CAF K40 numbers drop below 1000

The iconic K40 Ford fighter was one of the mainstays of the Clone Air Force during the Clone Wars but since the introduction of the successor K45 Falcon, the K40 numbers have been steadily reduced from nearly 3,000 in service at their height.

The number in service with the CAF has now dropped to 990 (plus 20 in service with the Clone Navy Air Service). Numbers will continue to be reduced as more K45s, and the K47 light fighter, continue to enter service. Only the 260 K40S, the final variant, are to remain in service beyond the mid-2120s.

Operation Ground Shock 2121

NS has begun the first of it's four large exercises for the year, Ground Shock is dedicated to amphibious operations and ground operations support. The exercises will last for two weeks and take place on Proxima Centauri 7. The exercises were originally planned to be on Saeou on the other side of the UNP but due to the Dino-Terrasaur situation VP (Ops) Torus decided it would not be prudent to send a sizeable chunk of the NS fleet so far away at this time.

The exercises will include an amphibious landing of NS Terrestrial Forces troops, a space-ground bombardment of an "enemy" position and training by special forces. The ships involved are:

21-102 Lancer (flagship)

35-107 Snow Leopard

35-304 Kingfisher

35-311 Killer

36-101 Mulberry

51-102 Centurion

51-111 Carnage

43-102 Beta Centauri

46-101 Augustus

46-103 Hadrian

46-109 Horace

65-101 Tethys Ocean (amphibious flag)

66-101 Triumph

62-103 Baltica

62-106 Rodina

63-103 South East Asia

47-104 Vulture

47-109 Goshawk

47-111 Raptor

73-111 Kerosene

71-118 Cangrestor

116-102 Ephedra

NS ship badly damaged by Clone drone

New Sparta has revealed how last week one of it's ships, thought to be a Depender 161A - though this has not been confirmed by NS, was attacked at the UNP-CSE border by the new CDF experimental Uncloned Space Fighter (USF). The USF is a fully autonomous superluminal warship, it is reported the USF went out of control on a demonstration test. The USF is reported (by a non-CSE source) to have destroyed a number of target drones and badly damaged the mothership before heading to the border.

Why the Depender was at the border is not known, though as the ships are suspected to be Sigint intelligence gathering ships it can surmised they were monitoring CSE activities. The USF was destroyed by a pursuing group of CDF warships. The Clones assisted the Depender before returning to their space. 

NS said that there were three fatalities on the Depender which has been towed to Solaris for repair. VP (Ops) Torus has demanded an explanation from the Clones.

Rain of Terra (2802)

The Dinos begin a hunt for the Terrasaurs.

Electric Heat (2801)

An NS ship is attacked by a rogue Clone drone.

Ship Building Plan 2121/2122

The new Ship Building Plan for 2122/2122 has been published and is again heavy with light patrol assets, including the first series production Mariner 56A and more Okra 86Ls. 

Violet 57B (6)

Mariner 56A (2)

Okra 86L (4)

Mulberry 56A (1)

Kinetic 35C (1)

Corkscrew 51A (2)

Lavender 105A (2)

Pentekonter 44M (1)

Provider 71A (1)

Acadia 165A (2)

Depender 161A (1)

NS order two more Dependers

New Sparta have ordered two more Depender 161As. The ships are officially Multi-Role Combat Support ships though their real role is said to be intelligence gathering including sigint and elint. Both ships will have e-Core family engines like 161-106 Illicit. NS say that the five earlier ships will also receive e-Core engines during an upgrade later in the decade.

It is thought the two ships will be built one a year over the next two ship building plans.

Dino SS to be policed by Dino Investigation Service (DIS)

The Dino SS has long been criticised for being a law onto it's self, in theory it polices itself though in practice the Dino Army has had to step in from time to time, with resulting conflict. Censor Ronald has announced the creation of the Dino Investigation Service (DIS) whose main role will be to keep the Dino SS under control.

DIS' authority comes directly from Ronald, and considering most of the DSS revere him as a living god, it means DIS will likely be tolerated by the DSS. DIS is expected to become operational by the end of the year.

Clones to test Uncloned Space Fighter

The Clones have announced they are going to imminently test a new UCV which has unmanned combat capabilities. The USF (or Uncloned Space Fighter) is said to be highly agile and also capable of travelling at up to 200c. A Clone Space Navy source said the USF is a pure development type though it was hoped it would lead to a production combat UCV later in the decade.

The USF test will include a superluminal trip and then combat with Sprite-NG drones. 

WSF 13 BPT (2796)

The Clone drone test goes wrong.

Situation Room (2795)

The Clones begin a test of their new autonomous combat drone spaceship.

NS discuss future of Isometric

The Isometric 41A is one of the mainstays of the NS patrol fleet though the oldest ship SS Cambrian will be twenty years old next year. Today NS outlined their plans for the future of the type. Fans of the Isometric will be glad to know NS now plan to keep the Isometric in service until the 2140s.

The Isometric will begin it's Multi-Update Life Extension (MULE) next year. This will bring the Isometric up to a new improved specification and extend the type's fatigue life into the 2130s. The later Freedom 41B class will also receive an upgrade to bring them to the same standard as the Isometric. It is likely NS will merge the two classes into a Type 41M though at the moment this has not been confirmed.

NS monitor Terrasaur situation

New Sparta has said it is monitoring the fast developing situation at the edge of DTA space with the Terrasaurs destroying a Voth ship (a Kalahati Tuul, incidentally a former DDS ship) and attacking a Dinomark. While it is not thought the Terrasaurs will attack NS, President Windscorpion said some prudent precautions will be made.

Six ships will depart next week to strengthen the Raegris fleet, the Raegris' astral position means they could be affected by any DTA-Terrasaur war. NS will also strengthen it's patrols along the UNP-DTA border. It is thought the same frequency of patrols will take place but with more powerful ships. A field hospital on New Jakarta, the closest UNP planet to the border with the DTA will be activated and extra supplies of military equipment prepared in nearby depots. Windy said the NS alert status will remain at AMBER.

The Challenge (2794)

The Dinos battle the mighty Lord Grell.

Sons on Anna-Key (2793)

The Terrasaurs launch a devastating attack on the Voth.

Terrasaurs destroy Voth ship

The Terrasaurs have destroyed a Voth Kalahati Tuul in an unprovoked attack on the edge of Voth space. The Voth ship had been on patrol after recent reports of Terrasaur activity. The ship was completely destroyed with no survivors. A Dinomark in the area also came under attack when it arrived to investigate. The ship took on heavy damage with several casualties including it's commanding officer though was able to escape.

The Dinos have raised their alert status to the second highest level. The Senate will hold an emergency session later today. A Dino Army source said this could be the start of a war between the DTA and the Terrasaurs.

The Butcher (2792)

Ronald battles an Acheron demon made from steel.

Thank You (2791)

Ronald tells how he faced the Esoteric Knights of Rix in an Acheron hellscape.

NS agree to sell LRM-20 to Molab

Last year Molab requested LRM-20 interstellar missiles from New Sparta but were turned down as NS did not want to anger the Clones at the time. However, a second Molab request made this week has been accepted by NS. Molab will buy thirty mobile launchers and ninety LRM-20 missiles plus ten training rounds which are limited to atmospheric operation. The missiles will be conventionally armed.

The Clones will likely condemn the move but an NS source said that the Clones are already deploying CSM to the parts of the Clone Star Empire where the Free Eritran States are in range. NS said that they could not stand by while their Eritran allies were threatened. The first LRMs are expected on Molab next year with operational capability in 2123.

K75 leaves CDF service

One of the first Clone indigenous aviation designs was the T-75 (now K75) Student basic trainer. A simple aircraft designed at the same time as the A-22 COIN attack aircraft, one major drawback of the type - especially as it was a trainer - was that early variants were rather difficult to fly. Even later variants had a number of vices which resulted in many accidents. Many A-22s were modified as suicide attack planes during the First Clone War, a CAF joke at the time was that the T-75 was already one!

The Clone Air Force has now completed the replacement of the K75 with the K76 Graduate, which is based on the K85NT platform, and a much more refined type. The final K75 squadron, part of the Sandworld National Airforce, was disbanded yesterday.

Clone Navy launches third Walrus and holds impressive SeaCSM test

The Clone Navy has launched the third of a planned six Walrus ballistic missile submarines. The submarine is due to enter service next year. Once it does then the elderly conventional boat CNSS Warhammer will revert to being a trials submarine only instead of an auxiliary part of the strategic attack force.

To celebrate the launch of the third Walrus, the Clone Navy held a powerful demonstration of it's interstellar-attack capabilities. One of the in-service Walrus launched two SeaCSMs, two days later the two missiles hit separate asteroid targets over seven light years away from Cloneworld. The two targets were two light years apart. A CN source said that each Walrus can carry up to 12 SeaCSMs, each able to hit a separate target. An NS source said that in practice Walrus carry a mixture of SeaCSM and SeaGale SLBMs.

UV278 : Twin Princes of Hell

• Fill That Buffer - Tiger meets his new First Officer.
• A Set Of Facts - Red Blade and company encounter the Terrasaurs.
• Remember The Date - DM17 and the Repicans battle a Terrasaur scout ship.
• Hair Apparent - The Ophir and LORD Gibson work together for the first time.
• Took Over - Can Redjec's mad plan to destroy Proxima Central be foiled?
• Old People's Music - Ronald begins the tale about how he got his mighty sword.

Fleet News (02/03/21)

Two new ships have joined the fleet this month. 51-116 Casandra is the latest Corkscrew 51A destroyer to be built. 57-201 Violet is the first ship in the second version of the Pentekonter Protector, known as the Violet 57B.

35-104 Lynx has left service to begin it's rebuild as the first Lynx 35M. The Deterrence 53A light patrol ship 53-129 Meols has been withdrawn due to fatigue issues.