DDS renumber combat fleet

The DDS have renumbered their combat fleet under the new DDS 2111 Scheme with strike bombers and carriers carrying pennant numbers prefixed with a S, Heavy Combat Ships a H, Medium Combat Ships a M and Patrol and Light Combat ships a P. Secondary mission roles are also now signified by a suffix after the number, for example the training ship SS Proxima Centauri has been renumbered X104T with X referring to the Departmental Fleet and the T its training role.

Ships have also been renumbered where necessary to remove gaps in the sequences that have arisen after war and accident losses.

The new numbers will be given a higher profile, a couple of ships have already received numbers painted on their hulls in a number of different arrangements. The DDS will decide on a final arrangement later in the year and paint the whole fleet accordingly. Support ships have also been renumbered (their prefix code of A remains unchanged) to remove sequence gaps.

• As part of the changes to DDS numbering UCVs have also now gained a Type Code sequence. 100-120 has been allocated to unmanned space vehicles though as yet there is only the Ferret in service which has been given the 101 type number. Older Ferret-Es are now known as Ferret 101A, though there will soon be none left as they will be converted to Ferret-G which is now known as Ferret 101B.