The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.The Kalahati Tuul is entering its final few weeks in DDS service, and there is a long history of the type in DDS service although it has generally been an "enemy" design. I thought it would be interesting to look back over the rich history of this highly successful type.
The Kalahati Tuul is a Utrek design of course, for decades it was the backbone of their fleet with several thousand built. Even now several hundred remain in Utrek service and dozens more elsewhere.
Researching Utrek history is problematical as they are a fairly closed society though the Clones (who bought and later licence built the type) say the type was first developed by the Utrek in 2061 to replace their then current Yeotic Tuul (a spaceship now virtually extinct) and Yeoman class frigates. It heralded the second generation of Utrek spaceship design and broke new ground by being the first warship in known space to break 250c.
During the 2060s and 2070s hundreds were built for the Utrek fleet until at one stage over 90% of their entire fleet consisted of the type. During the 2080s a second generation KT was built that could reach 350c and it is this type that people are probably most familiar with (though the first generation looks fairly similar). The type had reached the end of its development potential (though the Clones have managed to get its speed up to 400c) and production switched to the Molentic Tuul in the early 2090s.
By then the 1st Clone War between the Clones and the DDS was coming to a close with the DDS defeated and the Clones looking to move beyond the confines of Cloneworld to build a star empire. The very first spaceships the new HCS Space Navy procured were 6 Kalahati Tuuls from the Utrek. The Clones liked the type, its ruggedness and reliability appealing to the Clone psyche, and bought a licence to produce the type themselves. Over the next decade they produced over 100 KTs of their own . Quite a few of these survive to this day either in HCS service or elsewhere.
Even from the start though the Clones wanted an uprated KT but the Utrek were busy with the Molentic Tuul. The Clones however were given permission to develop their own new version of the KT which they designed and built in conjunction with the Remedians (this being before the Remedians joined the DDS). The resulting type, called Kalahati Tuul 2 though in reality a third generation, was able to reach 500c and had greater firepower. Its design was vital for the Clone space industry in helping it move beyond building other people's design to their own ships. The KT2 is no longer in HCS service though 6 remain with the Remedians as the Perimpaz 39A and will do so until 2116.
With so many KTs knocking around it was no surprise they might end up in DDS service too. To start with the KT (and KT2) joined the DDS when the Remedians joined the DDS but later on the DDS managed to build a stock of over 20 KTs assembled from various sources including captures during the 2nd Utrek War which the DDS used to supply its allies. During the ABBO War the DDS even pressed 5 into service for themselves as the Kingfisher 39B to plug a gap in their fleet. Although obsolete the type is fine for basic patrol duties.
However the Kingfishers along with all other KTs remaining in the DDS inventory are being sold to the Aritans over the next few months. The KT will leave DDS service. The KT is set to remain in HCS service however for maybe another 20 years. During the 2100s the HCS rebuilt nearly ageing KTs as the Kalahati Tuul S with a new engine and equipment. These are set to be a prime type in the HCS Space Navy's second-line until the late 2120s at least.
It is likely too that other KTs will remain in the navies of medium and minor powers even beyond that. Although obsolete for a top navy nowadays the type is fine for the likes of the Aritans especially if some basic updates are made from time to time. Like all Utrek designs the KT is tough and resiliant and with basic maintenance just keeps going. The Dinos even have a project looking at fitting worm drives to Aritan KTs at some stage. The KT story may be able to end at the DDS but looks set to continue for years to come.
