Dr Forbidden provides DDS worm drive update

Dr Forbidden, the head of DDS Research, has produced an update on the status of DDS worm drives (known as Electron W1As). He said that production rate was now up to 1.8 a month and would rise to 2.1 by early next year and 3.0 by the end of 2113.  He said that the next priority was to worm all of the Solaris 37C class and this would be done at least 1 per month over the next year.

"We also want to have a back-up stock of Electrons, currently we are pretty much using the drives as we make them but by next year we should be able to start building a stockpile." he added.

The Type 43 would be the next major "worming" after the Solaris, and would take place as part of the Terran Sea ILU & Unification Project which was now due to start in 2114.

184/4

In The Market
Quarz is hunted by Dump (Come Die With Me P2)

Benito raises taxes

Benito has raised taxes across the CSE-E in order to raise extra funds for the military. Its thought Benito is trying to raise an extra 400 million zarks in order to form 2 extra armoured brigades and 3 air attack squadrons. These units would be part of the HCS-E but would not be removeable back to the West.

The tax rises however are proving unpopular with the already hard pressed population on Austini 55 and Woloron 12, riots have been reported in 3 cities already.

Sea Urchin clarifies Corkscrew production

Deputy Commander Sea Urchin has clarified some issues involving the Corkscrew 51A Medium Combat Ship. 59 will be built from 2114 over a planned 11 year period from 2114. The first 5 will be built for the Remedians to replace their legacy Kalahati Tuul 2s and then the rest for the DDS.

"We will have 2 production jigs for Corkscrew." Sea Urchin, who is Director of Technology, told reporters. "Jig A will be at Solaris and will begin production in 2114 with Jig B in Raegris space beginning in 2115. Each jig can produce around 3 ships a year so we have planning on at least 6 a year which may give us scope for some export orders."

Sea Urchin said the specification was now locked down and designs would be finalised early next year. "Building the prototype will commence in Half 2 2113, it will be the first ship of the DDS fleet (and will likely be SS Corkscrew but that will not be confirmed yet). The first ship will likely enter service early in 2114 though will be mostly involved with training and proving trials in 2114. The next 5 ships will be for the Remedians. Then from mid-2115 it should be full scale ahead for the DDS."

• Ronald has stepped down as leader of Imperial Order and Cruggson has been named the new leader. Cruggson said that he was going to "reinvigorate" the party which looks set to be spending some years away from the Consulship.
• Ahead of Thursday's vote in the Consul election the candidates have begun a final series of rallies and campaigning. El Diablo maintains a healthy lead though it has now dropped to 51.6% though this would still give him an outright victory. MBH has now risen to 40.8%. Malanson's vote has collapsed to 3.1% as voters move to the 2 main candidates.

Politburo agrees Patrol Command review (with some changes)

The DDS Politburo has debated and agreed the review into Patrol Command which called for a much greater fleet of dedicated patrol assets as well as static monitoring. However there were some changes made to the review especially the number of ships and when these should be built.

The review called for a fleet of 112 ships by 2121 (it is currently 59) which the Politburo thought would be impossible to achieve, especially as 14 of the current ships (the Type 43s) is due to join the main fleet. Instead the new target of 102 ships has been set for 2125. This is still going to be a tough schedule calling for 57 new ships by 2125 (or just over 5 ships a year from 2114 when these changes could affect the Ship Building Plan - though a couple of Freedom 41Bs are still to be built of course).

Nearly all of these ships will be Corkscrew 51As however the Politburo has also asked DDS Engineering to evaluate an upgraded Pentekonter-E which could also be built as part of a hi-lo mix. For the moment the Corkscrew order has been increased to 59 (54 for Patrol Command plus 5 already on order for the Remedians). One final change is that Corkscrew production will not be bought forward from 2114 however production for the DDS will begin from 2115 not 2116 as previously planned.

184/3

Robot
Windy tells Quarz it is over (Come Die With Me P1)

Artensis consolidate HCS orders

Artensis 60 are the HCS Export Agency's best customer nowadays and over the last few years have orders billions of zarks worth of planes, land weapons and space craft. With deliveries now underway Artensis have placed a further order for 110 T-76 basic trainers and will by 2114 be handling all of their air training (currently the HCS perform basic training of Artensis pilots though advanced training and weapons training will soon be moved to Artensis).

Artensis have also made modifications to their other existing orders to reflect updates in HCS technology, the HCS Exports Agency have published a revised list of these orders :

• 10 Shark frigates (now known as the Shark SKH-EA), 7 Type A freighters and 5 Omiten oilers (up 2).
• 400 T-55ZDMA60 tanks (up 25), 910 TRV-5HDA60 IFVs, 120 ATC-107GA60 self-propelled guns (up 15) and now 25 RBU-980 rocket artillery systems. 20 TAA-5A60 AA systems have been added to the order.
• 60 F-45A fighters, 100 A-84FEA attack aircraft, 200 A-85NT (up 25) COIN aircraft, 20 E/TR-72 reconnaissance/EW aircraft, 25 C-440 transports and now 10 C-485 transports too. 110 T-76 trainers and 60 T-1Ms advanced trainer/light attack aircraft.
• A quantity of guided munitions including SA-6A SAMs and AGWs.

The extra value of the amended orders has been reported as 180 million zarks. The total value of the orders with Artensis 60 have never been officially announced but have been estimated as being over 7 billion zarks. Artensis will be joining the HCS in exercises (in all spheres) from next year as part of the terms of the orders. Around 3000 HCS personnel are already on Artensis helping to train and set up their armed forces which are being totally remade.

184/2

Triple-Threat
Can DM14 survive the return of the Repicans? (The Repicans P3)

DDS to extend Starsystems to 2130

The 7 Starsystem 91X training frigates are now the oldest major ships in the fleet (though the youngest of them is only 11 years old demonstrating the remarkable youth of most of the DDS fleet) and had been destined for withdrawal in the early 2120s being replaced by 5 or 6 Isometric 41As. However with the changes to Patrol Command's plans being mooted it is now felt that the DDS should retain all of the Isometrics in their current role.

The DDS will now look to extend the life of the Starsystems in the early 2120s until the end of that decade at least. However it is likely the fleet will shrink to 6 examples with the ship in the worst condition being withdrawn for spares. As the ships are likely to be around for a long time yet the DDS will also schedule them to be fitted with worm drives later in the decade. Its a remarkable turnaround for ships which were almost scrapped a few years ago but were retained due to a public outcry. The Starsystems, because of their links to the early days of the DDS, are hugely popular with DDS staff and alumni.

• The DDS have begun looking at holographic and n-field electroplate sensor spoofing as an alternative to cloaking for combat situations. Such technologies applied to the hull could hinder enemy attacks but still leave the DDS ship fully able to engage its targets. A research project has recently been begun by DDS Research and initial finding are expected to be reported to the DDS Politburo next Summer.

Firefly discusses Patrol Command review

Yesterday a report on the future of Patrol Command was published and called for a substantially larger fleet of ships. DDS Commander Firefly said the Politburo would discuss the report fully from tomorrow but said it was likely that much of the report would be proceeded with. The only sticking point was the projected number of ships and the number of Corkscrew 51As that would have to be built.

"The 112 ships by 2121 figure is a belt and braces best case figure." Firefly said, "As with anything there has to be a pragmatic approach taken so we may have revise that down somewhat, though not by much. Even so building that many Corkscrews will be tough. Even if we have both projected production lines active we would only be able to build 5-6 a year from 2115 so that would give us over 30 by 2112, way short of the 64 needed."

Firefly said a third production line was out of the question, "We have to deal with the resources available so 2 lines, one at Solaris and one at the Raegris will be what we will have. The Raegris line will of course include export orders." Firefly said that Corkscrew production could be bought forward a year early. "The design is 99% there so we could start building the prototype early next year with an entry into service in early 2114. We will need to decide quickly on that but hopefully by the end of the week we will know more clearly where we are going."

• The HCS Exports Agency have announced another sale the day after their sale of submarines to Sirikwan. New Arit have ordered 50 new TRV-5HD Tapir IFVs and 100 ex-HCS older Tapirs along with spares in a 45 million zark deal. 

Call to restructure and beef up Patrol Command

The review into the DDS Patrol Command has been delivered and it calls for more ships and more use of static monitoring. Currently there are 59 ships designated to Patrol Command though many of these are also available for other duties too. A further 35 ships are on order (mostly the Corkscrew 51A) though these will not all arrive until the end of the decade.

The report states that the number of ships available to Patrol Command is insufficient especially when other duties take away some of the Medium Combat Ships such as the Isometric 41As. It says that the 14 Terran Sea and SOT MCS should be transferred to the main fleet and replaced by dedicated ships that can remain with Patrol Command at all times. It is possible that Corkscrew production will be either sped up or bought forward.

The target fleet for Patrol Command should be 112 ships by 2122 the report says in order to meet current and near-term projected demands. It is recommended that the extra ships (to replace the Terran Sea and the extra ships on top) be all Corkscrews for fleet economies, Isometric production should be terminated on schedule. The report suggests the following Patrol Command fleet structures :

Ship class	2112	2116	2121
Isometric 41A	17	17	17
Freedom 41B	13	16	16
Terran Sea / SOT 43	14	14	0
Rome 46A	15	15	15
Corkscrew 51A	0	5	64
Total	59	67	112

One thing to note is that very rapid production of the Corkscrew would be needed to reach the target figure for 2121!

The report also said that static monitoring should be greatly increased especially along sensitive borders with new generation communications technology and worm drive equipped ships to facilitate a rapid response to alarms. The report is now being considered by Firefly and other senior DDS commanders.

• The HCS Exports Agency have announced their first export sale for some time, they will build 6 submarines similar to the Seawolf design of the HCSN for the Sirikwanese in a 190 million zark deal, though the company that will make them is half-owned by the Sirikwanese government so the total value of the order is about 95 million zarks. Sirikwan is also interested in the HCSN's surface warship designs so further sales may follow.

HCS View : Thinking the unthinkable? Splitting up the Clone Star Empire!

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

The economic problems of the Clone Star Empire persist, although there are signs the slump has bottomed out. The main talking point among Clone economists is that the CSE now seems to be a economic cycle of moderate boom and crushing bust every ten years or so.

The hard questions are beginning to be asked, even at the highest level of the CSE i have been informed : is the Clone Star Empire a viable entity in its current form? The answer keeps coming back : no!

The problem for the CSE is that a few planets effectively bankroll the rest. In the West Cloneworld, Sandworld, Lomar and Randalf 74 are net contributors to the empire's coffers. A few planets like Daggaddon more or less break even but the bulk like Paragon and Taragargi are money sinks. They bring little to the empire except the odd mineral deposit and land but instead suck in a large amount of money for protection and to maintain the territorial integrity of the empire's massive borders.

The problem is even more marked in the East with only Austini 55 having any net contribution, Woloron 12 breaks even and the rest require heavy subsidy. The problem for CSE-E is that Austini's surplus is insufficient to support the rest hence the billions in zarks that have to come from the West.

Now the question is being asked, how can the empire shed these money sink planets to reduce losses and make the borders more coherent but at the same time maintain face? Its a tough problem to be sure (though some contacts of mine say that Oojok is waiting for Benito to secede from the CSE as that will then be the opportunity to ditch some other planets too...)

So what could this reduced CSE look like? The central core of the empire more or less with Paragon and Taragargi retained for strategic reasons. The Calantratia hub of the empire and Benito's part would go. Such a reduced empire would be much easier to defend, would retain all the net contributors and lose most of the loss makers in the West and of course the East. Analysts estimate that the HCS could be safely reduced in size dramatically with poor quality units ditched keeping the elite core of the armed forces.

Could it happen? Don't rule out anything in this universe.

HCS to suffer further budget cuts

The HCS is to suffer further budget cuts as the Clone Star Empire's economy continues to struggle. The Head of the HCS Admiral Anderson said the cuts would be a lot smaller than the last round though analysts think all the "fat" was trimmed last time so even small cuts will hurt the HCS.

The HCS Navy and HCS Air Force are likely to bear the brunt of the cuts with plans for the Cloneworld surface fleet scaled back and F-40 withdrawals speeding up. Firm plans for the cuts will be released later in the week.

184/1

Under The Hash
Can the Dinos survive? (The Repicans P2)

Starbotians to upgrade Iona & Ixis

The Starbotians have announced a major upgrade of its flagship I-1A Iona plus a notable upgrade of I-11 Ixis too. Both ships will receive W1A wormdrives which have been bought off the Dinos (4 drives in total have been bought, 2 are being kept spare). Iona will also receive an engine upgrade to boost its hyperspace speed to 700c. Iona will also receive weapons upgrades including a greater TPM war load and TPM-VLS support.

Ixis' upgrade is more modest but will include laser cannon and tactical upgrades too. Both ships have now begun their upgrades, the Panther 35A I-21 Tiger has been assigned flagship until Iona returns early next year.

Fleet News (16/10/12)

• M133 Firedrake is the latest Freedom 41B MCS to join the fleet.
• H161 Solaris has become the first of the Solaris 37C FCS to receive a worm drive.

Original DDS cover

To conclude the 25th anniversary of the DDS the original Dino Death Squad comic has been located and its cover scanned. Of course the story was very different all those years ago...

UV183 : How Do You Solve A Problem Like Benito

• Pounding Anii - Can Megara save the future? (Irregular P3)
• Dark Deeds - Oojok holds a thought shower to decide how to deal with his rival. (Benito O'clock P1)
• Anger Of A Little Man - Terin's plans to destabilise Benito begin (Benito O'Clock P2)
• Sticking Up 4 Himself - The attack on Benito is investigated (Benito O'Clock P3)
• Opposition - Ice Ranger goes in search of a renegade officer (Dakkar P1)
• Vile Reptile! - Ice Ranger goes into action (Dakkar P2)
• Detonation - The Repicans are under surveillance as Ronald gets married (The Repicans P1)

Dinomark begins overhaul ahead of epic mission

The Dino flagship (and Ronald's personal ship Dinomark) has begun a 6 week overhaul and update ahead of its year long exploration mission next year. The venerable (though so many times updated and rebuilt over the decades there is little left of the original) ship will have the latest tactical updates, plus modifications to its communications equipment. The DDS have agreed to allow the Dinos to use their communication relays in Raegris space in return for intelligence Dinomark gleans on the IKA Federation and Repicans.

Ronald has not yet decided on his crew but it will comprise a mix of 6th Legion veterans plus some new blood.

• El Diablo goes into the final few weeks of the Consul election holding firm on 53% which would give him an outright win over MBH who is on 31%. However El Diablo knows it is still tight and voters can and often do switch at the last moment, he has begun a final round of campaign visits across the Dino Republic.

183/7

Detonation
The Repicans are under surveillance as Ronald gets married (The Repicans P1)

DDS switch Ferret construction to upgraded model

The DDS have switched construction of the Ferret 101 UCV to the MQ-5C model. Improvement of the Ferret 101C as it is known include enhanced vectored thrust for better agility, upgraded datalinks and a new version of the control software (which will also be rolled out to the legacy stock). The 5C can also have its laser gun replaced by a third TPM-2. The DDS will produce 250 of these for themselves and also offer them to allies.

• The Alpha 121A Nano Fighting Ship is expected to begin flight testing next week. This is an optionally manned small space vehicle which will be fitted with worm drive and TPMs. The Alpha will not be calibrated for worm drive use until after the flight tests. The Alpha will help develop future warship technologies as well as being a highly useful asset specially for special operations (though officially it is to be used purely for research).

The Historian : History of the New DDS (6) : The downfall of Rotarios

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

Rotarios tightened his grip on the New DDS but he remained tantalizingly short of total power because of his failure to deal with Windscorpion. Rotarios' ego drove him to think he could control The Apogee of Man however Windy was waiting for his moment to bring down Rotarios, a man he loathed and despised beyond all others.

The moment came when the Utrek, with their Zone allies, launched an attack on the DDS (Second Utrek War). While the rest of the DDS held the line in Remedian space with Dino help Windy was sent to crush the Zones and knock them out once and for all. Windy's fleet engaged with the Zones and crushed them, the DDS then launched a nuclear strike on Zoneland itself.

Vodaphone followed in the Hoods' own ship to launch a second strike on Zoneland with Cobalt-60 warheads to render Zoneland uninhabitable. This is when Windy made his play. Vodaphone and the Hood ship was destroyed by Windy's flag. Windy then returned to GHQ via New Jakarta where the Hood training camp was destroyed from orbit.

Rotarios and the Hoods were unsure what was going on, there were rumours however that Windy was coming to destroy the New DDS. With the Hoods beginning to panic Rotarios made a challenge to Windy to face him in the Hall of Heroes at GHQ for the final battle. Rotarios vowed to crush Windscorpion and finally complete the New DDS Project.

Windy agreed, but of course Rotarios never had any intention facing Windy alone. He assembled every last Hood remaining at GHQ and stormed the Hall. Windy was waiting for them... in an exo-war suit. Windy mowed down Hoods by the score. The rest fled, to be hunted down and killed by Windy's supporters (though a fair few escaped). As for Rotarios well Windy pounded him into a small dense pile of scrap iron.

The New DDS Project had been aborted. Windy was proclaimed the DDS Commander. The Hoods and the old regime were consigned to the dustbin of history. Or were they...

Operation Civilian Partnership

The DDS have announced that next month's exercise will be the first of what is hoped to be an annual humanitarian and disaster relief exercise involving UNP agencies too. Operation Civilian Partnership will take place in the Terran system and involve a simulated major emergency on either Mars or Luna. The DDS will assist with the UNP's Rescue Recovery Team (UNP-RRT) as it performs a simulated evaluation.

The provisional list of DDS ships that will take part is :

L131 Tethys Ocean (flag)
M113 Precambrian
P213XK Paris
L116 Kenora
A109 Expeditor
A141 Extender
A204U Collective

• DDS Commander Firefly has sent his congratulations to Consul Ronald who married Meika yesterday. Firefly will travel to meet with Ronald and the new Consul-elect in December.
• There is no HCS Fleet News this month because there have been no changes to their fleet.

Ronald re-marries

Ronald lost his wife Holisai and daughter Crystal in the ABBO-Bolitic War during the Zone attack on Dino-Town. Ronald went into a blood fury rage for a time, committing various atrocities and war crimes against Zone civilians raising fears as to Ronald's sanity. Woof!

However he has calmed down since and has guided the Dino Republic to phase 2 in his democracy project. Now as he prepares to leave Dino-Land for an extended mission away he has also decided to remarry (and then in a couple of months leave his wife behind, ever the romantic). Ronald has married his cousin Meika Yousanga-Vargaroustikason (luckily she prefers to just use Meika) in a simple ceremony at the Dino Senate presided over by Senator Jimmy.

Meika works at the Department of Education and oversees library services and adult learning in the Dino Republic. Meika has been married before, her husband Helinson was an officer in the Dino Army but died in a battle with the Bolitic in the early 2090s. She has no children but is said to be still able to lay eggs.

Explosion thought to be due to ship accident

A DDS ship has reached the site of the massive explosion detected in between Solaris and Sanger Alpha on Saturday. As suspected the explosion was not natural and occurred in subspace, probably by a ship traveling at superluminal speeds. Analysis of the radiation indicates the explosion may be due to a catastrophic accident on the ship such as a reactor failure.

Early radiation scans indicate the ship could have been Bolitic due to the isotopes detected however this is not definite yet. A DDS spokesman said the explosion was a large one which indicated it was due to a large ship such as a Snarl.

183/6

Vile Reptile!
Ice-Ranger goes into action (Dakkar P2)

Massive explosion in DDS space

A massive explosion has been detected in deep space in between Solaris and Sanger Alpha 6329. The cause of the explosion is unknown, it was at least 2 light years from the nearest inhabited planet and no DDS or UNP registered ships were nearby. Spectral subspace analysis by DDS Research indicates it was not a natural phenomena.

A DDS ship has been sent to investigate and will reach the scene of the explosion some time tomorrow.

183/5

Opposition
Ice Ranger goes in search of a renegade officer (Dakkar P1)

CAC to sell-off non-combat aircraft lines

The Cloneworld state owned aircraft manufacturer CAC has been in the process of refocussing behind combat aircraft and selling off its commercial and utility lines for a few years. The final lines have now been sold to Clone Commercial Aircraft for 1.1 billion zarks. CCA will take over the production lines for the C-440/460 and C-426 from 2113.

As part of the deal CAC will receive 10% of royalty sales (to commercial and export markets) for 10 years. They will also hand over all existing design work and data for the next generations of the various types. Although CCA are going to have to take out a big loan to afford the purchase the C-440 is a cash cow being one of the "Holy Trinity" of aviation types (along with the A-85 and H-26) which will likely remain in production for as long as the HCS exists. The type is also a good export seller to customers including the DDS.

The Clone government say much of the money received from the sale will be put back into the HCSAF budget though this is likely to merely offset budget cuts elsewhere.

Benito addresses CSE-E

An unusually subdued Emperor Benito has addressed the CSE-E following the air attack on his palace. He said that the attack was a crime committed by "vile agents of foul deviance" and added that those behind the attack had now been "punished". No details about who has been punished have been given though its rumoured a senior General in Benito's staff (and one of his oldest friends) has been executed. This may explain Benito's mood.

Benito went on to criticise Oojok and the central HCS for weakening HCS-E. However as CSE-E is subsided by the rest of the empire Benito has little room for maneuver if Oojok cuts the budget.

• The HCS Navy have cleared their first 3 A-85NTKs into service and will begin carrier operations with the carrier version of the COIN aircraft soon. When a full squadron has entered service then the HCSN's carriers will begin operating a mixed wing of 4 F-40Ns and 10 A-85NTKs.
• The Raegris have received 10 DDS Ferret-G UCVs on loan. They will receive their own UCVs next year.

Benito's palace attacked!

The palace of Emperor Benito of the CSE-E has come under attack by what is reported to have been an ex-HCSAF A-85 COIN aircraft. The palace sustained multiple hits and 7 people are reported to have been killed though Benito and his senior staff were not hurt.

Benito has ordered an immediate investigation though details of this are being kept under tight wraps. One of Benito's senior staff officers General Vakak is reported to have died suddenly after an "illness" though the HCS-E are refusing to say if this is connected to the investigation.

DDS Commander Firefly has raised the DDS alert status to GREEN as a precaution though this is still a fairly low level of alert.

183/4

Sticking Up 4 Himself
The attack on Benito is investigated (Benito O'Clock P3)

Other Fleet Review (01/10/12)

• The Dinos have built 3 Dinomark XTs for the DTA, one each has gone to Sirikwan, Voth and New Arit.
• The Bolitic are reported to have completed 2 Meltinans.
• Porquat 640 have received a Pentekonter-E.
• Castaris have received an Extender-E oiler.
• Helinox have received 2 Coril-E shuttles.

The Historian : History of the New DDS (5) : Bringing Windy into the fold

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

Rotarios was now the DDS Commander and began a series of measures to facilitate the New DDS Project. Under Vodaphone's guidance (usually buried in baffling jargon and buzzwords) and threat from AP's Hoods the DDS was reborn as the "New DDS". However soon there was a cloud on the horizon.

Windy was approaching full health and began to venture outside on Rathun's World (now Liberation). He was soon picked up by CCTV and word got to Rotarios that his Nemesis was still alive. AP was despatched with a legion of Hoods and DDS special forces to kill Windy.

As Windy and Salamander evaded the DDS net Rotarios had a change of mind and ordered Windy be captured instead. He saw that Windy could be a potent asset if he could be controlled and he had a sufficiently massive ego to persuade him to try where all else have failed. Windy was thus bought into the New DDS under strict control though this was eased when Windy was duped into revealing the location of his fan club the Windy Massive. They were massacred by the Hoods.

The Rotarios-Windy relationship was troubled to say the least with Rotarios continually thwarted and fooled by The Apogee Of Man. Windy quietly began restoring his power base, recruiting a new generation of the Windy Massive. When the DDS went to war with the Utrek Windy saw his chance to bring down the New DDS Project...