UV225 : Mantae

• Overly Optimistic - S101 and B-B encounter the Mantae.
• Holiday Liaison - S101, B-B and Egonneck come face to face with the Mantae.
• Free Weights - Windy seeks to recover a defecting Tarbotian general.
• Mixed News - I-1 is stolen.
• War Of The Overworld - Can B-B stop the hijackers?
• Wo Aow Oh Oh! - Has Windy reached the end of the road?
• Gutted! - Windy fights back from the brink.

Quasar Major System Upgrade 2116 (Quasar MSU16) begins

A major upgrade of the Quasar 15A bomber fleet has begun called Quasar Major System Upgrade 2116 (Quasar MSU16), the largest since the ILU a couple of years ago. A key part of the upgrade will be the fitting of worm drive, the Quasar being one of the last remaining major types that has not had some worming of class members at least.

Offensive capabilities will also be greatly enhanced with the fitting of Z7 cannon, VLS TPM cells to increase TPM load up to 96, attack missile load will also be increased to 48 thanks to some internal reorganisation of the ship.

System upgrades include a new SAS-NG attack suite, the most notable upgrade to SAS for a number of years (most details of the changes are being kept secret for security reasons), improved computers and sensors. The Quasar will also able to perform the mine laying role as Raegris Quasars can.

The first 2 ships have begun their upgrade which is said to take 6-8 weeks per ship.

Story #2257

Gutted!
Windy fights back from the brink.

NS unveil high-end ships for sale

The NS has updated it's ship portfolio for the first time in nearly 2 years and introduced 2 "top-end" models of its Corkscrew and Pentekonter Protector lines. These will have the latest technology and will be only available to Tier 1 NS allies.

The Corkscrew 450 includes TPM-VLS, Z7 and passive sensors and is almost identical in many ways to the NS specification (a major difference is the absence of worm drive). The Pentekonter Protector 390 includes Z7 and passive sensors too.

Also new is the Coril TM which is a dedicated trainer version of the popular shuttle. It includes training tools and systems to help smaller fleets train staff where they cannot afford large academies.

Sirikwan receive new Pentekonters and Sharks

Sirikwan's new ship integration team will be very busy as no less than 4 new ships have been delivered to the Sirikwan Defence Force within a few days. Two Pentekonter Protector 350s have been delivered by the Raegris. Just 2 more Pentekonters are on order now though these may not arrive until next year.

Two Shark SKH-E frigates have also been delivered by the Clones. Deliveries have been slow due to the Clones reducing the production rate of their own ships thus reducing the availability of shared components. Sirikwan is understood to have complained about the delays a number of times and threatened to cancel the outstanding order if new ships did not arrive soon.

Story #2256

Wo Aow Oh Oh!
Has Windy reached the end of the road?

Story #2255

War Of The Overworld
Can B-B stop the hijackers?

Solax outlines SS changes

The new SS Commander Solax has outlined changes to the SS' armed wing which he ssssssays will make the SS a more effective fighting force. The SS, as well as providing military policing, regime support and intelligence also has a powerful fully armed wing which acts as a bolster for the Dino Army.

The SS Legions number 3 though the 3rd is administrative only and acts as a home for units forming or disbanding. The only real legion is the 1st Legion with the 2nd consisting of the reserve. Solax plans to get rid of the 2nd and 3rd Legions and just have a single SS Legion with inactive units collected in what he has called the SS Reserve. This will prove controversial with many in the SS who regard having multiple legions as a status symbol of their power.

All available units will be part of the SS Legion however even if they are recovering from combat losses which means the SS Legion will be increased in size by about 30%.

Solar Empire receive first NS ships

The secretive Solar Empire has received the first 2 ships, part of its large order it placed last year. Two Extender 128SE oilers have been delivered, though will be localised by a local contractor. NS Engineering and Academy staff have also arrived to help the Solar Empire integrate the new technology into their armed forces.

Depender 751SEs and Pentekonter Protector 257SEs are also on order though some work will need to be done before the Solar Empire is ready to use its new ships correctly according to an NS source.

Story #2254

Mixed News
I-1 is stolen.

Story #2253

Free Weights
Windy seeks to recover a defecting Tarbotian general.

Story #2252

Holiday Liaison
S101, B-B and Egonneck come face to face with the Mantae.

Operation Info Affairs 2116

Although officially the second edition of the NS' annual cyber warfare and special forces exercise, Info Affairs 2116 will be the first time it is run as the 2115 edition was affected by the war with the Argon and wrapped up into Atomic Fist 2115. The exercise will run over the next week and include a number of info-attack scenarios and special forces exercises.

Its thought the cyber and special forces exercises will run under a common theme where an "enemy" attempts to break into secure NS systems though details are being kept under wraps to keep assigned staff to the "defenders" guessing.

Castaris receive first 2 Pentekonters

Castaris 9065A, a member of the Free Eritran States, has received the first 2 of 5 Pentekonter Protector 251Cs they have on order. These are the first combat ships operated by Castaris who until now have only operated shuttles and transports in support of FES operations.

With help from Molab and the NS, who accepted around 30 Castarissans into the Space Academy last year, Castaris is now slowly building up a useful space fleet. Corkscrew 422Cs are also on order for next year, as yet Castaris is the only export customer.

Story #2251

Overly Optimistic
S101 and B-B encounter the Mantae.

NS to build new training fleet

With the Starsystems to be rebuilt into Medium Combat Ships over the next few years its unclear how the NS will train crews with just the 2 ex-Bolitic Helwins available as training ships (and these really are for advanced combat training). After toying with the idea of using normal ships for training missions NS have decided instead they still need a dedicated fleet of training ships.

Five ships will be built of the new Pentekonter 044T design, the differences from the minesweeping 044M variant have not yet been unveiled though one has been added to the current Ship Building Plan.

Fleet News (FY16/17.01)

The first Fleet News of the new Financial Year for Shipbuilding 2116-2117.

H204 Megatron is the latest Mulberry 036A Fleet Combat Ship, a delayed build from FY15/16.

The first Proxima Centauri 041A conversion from the Starsystem/Isometric-P fleet has entered new type proving. This is M302 Mira, it was the first to be done as it had been in storage. It should enter service by the late Summer.