For The Flag
Ronald is kidnapped.

Live nuke attack carried out as part of Atomic Fist

Following two weeks of exercises by a combined DDS and Porquatian fleet the final live weapon set piece exercise of Atomic Fist 2111 has been carried out on an asteroid in Oratai space. The 3 Pulsar 12A cruisers attacked a target using nuclear tipped MRMs with the Porquatian ships acting as "defenders".

A follow up attack by 2 Rome 46A corvettes armed with the ground attack module and a Quasar 15A cruiser also made an attack with short range missiles. Two more exercises are planned for next week before Atomic Fist 2111 ends.

Dino View : Do the Dinos like the RS?

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

The Dinomark RS is to get worm drive and some other upgrades, though no more will be built and indeed the next Dinomark is likely to be a smaller ship. Many non-Dinos think the Dinos actually hate the RS. Is that true?

It might be helpful to look back to the genesis of the RS. Back in the 2090s the Dinos began their great military build-up that eventually saw them have an army 6 times the size in 2110 as they had in 2090. Part of that build-up was also to look at the space fleet. At the time the DDS were introducing the Pulsar cruiser, the Tarbotians had the Kenora and the Clones were planning their battlecruiser which ended up being the Soulaki.

Although this will not be confirmed by anyone it is fairly common knowledge that the RS exists mostly because Ronald felt the Dinos needed a big cruiser like their rivals. There was an (incorrect) fear that the Dinos were falling behind as they had NGs and XTs and rivals like the DDS were developing formidable new warships that were much bigger and more powerful. It was felt that only a ship the same size could take on the likes of a Pulsar and live to tell the tale.

Of course the advent of transphasic weapon technology and other advancements has rendered that view false but the RS was proceeded with to give the Dino fleet a powerful core. A problem though for the Dinos was that production of NGs, XTs and later PTs had to continue apace to keep up with the military expansion. This meant that RS production was restricted to a smaller jig which meant only one could be built at a time (a similar problem that later affected the classic Velocity). This makes production much slower as each ship has to be built in virtually a bespoke manner and of course more expensive.

Thus the RSs came online slowly and over budget and because they take up so much money and resource the Dinos have often been loathe to use them (although they have proven effective when let off the leash such as the brief Dino-DDS war in the end of the last century when an RS under the command of Cruggson blew the crap out of the DDS fleet - sorry i only mention this because i was serving on that ship at the time!)

I think the Dinos do like the RS but don't really know how to use it. Dino doctrine is for small, agile units operating asymmetrically. An RS is a big and hard to hide asset which is only really effective in a classic space battle scenario, not one the Dinos like to enter. It is because of this not anything else that the RS is not heavily utilised though it has a role as the flagship of the protection force. I suspect the RS will remain in service for several more decades as a bit of a white elephant, a curiosity but still very useful for a limited number of roles.

The new Dinomark, if it has to avoid being the RS 2.0, will need to reflect Dino doctrine not Dino ego. Though as Zanus plans to look at Dino doctrine it could be the new ship will give us a guide to how the Dinos are going in general militarily over the next couple of decades.

Zanus announces full review of the Dino Army

Consul Zanus has begun a full review of the Dino Army which will examine what force structure, command structure and equipment the army needs to meet the challenges of DTA integration and a fast changing geopolitical picture. "Following the war its a good time to look at our army and see what works, what doesn't and what we need to change for the future." the Consul and former head of the army told a meeting of senior officers at Army GHQ.

Over the last 10 years the Dino Army has increased in size dramatically but some now feel it has too many troops and not enough space and air assets. Zanus said the review would take some time to complete. "We arn't going to spare anything in our review. It will direct our policy to building the Dino Army of the 2120s."

• There are reports of a Bolitic and Tarbotian warship skirmishing in orbit over Castarian, it is not known why the 2 ships attacked each other though a Bolitic anti-imperial group has said a prominent Baron's dacha was destroyed in a possible terrorist attack just prior to the skirmish. The Tarbotian ship has now left the Bolitic Confederacy.
• The Dinos have announced that their 3 Dinomark RS battlecruisers will receive worm drive as well as some weapon upgrades. The Dinos are keen to get more use out of their very expensive but as yet little used capital ships. One ship is to always be on duty as the flagship of the defence squadron in orbit around Dino-Land while another ship is available for away deployments and the other in maintenence or reserve. The Dinos have ruled out making any more RS though are currently in the early stages of a new Dinomark project for a warship that comes between the RS and the PT in size. Some sources indicate this future Dinomark could be similar in size to the DDS Panther 35A.
• The DDS have delayed the sale of their 2 Kalahati Tuul trials ships (the Experiment 96X) for a few months to maintain cover while their sole Alpha Centauri 93X ship, a former Bolitic Helwin, receives an upgrade. The upgrade will include a TPM-2 launcher, passive sensors, a new datalink multiplex and a number of computer upgrades as well as some refurbishment to keep the ship active until at least 2115. Some of the upgrades are intended to test technology ahead of the DDS' planned upgrade of the Sirikwanese' fleet of 6 Helwins due for later in the year. That upgrade is likely to be similar (though will fit a DTA TPM-1 launcher instead) and some equipment changes.

DDSAF withdraw A-84s

The DDSAF have put the 40 A-84 attack aircraft they purchased second-hand off the Clones for war service last year. The aircraft had officially reached operational status though had not seen much use with the DDS now the war is over. The DDSAF have decided to withdraw them to save costs and because a ground attack upgrade for the F-10S is due soon. The aircraft have been put in storage though will likely be sold. The aircraft were bought cheaply with not a great deal of life left in any event.

Other Clone built aircraft are coming into service however, the first 2 C-485s have become the latest transport type to enter service.

• The Vosun Star Empire has reaffirmed its committment to the Bolitic Confederacy despite the ongoing War of Succession (which seems to be kicking off again) and a series of terrorism attacks across the capital city. The Bolitic Governor has told the Vosun government to crush this dissent or the Bolitic may have to intervene. As the Bolitic have been known to use chemical weapons for crowd control this is no idle threat.

Ronald confirmed as IO candidate for Consul election

At a special meeting of the Imperial Order central committee Ronald has been officially endorsed as the party's candidate in this year's Consul election. There were no other candidates unsurprisingly. It is also unlikely the Liberal Party or any prominant independents will stand in the election, although many strange things can happen in the universe Ronald not winning a Dino election is not one of them.

Ronald said he would restore Imperial Order to power. Since Zanus' election win late last year IO has been without one of the top posts in the Empire/Republic in its history. Not that it makes much real difference to the party's power. Ronald (and MBH) are the defacto leaders of the Republic anyway with the Consuls having influence but as Jimmy quickly found little real power.

Maximum
There is a big shock in store for Windy.

Type 37 to be unified

The DDS are to finally unify the Type 37 Velocity/Solaris destroyer fleet with the 3 Velocity 37A/B ships to undergo heavy maintenance as part of Solaris 2111 Update A which will be carried out over the Summer.

The 3 older ships will be converted to Solaris 37C, the first 2 Solaris ships will also be fitted with Z6 cannons like the later ships. There will also be improvements made to passive sensors, IWC and some preparatory work on improving the power grid ready for fitting with worm drive at a later date (though likely to be a few years off, maybe as part of a Solaris ILU). The programme is due to begin in a few weeks when D151 Velocity begins its conversion.

• The HCSAF have begun flight testing of a modified A-85NT fitted with an all-electric engine. This will form part of the next generation of the COIN aircraft the A-85QEA. Originally this testing was due for 2114 but the earlier tests indicate the HCSAF are keen to switch from NT to QEA well before the original 2120 date. The QEA will be optimised for sonic stealth, a great assistance in COIN operations.

Lighter
The Triad hit the Bolitic home world.

HCS considering massive change to land forces

The HCS are understood to be considering the biggest change (and cuts) in the HCS Army since its inception at the start of the Clone Wars. The army is the largest of the 4 HCS services and has 45% of the overall defence budget but despite that and because it is so big funding upgraded weapons is becoming harder and harder.

Under the proposals the amount of troops could be cut by nearly half with the member planets in the Clone Star Empire taking over much of their own internal security using locally recruited and funded territorial troops. This would allow the HCS troops on each planet to be reduced to a much smaller rapid reaction force. It is estimated nearly 100 infantry regiments, 40 transport regiments and 14 armoured regiments could be disbanded as a result saving the HCS Army 14 billion zarks a year.

Taragargi, a minor planet in CSE-W, has been cited as an example of what could happen. It currently has a garrison of 1 armoured regiment, 6 infantry regiments, 4 transport regiments and a combined artillery/engineering battalion. Half of the infantry and transport regiments could be replaced by local territorial battalions leaving a better equipped and concentrated brigade ready to react if the local forces could be cope.

However critics in the HCS say that the cost of setting up planetary territorial units would exceed any savings for at least 10 years and would also reduce the army's ability to absorb heavy losses as it was able to do several times in the Clone Wars. They also say that is it not certain the Army would get back all of the savings as the other services may request budget boosts of their own.

HCSN launch major anti-piracy operation

The HCS Navy have launched their largest operation yet in a detirmined attempt to break the powerful Llana Piracy Collective who operate around the Vederila Islands and in recent months have raided dozens of cargo ships in the Cloneworld Ocean. With the aircraft carrier CNS Cloneworld at its head (with a full complement of 6 F-40Ns embarked) the task force also included 3 Olana class destroyers, 6 Triona class OPVs, 2 Mariner support ships and a number of submarines.

Supported by F-40Ns SH-26 helicopters raided three pirate bases and sank a number of ships. Marines were landed at a number of other points. One Triona was hit by heavy cannon fire during one engagement but there were no injuries aboard the patrol boat. The operation is expected to continue for at least 3 weeks. It is thought the leaders of the LPC are already either dead or captured though much of the LPC remains at large.

DDS add destroyers but cut corvette orders

The DDS have tweaked some of their outstanding warship orders. They have now decided on a combat fleet of 35 destroyers consisting of 12 Panthers, 8 Independences and a combined fleet of 15 Velocities/Solaris. The order for Independences has been increased by 1 and the Solaris 37C by 2.

However the 5 outstanding Rome 46A corvettes have been cancelled to pay for it. The DDS have concluded they have sufficient patrol assets for the moment but could do with a few more combat ships.

• The Raegris are reporting that the Bolitic have bought 2 more Reptoli Tuuls from the Utrek to join their sole surviving example. The war of succession has seen home production bought to a standstill and the Bolitic are worried about the weakness of their fleet. It is also thought however that Bolitic coffers are fairly bare and no more than 2 RTs could be afforded.

Dr Forbidden : Some notes on the worm drive

Dr Forbidden, head of DDS Research

Recently i have seen some misconceptions about the worm drive printed in the popular DDS media and social media channels and so i have decided to write some notes to help raise the general understanding of this new propulsion technology.

What is worm drive?

Traditional superluminal propulsion involves breaking into subspace (hyperspace as it is known) and using sheer brute force to travel faster than light. One drawback of this method is the amount of energy required simply becomes too great once you reach 1000c. Some of our ships can reach that speed for short periods but it is thought 1200c is the maximum speed possible using this method.

Worm drive is totally different. It involves tunelling an artificial worm hole deep in subspace and travelling instantaneously between two points.

So how fast is this?

In essence a journey of several lightyears can be carried out in seconds however the massive amount of power required means that it takes several hours to recharge the worm hole generator before the next jump. What we and the Dinos use is an equivalent speed scale using the c scale (speed of light) for hyperspace travel. Taking the jump and then the rest period into account then ships with the worm drive can currently travel at an equivalent speed to around 5000c if they were using hyperspace (if that were possible!)

So we don't need hyperspace drive anymore right?

Well we do. One drawback of worm drive using its current (and so far only known implementation) is that the length of worm hole generated is fixed. What does this mean well lets take an example of a journey to a star that is 12 light years away. If a generated worm hole is 5 light years long then two jumps will take the ship 10 light years but obviously a third jump would take it way beyond its destination. The rest of the journey is thus carried out using hyperspace.

Worm drives also need time to cool down after use and to recharge. Therefore in an emergency you may not be able to use your worm drive to get out of trouble and instead need to jump to hyperspace instead. Until these problems are sorted out hyperspace drive will remain necessary.

How will worm drive develop in future?

The time taken to recharge is likely to reduce over time thus increasing the equivalent speed. the Dinos are already testing a "6000c" drive which they'll deploy in a few years. At the moment we are just concentrating on getting our own production line into operation and understanding the technology but rest assured improvements are in the pipeline.

Game Of Life
Windy sets off on his first mission as a free-agent.

DDS unveil Electron drive

The DDS have officially unveiled their own built worm drive, which will be known as the Electron DDS-W1A in DDS service. The first Electron drive was hand built by a joint DDS Research and DDS Engineering team (as is a second currently undergoing bench testing) but series production Electron drives are expected before the end of the year.

The first Electron will be fitted to the trials ship SS Isometric next week replacing the Dino supplied W1A which will be fitted to the next Independence 35B destroyer to be completed. Isometric will then begin working up to a full test and certification programme for Electron to be completed by August assuming no series setbacks.

• The Bolitic war of succession has temporarily been halted. Analysts say this is quite normal for Bolitic civil wars and the truce is likely down to boredom more than anything else. It is thought likely the war will resume within weeks.

Aritans to form "21st Legion"

The Aritans are re-organising the cream of their army along Dino lines to form the Aritan DTA Legion though informally it is being called the "21st Legion" as the Dino Army currently stands at 20 legions (though there are 3 SS legions too).

The Aritan DTA Legion consists largely of Aritan units that served as part of the New DDS Army just a few months ago. Its current line-up consists of an armoured brigade and three infantry brigades plus a support battalion. A second armoured brigade and an artillery battalion will be added next year. It is expected the Aritan DTA Legion will take part in DTA exercises and train alongside Dino troops.

Fleet News (14/04/11)

• The first ships of the new Ship Building Plan 2111/12 have been completed. Most important of the 3 ships which have just joined the fleet is the lead ship of the Tethys Ocean 65A class of amphibious support carrier / command ship for amphibious operations / primary casualty receiving station L131 Tethys Ocean.
• A new Oceania 63A landing ship L153 South East Asia has also been delivered.
• F179 Foxhound is the latest Freedom 41B frigate.

Ground Shock 2111 will integrate DDS and UNP armies

The DDS have announced early plans for their annual amphibious landing and land forces exercise, Ground Shock, which will be held in the Summer. New DDS Army Commander Zeppelin said that the DDS would land its entire 1st Division in the major exercise but also integrate with land forces from the Proxima 7 and Solaris Armies.

AP wants UNP armed forces to be integrated with the DDS and this will begin the process. The UNP armies on the whole are mostly infantry but the DDS think these troops can provide the bulk of manpower while the DDS concentrates on armour, transport and artillery. Porquat 640 and the Raegris are also likely to take part though they may only be involved in space escort duties. Two of the 1st Division's brigades are already Remedian.

• The environment of Delta 9 continues to be badly degraded by the radiological mayhem unleashed by the ABBOs during the war though UNP inspectors say the peak of the radiological spread has been reached though a large part of Delta 9 is expected to be uninhabitable for at least 2 years with some parts no-go zones for decades to come.
• A Utrek general on a visit to Castaris 9065A, a Free Eritran State, has said that the war with the Mantae may last for "decades". He said there was no prospect of the war ending anytime soon with both sides having reached a stalemate. The DDS have eagerly pounced on this news as a Utrek embroiled on a never ending war with the Mantae would likely preclude the Utrek from being much of a threat to themselves.

UV165 : Evolution Of Cool

• iP Services - From the ashes of Windy Massive...
• Spiral Down - The plot thickens for Malanson
• Ringtone Of Doom - The Aritan mystery deepens
• More Than He Actually Is - What are the Tarbotians up to now?
• Your Word - AP and Windy meet
• Iron Fist - Malanson is confronted
• Pubic Enemy - Someone makes off with a load of Clone gold

Tarbotians establish "Kantalda District"; HCS meeting

The Tarbotians have named their annexed ex-ABBO territory the "Kantalda District" of the Tarbot Empire. ABBO 01 has been renamed Kantalda and will be the capital of this vast new district of the empire. Reconstruction on the planet has now begun but the Tarbotians say it will take around a year to have sufficient infrastructure in place to begin operations on the planet. Until then the district will be controlled from an orbital station backed up with administrative staff on New Tarbot, the capital of the neighbouring New Tarbot District.

In what might be a highly significant move a HCS team is currently travelling to New Tarbot for a meeting with Tarbot officials. The Clones say they wish to establish normal relations with their new neighbours. There may be a chance of some sort of relationship, unlike the DDS, Dinos and of course Starbotians the Clones have never been at war with the Tarbotians.

• Alternative Clone aircraft manufacter CCA have unveiled a new wide-body airliner called the CCA495. The HCSAF have already shown an interest as their fleet of wide-body airlifters, the C-360, is now in the final stages of being withdrawn and the state manufacturer CAC have as yet not announced any plans for a replacement.

Wayne King-Meiouf : The Clones want to be Tarbot's new best friend?

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

The news that a Clone team is en route to hold talks with the Tarbotians may not be that surprising. When a galactic megapower arrives on your doorstep it is considered advantageous to have good relations with them if possible especially as, unlike the DDS and Dinos, the Clones have a direct border with the newly expanded Tarbotian Empire. The Clones have no history of conflict with the Tarbotians so at least have a good starting point.

The key question is of course what can the Clones offer the Tarbotians who are infamously a ruthless and insular faction. The Tarbotians don't do alliances, if they want to take advantage of another power's abilities and resources they conquer them and bring them into the empire as has happened apparently with the Okram*Green. The Tarbotians are a smart imperial power. They don't crush and decimate fallen enemies as a rule. They prefer to integrate them into the empire to make the empire stronger.

Thus normally the Clones would be rebuffed unless the Tarbotians thought they could do with the Clones' resources or technology and then they would try and conquer them. However at the moment the new Tarbotian territory is weak. The ABBOs were exterminated due to the inability to integrate them into the empire and the newly conquered territories need rebuilding. Therefore i suspect the Tarbotians may be happy for an alliance with the Clones in order to secure their new border.

However when the Tarbotians have fully integrated their new territory and their border is strong then they will have no more need for the Clones. The HCS had best then be ready to become a Tarbotian enemy not an ally...

Pentekonter-M fleet now up to 14

The 2 Department Pentekonter 44Ms X114 Paris and X115 Hector have been fitted with DMS minesweeping systems. They will remain in Department service though will be available as reserve minesweepers. The other 12 ships have been organised into 3 3-ship flotillas with other ships either in reserve or in maintenence.

Two flotillas are based at Proxima 7 with the other now located at Liberation. In practice 1 flotilla tends to be located in Remedian space dealing with the remains of Utrek minefields during the war.

• All 54 remaining Ferret-Es are to be rebuilt and upgraded to Ferret-G standard. The work will commence in the Summer.
• An unidentified criminal gang stole gold from the Woloron 12 Central Bank and made off in a space ship. They were stopped by a HCS warship which recovered the gold but the criminals were destroyed.
• The DDS have bought 2 more W1A worm drives from the Dinos for 275 million zarks. These will be fitted to the Independence 35B class destroyers. Sea Urchin said that DDS built worm drives will start being produced by the late Summer.

Pubic Enemy
Someone makes off with a load of Clone gold.

Raegris outline plans for fleet

The Raegris have announced their plans for developing their fleet up until the mid-part of this decade and beyond. Much of what they plan to build has already been announced and ordered but there were some surprises, especially the substancial Ferret force they plan to have. Up until now they have not operated the DDS UCV.

• A fleet of 23 cruisers (5 DC-1 Quasar and 18 RC-2B Cosmos), it should be noted though that the RC-2 is considered a destroyer by the DDS. This will form the combat fleet.
• 20 DF-1 Isometric frigates and 10 PC-1 Pentekonter patrol ships. This will form the patrol fleet and the DF-1s will support the combat fleet.
• 3 Olympus-E carriers and a fleet of 350-400 Ferret-Gs. The DDS are already testing a Ferret-G modified to operate in the Raegrean atmosphere.

This plan has been signed off by the Raegran parliament. There is no firm date yet for the Olympus-Es though as early as 2112 has been signalled by some authorities.

TPM-1 end of lined

The TPM-1 has been officially "end of lined", in other words all development has ceased. For the last couple of years the TPM-1 development has been on a low ebb as more and more resources have gone over to the TPM-2 but a team has continued to cascade TPM-2 improvements were possible and also fix any bugs.

The DDS have decided to stop this work as the number of TPM-1s still in DDS stocks is now below 2000 (most of the Canister TPMs) and the TPM-1 technology has reached its limit with TPM-2 advancements no longer cascadable. Reassigning the team and closing down the TPM-1 test rig and development jig will save DDS Research 1.2 million zarks a year.

DDS announce "Paper Aeroplane" future warship project

The head of DDS Technology Sea Urchin has announced a new project which will perform research and early design work on a new generation of DDS warships in the next decade. Sea Urchin said the project name "Paper Aeroplane" symbolised the clean sheet approach being taken by DDS Research.

"The new project is likely to drive future warship design throughout the 2120s. I have asked our team to start afresh with a blank sheet of paper and redefine what a DDS warship should be in the next decade and beyond." he told reporters.

Paper Aeroplane is not likely to lead directly to a new warship design but would provide a "direction". At the moment, apart from the Corkscrew, there are no new DDS warship designs on the go. The Chrysalis future cruiser has been quietly shelved (though some ideas may be used in the Panther upgrade path) and the patrol boat and transport projects already cancelled.

Atomic Fist begins

Atomic Fist 2111 has begun (see here for ships involved) with the DDS fleet departing from Solaris bound for territory near Oratai. Enroute they will rendezous with 3 Porquatian Quagan class ships. The exercise has started a few days late due to delays in delivering live nuclear warheads from the secret DDS Nuclear Arsenal. A live fire test with nuclear tipped MRMs will take place at the end of the exercise.

• The first Ferret-G factory has begun construction on Dino-Land, a second factory is currently being built on Voth. This will be the last model of Ferret common to the Dinos and DDS as it expected that Ferret development will now diverge. The DDS are working on their Ferret-X, its not yet known what the Dinos will do with their version of the Ferret.
• At a lavish ceremony held at the massive Central Tank Factory on Cloneworld the very last T-89 rolled off the production line thus bringing to an end decades of production of the T-86/87/88/89 tank family. The only tank to remain in production will now be the T-55ZDM. Deputy Emperor Sleeze said that the T-89 and its earlier versions had been the iron fist that had enabled the Clones to build their empire but now it was time for the HCS to move on. He also announced that the T-88++ would leave service by 2114 though the T-89 is expected to remain in service for at least another 35 years.

Iron Fist
Malanson is confronted.

Dino View : Meeting the Sirikwanese

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

Recently i had the opportunity to join a Dino Army delegation visiting Sirikwan, a key ally of the Dinos now and a core member of the Dino Trade Association. The Sirikwanese themselves are Dinos, like the Bolitic they are descended from the first wave of Dinos who went out into space in a now almost mythical Classic Age (for those who don't know history a cataclism and a major war sent the Dinos of the Classic Age back into a pre-technological level of existance and our colonies on Castarian and Sirikwan were cut off and soon followed suit).

Happily unlike the Bolitic the Sirikwanese don't hate us. The Sirikwanese indeed are very easy going relaxed people who have eagerly restored links with us. The Sirikwanese are secure in their own culture and heritage while happily acknowledging their ancestral links with us. Maybe the Bolitic are insecure, well thats maybe a topic for another essay.

Although they are quite laid-back (and their flower outfits they like to wear take some getting used to) the Sirikwanese are very energetic in their detirmination to make the DTA work and to be the most important part of it after the Dinos. One Sirikwanese facilitator told me that the Sirikwanese wanted the DTA to be a major galactic power with themselves as a key member.

What role though do the Sirikwanese see for themselves. Yeng for example want to be the diplomats of the DTA, the Dinos obviously are the brains and engine room of the DTA but Sirikwan? It seems to me that Sirikwan want to be the "alternative". They want to counterbalance the might of the Dinos in the DTA to provide the alternative point of view. A POV that won't always be adhered to but existing all the same to help guide DTA policy.

I wonder how that plays out, the Dinos tend to pretty single-minded (which is why the brutal fascism of the SS is such a key part of the state) and why democracy is a recent experiment. Will we be able to tolerate a bunch of hippies in flower outfits telling us that we are wrong? Well that may be the thing which sees the DTA ultimately succeed or fail...

HCS Fleet News (03/04/11)

• A Soulaki SLBK battlecruiser has joined the fleet.
• A 7th Nybble NL superluminal drone has been accepted into service.
• A Freighter TYA has joined the fleet though 2 Nerval TYB transports have left the fleet, it is rumoured they may be sold to Sirikwan who have bought the type before.

Other Fleet News (03/04/11)

• The Dinos have added 3 Dinomark PTs, 3 Dinomark XTs and 1 Dinomark MX to their fleet this month. Two XTs called up from the reserve have been released back to their civilian owners.
• The Raegris have added a DC-1 frigate and a PC-1 patrol ship to their fleet.
• Putri 500 have accepted into service their Velocity-E destroyer. Molab have also received a Pentekonter-E.

DDS cut 1.1 billion from operational budget

CFO The Shiner has announced a 1.1 billion zark cut in the yearly operational budget as part of ongoing efforts to trim DDS spending. The Shiner said this would not effect the effectiveness of the DDS and would help integrate the DDS more with the UNP, a stated aim of AP. Some of the measures include:

• Closing sixteen small regional offices with personnel either relocating to larger offices or using UNP premises.
• Two orbital dock stations will be closed, they are likely to be sold to the UNP.
• A 140 million zark order to replace the DDS' fleet of utility vehicles has been cancelled.
• A 75 million zark upgrade to communication systems on DDS facilities on Proxima 5 and Terra delayed.