General Garendin, former commander of the HCS 140th Infantry Brigade and current adviser to the HCS Future Strategy CommitteeThis site very often discusses the future of the DDS space fleet but rarely is the future of the HCS Space Navy mentioned. Well one reason for that of course is that we Clones tend to be more secretive about such matters but i think it is a topic that does need to be discussed a bit more.
Over the next 20 years we will see a gradual rationalisation of the fleet as older types like the Kalahati Tuul finally are withdrawn. One criticism of the HCS has been (in all branches) far too many different types doing the same or similar jobs. Rationalisation has been carried out across the HCS and the Space Navy has been no exception. We have seen the unification of the Molentic Tuul for example.
This will continue though in the medium to long term and by 2130 i except the HCS Space Navy will be based around 3 types : a heavy cruiser, a medium cruiser and a patrol ship. Two of these types are already in service. Lets talk about them first.
The Cosmos is the backbone of the fleet and our medium cruiser, and i expect us to have around 120 in service by the end of the decade (CK/S/G). These numbers are likely to remain constant through the 2120s as new build replaces time expired CKs and early CS. HCS plans are to keep the ship in production for the foreseeable future and update the type every 6-7 years. The HCS are already working on the follow-on to the CG which will have a new engine and be capable of over 700c.
The patrol ship will of course be the Shark which will eventually number well over 100 examples including replacing the Kalahati Tuul KTS in the 2120s. Like the Cosmos the HCS plan to keep this in constant production, updating the specification periodically. The SKB is already planned for 2112 with a further development around 2118.
This is all known and predictable, we Clones love the known and are generally quite conservative which is why, when we have a weapon that "just works" we keep it in production and just update it (Cosmos, A-85, T-55Z) instead of taking the chance with a new design. However things are different with the heavy cruiser.
Currently 2 types share the heavy cruiser role, 19 Soulakis and 21 Molentic Tuuls however by 2130 most of these will be coming to the end of their lives. Earlier Soulakis will begin withdrawals in the late 2120s and the MTMs in the early 2130s. Both types are said to be "adequate" and the HCS are generally happy with them but not to the same extent as the Cosmos. Which is why i think a new type could be developed to replace both the Soulakis and the MTMs in the late 2120s.
It makes sense for the HCS to replace 2 types with 1 and i expect we will see a new design to fulfill the heavy cruiser role. As its still a long way off i don't think anything will materialise design wise until the end of this decade at least. One problem we Clones do have is with a clean sheet of paper though, we are usually very good at developing a design (the Raegris are asking us for advice with their new Cosmos for example even though the design was originally theirs, we have developed their original design so much!) but our attempts at new warships have been a bit hit and miss (though the Shark and Kelsan are definitely hits which indicates we might be starting to learn how to do it!)
A collaboration cannot be ruled out, we have done it before. Hey maybe even with the DDS, who knows? The late 2120s are a long way away.
