Now the Hoods were just one faction in the DDS, many thought of them as just a bunch of geeks who couldn't accept Rotarios was dead. However AP has bought them back to centre stage in the DDS (of course he was one of the creators of the Hoods in the first place years ago and it is rumoured he is still Grand Wizard in the Order of Hoods).

The Hoods are much higher profile in the DDS and their star has risen while that of Windy Massive has waned, helped by the painful losses to WM in the war. Mysteriously WM units have borne the brunt of fighting on Delta 9 and there have been some criticisms that AP is purposely trying to weaken WM. AP has replied he does not micro-manage how DDS Army units are deployed. There may be some truth in that as Zeppelin, the head of the army, is regarded as his own man and one reason WM units have seen more fighting is that they are much better at fighting while Hoods are usually only any good in operations if the enemy cannot fight back very well such as beating up children or the disabled.

Something else which hasn't been reported very much is that AP is seeking to expand the role of the DDS in the UNP. He has offered Hood units to assist with local policing on Proxima 5. This is thought to be a pilot unit and if successful maybe one day all UNP members will employ the Hoods in internal security. AP is thought to want to remove the distinction between the DDS and the UNP. To AP the DDS is the UNP and vice versa. If he can achieve such a merger then the flow of resources and power into the DDS will be much greater, though also will be their responsibilities.

DTA to invest heavily in "universal tank"

In some good news for the HCS (who will stand to gain a lot) the DTA are preparing to launch a major design and procurement programme to develop a "universal tank" to equip the armies of the DTA. The Dinos are likely to earmark around 6 billion zarks for the development of the tank with Sirikwan contributing around 1.2 billion, which would be based on the Clone/Dino joint-venture T-55ZDM, and buy at least 4000 of them.

The Sirikwanese and Aritan armies would receive 1000 tanks each with the Voth and Yeng 500 each. 1000 would also be put into a reserve and pool for future DTA members. The tank would be built at sites on Cloneworld, Dino-Land and Voth according to reports. The tank would have a "modular crew interface" and would be quickly modifiable for the different anatomies of the DTA. Computer and display systems would also be easily switchable.

DTA Minister GBH said that the universal tank was a key part of building up the armed forces of the DTA. "We must develop and deploy standard yet customised weapons so the armies of the DTA can easily interoperate." he said. Design sign-off has been targeted for later this year with prototype testing aimed for late 2112.

HCS Army angry about defence spending slow down?

The HCS Army (which the HCS confusingly refer to as - the HCS) has responded angrily to reports of a slow down in military spending and the delay or trimming of most current procurement projects. The Army say that they have endured lean years over the last few years as money was spent on the other services and they had been promised a big injection in money once projects like the re-born HCS Navy and CSM were up and running.

Instead the Army is likely to see several brigades withdrawn and the production rate of T-89s, T-55Zs and TRV-5s slowed. One major project the Army is keen to get started is a much delayed replacement for their massive fleet of ageing wheeled transports, many of which date from the first Clone War! A HCS blogger has estimated that to replace the oldest and most unreliable trucks and other transports could cost over 9 billion zarks.

• DDS Engineering teams have now managed to erect force fields around the partially demolished nuclear power station on Delta 9. A specialist UNP nuclear accidents recovery team has been bought in to assist.
• The A-84 Bombardier has been declared operational by the DDSAF, 100 ex-HCSAF attack aircraft were bought last year. The first 40 were delivered a few months ago and the first unit has now achieved combat operational readiness. It is thought they will not be sent to Delta 9 however as that battle is almost over. The DDS have ordered another 30 A-85 COIN aircraft from the HCS Reserve, they have been heavily used on Delta 9.

HCS spending frenzy to end

Over the last 5 years the HCS has seen a huge increase in spending of over 25% higher in real terms plus around 27 billion zarks worth of separate "one off" funding for projects like the CSM and the HCS Navy (though some of these have seen civilian applications such as a new satellite launcher based on the Gale-III). This has been funded by years of double digit growth for the Clone economy however as the economy has cooled over the last year (though growth is likely to continue) then HCS funding is likely to face a bit of a squeeze. A 2% increase in the defence budget has been agreed for 2111/12 though inflation will mean in real terms there will be a slight reduction overall.

A HCS source has said that some large projects may be delayed or scaled back though it is unlikely that anything will be cancelled outright. HCS bloggers predict that only the F-45C/K, CSM and Walrus SSBN projects are untouchable, everything else is likely to face some sort of downsizing or delay. The army could drop to 27 armoured divisions though this has been on the cards for some time. It is likely the navy's future carriers will be delayed until the next decade.

ABBOs begin rounding up Malau population

In a sinister move the ABBOs have begun rounding up the civilian population of Malau and are forcing them into what the ABBOs have called "Safety Camps". The population have been told they will be safer in the camps though if they refuse to go then the ABBOs have been ruthless in their enforcement of their orders. Dozens of civilians have already been killed by the ABBOs.

ABBO units have also been sent to all 7 of Malau's nuclear power stations and a nuclear waste treatment centre. The fear is the ABBOs will unleash a catastrophic radiological disaster if the DDS attack.

• The HCS Navy have accepted into service their 6th Mariner class operational support ship.

Senior Comms : Booting up the New New DDS Project

Hibiscus, Senior Communications Officer

Since AP came to power in the DDS to steer a steady course in a shaken DDS without a commander there has been much talk of the new direction AP is taking the DDS. While The Orchid was trying to renew the New DDS Project AP has decided a new path must be taken if the DDS is to formulate a multi-vector approach to the myriad of challenges the DDS now faces.

AP has not given his work a name so i shall cheekily call it the New New DDS Project. He has seen that the DDS must be able to deploy a full spectrum approach to challenges and tackle them head-on. The old way was to action objectives serially but the New New DDS Project must action objectives employing an asymmetric approach.

We're adopting full-duplex actioning as our model of operations. Key to our new ideas will be full management of communications and expectations. The DDS has been very slack in this up until now but you will be seeing some changes for sure in how we communicate within and without the DDS in future.

AP has instructed me to action a full review of the information architecture of the DDS and deploy some helicopter thinking on the communications throughput of the DDS. The DDS has many old and ingrained processes which we will weed out and replace with new thinking that better facilitates the full-duplex asymmetric communications of the New New DDS Project!

DDS consider bumper ship building programme for 2111/12

The DDS are putting together an ambitious ship building programme for the next financial year starting in April. Under the provisional plan submitted to CENFAC yesterday the DDS will aim to build or buy 5 carriers, 7 destroyers, 7 frigates and smaller patrol craft, 4 amphibious warfare vessels, 4 transports and 1 electronic warfare ship next year.

Sea Urchin, who was been given a role in facilitating this ambitious plan, said that the DDS would have to work hard over the next few years to regenerate its fleet badly damaged by the ABBO war. He also said that an extra effort was being made to build up the amphibious and transport fleets as building of combat ships had predominated over during the latter half of the current plan.

• Contact has been lost with SS Carboniferous which is on an unspecified long-range mission, rumoured to be in ABBO space. However the long range of the mission means that losing a hyperlaser link is not that unusual.
• The WCV-15 Hippo wheeled armoured vehicle has been finally withdrawn from service. The Hippo was a wheeled version of the HCSTapir intended for internal security but was not built in large numbers with the later WCV-10 White Tapir preferred instead.

Quitting Time
The DDS try and discover the Tarbotians' secret.

Delta 9 situation "out of control"

The DDS have admitted that the ecological damage to Delta 9 is now out of control with a badly damaged nuclear power station still spewing radiation into the atmosphere and radiological waste now spread across a significant area of the Deltan surface. DDS Engineering teams are battling to erect containment fields around the power station but the proximity of the front line means the ABBOs are doing all they can to prevent their operation.

The DDS are now looking at Malau with increasing alarm as it is suspected the ABBOs are testing their tactics for what would be the final battle on Malau, and the scale of disaster there could be many times bigger. In another worrying development the ABBOs have begun rounding up Malau UNP citizens for "accounting" purposes.

• The second LLFX F-47 has made its first flight. A full flight test programme is to begin next month with the HCSAF keen to get the cheap fighter into service by the end of next year.

HCS unveil space fleet "5 year plan"

The HCS have unveiled a vision for their space fleet for the next 5 years which will see a large number of Cosmos, Kelsans and Sharks added.

Under the plans by 2116 the HCS aim to have a first-line combat fleet consisting of 30 Soulaki, 120 Cosmos, 21 Molentic Tuul and 40 Kelsan. Existing orders for Cosmos CG and Kelsan KS will have to be greatly increased to reach these numbers though no extra orders have been unveiled yet until the plan is ratified by the Clone government. (At least half of the Cosmos fleet are allocated to second-line duties but are included in this total for clarity).

The second-line fleet will consist of 30 Kalahati Tuul S, 80 Sharks and 30 Nybble UCVs. The Thresher ST is now seen as a dead project which will be replaced by an uprated Shark known as the SKS model. The plan is expected to be debated early next month.

• The ABBOs have deliberatly blown open the top of a civilian nuclear power station on Delta 9 releasing vast quantities of radiation into the atmosphere. As they pulled back they blew further holes in the reactor casing causing a total meltdown. Radiological waste is also being sprayed at DDS Engineering teams trying to get to the scene. The DDS are calling the situation very serious.

Dino View : The XT will be the Jeep of the DTA

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

By the end of next year the Dinomark XT will be in construction on 3 planets : Dino-Land, Sirikwan and New Arit. The classic Dino warship will, within a few years, become even more prolific in a galaxy where there is already no shortage of the type. No doubt export sales will continue bringing in valuable revenue to the DTA too.

But how many XTs will the DTA end up with? Currently there are around 125 or so in Dino service though some of these are older ships from the reserve. This number is set to greatly increase. I have had informal chats with ex-colleagues who tell me the Dinos want 200 XTs in Army and SS service by 2120, as well as a reserve pool of around 70-80! Obviously there will need to be a lot of XTs built over the next ten years for the Dinos.

However the Dinos want the XT to become widespread in all of the militaries of the DTA. One of my contacts told me that the Senate want the XT to become like the old Earth vehicle the "Jeep" in DTA service. It is likely that Sirikwan will be aiming for a fleet of at least 30 XTs with New Arit and Voth maybe 15-20 each and Yeng maybe a handful.

I made some rough calculations after analysing the state of the current Dino fleet and how many ships will need to be returned to the reserve over the next few years and i think around 200 XTs will need to be made over the next 10 years if these targets are to be reached. 20 a year, a tough task but possible with 3 production lines. Export orders will also have to be considered on top of that of course.

Whatever happens the XT is likely to remain a very familiar sight in DTA space for a long time to come.

UV162 : Operation TTG

• Ppl Are Having Sex - Windy sets off on a new mission...
• A Decent Cup Of Coffee - The Triad investigate an ABBO base...
• Your Wonderful Life - Redjec discovers Knobhead's price...
• Cast Adrift - Windy finds out who is whacking the ABBOs...
• Threat Management - Two suicide missions begin...
• Blizzards! - Don't stop believing!...

DDS order 2 more Missileer 21Bs

The DDS have placed an order for 2 more Missileer 21Bs production of which is to begin immediately. The 2 ships are replacements for war losses and will give an eventual fleet of 11 Missileers (assuming no more war losses) to which the DDS will also have at least 6 Olympus 23A support carriers.

Following the war the fleet will be undergoing an upgrade, the earlier 21A ships will be upgraded to 21B standard which includes a more powerful engine and MRM support. All ships will receive communications, point-defence and databus upgrades.

• RQ-12N NBC reconnaissance drones are now operating over Delta 9 to monitor the level and spread of the radiological waste being released by the ABBOs. The DDS say that current quiet weather conditions are helping to contain the toxic damage.
• Starbot have taken delivery of a Provider-E transport which they have named I-19 Compass. They have also confirmed the order of a second though have now yet agreed a delivery date. In Starbotian service the Provider will be also used in the survey role and can be fitted with an equipment module for this.

Wayne King-Meiouf : How can we end this war?

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

Starting a war is, as has been proven many times over the years, very easy indeed. Finishing a war is very difficult however as the DDS are now facing with the ABBOs. The ABBOs are defeated in many ways. Their fleet has been reduced to a few hundred ships, a large force indeed but only a small fraction of what they started the war with. Events in their own territory indicate a mysterious enemy slowly but surely wiping their empire out so no help can be expected from there.

However the ABBOs are not giving up, they are fighting to the last man or rather drone. They are also trying to make sure a DDS victory will be as costly as possible. The release of radiological material on Delta 9 is an indication that the ABBOs are willing to do anything to hurt the DDS. Now the ABBO presence on Delta 9 has always been fairly small and they should be pacified fairly soon, environmental damage to Delta 9 will be significant but localised.

Malau is a totally different story. The ABBOs have thousands of soldiers on the planet and if they employed the same tactics as on Delta then defeating them will be horrendously costly and would likely render Malau as uninhabitable. The several million UNP civilians on the planet will also be put at serious risk. DDS Army losses are likely to be huge. The alternative, orbital bombardment, would likely cause the same damage to Malau and its population.

That is after the DDS destroy whats left of the ABBO fleet of course. Even best case estimates suggest the DDS would lose over 20 ships and maybe many more. It is likely the ABBOs will employ mass suicide tactics. Defeating the ABBOs may cost the DDS the majority of their remaining battle fleet, the majority of their land forces and Malau is likely to be destroyed at huge civilian cost.

The DDS could of course try and wait the ABBOs out, but wait for what? The ABBOs have no understandable agenda apart from hurting the DDS. The ABBOs are likely to begin measures to force the DDS to act. There are already reports of the ABBO forces on Malau, which hitherto have largely ignored the Malau population, are beginning to harass them. What if the ABBOs began exterminating the population? The UNP would force the DDS to attack, and the DDS might end up shattered beyond repair.

Who would be a DDS Commander? AP will have to decide soon what the DDS does.

Dr Forbidden : EA-X

Dr Forbidden, head of DDS Research

Yesterday we cleared EA-X, the energy absorbant layer which will be applied to all DDS warships, for full deployment. All new ships from now on will be covered in a layer of the material (it is a thin layer by the way so will not change the appearance of ships!) Existing warships will begin to have a layer retro-fitted to them from later in the year. At the moment supplies of EA-X are a bit limited as we only have our development facility online but a dedicated factory for EA-X will enter operation later in the year.

So what is EA-X? Well it can absorb vast amounts of energy, even if concentrated in a laser or energy beam. In tests it has absorbed 70% of the energy from a typical energy cannon hit (we used the Pulsar 12A's secondary cannons in tests). Obviously the less energy that gets through the less damage! EA-X will provide for a valuable back-up for shields.

However this is only the start. We are already well advanced on EA-X 2.0 which has the added ability to store absorbed energy which can then be recycled in the ship's own power systems. Yes that means a DDS warship will be able to absorb the energy blast from an enemy ship and then redirect that energy back at them through its own weapons! We hope to have this second version of EA-X available by 2114.

Aritans to build XTs for the DTA

The Aritans have secured a licence to build Dinomark XTs for both themselves and other DTA nations. Their line will be the third line behind the Dinos' own and the forthcoming Sirikwan line. The Aritans hope to have their first XT produced by the Summer of 2112.

It is thought the Aritans plan a fleet of at least 12 XTs which will be partly funded by export profits. In the long run XT production on Sirikwan and New Arit may allow the Dinos to reduce their own production to a minimum and allow more resources to be allocated to PT production.

• Ground based NBC reconnaissance teams have confirmed that the ABBOs are releasing radiological waste into the Deltan atmosphere as they retreat from their positions. Hundreds of DDS troops have been hospitalised with radiation poisoning though all troops are now equipped with full NBC suits.
• The AH-75 air superiority helicopter has been withdrawn by the HCSAF. A relic of the Clone Wars the AH-75 was designed for the air-to-air role but did not really have a role in the HCS anymore though had been used in latter years in the combat training role.

Barrage Barge destroyed in heavy fighting

The Barrage Barge, the hacked together bombardment weapon the DDS put together to attack ABBO positions on Delta 9, has been destroyed during heavy fighting on the planet. A suicide attack by 2 ABBO fighters destroyed the barge, which is unmanned. No other DDS ships were damaged.

Fighting on the planet itself is said to be very heavy with "considerable casualties" reported by the DDS. It is thought the ABBOs are releasing radiological agents into the Deltan atmosphere. Two RQ-12N NBC reconnaissance drones are being rushed to the planet to check. Dozens of Deltan civilians are known to have been butchered by the retreating ABBO forces.

• New DTA minister GBH is to visit all DTA members over the next month. He will also set up the DTA Command Forum which will be a committee representing all DTA members which will formulate DTA policy.
• The T-76 next generation basic trainer for the HCSAF has been cleared for service. It is based on the A-85NT platform and is a much more refined aircraft than the ageing (and rather dangerous) T-75. The first T-76s are expected to enter service in a few months.

ABBOs adopting scorched earth policy?

Fighting has been raging for several hours in the latest offensive by the DDS on Delta 9. The DDS are hoping to wrap up the ABBO forces on the planet in this attack which was begun following a bombardment by the Barrage Barge, a Rome flotilla, air power and ground based artillery. 4 brigades of the DDS army attacked ABBO positions, breaking through the lines.

The ABBOs are said to be mounting a fighting retreat and are destroying everything they can in their wake, adopting a scorched earth policy. Civilians, who have been left alone by the ABBOs up until now, are now being attacked on sight. The DDS have broadcast warnings to all civilians behind ABBO lines to keep hidden for the time being.

• Helinox, a member of the Free Eritran States and a DDS customer, has surprisingly opened negotiations with the Dinos about a "relationship" with the DTA. The Helinox say they do not want to join the DTA but would be interested in co-operation between the DTA and the Eritrans. Other Eritran states are behind this initiative Helinox claim.

Fleet News (13/01/11)

• D169 Barnard's Star II is the latest Solaris 37C and F177 Fury is the latest Freedom 41B frigate. Both have joined the DDS Centre fleet though may be reassigned over the next few days.
• R112 Bombardier is the final Missileer 21B carrier to be built though its possible the DDS may build 2 more to replace war losses.

HCS View : An introduction

General Garendin, former commander of the HCS 140th Infantry Brigade and current adviser to the HCS Future Strategy Committee has kindly agreed to give us regular insights into the Clone point of view.

Greetings everybody. When the DDS approached us for an "expert" to present an alternative point of view on matters of strategic interest we thought it was a great idea to promote greater understanding between our two sides. I hope that in the coming months i can foster a greater appreciation of Clone issues.

I have a great deal of experience in military and geo-political issues. I have been in the HCS for 17 years, though the last 2 have been in a non-active role. Before that i rose to command of the 140th Infantry Brigade. Now i am a member of the Future Strategy Committee which is a HCS department which looks at long-term military and geo-political trends and helps advise our leadership in their strategic direction.

At the moment we are looking into the changing galatic "landscape" (for want of a better word). The great war of 2110 will set in place a great political upheaval. The Bolitic have been smashed by the Dinos and Raegris and will probably split into various competing factions. The Dinos have been badly hurt by the war but their DTA initiative will lead them down a very interesting path.

The ABBOs look to have committed suicide, and could well be out of the game for good following this war. The DDS are the most interesting to consider. Badly hurt by the war but not critically, the loss of their Aritan and Sirikwanese allies is a heavy blow though. Their strategy over the last few years has been to strengthen in the area they call "DDS West" but that strategy is now in total ruins. It will be interesting to see where the DDS go politically now.

We think the DDS will go through a period of quiet introspection, both to regenerate their damaged fleet, army and finances and also to decide on their future strategic direction. Much of this, of course, will end up being dictated by what is happening elsewhere of course. This decade could end up by being very interesting, and dangerous, indeed.

GBH appointed Minister of DTA

Ronald has announced some changes in the Dino Senate. GBH (right) has been appointed to the new role of Minister of the Dino Trade Association. His brief will be to handle all high-level DTA affairs and act as the Dinos ambassador to the various DTA member states. One priority for GBH will be to set up a proper system of governance for the DTA. It is thought GBH may chair regular meetings of similiar officials from the various other DTA member states.

GBH's old role as DDS Liaison has been given to Lakes who will combine it with his HCS Liaison duties.

• The DDS have not ruled out an attack on Malau. Indeed AP has told reporters that once Delta 9 has been fully restored to DDS control then the DDS will prepare for what is likely to be the final battle of the war against the ABBOs. Such a battle could be very costly though with one analyst saying the ABBOs may fight to the last man and the DDS could lose over 20 ships in such an engagement.

Wayne King-Meiouf : The new numbers game

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf from the University of Proxima

Acting Commander AP is currently formulating a future fleet policy which will, in his words, take the DDS fleet from the wreckage of the ABBO War and into the 2120s. Already he has said he does not wish to see the Chrysalis future cruiser built (and personally i don't believe even a token single ship will be built) but what has not yet been examined have been his published targets for the DDS fleet.

AP wants the fleet split much more clearly along "Fleet" and "Patrol" lines with the Fleet consisting of the legacy cruisers, the 8 Quasar 15As plus 16 carriers and a combined fleet of 45 Panther, Intrepid and Solaris destroyers. The Patrol fleet will consist of 80 frigates and sloops (the designation of the Corkscrew) and a small fleet of 15 corvettes (Rome 46A). The Falcon and Pentekonter-M specialist small escort fleets will also be available to assist the Patrol fleet.

AP is aiming for a simpler and more rationalised fleet and that approach does have merit though i feel there will be occaisions where a smaller ship will be needed on a combat operation though of course there is no reason why a Patrol ship could not be seconded to a Fleet operation. The main question is, are these numbers enough?

Contrary to some criticism AP is not aiming to butcher the fleet, indeed to reach these stated fleet goals will require a lot of ship building over the next few years. One thing is AP's favour though is that none of the combat ships in the fleet (with the exception of the Pulsar 12As which i understand will be withdrawn at the conclusion of the war) are due to be replaced until the late 2120s at the earliest which means the DDS will be able to reach these fleet total goals and then will have plenty of time before they have to start the whole cycle again!

Fast Fleet Tanker receives initial funding

The Fast Fleet Tanker (FFT) project has been granted initial funding. This project is intended to produce a small fleet of high performance fleet supply ships that can keep up with the current generation of DDS warship. A speed of 800c has been specified for the FFT though it would also receive worm drive at some stage.

The DDS have estimated they would require a fleet of around 8 FFTs to supplement the existing Extender 73A fleet. No delivery estimate has yet been made but DDS sources say a 2114 timeframe is likely.

• The Aritans are to buy the DDS' remaining Kalahati Tuuls. 5 Kingfisher 39Bs and both Experiment 96Xs are to be sold "as-is" (though presumably after the removal of sensitive technology like TPM-2) to the Aritans at the conclusion of the war. The Aritans are likely to pay around 20 million zarks per ship. The Aritans will be buying the ships themselves though the Dinos will fund any needed upgrades. The Aritans are also negotiating for the sale of a Pentekonter-E to join the one they currently have (which the Dinos have helped the Aritans buy fully from the Articans). It is likely this will be tied up in the same deal. These ship procurements are the key parts of a 500 million zark investment in the Aritan military announced by their government to restore their forces following the war and to get the Aritans back to playing their desired role in the DTA.
• The Dinos have begun producing Ferret-Gs for export, as co-designers of the UCV with the DDS and the Starbotians they had full schematics though until now have not produced the type in bulk. A new factory will produce Ferrets with the Sirikwanese and Aritans, already possessing DDS built Ferrets, likely to be the first recipients. 
• The DDS are preparing for a new offensive on Delta 9 according to reports with the aim of finally defeating the ABBO presence on the planet.

Blizzards!
Don't stop believing!

CSM to be sited on Lornaca Melnig and Austini 55

The HCS have confirmed the first CSM deployments away from Cloneworld. It is thought that around 8 CSMs are currently deployed on Cloneworld but an upgraded version will begin production soon which will be much easier to retarget. This version will be deployed to Lornaca Melnig and Austini 55 by 2113. Silos for both will be built at undisclosed locations on both planets though there are already some Gale-II IRBM solos on Austini that can be re-used.

Teriatri 7 and Randalf 74 are also likely to receive CSM at some stage. The HCS want to have around 300 CSMs ready and deployed across the empire plus 200 CSM-S by the end of the decade.

• Two ex-DDS Army Aritan brigades have begun their journey back home to New Arit from a holding area on Liberation. Three Dino Provider-EDA transports are transporting the troops and their equipment. One brigade remains on Delta 9 where they have been acting as a reserve and performing some non-combat support duties as per an agreement between the DDS and Aritans.

Dino View : The breaking of isolationism comes from a most unusual source

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

If one was to choose one word to define Dino foreign policy and even general cultural trajectory over the last few decades that word would be : "isolation". The Dinos tended not to have any allies apart from loose-ish ties with the Starbotians and later the DDS. The Dinos did not seek alliances or to take part in other people's fights except where the Dinos themselves were in peril such as the great war against the Tarbotians at the end of the last century.

However all that has now changed. The Dinos have formed the Dino Trade Association and have added a number of foreign powers to their new organisation, some of them not even ethnic Saurians. The Dinos have also begun the setting up of a network of bases away from Dino territory. The Dinos have even put their forces under the command of others, such as the Sirikwanese command of a recent DTA fleet.

The word is no longer isolation but now co-operation. But how did this massive change take place? Who is responsible for this 180 degree turn. It will surprise many that the change is not due to a new generation of more cosmopolitan leaders but instead is the mastermind of Ronald himself. Yes Ronald, the oldest of the old guard, a man so conservative it is said he has had the same breakfast every day for the last 189 years (not true in fact, its probably only 132).

The truth is Ronald has always been much less rigid and uncompromising than his public persona has been painted. Ronald has always preferred to let this image of a hard philistine be unchallenged as it has so often led enemies into a false sense of security. Many foes have assumed Ronald was an unimaginative military thug who could be easily outwitted but in reality he is the total opposite. Although it is true that he does hate modern art and only listens to Dino death metal.

Ronald has always been keen to visit and experience foreign cultures, he even spent several years off Dino-Land in a sabbatical (where of course he created the DDS). Ronald was keen to keep the Dinos isolated because he saw this as the best way to maintain their sovereignty. Now with a fast changing geo-political landscape he sees that a new era of openness and co-operation is instead what the Dinos need.

So ironically it is the oldest of the old guard who is bringing in the newest of the new.

AP may offer Chrysalis compromise

Many DDS captains including Von Kane and Caratore have said the DDS should build the Chrysalis future cruiser though one notable dissenting voice is Sea Urchin who agrees with AP that it should not be built (see other story). AP signalled in a meeting with DDS GHQ staff that he may compromise on Chrysalis and allow the construction of a singleton ship to act as the DDS flagship.

The single Chrysalis would also be a somewhat cut-down design, it is likely the integrated UCV module would be removed though a major UCV is still in development (and is separate from the Chrysalis funding). More details of what exactly Chrysalis might end up like are likely when/if Gate 1 is funded later in the year.

• The DDS have awarded an 80 million zark contract for upgrades to the DDS Communications backbone between the Proximan, Solaris and Terran systems.

Sea Urchin : "I agree with AP (on Chrysalis anyway!)"

AP's plans for a hi-lo mix of ships and the cancellation of the Chrysalis future cruiser project have drawn support from an unexpected source. Commander Sea Urchin (right) usually a critic of AP has said he agrees with the Acting DDS Commander. "Big ticket cruisers are just big targets. As the Dinos have found with their RS class, big ships have become too expensive to risk in combat as so much money and time is concentrated in one ship which can be destroyed these days by a tiny drone with 1 missile!"

Sea Urchin wants the DDS to follow the HCS lead and develop a dedicated mid-sized bomber for the strike role. "We could develop something like Kelsan cheaply and quickly, though preferably unmanned, and take the strike role away from the Quasars. The Quasars should be kept as command and stand-off strike bombers but are too expensive and vulnerable to risk in the strike role."

AP puts Chrysalis in doubt

AP has put the "Chrysalis" future cruiser project in doubt after he said that large warships like the Chrysalis project were "obsolete". He made the comments in a speech to DDS Centre where he said that the DDS would pursue a hi-lo mix of quantity and quality though he said that cruisers were unlikely to be part of the "high" part.

"Advances in technology make large warships like Chrysalis obsolete, instead we should be pursuing improved missile technology." he said. AP pledged to have a 100 light year range missile system, LRM-100, in service by 2120 as well as a 10 light year version of MRM.

Chrysalis Gate 1 is due in the Spring when the current development money runs out and the DDS would need to commit 450 million zarks for the next stage in development taking the project to specification and design sign-off in 2113. At the moment it looks unlikely if Gate 1 will proceed.

• Ronald, as Head of the Senate, has said there will be a reshuffle of senate posts though did not say when this will take place. Most Dino observers think later this week however. Its thought likely there will be a new minister position for the DTA.
• The Dinos, with input from the DDS, have made some modifications to the K-18D close support aircraft. The K-18D2 has improved avionics and some extra armour plating. ECM systems have also been upgraded. New build K-18s will be to the D2 standard from early February with existing aircraft in the DDSAF upgraded by the DDS themselves.
• The HCSN has launched a 5th Triona II OPV.

Threat Management
Two suicide missions begin.

Mysterious ship taking out the ABBOs?

Reports are coming in from Windy's ship SS Carboniferous that they have detected a mysterious alien ship of a previously unknown type which may be behind the collapse of the ABBO mesh. The ship was observed neutralising an ABBO planet after firing some kind of EMP weapon at the planet. All ABBO activity on the planet immediately ceased.

Long range sensors managed to get this image of the ship which is made from unidentifiable alloys and does not correspond with any known ship types in the DDS database. Carboniferous is thought to be only using passive sensors however so this is likely to be preventing the DDS from finding out too much about this mysterious ship yet.

• New Arit is to produce Dino TPM-1 missiles. The former (devastated) DDS TPM factory will be reused following a rebuild of the facilities over the next few months. The Dinos, under the guise of the DTA, have given the Aritans 130 million zarks for reconstruction purposes including this factory and the Aritan military HQ which was also badly damaged by the ABBOs.
• The DDS have awarded 6 companies contracts totalling over 850 million zarks for DDS wide ICT facilities. The contracts will maintain and improve computing, networking and communications systems across the DDS over the next 7 years. Expected improvements include a doubling of available internal network bandwidth and much improved data security.
• DDS exports are to resume with immediate effect. Pentekonter-Es will be made for export customers by the Raegris with the first delivery (to complete Molab's order) expected by the Summer.

Cast Adrift
Windy finds out who is whacking the ABBOs.

Wayne King-Meiouf : AP's case for a more rationalised fleet

Prof. Wayne King-Meiouf from the University of Proxima.

Recently AP, in a move which some say is beyond his brief of Acting Commander, has presented a serious of proposals for the future development of the DDS fleet. He wants the fleet to develop along a hi-lo mix scheme with a high end of Panther and Solaris destroyers and a low end of Isometric and later Rome based frigates. Heavy frigates are to go with the frigate fleet restricted to patrol and support duties with the battle fleet to consist of cruisers and destroyers only.

It is an interesting idea and the opportunity of the war with many ships needed to be replaced will help the DDS in facilitating these changes if they decide to go ahead with it (as they likely will).  The thinking the DDS are moving to is that their fleet should consist of a core of powerful ships with a large pool of less powerful ships for the day to day patroling of DDS space.

Its similar thinking to the HCS with their recent moves to question the Thresher ST. It is likely the Clones will cancel that ship and instead use the money to buy more Sharks. Both the DDS and HCS are looking into simplifying their fleet line-ups with a smaller number of ship classes in more clearly defined roles. Ships which blur the lines like the SOT and the Thresher are now being looked at as a luxury neither arm can afford or indeed need.

One reason for both decisions is that the classic role of these heavy frigates in supporting the battle fleet is going and is being replaced by the small warfighter concept. Advances in technology will soon make small cheap ships with heavy firepower and superluminal capabilities a reality. Both sides are advancing towards this goal but in different directions, the DDS with their Ferret and the HCS with their Nybble NL. I think the eventual warfighter ship will be a convergence of the two. A small fast nimble ship, probably unmanned, with superluminal capabilities and enough firepower to support the battle fleet.

By the mid part of this decade we could see such a warfighter in both fleets. Watch this space for the Ferret-X which is currently in development. Officially its a beefed up Ferret with optional superluminal drive but i suspect it will be much more than that. Rumours from the HCS Sprite project also indicate the age of the warfighter could be soon upon us.

TPM-2B to integrate Porquatian technology

The DDS are expected to debut their first major revision of the TPM-2 in the late Spring. TPM-2B will have a new motor which is derived from the technology transfer from the Porquatians who have recently being offered DDS membership. Porquat 640 will become official DDS members before the end of the month though are defacto Tier 1 members already.

TPM-2B will also include an enhanced countermeasures suite and a number of software revisions. This is the first TPM-2 update with no corresponding TPM-1 update. TPM-1 is likely to receive a software only maintenance update at some stage though with production now restricted to just 1 site and is expected to stop at the end of the war.

• A Kelsan KS bomber was caught by a DDS patrol near Solaris conducting multi-spectral scans. A Rome corvette escorted it out of DDS space. Its thought the Kelsan had a cloak failure and had been conducting scans for CSM targeting purposes.

HCS Fleet News (05/01/11)

• A Soulaki SLBK cruiser has been added to the fleet. The HCS have 3 more on order though at the moment have only funded 1 more for this year.
• 2 Cosmos CAs, amongst the oldest in the fleet dating from the mid-2090s, have been withdrawn following an inspection. The ships would have required major work to keep them in service and the HCS thought it was more cost-effective to save the money for new Cosmos CGs instead.
• The Thresher ST programme has been put under review with the HCS considering if continuing to build the proven Shark SK would be a better option instead.
• A Freighter TYA has been added to the fleet.
• The first Type AA super transport has begun static testing ahead of a full flight test programme starting in a couple of months.

Yeng seek to pull their weight in DTA

Founder member of the Dino Trade Association Yeng up until now has not had much of a military beyond a small land force however they have announced a 175 million zark programme to beef that up considerably. Yeng however say they have little pedigree as fighters but are well known for their expertise with logistics and say they hope to carve out a niche for themselves in the DTA in that field.

The centre part of their investment plan will be an order for 8 Dinomark MX transports which will be available for internal and DTA operations. They will also build a dedicated military space dock and upgrade their existing space dock facilities. Yeng will also seek to form an elite armoured infantry unit equipped with TRV-5HDs which may form an armoured reconnaissance unit for the DTA Rapid Reaction Force. Yeng expertise will also be applied to the RRF's logistical arm.

• Acting Commander AP has ruled out an attack on the ABBOs at Malau until next month at the earliest. It is now felt the ABBOs are waiting for the DDS to attack them in their well-defended strongpoint at Malau. The likely high cost of attacking the ABBOs is said to be causing the DDS concern.

Senior Comms : The new path

Hibiscus, Senior Communications Officer

These are uncertain and difficult times. The past, present and future are all unclear and present difficulties in navigation. In my new senior role with the DDS i have actioned an Implementation Matrix where i have graphicise the various vectors which could have a bearing on future DDS operations.

It allows us to formalise our response to external stimuli and to help us imagineer the required narrative. The matrix itself has to remain restricted of course but i can present some of the key action points from the matrix and how they will provide for a steer of DDS operations.

We are embarking on a low-risk trajectory with risk factors identified at each key stage and then assessed for their riskiness. Feedback and quality circles will inform our risk analysis. It allows us to approach the future with a holistic full-spectrum portfolio of change agents.

I hope that is all clear?

DTA to form Rapid Reaction Force

The DTA are to form a Rapid Reaction Force which will be a unit drawn from (potentially) all DTA member states and will be available for use by any DTA member and on behalf of the DTA as a whole. The RRF will consist of units from DTA member state's armies co-opted into the RRF. Command of the RRF will rotate between the Dinos, Sirikwanese and Aritans (with 6 monthly stints) to start with with other DTA members joining the rotation at a later date.

The RRF will be based on Sirikwan and will consist of (initially) an Aritan armoured brigade, 3 Dino infantry brigades, a Sirikwanese infantry brigade and Dino special forces, aviation and artillery assets. The RRF is to become operational by the end of the year.

• With supplies of TPM-1 starting to dwindle the DDS have developed a Canister version of the missile for fitting to second-line and auxiliary vessels. It is expected supplies of Canister TPM may dry up by mid-year if the war continues until then with Canister TPM-2 production and deployment beginning by April.

Dr Forbidden : Integrating the worm drive

Dr Forbidden, the head of DDS Research.

Finally we have managed to man-rate the Dino worm drives we received last year and my teams are working hard on reverse engineering the device so we can begin construction of our own worm drives hopefully by the end of this year. It has not been an easy road as the technology used in the worm drive is totally unlike anything we have handled before.

A major problem is integrating this technology into our ships, its not as simple a case of plugging in something like this and it works! What we have had to do is produce a "wrapper" around the wormdrive to turn it into an Open Architecture device. We had to develop special protocols and standards to integrate the Dino technology into our own what we have termed the Worm Drive Gateway, the wrapper handles all of this so the wormdrive can then be treated as a normal piece of DDS technology.

There are still problems though as the wormdrive requires a lot of power thus ships fitted with it need modifications to their power grids, this can cause problems with feedback as occured we believe on SS Carboniferous recently when a power junction blew out.

Once it is working we then have to make sure it can be maintained. Unfortunately at the moment wormdrive is treated a bit like a "black box" so if it breaks in service it has to be returned to us for us to (hopefully) repair. It will likely take us years to gradually turn worm drive into a normal piece of DDS technology...

Wayne King-Meiouf : The loss of Firefly will be most keenly felt

Prof. Wayne King-Meiouf from the University of Proxima.

The whole DDS world is reeling in shock from the death in combat of Firefly, the eternal confident of Windy. Some say he was the conscience of the DDS, the straight man in the comedy act, the rock around the other various strange characters orbited.

So how will his loss be felt by the DDS. I do not think it will be easy especially for Windy. He will no longer have the "voice of sanity" when preparing for a mission. Perhaps he will now take even greater risks for the DDS without the wise counsel of his brother. The loss of Windy too would be a body blow to the DDS especially during a war. The DDS need to take care of Windy now, his counterbalance is gone and his behaviour, until he finds balance again, could be very unpredictable.

As a combat asset Firefly will be a loss to the DDS too though his combat powers had waned in recent years, some say his heart was no longer in it and he might have walked away from the DDS at the end of the current war.

The main loss to the DDS will be what Firefly represented. He was a decent man who represented an earlier DDS, a simpler and more honest DDS perhaps. A DDS of adventure and heroism that has not got tied up in a galaxy of intrigue and politics. We all feel the loss of Firefly as we all feel the loss of those simpler times.

Firefly remembered by DDS

Acting Commander AP led the DDS in a ceremony of remembrance for Firefly at DDS GHQ. He said that Firefly had embodied all the best aspects of professionalism such as self-reliance, discipline and courage and should be seen as a role model by all current and future young professionals.

Windscorpion himself has now commented on his brother's loss. Firefly will be buried when Windy's ship SS Carboniferous returns from its current mission.

• The New Aritan Army will be fully integrated into the DTA by the end of the year the Aritans have said. The DTA will begin mixed-unit training and exercises later in the year too.
• Zanus has taken up his new role as Consul in the Dino Republic replacing Cruggson who has performed a job swop with Zanus in effect as he becomes the new Interior Minister in place of Zanus. There are no other Senate changes.

Dino View : Introduction to an interesting new era

Introducing our new regular columnist on Dino/DTA affairs Legate Dralson (retd) formally of the Dino 3rd Legion and member of the Dino National Security Council. Since his retirement in 2097 he has become a noted commentator on Dino military and geo-political affairs.

Greetings peoples of the DDS and UNP. I am very honoured to be given this opportunity to write on the Dino military and the politics of the Dinos especially now as i believe we are just entering a most exciting period. The war against the Bolitic Confederacy has been won though at a huge cost and the setting up of the Dino Trade Association promises a new era of prosperity and co-operation. The latter will be new to us Dinos as we have always prided ourselves on our self-reliance and relied on isolationism to keep us out of trouble.

The galaxy is changing though with great powers now teaming up to share ideas, technology and sometimes resources as was the case with the Bolitic who greatly strengthened their military with Utrek know-how and also employed a number of allies to help them in their fight.

That is a major reason for the DTA in my view. The Dinos struggled to defeat the Bolitic because our enemy had taken advantage of international co-operation to become much stronger. We need to do the same if we are to defend against future threats. The problem for us Dinos is that we have an ingrained culture of self-reliance and a mistrust of outsiders so do not be surprised if the DTA struggles early on once the euphoria of forming has faded and the bunting and confetti has been cleared away.

We Dinos will need to learn how to trust outsiders otherwise our new allies will not trust us. The DTA cannot become a Dinos plus everyone else organisation it has to be a true alliance. Of course we Dinos will remain the core but we have to let the Sirikwanese, Aritans and so on do what they are best at to grow the DTA as a truly powerful organisation. It can be done though it will be a difficult path as we will no doubt see over the coming years.

Firefly killed in action

There are reports coming in that Firefly, the brother of Windscorpion, has been killed in action during an operation against the ABBOs. Details of the operation are vague but it is thought the Triad were carrying out some sort of reconnaissance on an unspecified planetoid held by the ABBOs when Firefly was shot.

Acting Commander AP has called Firefly one of the true greats of the DDS who will be missed by all.

• The DDS have recaptured another town on Delta 9 as their offensive against the ABBO invaders continues. DDSAF A-85s and F-10s launched an attack on an ABBO maintenance base and elements of 2 army brigades pushed through the line and captured the town of Bolaisan.
• The Rome 46A corvette fleet is to receive an update over the next month. Rome 2111 Update A will be a modest affair designed to be achievable during routine maintenance (and each ship will only be out of service for a few days). Updates will begin with the Commander's flagship K101 Cicero and will include a Z5tim cannon, increased TPM-2 missile load (up to 16), plus updates to passive sensors, the tactical combat suite and navigational systems.
• The HCS say they plan a large exercise in space near Austini 55 for the "Spring". It is likely the exercise will be seen as further provocation by the nearby Free Eritran States who fear an attack by the HCS. The Molab President recently said that a HCS invasion had moved from being something the Molab thought about but didn't take too seriously to being "one of the biggest threats to Molab sovereignty".

Your Wonderful Life
Redjec discovers Knobhead's price.

Changes to The New DDS Project this year

Happy New Year to all visitors, hopefully a year of victory over the infidels for the New DDS which stands for personal growth, goal achievement and life-long duty through holistic educational refreshment. Let me introduce myself, i am Senior Communications Officer Hibiscus, part of AP's Central Planning Team. I shall be guiding this vital resource, the New DDS Project website, through a time of change.

We will still be reporting on the news but will be presenting more expert analysis and opinion through our existing columnists such as Prof. Wayne King-Meiouf but also will have an official voice from the Dinos/DTA and we are hoping to action a HCS voice at some stage too. These are changing times and this website needs to change with them.

The DDS Universe can be a complicated one thus our expert analysis will help you navigate through this mysterious and often contradictory reality through our fractal approach. It will help you stay on track, on side and most importantly on message.