Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of ProximaThe introduction into service (finally!) of the NDAA is a very important step for the DDS Air Force as the NDAA is a cornerstone of the DDSAF's strategic direction in the post-war period.
When the DDSAF was reborn and refocussed a few years ago from its air defence ghetto the idea was that the DDS would build a full spectrum air arm to complement a full spectrum army. However budgets soon were under a squeeze and the DDS changed direction strategically under the rule of The Orchid and later AP (who has not deviated much from The Orchid's policies). Instead of trying to become a full-spectrum armed forces like the HCS the DDS was instead going to maintain a powerful space fleet with a small but potent army for expeditionary operations and large scale raids. The air force's plans obviously thus also needed to be scaled back to match the army's role and scale.
The DDSAF now has 3 clear roles, 2 of them (air defence and transport) are unchanged from the dawn of the DDSAF but the 3rd is different : army support. A key part of that role has been the COIN and UAS fleets of aircraft built but the NDAA is the key jigsaw piece as it fits neatly in between the high end F-10S and the low end COIN/UAS fleets.
Now the DDS is starting to build a potent and versatile fleet perfectly suited for its key role in DDS operations. The danger will be of course if the curse of "full spectrum envy" begins to creep in again, the DDS can't compete with the HCS in that way and neither should it. Lets hope the clear strategic focus is kept.
