CDF View : Quietly the split has been shelved for good

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

As an observer of Clone affairs i am used to the often indecisive way Clones operate. The Clone mind is a strange thing, it can be indecisive to the point of almost paralysis but when the chips are down Clones have an uncanny ability to switch to "death mode" and operate with clarity and directness... until the danger is over when they lapse back to the indecisiveness of before.

But i haven't seen anything yet until the to-ing and fro-ing over the changes to the Clone armed forces and the move to national territorial armies on the member planets of the Clone Star Empire. Despite a successful test on Taragargi where COIN aircraft and category B troops were re-designated as the Taragargi Territorial Guard the Clone Defence Forces HQ has now decided the armed forces will remain as they are.

For a number of years the Clones have tried to get this national territorial armies idea off the ground but the simple fact is they can't decide on whether its worth it or not. The change would save money in the long run but cost billions in start-up costs. I think that might have clinched the Clones to finally decide to keep the status quo.

The troops and planes on Taragargi have returned to the Clone Army and Clone Air Force, an office set up to explore the territorial idea has been disbanded and the idea seems to have been finally killed off.

But knowing the Clones they may resurrect it within the next 18 months...

195/3

Agents Of Oppression
Relations between Windy and the DDS break down (In The Dock P1)

195/2

A Dozen Shots
MBH confronts Terence (Options P3)

Army to spend its money on special forces and internal security

After the Clone Air Force and Navy announced how they would spend the billion zark each windfall from Oojok the army has now also detailed how it will spend the money. Interestingly the money will be largely spent on special forces and internal security which indicates the area the Clone Army is now looking to improve in.

A 9th Red Lizard Brigade will be set up, its base not yet specified but it will likely be off Cloneworld as 5 of the 8 existing brigades are on the capital planet and there is a shortage of special forces elsewhere in the empire. 350 new TRV-5HD-IS Tapir armoured vehicles will be bought. These are the internal security version of the latest HD model of Tapir and include protective grills, extra search lights, loud speakers and tear gas and water cannon attachments. Some money will also be spent on artillery and a new army base on Lomar.

With conventional land battles now largely a thing of the past for the Clones the Army has been looking at how to remain relevant. This new investment could indicate the direction the senior service is going to take.

CAF details how it will spend it's "gift"

The Clone Air Force will spend the extra billion zarks in funding granted to it by Oojok on bringing the K45C into production early, upgrading reconnaissance aircraft and funding the new K3 trainer. Production of the naval version of the K45C is already underway but the CAF will now receive its first K45Cs by the end of this year. Production rates will be higher than originally planned meaning the first CAF K45C squadron could become operational by Spring 2114.

The CAF will also fund the upgrade and refurbishment of 120 ageing K72TR to the current TRM standard which will include improved sensors, onboard analysis computers, ECM and navigational avionics. IR emissions will also be reduced by modified engine nacelles.

Finally the CAF will fund the initial development of a new trainer, the K3. This will be a supersonic lead-in fighter trainer to prepare pilots for the K45C.

DTA considering own alert system

A Dino Army team has arrived on Solaris to hold discussions with ISSF Chief Torus and Director of Operations Knobhead. One of the items for discussion will be the DDS alerts system. It is thought the Dinos are interested in a similar system for the DTA.

While setting up such a scheme may not seem so difficult the Dinos are interested in how the DDS manage to disseminate alert information to the DDS, spread as it is across dozens of light years, so quickly.

• The Clone Air Force has tweaked its new nomenclature system. Helicopters will now use the prefix Z and not ZK. Type suffices will also be limited to 3 characters, this will avoid some of the very long type codes now in use, for example the latest naval version of the Halogen helicopter is the ZK26SWNG, this will now change to the slightly less unwieldly Z26WNS. Drones will use the prefix Q not QK.
• In other CAF news preliminary design work on a new supersonic lead-in trainer has begun, known as the K3 Project. Under current plans some of the fleet of K40T trainers are due to be upgraded to train pilots for the K45C but early development work on the K40TC has so far been unsatisfactory. It is now thought it will be better to design a clean sheet trainer to incorporate K45C technology like active-inertial dampening and a mission-adaptive wing.

End of the road for the Eliminator

The iconic T-88 tank (J88 in the new Clone Army scheme) has finally left service after the final 20 J88++ Eliminator IIIs were withdrawn. This brings to an end the career of the Eliminator, the tank which arguably saved the Clones in the early Clone Wars and later spearheaded the expansion of the war into the wider galaxy.

The Clone Army now has just J89s (T-89) and J55s (T-55Z) in its tank force. The J89 is the final descendant of the Clone tank design which began with the T-86 and soon progressed to the T-88. About 10000 J89s remain in service even though production has now ended so it is likely to remain in Clone Army service for a few decades yet. The J55ZDM2 remains in production and should overtake the J89 as the main tank by about 2115 at current production rate.

Several hundred J88s have been preserved and can be found in museums and collections across the galaxy.

• The trial of Windscorpion, accused of thousands of sex crimes on Proxima 7, has begun with an initial hearing. If found guilty the Apogee Of Man could face 459,608 years in prison.

Oojok gives CDF a 3 billion zark present

Oojok has said the Clone Defence Forces will get an extra 3 billion zark boost to its budget with the money to be shared equally by the army, air force and navy (the space fleet having already received a "gift" earlier in the year). The reason why Oojok has dipped into the empire's reserves is unknown, in the past such incidents have been to head off dissent in the higher echelons of the military though there are no indications of such this time. It may be Oojok simply wishes to cement the generally more content military after the demise of Benito.

The 3 branches of the military are now to decide how to spend their billion zarks. The Clone Navy has already said it will spend the money on 2 more Olana destroyers and some intelligence gathering ships.

• The DDS has dropped its alert status to GREEN.

Clone Navy admits it lacks intelligence on pirates

The Clone Navy has called a halt to its offensive against pirates on Cloneworld after admitting most of the targets it had hit were former pirate sites. A spokesclone said "We need to update our intelligence on the pirates, too many of our bombs and missiles hit abandoned jetties."

Its thought the Clone Navy may now go ahead with a purchase of 4 intelligence gathering ships which has been planned for some time. These converted transport ships will gather signal and photographic evidence of pirate operations. The Clone Navy also plan to increase the number of their K72 Mustang reconnaissance sorties too.

The CN have said that the operation did allow them to fully test a range of weapons, which is what some observers think the offensive was all about anyway.

Operation Civilian Partnership 2113

The second running of the DDS' annual humanitarian and disaster relief exercise is set for the start of October. This time the exercise will be set on and around Liberation and will simulate the aftermath of an orbital bombardment attack including nuclear power stations gone critical. The DDS and the UNP's rescue-relief team UNP-RRT will perform simulated containment operations and evacuations.

The ships to be involved will be :

L132 Iapetus Ocean (flag)
S221 Olympus Mons
H106 Topcat
M161 Sea Of The Hebrides
M171 Mediterranean Sea
L153 South East Asia
L156 North America
A101 Provider
A155 Pentane

• The Clone Navy's anti-piracy offensive has continued, the only reported attack being by 2 K85NTKs from the carrier CNS Clone Empire which bombed a pirate jetty. As with some of the previous attacks the jetty was later found to have already been abandoned.

UV194 : Advancement

• All I Care 4 Is U - Ronald comes face to face with the Malanas Assembly (Hero P3)
• The Treatment - The Tarbotians and Malanas meet in battle (Hero P4)
• Violence Is Purity - The Malanas reveal the dark secret of the Dino past (Hero P5)
• Meat In The Sandwich - The DDS are called in to tackle some pirates (Pieces Of Hate P1)
• Massive Result - The DDS' engagement with the pirates does not go as expected (Pieces Of Hate P2)
• Best Chance Of The Night - The Crusader is captured (Pieces Of Hate P3)
• Scum Family - What is lurking on a distant planet? (Options P1)

195/1

Faith Of A Fart
Ronald battles The Acheron (Options P2)

194/7

Scum Family
What is lurking on a distant planet? (Options P1)

DDS confirm warship was hijacked

The DDS have confirmed rumours that the Solaris 37C warship SS Denebola was hijacked by the 7 Sa Sao (not thought to be the Argon or Xeon factions involved but another one) and nearly taken out of DDS space. A Raegris Quasar 15A cruiser on a shake down cruise following upgrades at Solaris was luckily on hand and managed to intercept Denebola before it crossed into Clone space.

The commander of Denebola was The Crusader who was tortured by the hijackers but not seriously harmed, only minor injuries were reported by the rest of the crew after they were released by the Raegris. The 7 Sa Sao hijackers escaped, presumably to a cloaked ship. Denebola has now returned to Solaris.

194/6

Best Chance Of The Night
The Crusader is captured (Pieces Of Hate P3)

Pirates fight back against Clone Navy

The offensive against pirates on Cloneworld has continued for a third day. 2 K19B strike bombers attacked a suspected pirate base near Yekaki though the base is thought to have already been abandoned. 3 K85NTNs attacked a jetty on a remote part of the West Clone Republic's coastline though no pirates or ships were seen.

However the pirates have fought back. The Mariner class support ship CNS Voyager was attacked by 4 speed boats near Utapa Atoll and raked with machine gun fire. Two of the boats were hit by the machine guns on Voyager and the ship's ZK26S helicopter sunk one of the others with a missile. Voyager received minor damage though three crew were injured. A Triona class OPV has been sent to protect Voyager.

Clone Navy continue attacks

Operation Fall Rain has continued with 4 separate attacks across Cloneworld on pirate ships and facilities. The most successful attack was the destruction of a mothership by 2 K85NTKs launched from the aircraft carrier CNS Clone Empire. One K85 was hit by gunfire but was able to return to the carrier, the pirate ship (a converted trawler) was sunk by anti-ship missiles.

Less successful was an attack by a ZK26S helicopter from a Mariner class support ship on a suspected pirate jetty. The attack was called off after it was clear the jetty was no longer used. Another jetty was attacked by CNS Ailier which confirmed the jetty was in use before destroying it with cannon fire.

The final attack was by 2 K40Ns on what was thought to be a radio relay used by pirates in the Achilles Chain. The relay is now out of action.

• The main load-beam has been laid down on the first Warrior 16A bomber, the load-beam is the traditional start point in DDS warship production and was marked by a ceremony attended by Firefly. The first Warrior is expected to begin trials next Spring (slightly later than originally planned) with an entry into service sometime in the Summer of 2114.

Clone Navy strikes at pirate bases

The Clone Navy has launched a number of attacks against pirate bases on Cloneworld in an operation called "Fall Rain". In one attack 2 K19B strike bombers launched 2 missiles against a fuelling point at Calanas Atoll though later reports indicate the point had already been abandoned.

Later 4 K85NTKs launched from the aircraft carrier CNS Clone Empire attacked a pirate base in the Golika Island chain. A small boat is reported to have been sunk at dock and 2 buildings set on fire. Clone Marines followed up the attack by landing but they had found the pirates had already fled.

In the third attack the frigate CNS Ailier launched an SS-N-8 missile at a suspected pirate base on the Yeltenee Islands, no reports are yet in as to the damage caused to the base. The CN say that these are just the first attacks in what is likely to be a sustained campaign.

• The DDS' September Sunrise exercise has ended after final mock combats against Remedian ships. The exercise was most notable for the inclusion of SS Corkscrew as part of its trials. The ship has now returned to Solaris for final assessment and modification and could be fully commissioned by the DDS as early as next month.

New Factions (2) : The Raegris

Raegris captain

The Raegris are a long-time space faring race though never rose above medium-power status. Their space exists between 4 potential enemies : the Utrek, Vosun-Voth, Bolitic and IKA but they managed to maintain their independence through powerful warships and crafty politicking... and a deal of luck. Often the Raegris have just been a little too far out of the way for enemies to attack.

The Raegris homeworld is mineral-rich and the Raegris are happy to trade with anyone, the Raegris have used that money that brings in to strengthen their fleet and to augment their own designs (the Clone Cosmos ship is based on a Raegris design) with DDS ships. They were one of the DDS' first export customers and quickly formed an alliance and partnership with the DDS, using their potent industrial base to build DDS ships for export and even for the DDS itself.

Raegis Quasar

The Raegris are now one of DDS' Tier 1 allies and thus have no restrictions on DDS technology and a very important industrial and strategic centre for the DDS.

Unlike the Remedians the Raegris maintain their political independence from the DDS and pull their weight in the DDS military. For example DDS minesweeping systems are based on Raegris technology.

It is likely the Raegris will continue to play a vital role in the future astral-political spacescape because of their location and their assets.

DDS modify air procurement plans

The Air Division of DDS Terrestrial Forces have made some modifications to their procurement plans for new aircraft and drones. The biggest change is the reduction of the MQ-14 LLAD attack drone order from 70 to 60 which means just 10 are now outstanding. The 3 remaining RQ-10 drones have been cancelled leaving a fleet of 32 though 2 more NBC reconnaissance RQ-12N drones have been ordered.

The A-12 NDAA order has been increased by 5 as has the F-10SEP order.

• The new DDS GHQ metro system has now opened a station at Residences where accommodation for DDS personnel is based and a hotel for visitors is also being built. This is the first part of the main line of the metro linking GHQ to Ren's Bay, the rest of the link is currently in the final stages of being built.

DDS ship hijacked?

The DDS are refusing to comment on reports in the Sangan media that a DDS warship, possibly one despatched to deal with a spate of pirates near Sanga Alpha 6329 has been hijacked and is now under alien control.

The DDS increased its alert status to AMBER and have despatched 2 ships from the Rapid Reaction Squadron. Border patrols are also reported to have been put on higher alert.

New Factions (1) : The Repicans

Years ago this web site surveyed the various factions in the DDS Universe, it is now time to return to these factions as well as having a look at some of the newer factions who have entered the fray in recent times...

Horga, a Repican

The Repicans are one of the "lost" Dino colonies (like the Bolitic and Sirikwanese). Their home planet of Repic is beyond the Bolitic and Raegris space about 150 light years from Proxima Centauri.

Not a huge amount is known about the Repicans, they first came to the attention of the Dinos and DDS when they joined the Bolitic during the latter phases of the ABBO-Bolitic War. They are thought to have been allies of the Bolitic for some time.

The Repicans are a race of warrior-merchants, their ships are crew-owned with a hierarchy of shareholders, the "captain" of a ship (known as the senior partner or chairman) is the one who owns the most stock. Crew rise in a ship's hierarchy by purchasing more stock. The Repicans operate only for commercial reasons, making money is their primary concern (even their ship-to-ship videocalls contain adverts!) It is thought they joined the Bolitic in the war in return for loot though did not profit from the enterprise. Although their ships are technically good they are inferior to the Dino and DDS state-of-the-art and lost heavily.

Repican ship

In recent years they have appeared more often as the Dinos and DDS have expanded their operations into space the Repicans also operate in.

Notable Repicans include Senior Partner Gorel who commands the ship Ra'Anagan. Once he captured Ronald and tried to sell him to the Bolitic. He is a very tricky individual.

CAF working on two new warplanes

The Clone Air Force have confirmed that they are working on two new warplanes to fill "gaps in the air warfare portfolio". The first is an interdiction strike aircraft which the CAF have lacked since the withdrawal of the K19 Borehole (which were transferred to the CNAS). The K29 is a supersonic low-level tactical bomber, said to be similar to the K19 but with a mission adaptive wing like the K45C.

The other aircraft is a new helicopter. The ZK30 is a small reconnaissance optionally-armed scout which would take some roles away from the ZK26 Halogen (where it is considered overkill and expensive). No entry into service for either type has yet been announced, or indeed if either will (literally) get off the ground!

Fleet News (10/09/13)

• Two new ships have joined the fleet this month, the first is the final Pangaea 62A landing ship L118 Pannotia. The other, A168 Hexanol, is the last (for now) Extender 73A oiler for the DDS fleet, though 2 more are to be built for the Remedians.
• The special forces shuttle A564F Julia has been withdrawn and will be used to provide spare parts for the remaining 2 Coril 86As which will remain in service until early next year. Two more new generation Coril 86Bs have been added to the existing production run.
• The Isometric 41A MCS M103 Jurassic has been fitted with a worm drive. The ship is Space chief Caratore's personal ship which is why it has received the Electron drive. No other Isometrics are scheduled to receive the new drives until late 2114 at least.

194/5

Massive Result
The DDS' engagement with the pirates does not go as expected (Pieces Of Hate P2)

Clone Navy begins K45K flights

The Clone Navy now have 3 K45K Falcons and have begun test flights of their new fighter. Following a basic land-based flight test series (as much for pilot training more than anything else) the Clone Naval Air Service will begin carrier tests with the K45K from mid-October.

By the end of the year the CNAS hope to have sufficient K45Ks to form the first operational unit though full carrier operations are not expected to begin until late 2114.

• CNAS has also placed an order for a further 5 K72M Mustang reconnaissance aircraft and 8 more ZK26SWNG Halogen helicopters.

TPM-2 Gamma enters service

The third generation of the TPM-2 missile has entered service with the DDS and all new production will switch to the model by the end of the year (thousands of As and Bs remain in service though and will be expended naturally). The TPM-2 Gamma has a number of improvements to enhance the weapon's effectiveness in the face of counter-measures by rival powers.

"The Two Gamma hits harder and hits faster." Sea Urchin, the Director of Technology, said at a media briefing to announce the launch. "We have developed a new improved seeker able to negate sensor spoofing and multi-layer shields. There is also provision for a larger warhead, though this means fitting a smaller fuel tank. This can be something officers in the field can decide as a trade-off. The Two Gamma has a new engine development that takes advantage of technology transfer from our Porquatian allies, the missile is now up to 20% faster." ECM has also been enhanced though Sea Urchin did not mention it.

The TPM-2 Gamma will be the basis of the whole TPM family for the next 2-3 years. Air and ground launched versions are expected in the next few months. It is compatible with existing launchers and the new VLS. The missile also debuts a new version nomenclature system, in development it was known as the 2C.

Knobhead worried about concentrating too many resources at GHQ

Director of Operations Knobhead has issued a warning after Firefly unveiled plans for a large and powerful battle station in orbit over the new GHQ on Proxima 5. "We need to be careful we don't over concentrate power and resources in one area of space and neglect everywhere else." he said at a meeting of DDS Centre ship captains at DDS City. "We need to keep our borders and hinterland strong so we can present any future foe with a layered defence."

However Knobhead said he did agree with building the battle station but that it needed to be part of a wider system. "The problem with static defence is that... its static. An enemy could just choose to isolate it and fight elsewhere. For example the Tarbotians could leave Proxima 5 alone and lay waste to Solaris and other key DDS worlds instead. GHQ would be safe but the war would still be lost."

Firefly countered at his daily media briefing that defences elsewhere will not be neglected. "I agree with him [Knobhead] that static defence can be isolated but thats why it is just part of a planned system of automated monitoring stations, defence posts, fluid ship formations and static defence. The battle station will make GHQ a fortress but we plan to make the DDS itself one huge intergalactic fortress!"

DDS to built new orbital battle station over GHQ

With the new DDS GHQ taking shape on Proxima 5 DDS Commander Firefly is now turning to the next stage in his project to make the core of the DDS much more resilient. A new battle station will be built in a geo-synchronous orbit over GHQ acting as a spaceport for DDS ships (currently DDS ships at Proxima 5 use civilian facilities or go to the DDS Orbital HQ over Proxima 7).

The battle station will be a formidable static defence post. It will be equipped with the latest weapons including Z7 cannons and TPM launchers. One report says the station will carry over 5000 TPM-2s and have sufficient launchers to fire these missiles at the rate of up to 10 a second (and have sufficient sensor and tactical systems to engage over 120 simultaneous targets).

Planning and design work are now ongoing, work is expected to begin on the new station by the start of 2114 with a completion date of 2116 mooted.

194/4

Meat In The Sandwich
The DDS are called in to tackle some pirates (Pieces Of Hate P1)

194/3

Violence Is Purity
The Malanas reveal the dark secret of the Dino past (Hero P5)

Other Fleet News (01/09/13)

• The Dinos have built 2 Dinomark XTs, one for themselves and one for New Arit. New Arit have also received a Dino built Provider-EDA transport.
• The Bolitic are reported to have built a new Snarl and rebuilt a withdrawn Helwin.
• The Raegris have received a Pentekonter-E PC-1.
• Porquat 640 have received an Extender-E.

Intergalactic commercial communications restricted by Clones

While desperate work to shore up the crumbling Clone Star Empire communication network takes place (a new link from Daggaddon to Cloneworld went live yesterday) it is expected to take several years to solve the main problems (and cost billions of zarks!)

The Clone Defence Forces have been forced to take over 50% of commercial communication links much to the dismay of Clone broadcasters. This has meant Clone civilians are now heavily restricted as to when they can use the communication network. Oojok has promised that these measures are only temporary though DDS analysts think "temporary" in this case may mean 2-3 years!