DDS25 (1) : Why the DDS?

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

In the first of 25 articles on the DDS to celebrate its 25th birthday i shall be looking at the genesis of the Dino Death Squad and why it exists in the first place.

During the late 2070s the Dinos were engaged in a vicious war with the Acheron, the Dinos were triumphant but Ronald was left utterly exhausted. He and a few chums like GBH decided to go on a few years sabbatical (leaving Jimmy in charge). In 2080 Ronald and company ended up on Proxima 7 (to get drunk), also on the planet was Oojok - then a minor criminal and bodybuilder - to take part in the lucrative Mr Universe contest. Oojok was set to win but Ronald and GBH's drunken antics in the arena forced the cancellation of the and thus robbing Oojok of his zarks.

Oojok vowed revenge but lacked the muscle to tackle Ronald and company. On his way from Proxima to a hideout on another planet (the location of which has never been revealed) engine failure forced Oojok (and Sleeze) to land on the then-obscure Cloneworld. The planet was a human colony with a large and oppressed indigenous population, the Clones. In what must be the greatest co-incidence in the universe the god of the Clones was a creature who looked exactly like (and had the same name as) Oojok. Thus when Oojok stepped out from his small spaceship into the grounds of the spiritual leader of the Church of Oojok, Ayatollah Clone XE, he suddenly found himself the object of veneration.

This of course is the legend, how much of it is true? Surprisingly pretty much all of it though it is thought Oojok may have known about the co-incidence of the Clone's god being called Oojok beforehand which is why he landed in a Clone area of Cloneworld and not a human one.

Oojok immediately seized the opportunity to take control of the Clones and formed an army of fanatical Clones. A few years later (2085) he tracked down Ronald (then on Terra) and tried to kill the Anointed One. Vastly outnumbered Ronald and GBH barely escaped with their lives. Ronald hired a ragtag band of misfits and adventurers to back him up, calling this the Heavy Attack Squad. Later this was renamed the Dino Death Squad...

DDS to mark 25th birthday

Although the forerunner Heavy Attack Squad was created in 2086 the DDS only really began operating from 2087 and plans have finally been unveiled for how the DDS will mark its 25th birthday. The Historian will write 25 articles over the next few months detailing some aspect of DDS history, some obscure and some familiar. In the Summer (see below) the DDS will mark the birthday with a ceremony which it is hoped that the DDS' two greatest heroes Ronald (the founder) and Windscorpion (the icon) will attend.

The actual date of the DDS' founding is hard to calculate as details are sketchy as to when the change from Heavy Attack Squad to DDS happened (the DDS was a tiny and quite irregular grouping in its early days) but the DDS have decided on the 1st of June and the birthday ceremony will be held around then.

HCS told to plan for further possible cuts

All government departments in the Clone Star Empire have had to accept a 10% budget cut followed by 5 years of budget freeze because of problems with the empire's economy which is facing a downturn after nearly a decade of strong growth. Although the HCS' cuts were painful in context they amounted to the budget being reduced to that in 2108.

However there could be more to come. The Clone Finance Ministry has warned all departments that unless measures taken have an effect soon there may be a need for a further 5% budget cut next year not a freeze. To make matters worse for the HCS the protected "strategic weapon fund" may be scrapped and weapons like CSM and SeaGale would have to come out of the HCS' (shrinking) budget.

The cuts may not materialise but the HCS will have to plan just in case.

• The DDS will run its annual Atomic Fist strategic strike exercise in late April. Atomic Fist 2112 had not been listed until now because of uncertainty about whether there would be enough strategic assets available to run the exercise and maintain a ready attack squadron however it is now thought the DDS will be able to do both by staging the exercise near to GHQ. More information will be unveiled tomorrow.

DDS to buy arms company to take land weapon production inhouse?

The DDS may either enter into a "strategic partnership" or buy outright an arms manufacturer on minor UNP member Sanger Alpha 6329 in order to produce vehicles for the New DDS Army (and potentially export too). This has emerged as the preferred option ahead of continuing to buy ex-HCS equipment.

Sanger Munipical Arms (SMA) is a small company but have already produced tanks for the Sangan and Proxima 5 armies. They have produced a "re-defined" tank based on the T-62 called the T-62-20 which takes the basic shape and configuration of the old Earth tank but with new equipment, engine and weapons (as the Clones did with the T-55Z).

A wholly new IFV design is also in the works though SMA was struggling with funding to complete development. It is thought the DDS will provide 100 million zarks to complete development of what would become the standard DDS IFV (a mix of ex-HCS Tapirs, Aardvarks and other types is currently used) and fund an initial order. The DDS may also buy a customised T-62-20 and begin replacing the mix of ex-HCS T-55Zs and T-88s currently used. This option would be more expensive than buying ex-HCS equipment but would be safer strategically and politically and economically preferable. The DDS would also potentially be able to add land weapons to their export portfolio.

• A DDSAF F-10ASE fighter on air defence patrol over Solaris Engineering HQ has crashed following an (as-yet) unidentified technical failure. The pilot was able to eject safely.

DDS Army to receive boost

The head of the New DDS Army, Zeppelin, has announced a funding increase for the force (though the figure has not been disclosed). The higher funding will allow for the creation of 2 more brigades (both light) plus fund upgrades of the DDS' fleet of armour and allow 2 light brigades to be "uprated" to heavy status.

The 28th and 29th Light Brigades will begin forming next month though this process will take at least a year. The 2 brigades which will become "heavy" (which means they get heavier armour, tanks and improved weapons) have yet to be decided. It will depend on the DDS getting its hands on tanks and AFVs, ex-HCS equipment is naturally being looked at especially as the Clones are going to put a lot of stuff on the market however the DDS are also looking at other sources.

Kantalda declared operational by Tarbotians

Kantalda, the former ABBO homeworld, has been declared operational as the capital of Kantalda District, the space territory annexed from the ABBOs by the Tarbot Empire early last year. Since then New Tarbot has served as a provisional capital while basic infrastructure including a number of vast military bases were built.

The basis of the capital city plus a large army base and orbital defence facility have been completed and the Kantalda government will begin relocating from New Tarbot in a few weeks according to Tarbotian media. All current building projects are not expected to end until the early 2120s including 2 further large army bases and an underground command citadel.

Dr Slow is expected to visit Kantalda next year.

Wayne King-Meiouf : Future Dino spaceships

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

After my conference on Dino-Land ended i was lucky enough to meet Ren Galnason who is a fellow academic at Dino Central University who specialised in spaceship technology. We talked about possible future trends in Dino spaceship design.

As you know the Dinos went down a different route decades ago to how most space faring nations went. The Dinos have tended to always go for smaller multi-purpose warships (the Dinomark XT and PTs being the latest developments) as opposed to larger single-purpose warships though of course they have built some over the years though they have tended to be either failures (like the NG) or relatively unsuccessful (RS).

So is this going to continue? The XT and PT arn't going away anytime soon of course but the RS has now ended production and no new larger ship is on the horizon. There is talk from time to time of a ship in the same class as the DDS Panther but this remains talk. The only new tend is for smaller ships indeed, the Dinomark XA is rumoured to be already in service though officially is in "development" and is a fully functional spaceship including worm drive with a crew of 1-3. It is a similar class of ship to the DDS' Nano Fighting Ship concept now in development.

So what of the future shape of the Dino fleet? Well for the foreseeable future it will be mainly PT and XT based. Both types have development projects for future versions going well into the next decade. The RS class may be retired in the 2130s though it could possibly not be replaced by anything. The XA (and similar nano ships) will form an important part of the fleet though Galnason thinks they will remain a niche and doubts they will ever form more than about 10% of the fleet.

Lessons from the ABBO-Bolitic War will feed into the future development of the PT and XT. The Mark 3 PT has been delayed as has been reported already, Galnason told me that the PT/3 will be longer and will add some form of modularized and containerized multi-mission element including special forces, ground attack and Elint. The XT is likely to remain the multi-purpose workhorse but the PT will gain the option of mission specialization. Complimenting both of them a growing fleet of nano warships able to fill in all the gaps.

Ronald reaches Voth

Ronald's ship has reached Voth, here it will remain for repairs while Ronald and GBH continue to Dino-Land in another ship. While on Voth Ronald addressed the Dinos via videolink and told them that he had spent the time on the long journey contemplating the future direction of the Dinos and would be making an important announcement when he is back home in early April.

Sources say Ronald will also address his own career and could step down as Consul early in order to devote more time to exploring however there is no official word from Ronald's staff. It would be unusual for sure for Ronald to step down now just 3 months into a two year stint as Consul. It is thought Ronald may be going to extend democracy on Dino-Land in some way.

177/2

Sekrit Mishion
Love is in the air (Vector P2)

177/1

By The Right
The hunt is on for Eritran gold (Vector P1)

Za'Enyu buy HCS weapons

Za'Enyu have a commitment problem, a former DDS customer they however canceled their order after delays caused by the ABBO-Bolitic War (though had been rather vague about payment in any case). The HCS and DTA have both sent sales teams (and the DTA offered membership though it was declined) but the Zites (as they call themselves) have flirted with ordering equipment several times only to pull out at the last moment.

However finally it seems they are going to buy something, with a 950 million zark order placed with the Clones (though they shouldn't count their chickens until the money is in their accounts!) The order is mainly for land and air weapons though is being seen as a "gateway" order and more spaceships could be ordered at a later stage. The order includes:

• 200 T-88++ tanks from HCS Reserve (all AFVs are ex-HCS, and will be refurbished and localised by the Clones before delivery)
• 250 Tapir IFVs and 50 Aardvark IFVs (which will be used in a training role)
• 50 ATC-107C self-propelled guns plus some towed artillery
• 32 TAA-4 Stoat AA-systems
• 20 towed SA-6A systems with 100 rounds, these are new build systems
• An undisclosed number of field cars and trucks from HCS Reserve
• 32 A-85 COIN aircraft (all aircraft ex-HCSAF)
• 45 A/C-26 Halogen helicopters
• 32 T-75 trainers
• 2 Omiten TYJ oilers (new spacecraft) plus some help with upgrading Za'Enyu's main orbital station

Deliveries are due to start in a couple of months. A HCS liaison team will arrive on the planet next month to begin work on integrating the new weapons with the Zites existing armed forces.

Clones will honour DDS exports

The Clones have resumed deliveries of transport aircraft to the DDS following a halt during the Eritran tension (which the Clones say was due to "operational reasons"). They say they will honour all remaining orders for C-440 and C-485 transports, H-26 helicopters and NBC reconnaissance vehicles (drones and manned armoured vehicles).

The DDS have not commented but are probably relieved they will get their remaining equipment (which has been paid for). It is unlikely the DDS will buy anything else from the Clones however.

HCS Army announce cuts

Finally the HCS senior service, the Army (though of course its also known as the HCS just to confuse us probably), has announced how it was take its share of Clone defence cuts. However the HCS was already in the process of downsizing and modernising/standardising so some of the measures announced are already known and in progress.

• All remaining 4 regiment brigades to be reduced to 3 regiment size, which will become the standard.
• Around 27 regiments disbanded, mostly third rate infantry but also some second rate armour. Some brigades will be reorganised, 4 will be disbanded.
• T-88++ withdrawal will be speeded up though will probably still take until 2114.
• T-55ZDM2 production slowed and halted if export orders exist to keep lines open, otherwise will be kept at minimum rate.
• A planned upgrade of the T-89 will now be reworked to reduce costs.
• Remaining non-standard utility vehicles and trucks will be withdrawn by 2115.
• Tapir HD production slowed, and as with the T-55ZDM will be given over to export orders if possible.
• Sixteen army bases will be closed, 27 others will be remodelled and surplus land sold off.

Missileers to receive strategic weapon upgrade

The Missileer 21B fleet of UCV/missile carriers is to receive what has been called a "strategic weapon upgrade" over the next few months. The upgrade, known officially as Missileer Update 2112A focusses on the types' MRM attack missile capabilities which are to be greatly improved.

MRM weapon load is to be increased, the actual maximum load is being kept secret though one source stated it was "low double figures". The Missileer will also gain a new datalink dedicated to strategic attack, this will allow it to work with the SAS (Strategic Attack System) fitted to Quasar 15A bombers for targeting information. The Missileers will also gain the ability to perform mid-course guidance correction to MRM loads with a new data processing system dedicated to this task.

The DDS say the Missileers will perform a support role in strategic attack up until the Warspite 16A bombers enter service (though they will remain available afterwards too).

• The HCS will announce how it will deal with its share of the defence cuts in the Clone Star Empire tomorrow, though its thought there will be little new as the HCS was already in the process of downsizing and modernising.

Contact restored with Ronald

Contact has been restored with Consul Ronald according to the Dino Army sparking much relief in the streets of Dino-Town. The Dino Army did not say why contact had been lost (for a few weeks although its only within the last few days that it has become common knowledge). Ronald's ship Dinomark is now returning to DTA space and will reach Voth in about a week. It is understood that Dinomark has sustained some damage so Ronald will transfer to another ship at Voth to make the rest of the journey to Dino-Land.

Dinomark will be bought back home in a Dino transport. Preliminary reports state that contact was made with the Repicans and another previously unknown race of Dinos.

Dinos to unveil Dinomark PT/2 Evolution

The Dinos will unveil the Dinomark PT Mark 2E (which stands for Evolution) later today, the ship will be built from later in the year for the Dinos and selected DTA members (likely to be Sirikwan and New Arit though no details have yet been given). A Dino Army source said that the Mark 3 PT has been delayed until 2114 but the 2E will be an adequate stop-gap. It is thought the Mark 3 is being redesigned to take heed of lessons learned in the ABBO-Bolitic War.

The Mark 2E will have a modest speed increase though the worm drive speed will be reduced slightly because of power requirements (the speeds are thought to be 900c/4900c depending on drive). The internal arrangement will be modified to allow for a larger weapon load (i.e. TPMs). The Mark 2E will also have improved passive sensors, beam weapons, tactical systems and a new mainframe.

176/7

Aces High!
Can the Dinos survive? (Sygnet P7)

176/6

The Heat Is On
Can Ronald escape his captors? (Sygnet P6)

176/5

Hulking Up!
Ronald finds himself under attack from both sides (Sygnet P5)

Contact lost with Ronald?

The Dinos are refusing to confirm (or deny) that contact has been lost with Consul Ronald's ship Dinomark which is on an exploratory voyage in little explored space beyond the Bolitic and IKA Federation territory. A Dino Army source said that the ship had not reported in on schedule however as they were beyond the nearest hyperlaser node it may be they simply were unable to send a message without backtracking.

The DTA have asked the Raegris if they have any ships in the area to see if they can contact Dinomark.

• The DDS has raised its alert status to AMBER though have not said why.

Aritans buy ex-HCS weapons

With DTA blessing New Arit has placed an order worth 190 million zarks with the Clones for a large quality of ex-HCS equipment (the Aritans are already a heavy user). The sale includes the following from HCS reserve stocks :

• 300 T-88++ tanks and a quantity of spare parts
• 50 older generation T-55Z tanks
• 450 Tapir IFVs plus spare parts
• 50 ATC-107C self-propelled guns
• An undisclosed amount of ordinance for a variety of heavy weapons
• 600 GUT-1A utility trucks

The HCS Exports Agency is also understood to be in talks with Telvin 802 and Howharn (the latter ethnic Eritrans interestingly) for new orders on top of their existing equipment. With HCS cuts likely to badly effect the Clone defence industry and military industrial complex a major push is underway to secure export orders.

Fleet News (15/03/12)

• As expected the DDS have completed the 2111/2112 Ship Building Plan with no less than 3 new warships joining the fleet including S226 Everest the latest Olympus 23A carrier.
• Two Heavy Combat Ships have also joined the fleet, the Indy 35B H128 Implacable and the Solaris 37C H169 Sanger Alpha.

Defacto : B Exam

Lieutenant Commander Ames Defacto is the Second Officer of SS Charm Quark, Quasar 15A bomber.

SS Charm Quark has now returned to Solaris for a "B Exam" maintenance session. For those unfamiliar with DDS ship maintenance let me explain. There are 4 "levels" of ship maintenance. A Exams are minor fixes and updates (software mostly) that can happen in the "field". B Exams are a bit more involved and take place at port and generally last a few days (of more below), CQ has a B Exam a couple of times a year like most ships in the fleet. C Exams are more extensive and are done every few years, finally D Exams are virtual rebuilding and major updates (CQ's D Exam was when it was upgraded to ILU standard).

So the B Exam then. It usually takes about 50 hours to complete though can take longer depending on what problems are found. First of all the reactor is isolated but remains on (it gets turned off in C and D exams). Then a technical team begins an automated software check of all of the ship's systems and while that is running then goes through the ship checking major load bearer points and key systems. Externally a maintenance drone begins a survey of the ship's exterior looking for damage. Holes in the hull down to a femtometre across can be detected though holes of this size would generally be ignored.

The checking part of maintenance lasts around 14 hours then the teams collate the findings and a plan is quickly drawn up on how to repair any issues found. This can involve going EVA to fix holes in the hull and repairing broken or worn components internally. Software updates are also applied to the ship's systems and various house keeping operations take place like rotating logfiles and reindexing the various ship databases.

Obviously how long this takes will depend on how many problems are found. Apart from software not many upgrades are given to a ship during a B Exam unless the upgrade is a new module that can easily be installed (which of course with Open Architecture 2.0 is a very simple process).

While the B Exam takes place the crew is given some leave, a skeleton crew is left aboard, rotated so everyone can get at least some shore leave (though there is only enough time to visit the orbital dock to be honest). I am currently the senior officer aboard CQ as both the captain and first officer are off-ship though in reality the head of the engineering team is in charge and the ship is fairly useless as its plugged into the orbital dock's power grid (though we can become operational again fairly quickly).

In a few hours time CQ's B Exam will conclude and CQ will be ready to return to the fleet. As yet we haven't been given our new orders but there will be a short "shake down" trip to make sure everything is working right. It is likely we will join the 1st Attack Squadron as part of the ready strategic attack force as its been a few months since our last turn.

HCS Space Navy announce cuts

The HCS Space Navy have announced how it will handle its share of the HCS cuts though its share is the smallest. Despite that the reduction in ship orders is larger than some people were expecting. This is in order to not cut the number of planned upgrades.

• Cosmos CG order cut by 5 meaning the eventual Cosmos CS/CG fleet will be 30 ships.
• 6 Cosmos CA will not be rebuilt to CK standard and will be retired by the end of this decade.
• Shark SKB order has been reduced by 10 meaning the Shark fleet will eventually be 65 ships. However funding will be put into a Shark SKC second-generation design which may enter production by 2120.
• Final 4 Intruder IN landing ships canceled. Work was about to begin on the final 4 but it has been decided the existing fleet (of 40) is large enough.
• Whilst new build will continue of the Freighter TYA, the rate will slow. Instead selected ships will be rebuilt to extend their lives.
• Nerval TYB transport fleet will be retained in service now beyond 2120 instead of the gradual withdrawal that has taken place. Selected ships will be refurbished. This will save money on new transports.
• In turn the final 2 Loader TYC transports on order have been canceled though 2 ships under construction will be completed (and will replace Nervals).
• Final 2 Megalift TYZ supertransports canceled, 1 more will be built only. The need for these ships has been reduced by changes to the HCSN in any case.
• The Sprite-NG UCV will be postponed until 2114 though development work will continue. It had been expected to enter service early next year.
• Fleet deployments will be reduced by 10% and deployments will be "downsized" to reduce the running costs of the fleet by "at least" 13%.

EFS order TPM-G systems

The Eritran Free States have ordered 10 TPM-G (ground-based TPM) Launchers along with 200 TPM-G rounds. It is thought the Eritrans are only paying a nominal fee for these weapons which will be shared out by the various EFS members. Molab has said this is just the start of a "great strengthening of Eritran defence".

The Eritrans, in a separate contract with the DDS, have ordered datalink upgrades for around 20 ships in their combined fleets. The 7 million zark contract includes DDS compatible datalink multiplexors, custom protocol translation modules and data security plugins. Part of the upgrade's purpose is to work with the TPM-G systems providing targeting information.

• The DTA will build an orbital facility and ground base on Artic next year. The orbital facility will be a refueling and maintenance stop for DTA assets. The ground base will be a military liaison centre and also be able to host special forces.
• The DDS have completed worm drive telemetry work for the Solaris 37C. There are no plans yet to fit any of the ships with the drives though an update planned for later in the year will include some of the infrastructure needed for a W1A drive to be fitted later.

HCS Fleet News (13/03/12)

• A Cosmos CG and a Freighter TYA have joined the fleet over the last month.
• Testing of the first Shark SKB has begun, the SKB is a mid-production update to the frigate and has improved weapon systems and computer systems though any details have not yet been revealed.

Wayne King-Meiouf : What the Clones really need

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

Keith Remadra's article on the HCS cuts was very interesting but i have a different take on it. Its not armies of drones the Clones need to keep their empire going with a shrinking budget it is something a whole lot more fundamental : democracy.

As Keith says the Clones need a vast armed forces to keep their empire under control but this is because the empire is ruled by force and not consent. Despite the image the Clones like to give that they are now an empire of happy shiny multi-species peoples (little Clone children playing in the street with little Human children et cetera) there are a lot of tensions in the empire, even on worlds with a largely Clone population.

Clones have a distrust of the centre and always have. Even in the days of fanatical worship of Oojok (which never really went away to be honest) the authorities (including the church) were as hated as Oojok was loved. Cloneworld was ruled by an iron fist and thus once the Clones spread out from Cloneworld and formed colonies and conquered worlds the same mode of rule was followed. A distrusted centre with the veneer of democracy supported by a powerful military fueled by fanaticism and iron discipline.

The only way to shrink the HCS into something much more manageable would be to make the CSE something the inhabitants were genuinely happy to be in and not something to be tolerated and/or feared. How this can be achieved is a good question. Democratic reform proceeds at a very slow pace, the fear being that once order is lost then it could not be resumed. Thus the Clones edge along bit by bit.

But time is running out, the Clones cannot maintain this vast security apparatus and maintain the kind of fleet required to guard and develop the empire. These cuts may buy the Clones some time but the tension is bubbling under the surface and can erupt at any time (see the ease in which a charismatic strongman can surge to power in the CSE - recent examples being Xanadu, Captain Clone and Benito).

Sooner or later Pandora's Box will be opened and a weakened HCS may find itself insufficient to close it again.

HCS View : The strain of full-spectrum

Keith Remadra, former chief advisor to the UNP Security Council on Clone affairs 

So the air force have announced their cuts, i believe the Space Navy will be next this week and the army will wait until next week. However the brunt of the cuts are being suffered by the navy and air force (though the army cuts will seem deep too, but the operative word will be "seem" but thats a topic for another day...)

Instead I thought it would be interesting to comment on why the HCS are having to make these cuts, the HCS is simply too damn big.

The air force cuts must be eye opening to casual observers, the HCSAF stands to lose over 600 fighters in real terms once aircraft are withdrawn and replacement programmes cut. The entire DDSAF currently has 124 jet fighters. However one should not compare the DDS and HCS air forces too much. The DDSAF (and army) are support arms to provide an expeditionary capability and provide local defence, the main military arm of the DDS is the fleet. The HCS on the other hand is a vast full-spectrum military that ranges from nuclear missiles to infantry, all in large numbers.

That is because the DDS and Clone Star Empire are very different organisations and thus require very different militaries. The DDS/UNP is a voluntary organisation. If a member world wishes to leave then they can. Obviously the DDS would not be pleased but they wouldn't stand in the way of the democratic process. By comparison the CSE is an imperial construct. If a member world wishes to leave then a legion would be landed outside of the capital to persuade them to change their minds.

Much of the HCS war potential is taken up with guarding the empire, the Space Navy from exterior threats but much of the other 3 arms concentrates on internal threats, keeping an empire of billions of subjects under control. This requires a vast armed forces : thousands of aircraft, thousands of tanks, millions of men, support networks, bases, communications, reconnaissance... and this does not come cheap.

In the past the CSE partially funded the HCS through the booty of conquered worlds, unfortunately the rich pickings have all gone now. Recent additions like Lornaca Melnig, Kontai and Unatel Gamma are not rich worlds and are probably a net loss to the CSE. Thus the HCS is probably going to have to get used to a smaller budget and shrink, whilst at the same time maintaining its amazing full-spectrum spread. So how can this be achieved?

I think it can be achieved through ever greater use of drones. The HCSAF was late to the UAS party but is steadily building a powerful fleet of surveillance, reconnaissance and attack drones. The HCS need to greatly improve their communications and data handling systems, which then will bring us to the paradox. In order to be able to truly shrink the HCS (these cuts are only tinkering) the Clones need to invest heavily in its networks and processing. Unfortunately these are areas the Clones have neglected in order to afford shiny pointy toys.

This addiction to massive fleets of warplanes and tanks is a legacy of the Clone Wars. Unless the Clones can break the addiction and properly rebuild as a much smaller, agile, info-rich force then they will continue to face the burden of maintaining and operating their vast fleets of toys.

HCS Air Force announce cuts

The HCSAF have followed the HCSN in detailing how they will handle their portion of the 10% cut in the military budget followed by a 5 year freeze. The most notable cut will be to the F-40 fleet, although it is in a long-term decline it was originally expected that over a 1000 would see the 2120s, now it will just be a much smaller number.

• F-45C order stays at 900 but will be stretched out further meaning F-45C production will extend into the early 2120s. The third generation F-45 will be delayed until the "late 2120s" with a mid-production update of the C planned for 2120.
• F-40 fleet to be reduced to "around" 300 by 2120, this will be the 260 F-40S rebuilt and updated aircraft plus a small number of other marks. Thus around 2000 of these aircraft will be withdrawn over the rest of this decade. The F-47 programme will remain at 1000 and around 400 F-45Cs will be built this decade which means that by 2120 the HCSAF fighter fleet will see a real drop of around 600 aircraft.
• A-84FM order reduced to 80 from 120, A-84 fleet to be reduced in real terms to 1500.
• Next generation A-85QA survives (it had been rumoured it would be canceled) but delayed until 2121. COIN fleet to be kept at current strength though new build A-85NT production to remain at low rate for rest of this decade.
• RQ-2 Patroller UAS order reduced to 75 and also delayed until 2114.
• RQ-1 Kestral UAS "delayed" though the actual service date was unknown anyway.
• T-1M trainer programme to be changed with combat avionics no longer included meaning the jet trainers will no longer be available for the light attack role (which has seldom been needed in any case).
• C-486 Cargomaster fleet to be withdrawn a year earlier.
• A planned upgrade of the AH-50 Dragonfly anti-tank helicopter will now be reworked (i.e. cheaper).
• Six airbases will be closed and 17 will have planned works either postponed or canceled.
• Two planned new airbases on Cloneworld and Daggaddon will now not go ahead.

DDS reduce alert status

The DDS have reduced its alert status to GREEN, the first time it has been at this level since the DDS started their alert scheme back in January. The DDS consider there is no immediate threat at the moment though there are areas of concern such as the fall-out of the HCS aggression against the Eritrans.

DDS Commander AP has now arrived back on Starbot following his trips to Molab, Sear N7 and Helinox. He will spend around a week here overseeing planning on Starbot's new role as the "gateway" to the DDS' new allies the Eritran Free States.

HCS View : The Cloneworld Navy dodges a bullet

Keith Remadra, former chief advisor to the UNP Security Council on Clone affairs 

So now we know something about the cuts the HCS are going to suffer over the next 6 years. The HCS Navy have been the first to announce what they are going to do, and it is interesting that in the short term the Cloneworld fleet of the HCSN is going to end up quite a bit better off...

It was expected that the HCSN was going to abandon plans to establish blue water fleets on Austini 55 and Aquaworld and concentrate on Cloneworld. The primary mission of the navy is now to support the strategic deterrent and provide a means of fighting back against an invader. This is why there has been a lot of effort (and zarks) spent on aircraft carriers, stand-off weapons and in a few years ballistic missiles. Those missions have been protected.

Although Cloneworld will now not get its larger "future carriers" in the short term they will gain a significant amount of war potential. A helicopter carrier (which should enter service by the end of this year) will help support amphibious operations and release more space on the compact Cloneworld class carriers for fixed wing aviation. A third carrier (which is expected by 2114) should allow the navy to maintain a carrier at sea, have one in readiness and one in maintenance.

Aviation wise the HCSN on Cloneworld has also done well, nothing has been canceled, some F-40Ns will be retired a couple of years early but that is hardly a bad thing as they are pretty obsolete already. The navy will still get its F-45Ks and will have 3 carriers to fly them off. Their submarine arm is also untouched.

Therefore by 2120 the HCSN on Cloneworld will be able to deploy a serious amount of combat power to support, protect and supplement its key weapon (which of course will not be affected by any cuts) : the sea-launched CSM. Plans for blue water navies elsewhere are gone but the navy has managed to hang onto and protect its primary reason to exist.

HCS Navy first to announce cuts

Each of the 4 HCS arms will announce how they will be affected by the 10% cut and 5 year budget freeze announced yesterday, the youngest service the HCS Navy was first to say how it will be affected (the HCS Air Force is due next - both arms will be affected the most it is thought).

The HCSN has given up its aim to be a "multi-fleet multi-world" force and will concentrate on a blue water presence on Cloneworld only, with the Aquaworld and Austini 55 fleets remaining brown and green water fleets. The most eye-opening cut is the cancelation of the future carrier though the HCSN Cloneworld fleet will now get a third carrier of the current type.

• As said above the "Future Carrier" planned for the 2120s has been canceled.
• The "Austini 55" carrier of the Cloneworld class will now be completed as the third carrier for Cloneworld.
• The Benito Clone helicopter carrier (which is almost complete) will be given to Cloneworld instead, the second CVH will be canceled.
• The final 2 Olana class destroyers will be built but the Ailier II frigate class order will be cut to 10.
• The final 2 Triona II OPV(H) will be built for Cloneworld, and 2 will also be built for Austini 55.
• All submarine programmes are unaffected, the Walrus SSBN programme will be partially funded by the Strategic Defence Fund as will SeaGale/CSM missiles.
• The 2 Flexible Support Ships for Austini 55 will be built but will be up-armed and become command ships for their fleet.
• The Cloneworld HCSNAS fleet of F-40Ns will be cut to 30 by 2114, leaving mainly carrier capable aircraft plus some for conversion training.
• The F-45K and other types on order will remain unchanged.
• Austini 55's HCSNAS order for F-45Ks is canceled, instead they will get some cascaded F-45As at a later stage.
• A new cruise missile programme has been put back 2 years.
• Deployments on Cloneworld and Austini 55 will be cut.
• Plans for a new naval base on the south coast of the Cloneworld continent have been shelved, instead the HCSN will hire some civilian port facilities and improve these where needed.

The HCSN page has been updated with the new fleet structure. The HCSAF are due to detail their cuts next week.

HCS confirm 10% cut and 5 year freeze in budget

In a suspiciously low-key media briefing the HCS have confirmed they will face a 10% cut in budget next year followed by 5 years of zero growth in the defence budget. "Every department is having to make this sacrifice in order to help the Clone Star Empire's economy rebalance and regenerate. It will be tough but we will play our role in ensuring the future security of the empire." a HCS spokesclone said.

Details of how the HCS will apply the cut will be outlined by each of the 4 services in turn over the next few weeks. A separate "strategic defence" fund has been created with a one-off 3.1 billion zark investment which will help matters and will help ensure projects like CSM are largely unaffected.

176/4

The Young Ones
The Dinos find themselves on a strange dangerous new world. (Sygnet P4)

Eritran Free States to combine funds to buy more warships

The Eritran Free States have said they will create a shared fund to buy future additions to their fleet. Molab said that all EFS members will be expected to contribute to a 5 billion zark fund in proportion to their economies. It is not known yet what ships the EFS will buy with this fund but Isometric-Es and Pentekonter-Es are expected.

The EFS have also said that their fleet will be operated by the 3 main members Molab, Sear N7 and Helinox with the minor members providing crews and financial support. It is expected that Molab will command the fleet being the major player in the EFS (it is thought they will contribute 60% of the fund).

The EFS have begun work in fully integrating their fleets into a unified EFS Fleet which will use DDS protocols and procedures. The DDS hope to conduct a joint-exercise with the EFS Fleet later in the year.

• The Raegris have ordered 2 more PC-1s (their version of the Pentekonter-E, which they build for the DDS) which will give them an eventual fleet of 12. The Raegris are to conduct a fleet review this Summer and it is thought they may ask to join the DDS' Warspite 16A bomber programme.
• The first new winter optimised AFV the TRV-34CDM Snowcat 2100 has entered service with the HCS on Lomar. The AFV is a redesign of the venerable Snowcat which are now becoming worn out. A key difference is that it uses the same engine, control system and electronics as the latest Tapir to aid fleet standardisation. The AFV was co-funded by the Dinos though none have been ordered for DTA service though Voth does have extensive ice fields so it is possible some may end up there.

DDS to order 20 Corkscrew 51As

The DDS have announced plans to build 20 Corkscrew 51A medium combat ships for their own fleet from 2116. The first 5 Corkscrews will be built for the Remedian fleet from 2114 and will be followed by 20 for the DDS. Among the ships the Corkscrews will replace will be the 8 oldest (or in worst condition) Isometric 41As which will be handed over to the Departmental Fleet in the late 2110s/early 2120s to replace the retiring Starsystem 91Xs.

The DDS say that work has already begun on the Corkscrew's second generation! Though only early analysis and specification work. It is envisaged that this second version (probably the Corkscrew 51B) will appear in the mid-2120s.

• Putri 500 had ordered 2 more Coril-E shuttles on top of their existing fleet.

Other Fleet Review (05/03/12)

• The Dinos have completed 2 Dinomark PTs and 2 Dinomark XTs this month. Both XTs have been for the DTA, one for Sirikwan and the other for New Arit. New Arit have also received another XT from the Dino Army reserve (they are due to get 3 more).
• The Bolitic are reported to have completed a Meltinan.
• Helinox have received 2 Coril-Es.

Triple Megan gets its reward

Triple Megan has been presented with a "gift of military materials" by the HCS, no doubt in gratitude for the Meganites assistance in the invasion of the Kontai and Unatel Gamma. The Meganites will receive around 450 AFVs (thought to be mostly ex-HCS T-88++ tanks) and 200 aircraft (mostly ex-HCSAF A-85s and AH-26s). Triple Megan will also get new command radios from HCS stocks and will switch to the same frequencies and protocols as the HCS.

It is thought Triple Megan are currently raising funds to buy a number of Shark SK frigates. One report says they may order 6 of the ships to form the combat arm of their small space fleet replacing some ancient ex-Tarbotian ships now thought to be unusable except as static defence points.

Future Fleet (4) : The upgrade timebomb

Since the advent of the G3 family of ships (i.e. Quasar, Isometric and Velocity) in the early 2100s the DDS has aimed for a service life of at least 30 years for its ships (though as yet of course has not tested this). This service life is split into 3 blocks of around 10 years each. At the end of the first block there comes the Intermediate Life Update or ILU which is a major upgrade of the ship and the replacement of worn components and structural elements. After another 10 years comes the similar Multi-Update Life Extension or MULE which will keep the ship viable for the rest of its life.

This is all very fine but because the DDS built so many ships at the same time this of course means that a lot of ship classes will have to receive their ILU or MULE at the same time! DDS Engineering has produced the following schedule estimate for a number of major classes.

As can be seen the crunch years will be at the end of the decade in 2119 and 2120 with multiple programmes ongoing simultaneously. One thing to note though that some ship classes (like the Provider) have been built over a long time so although their ILU will be taking place it will be well spread out. Other classes like the Freedom however have been built over a fairly short time period so their programmes will be intense.

The DDS are currently looking for leeway in their planned upgrade programmes thus an ILU/MULE here or there may be put forward or back a year or so depending on the condition of the fleet. The DDS estimate though that completing these projects will stretch the DDS logistically, shipyard capacity wise and of course financially to the limit. It is thought that no new ship building programmes will be able to take place from about 2117 onwards unless new capacity is bought online. It is possible the Raegris or another DDS ally could do some of this work of course.

Future Fleet (3) : Zephyr 76A

One problem the DDS have with combat deployments is that combat ships in the fleet are much faster than the support craft that are needed to refuel and supply them. After first looking if it was possible to speed boost the Extender 73A oiler the DDS decided it would be much easier to take an existing high-performance design and turn that into an oiler instead of the other way around.

The Velocity-N/Solaris 37C platform was chosen because of its internal volume and also because it is cheaper to build than the Type 35. The Fast Fleet Tanker as the design was originally called (now recently renamed the Zephyr 76A) has a similar performance to the Solaris hull it is based upon. Refuelling/resupply equipment will be installed externally to allow more of the internal hull to be used for supplies. Although it can only supply a small detachment this does fit in with how the Zephyr will be employed. It is a specialist type but will prove invaluable for the DDS in operational flexibility and speed of deployment.

The Zephyr is expected in service in 2113.

Future Fleet (2) : Corkscrew 51A

In the mid-2100s the DDS came to the conclusion that the evergreen Isometric platform was starting to reach the end of its potential so began a programme for a "future frigate". Very quickly the DDS decided upon using the then-new Rome 46A patrol ship as the basis for this new generation of frigates (later medium combat ships) which will form the core of the DDS patrol fleet for the next 20-30 years.

Corkscrew 51A (as the programme became) is based on the Rome design but is scaled up and will be a very flexible and versatile ship. Expected in 2114, finalised specifications have yet to be set but it is now expected to have 2 TPM VLS systems (32 cell and 16 cell) plus a Z7 cannon, a missile launcher able to fire a variety of ordinance (including TPMs too) and MRMs can be carried externally. It will also have some form of modular weapon/mission capability though this has yet to have been detailed, Rome modules will be incompatible.

A key part of the Corkscrew design will be a large docking bay able to take ships up to Falcon 47A size. Its top speed is likely to be in the 800c range though it will have worm drive too. The DDS have issued the following design concept and like the Warspite concept also recently announced whilst the final design may differ this should be considered more or less what the future of the DDS patrol fleet will look like.

HCS begin drawdown

The HCS have withdrawn around 20 combat ships from Kontai and Unatel Gamma, many of the ships returning to HCS-W's fleet. Although potent forces are being kept in the area of the Clone Star Empire's latest additions they are for defence only with amphibious warfare ships also being prepared to return to base.

The DDS have reduced their alert status to AMBER though this is thought to be largely because of the talks between the DDS and HCS earlier in the week. It is thought the two sides have decided to let bygones by bygones in return for no more aggression, so in other words the Clones can keep their new territories but they arn't to proceed any further. As Molab et al are now DDS members the Clones have been told that attacking any other Eritran nation would mean war with the DDS.

Future Fleet (1) : Warspite 16A

The Warspite 16A is a new strike bomber for the DDS fleet which is expected to enter service in 2114. The Warspite was ordered after the cancellation of the Chrysalis future cruiser programme following budget increases and a change in direction in DDS design philosophy with Heavy Combat Ships taking on the space combat role and larger ships becoming strategic platforms. The Warspite will be such a platform designed to carry stand-off and close range weapons for the strategic attack role and unlike Chrysalis was turning out, is designed to be affordable.

To keep costs down the Warspite has (what the DDS call) a "pragmatic" performance. That means a top speed in the 600-700c range (plus worm drive) instead of trying to reach over 1000c with the associated technical and cost implications. Warspite will employ off-the-shelf technology as much as possible including the same HS-760GX engine as the Rome 46A (albeit two of them). It will carry its weapons in an interchangeable weapons module which means like other roles like strategic reconnaissance may also be possible. It will also have a Z7 cannon and self-defence weapons.

The DDS have just released the latest design concept. The finalised Warspite design may differ to an extent though the DDS are confident that the design is "at least 95% done".

Wayne King-Meiouf : The DDS' new fleet

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

I'm still en route to Dino-Land for my conference but i thought it would be interesting to collate the various Eritran Free State fleets together to see what they now add to the overall DDS strength. As you can see from the below, together they can pack quite a punch especially once they have been upgraded with TPM and other DDS technologies.

(In round brackets the number in service plus the number on order are given. In square brackets are whom these ships belong to.)

Front Line

Isometric-E/EM* (3+3 on order) [Molab,SearN7,Helinox]
Pentekonter-E/EM* (12+13) [Molab,Helinox]
Kalahati Tuul** (11+9) [Molab]

* minesweeping assets but still with front-line combat capabilities
** considered front-line by Molab

Second Line / Combat Support

Yeoman frigate (4) [Sear N7]
Vortis destroyer (6) [Helinox,Rimegga]
Helwin destroyer (5) [Helinox,Castaris]
Various sub-light local patrol vessels [Sear N7,Rimegga,Oxsasx]

Support

Provider-E (3) [Molab]
Extender-E (8+6) [Molab,Sear N7,Helinox,Castaris]
Various older transports for local duties [All members]

So the Eritran Free States bring a lot to the party as i am sure you can see. Properly integrated and updated i am sure they will prove a formidable asset to the DDS.

Clones react angrily to EFS move

The Clones have responded angrily to the Eritran Free States' entry into the DDS. Showing a degree of irony before thought impossible for their race the Clones accused the DDS of being "warmongers" and of "destabilising the galactic peace", no doubt forgetting their own invasion of unaligned Eritran worlds.

Benito Clone said the HCS would strength its defenses along the "Eritran Front" as he called it to guard against "DDS aggression". For their part the Eritrans say they have joined the DDS because of the aggression of the HCS and the threat poses to their sovereignty.

As predicted Helinox have also joined the DDS following a visit by AP earlier today (it was thought the Helinox just wanted the prestige of having a personal visit by AP before signing).