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.
