CDF View : What this tells us about the Rectoids

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

The massive arms deal between the Clones and the Rectoids has risen many eyebrows (not that Clones have eyebrows) but one thing struck me as i analysed the details of the sale.

Not about the Clones, who will benefit from such a huge injection of cash and work, but from the Rectoids. First of all lets recap what we know about the order, it was for Kelsan KS bombers, Nybble NL drones and CSM (both the space and land launched versions). There are some other minor items included in the same but the bulk of the sale involves these systems.

To me it screams that the Rectoids are short of people. Most of the weapons are either drones or missiles. The losses of the DDS war of course ran into the billions so it is likely that the Rectoids are short of manpower for their military hence the need to force multiply in this way. When it comes to a conflict involving the Rectoids this needs to be taken into account. How many further losses can the Rectoids take right now?

Wayne King-Meiouf : Rectoid Roundtable

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

The news of the link up between the Clones and Rectoids is one of the biggest news stories of the year so i decided i would bring together my fellow analysts on this site, Keith Remadra (Clones) and Dralson (Dinos) to discuss it.

Wayne King-Meiouf : Now be honest, neither of you could have predicted this in your wildest dreams.

Keith Remadra : Indeed so as i said in my comment piece, its extra ordinary.

Dralson : Yes i agree, though i did think the Clones would have to do something bold because of the looming Eritran threat.

WKM : Yes the pressure was starting to mount on the Clones, i had heard rumblings in the army that the Eritrans had to be faced down. Oojok was starting to feel the need to act though we all thought it would just be a re-militarisation of the weak CSE-E.

KR : No one considered the Rectoids, they are a voice of the past it seemed. Although we're only talking 8-10 years ago of course, it seems like an eternity since they were battling the DDS.

DR : Is this about the DDS more than the Clones do you think, is this the first step in an eventual Rectoid strategy to fight back against the DDS. The Rectoids have a lot to avenge of course, the near extinction of their home planet!

KR : Ironically though if some sources are to be believed Megara was responsible for the billions of deaths on Recta and he was a HCS agent, although by 2105 his allegiances are vague.

DR : Yes there have been rumours about the ODS being his handlers by then, and behind him being on the DDS mission into Rectoid space. However he acted on his own bat in the end.

WKM : I suspect the name Megara will not be mentioned at the summit between Oojok and the Rectoid leader [laughter]. I'm not sure its 100% about the DDS but the Rectoids likely do want to get involved in local space again. Could this bring the other 7 Sa Sao into the Clone orbit too? Keith?

Rectoid ships

KR : Thats the billion zark question. Of course up until now the only Clone dealings with the 7SS was their war against the Xenon. I understand the Xenon are a rather fringe faction in the 7SS whom even the other factions do not like that much. The Argon could be interested, they have had their beef with the DDS before too.

DR : This must be the nightmare scenario for the DDS. They've begun gearing up for a war with the Tarbotians, the only likely enemy they thought in the short to medium term and now the Rectoids and maybe other 7 Sa Sao have entered the mix. Will this change the DDS focus Wayne?

WKM : Possibly but not for awhile, the DDS are investing heavily in defences against the Tarbotians. Multi-billion zark projects can't be stopped and moved just like that. I think they will consider this new threat but will risk it being more a medium term issue.

KR : I think it is a medium term issue, the Rectoids from what i can gather are still rebuilding after the DDS war. They won't be in any position to threaten the DDS militarily for a good 5-8 years yet. However our data of the Rectoids is often scant and based on fifth or sixth or more parties. Maybe they are stronger than we think, its hard to know. Ironically a link up with the Clones will help open up the Rectoids, i'm sure the DDS and Dino intelligence services are already dusting off all of their Clone contacts and targets.

WKM : Finally how much should the DDS be concerned by a Clone-Rectoid alliance?

Rectoid

DR : The Eritrans must be the most concerned though the DDS too. You know when i left the Dino Army in 2101 a friend of mine told me i really should visit the UNP and gave me a list of things to see, one of them was the Sulphur Range on New Britannia...

KR : Yes, though the destruction of New Britannia was probably something that was going to happen sooner or later because of the geological flaws in the planet which the Rectoids exploited. That is another example of their danger though, no one knew about the planet's flaws, not even the millions who lived on it. The Rectoids are a danger and their proximity to the DDS will be a looming strategic threat. Not one the DDS has to lose too much sleep at the moment but it is definitely one that will feature heavily in the late 2110s and into the next decade.

DR : I should add, the Dinos need to be concerned too. The Rectoids got involved with the mysterious Cabal on Dino-Land in the last decade and tried to detonate nuclear weapons under major Dino cities. We've all got something new to worry about!

WKM : Thank you my friends, i think that is something everyone can agree with.

CDF View : This changes everything

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

In a galaxy thats increasingly porous secrets and intelligence wise the news of talks and diplomatic relations between the Clones and Rectoids came as a genuine shock to everyone. There were not even any rumours of rumours of such talks taking place. This indicates the vital importance Oojok places on the link-up with the Rectoids, he likely only involved enough people that you could count on a frostbitten hand.

What i am hearing now is that a mutual defence pact and arms sales to the Rectoids are in the bag and will be formally announced when Oojok meets the Rectoid leader (time and place total secret at the moment). The arms sales will be juicy, one contact told me it could be in the tens of billions. What the Rectoids are buying is unknown but the operators of the factory that makes CSM and CSM-S has just put up a lot of job vacancies...

The mutual defence pact is the key aspect though, the Rectoids will be a very important ally for the Clones on a flank of their empire that looks the weakest. The Eritrans will now face a potential enemy on their other flank which will mean they will have to allocate forces away from the Clone flank. CDF ships and troops may also use Rectoid space for basing, that could be very useful indeed against the Eritrans.

For the Rectoids it also means they have a new way into the Local Group. While a new war with the DDS is not likely to be top of their list at the moment you can imagine the long term planning starts at getting a foothold close to DDS territory.

It all changes now, it cannot be overemphasised how massive the announcement made the Clone diplomatic service was this morning.

CDF View : The Clones are starting to fear the Eritrans

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

(I wrote the bulk of this piece before the news that broke today of yet another sale of powerful warships to an Eritran fleet, it helps underline what i am writing below).

The Eastern chunk of the Clone Star Empire has for a long time been the "red-headed step child" of the empire. Isolated from the rest of the empire and led by Benito, a Clone despised by Oojok and his cabal. Now Benito has gone Oojok can no longer treat the CSE-E as "over there, out of care" (to use a Clone expression).

The problem for Oojok is that there is a looming threat on CSE-E's border, not from the Utrek but from the Free Eritran States. These Eritrans led by Molab have not disguised their desire to kick the Clones out of the CSE-E which was built on the old Eritran Trade Federation which the Clones invaded and crushed in the late 2090s.

The Free Eritran States were then isolated Eritran colonies with no military power or influence but over the years they have built their economies and bought heavily in military potential and recently have become major DDS allies with access to the latest weapon technologies.

If we look at the near future (mid-2115 say) then the Free Eritran States could field a formidable fleet headed by 2 Yel'Temas, 6 Isometrics and 18 Pentekonters backed up by over 20 updated Kalahati Tuuls. Such a fleet would take some stopping especially as the CSE-E has tended to be where CDF cuts have been felt first and hardest.

Now the Eritran amphibious and land forces have lagged behind somewhat so they would be unlikely to beat the Clones even if they swept the fleet away. The Clones would be able to hold out until reinforcements came but the Eritran fleet is now powerful enough that many consider it superior to the CSE-E fleet it is up against.

Will the Eritrans attack? I think they want to, but not before 2120. They have virtually no ground attack or amphibious capability plus their TPMs depend on DDS codes which would likely be withdrawn if the Eritrans launched a surprise attack. The problem for the Clones is that they will now forced to strengthen their fleet and defences in CSE-E and at a time of fragile Clone economic growth and defence budget pressures that is not something they want to have to do right now.

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...

HCS View : The end of the HCS?

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

We could be about to see the end of the HCS. No don't get too excited DDS fans, i am talking about the name not the massive Clone war machine. My sources on Cloneworld are telling me that Oojok wants to get rid of the HCS name which is a historic legacy of the earliest days of the Clone Wars.

To recap HCS means Hospital Carnage Squad (though the full name never gets used these days). The name dates from the days of Clone expulsion from the fertile western continent of Cloneworld to the (then) wild east. The Human settlers forced the Clones to walk in terrible conditions in which thousands of Clones died. As a revenge a former imperial Clone commander (later known as Captain Clone) led a number of fellow ex-soldiers to attack a Human hospital, slaughtering dozens of Humans.

That is where the HCS name came from and indeed those soldiers formed the basis of the first unit of the new Clone army. Oojok has finally decided to get rid of the HCS name which is now obsolete and also has a great deal of baggage attached to it (including the association with Captain Clone who Oojok would rather people forgot about).

And the new name is... well actually i have heard two different versions. Oojok has not decided on the new name yet but will announce it soon. We will report it here of course.

HCS View : Lets be honest we are better off without Benito!

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

After the tears shed at his funeral the various leaders are returning home. Now let the truth be said : we are better off without Benito!

Apart from his loyalists and fellow travellers in his often-bizarre pseudo-fascist ideology few will truly mourn Benito. Oojok of course will be glad he is gone and the capable but dull Marcus is in his place but also the DDS and other powers will be glad Benito has gone. He was a loose cannon who made everything more complicated...

If the Clones were involved in an alliance or talks with someone then Benito would seek to stick his oar in and try and sabotage the proceedings if he was not given the "respect" he thought he was due (which was a lot). His foolish attacks on Kontai and Unatel Gamma 504 underlined his "bull in a china shop" approach to astral-politics. Invade an ally of the DDS then worry about the consequences...

Now he has gone, Oojok will be careful to include Marcus in matters of interest but the DDS, DTA and others will appreciate the streamlined point of contact in the Clone Star Empire now...

HCS View : What the HCS are really after?

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

Forget the story about the Clones trying to buy Dino worm drives, the Dinos won't sell them and the Clones know it (but of course there is no harm in asking). The Clones are desperate for ships with improved performance though and my sources are telling me that the Clones could well buy traditional Dino propulsion systems.

Though not quite as good as the DDS Dino hyperspace drives and engines have taken ships up to near 900c. This is much faster than what the HCS currently possess in their fleet (their fastest ship is the Soulaki SLBK which is alleged to be able to reach 730c - it struggles to best 680c in reality) and while worm drive is the dream having ships that can reach 900c would be a great strategic boost to the empire.

The Clones have enquired about both the Ultraburst and Pulseburst engine series which power the Dinomark RS and PT respectively and my sources tell me that a sale of around 20 Pulseburst engines could be on.

But these engines would likely need to be put in a new class of ship. The Clones do not have a ship of the right size and stressed strongly enough to allow these engines to push a ship to 900c. They could modify the Shark perhaps but it will be easier to build something new around these engines (2 would be used per ship i think, like on the PT).

The HCS have already begun design studies for a new class of light cruiser that can reach 900c. These ships would come between the Molentic Tuul and Shark in size, be well armed and well equipped with communications and reconnaissance equipment. The HCS want around 8 or 9 of these ships which fits well if the Clones buy 20 Pulseburst, they will need a couple for training and engineering purposes. It will all depend on the Clones being able to buy the engines, its quite likely that after tomorrow's funeral on Austini 55 Oojok and El Diablo will be discussing this deal.

HCS View : Benito's legacy

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

The death of Benito has caused shockwaves across the Clone Star Empire. Benito, even by his enemies, is acknowledged as the last surviving Clone icon of the Clone Wars and the early HCS and now he is gone too.

Every young clone and soldier knows the stories of the epic tank battles Benito led in the battles against the DDS, his conquest of New Rome and how he somehow managed to survive to lead the only successful rebellion against the Church of Oojok. Benito is already a legend to many.

But a legend is probably how many high up in the HCS and Clone Star Empire are happy for Benito to be, a legend cannot interfere with the present and future. Benito and his half of the empire have become an ever larger thorn in Oojok's side and the development of the CSE.

Things won't change overnight but i suspect the two halves of the empire will become more tightly integrated, with West and East becoming mostly an administrative distinction. Marcus will likely be the new Emperor, he will be the face most acceptable to the many loyalists of Benito (many of whom still are highly suspicious of Oojok and the church). His deputy will be the interesting choice, i suspect it could be Terin, son of Oojok. It is acknowledged that the elder son Wolkapi is being groomed as Oojok's eventual successor but until now Terin has not had much of a role in his father's empire.

From all reports though he is highly intelligent and able (while Wolkapi has a rather insipid reputation for a lack of imagination, sadism and violence) and he would be an excellent choice. The key for Oojok will be to keep Benito's loyalists sweet, perhaps some of the HCS cutbacks could be reversed over in the East soon?

HCS View : Splitting the HCS into 3?

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

The HCS have talked about a massive reorganisation and decentralisation for some time, and they are talking about it again but i think this time they mean it.

The plans for the HCS are interesting, driven by the need to improve the land forces of the Clone Star Empire as much as saving money (for a change). The Clones have finally realised that a massive monolith army with millions of men and tens of thousands of tanks is no longer needed and is wasting a huge amount of money.

Under the latest plans i have seen (and these are a work in progress so can change) the HCS would split into 3. The bulk of second-line and lower units would be devolved to local command to create separate defence forces known as National Territorial Armies. The core of front-line units would form a solid centre to the HCS Army and a rapid reaction force. These two new forces are well known but the third new force was new to me.

This would be the HCS Marines, forces optimised for amphibious operations. This should not be confused with the HCS Navy's own small marines unit and the naming issue may need to be looked at. This is an interesting development though and hopefully will be further fleshed out in the weeks and months to come.

HCS View : Don't panic yet

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

News of the Clone Star Empire's strategic link-up with the Utrek Federation (a fancy way of saying the Utrek have bought 3 very strategic locations for listening posts in return for a ton of cash) is a bit of a surprise indeed. Not a total surprise as it was fairly common knowledge that the Clones were looking for a partner as they did in the early 2100s during the previous economic crisis when they were bailed out by the Dinos.

This one may be more serious, the Dinos were after (and achieved) a complete reboot of their army using HCS equipment whereas the Utrek appear to be wanting strategic locations for "intelligence" stations. Paragon, the first of the 3 locations to be revealed, is perfectly placed for powerful sensor suites and signal analysis of both DDS Centre and DDS South...

But the DDS should not panic yet, the Utrek may now find gathering intelligence easier but its not the end of the world. The Utrek are still involved in their war with the Mantae and although that is currently fairly low-level we should not forget that 6% of Utrek territory is currently held by the Mantae so that war has still a long way to go. It will be no surprise to the DDS that the Utrek are still interested in them strategically, but the DDS beat the Utrek twice in two wars in the last decade and the DDS is much stronger than it was since the last war. The Utrek, even if the Mantae war ended now, would take over a decade to recover.

The astral-political situation has got more complicated but in many ways in the short term its less of a concern for the DDS as the Clones will be stabilised with the cash injection. In the medium to long term well thats a different story...

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 View : Rebooting the exports market

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

The HCS Exports Agency recently held a conference on Cloneworld between the Clone government, agency officials and representatives from major suppliers like CCA. The theme of the conference was how to arrest the slide in income from military export sales...

Revenues dipped 3% last year, this may not seem much to worry about but the revenues are forecast to dip another 7% this year. The HCS needs this money to fund new weapon development and help plug holes in its budget caused by the crumbling economy of the Clone Star Empire and budget cuts, especially as these cuts are getting more severe.

The problem for the HCS Exports Agency is that the easy pickings are fairly saturated now, they are having to go further afield to find new customers as existing customers have bought what they want for the moment. Competition from the DDS is also increasing with the DDS now offering a number of aircraft as well as spacecraft and will soon offer land weapons too. Although the specs of most export grade equipment are fairly similar the DDS is perceived as being more technologically advanced and thus a better bet...

How to turn this around then? Well one idea already in progress is to improve relations with the DTA and use them as a base for approaching new markets, another is to expand the range of products on sale especially in the budget market. The hundreds of withdrawn HCSAF aircraft for example will soon be on the market, the HCS are looking into refurbishment and update packages for the F-40 which it is hoped could sell well.

The key way to improve the image of HCS weapons will be to improve the technology. Key to this is TPMs, which are sexy even if the sale of them is highly restricted. Customers buy into the DDS system in the hope that one day the technology will cascade down to themselves (as will be likely one day with TPM-1 level weapons). The HCS need TPM-like weapons not just for themselves but for their brand. Unfortunately Clone attempts to develop similar weapons have so far failed to come to fruition. Even the transfer of TPM technology to the Dinos has not eased matters. As part of the transfer agreement all TPMs built by both sides are recorded in a database so can be tracked at all times (the public part of the database is rather vague but it can help stop missiles disappearing). The Bolitic did get hold of a missile but this was an unexploded round used in the war (and they couldn't reverse engineer it). These are not easy to come by. Even if the DTA form a joint company with the Clones then Dino-TPM tech could not be shared even if the Dinos wanted (and they wouldn't).

So the HCS must get TPMs the hard way, indeed turning around the whole exports sector is going to be hard work. But the HCS need to do it, the need for this revenue is getting more marked every day.

HCS View : Its a bluff (probably...)

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

The "leak" detailing HCS plans to withdraw 2 legions from an already stretched HCS-E i find suspicious. It just doesn't seem right to me which is why i doubt its true, though the HCS are looking for further cost savings.

So why this "leak"? Its no secret that Oojok and Benito distrust each other though Oojok has said he is happy to rule the empire in partnership (especially as his "half" is more like 70%). I am of the opinion the "leak" was a deliberate attempt to anger Benito by Oojok's camp to see how he would react.

If thats true then why? Is Oojok planning to test Benito in other ways? Is he out to get rid of Benito once and for all? I can't see the latter as the last thing the Clone Star Empire needs right now is a civil war but then again rationality sometimes is the first casualty when it comes to internal power struggles...

HCS View : What is happening to the Clones?

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

I have been following the Clone Star Empire for years but its surprising these days, as the Clone Wars disappears further into the past, that the Clones have slipped away from Terran attention. Even the Benito coup and the invasion of various Eritran planets hasn't grabbed the wider public attention as earlier events would have.

Suddenly however friends, family and colleagues have been asking me about the Clones and what exactly is going on with them? Is the CSE on the verge of collapse? Are they facing economic oblivion?

Well the simple answer is no but it is serious, however not as serious as the situation the CSE was in around 10 years ago (thats when things got so tight for the HCS they had to resort to crime to try and bring funding in!)

The main problem for the Clones is that their economic is too cyclic and unstable, big peaks followed by equally big troughs, they haven't yet found a way to stabilise their economy and i think the main reason for that is that the CSE simply doesn't work. The empire is probably too big and too varied to make any sense from an economic, strategic and even cultural sense and costs a huge amount to maintain and protect. This is a byproduct of the manic expansion of the CSE during the Clone Wars. No strategic thought was given to how the empire should expand, the object was to expand as quickly as possible. While you can rely on booty bought in from your conquests that works, however when the booty is spent and replaced with running costs then you run into trouble.

So what is the answer? I suspect the HCS will simply have to swallow its budget cut medicine and just wait for the next upturn. Even with the new cuts the HCS will still be a vast military machine, among the best in the known galaxy, though the HCS will likely be put into a firmly a defensive posture which of course is good news for smaller nations along the CSE's borders. The empire won't collapse, though it will suffer.

One possible answer could be to decentralise the CSE, split it into semi-independent mini-empires on the CSE-E model. This was something Oojok did try once before, though did not allow enough time to see if it can work or not. In smaller more cohesive chunks the CSE might work. It would be a risk but it could be the long-term sustainable model the CSE desperately needs.

HCS View : A tale of two infrastructures

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

With the DDS embarking on some major infrastructure projects including their new GHQ and another major project i can't mention (it will be made public in a day or two anyway) i thought it might be interesting to compare the DDS who are willing and able to put their money and effort into maintaining vital infrastructure with the HCS who basically can't and won't.

The HCS Communications Network is in serious trouble. A major upgrade should have occurred over 10 years ago but for various reasons including severe economic difficulties and civil war the upgrade has not taken place. Now a network already creaking in the early 2100s is in serious danger of collapse. Now the HCS (and DDS for that matter) can utilise commercial network bandwidth in "emergency situations" (such as war or in the event of a major node failure). The Clones have been using between 30-40% of the Clone commercial network all the time for the last year now. Suffice to say the commercial broadcasters and indeed the public are not that happy about this.

The problem for the Clones is that they need to virtually start again with their network and as you can imagine the cost of this is vast. 32 billion zarks is a recent quote i have seen for a project that could last 15 years. That massive cost would have to come out of the already reduced HCS budget and they simply won't do it.

Instead the HCS have embarked on a series of smaller projects (known sarcastically in the Clone media as "sticking plaster projects"). 117 million zarks have been spent so far on a dozen small scale projects but they are just delaying the inevitable, a network crash could happen in a couple of years.

The Clones do know how serious the situation is, a more substantial project said to cost around 2.3 billion zarks is due to start next year to replace the backbone network between Cloneworld and 3 other core planets as well as parts of the main databus on Cloneworld itself. The Clones have also just signed a 157 million zark contract with a Terran company for improved data compression multiplexers and software.

These projects will just delay the inevitable though, and a war could cause an immediate collapse. The DDS completely replace their network every 10-12 years (the next cycle is due to begin in 2117) something the HCS should have done too. Of course this would mean less money for spaceships and other shiny toys.

But all these shiny toys are fairly useless without constant data...

HCS View : HCS + DTA = Export Win?

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

When Oojok visited Dino-Land he met with all the usual bigwigs but maybe the most important meeting was held between the head of the HCS Exports Agency and a DTA team. Although nothing has yet been announced or set in stone i understand that the HCS are keen to link up with the DTA and form a viable competitor to the DDS Exports juggernaut.

Regions like the Rim Worlds and the Free Eritran States are largely sated now (though there will of course be follow-on orders in years to come) the only untapped market within reach are the many planets beyond DTA and Bolitic space and near to the edge of the Tarbot Empire. The problem for the Clones is these places are a long way off for them because of a lack of worm drive and no friendly ports nearby. Its thought the Clones have tried to send a ship out that way to "explore" but it had to turn back to beg the Voth to be allowed to dock in orbit to make some repairs. Oojok has told the export agency they need to increase sales by a large amount to help fill the gaps caused by defence cuts.

The DTA are well placed to exploit this region of space with their bases on Voth and other planets but do not have much of an exports portfolio. The HCS however have a full-spectrum portfolio and can sell anything from pistols to space battleships. The HCS already co-operate with the Dinos in some land weapons too like the T-55ZDM.

Thus i expect the DTA to form a joint company with the HCS Exports Agency and use its advantages to help sell Clone weapons. The only sticking point is the DTA cut in any deals i understand. Within a few months the DDS could be facing some serious competition.

HCS View : The strain of full-spectrum

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

So the air force have announced their cuts, i believe the Space Navy will be next this week and the army will wait until next week. However the brunt of the cuts are being suffered by the navy and air force (though the army cuts will seem deep too, but the operative word will be "seem" but thats a topic for another day...)

Instead I thought it would be interesting to comment on why the HCS are having to make these cuts, the HCS is simply too damn big.

The air force cuts must be eye opening to casual observers, the HCSAF stands to lose over 600 fighters in real terms once aircraft are withdrawn and replacement programmes cut. The entire DDSAF currently has 124 jet fighters. However one should not compare the DDS and HCS air forces too much. The DDSAF (and army) are support arms to provide an expeditionary capability and provide local defence, the main military arm of the DDS is the fleet. The HCS on the other hand is a vast full-spectrum military that ranges from nuclear missiles to infantry, all in large numbers.

That is because the DDS and Clone Star Empire are very different organisations and thus require very different militaries. The DDS/UNP is a voluntary organisation. If a member world wishes to leave then they can. Obviously the DDS would not be pleased but they wouldn't stand in the way of the democratic process. By comparison the CSE is an imperial construct. If a member world wishes to leave then a legion would be landed outside of the capital to persuade them to change their minds.

Much of the HCS war potential is taken up with guarding the empire, the Space Navy from exterior threats but much of the other 3 arms concentrates on internal threats, keeping an empire of billions of subjects under control. This requires a vast armed forces : thousands of aircraft, thousands of tanks, millions of men, support networks, bases, communications, reconnaissance... and this does not come cheap.

In the past the CSE partially funded the HCS through the booty of conquered worlds, unfortunately the rich pickings have all gone now. Recent additions like Lornaca Melnig, Kontai and Unatel Gamma are not rich worlds and are probably a net loss to the CSE. Thus the HCS is probably going to have to get used to a smaller budget and shrink, whilst at the same time maintaining its amazing full-spectrum spread. So how can this be achieved?

I think it can be achieved through ever greater use of drones. The HCSAF was late to the UAS party but is steadily building a powerful fleet of surveillance, reconnaissance and attack drones. The HCS need to greatly improve their communications and data handling systems, which then will bring us to the paradox. In order to be able to truly shrink the HCS (these cuts are only tinkering) the Clones need to invest heavily in its networks and processing. Unfortunately these are areas the Clones have neglected in order to afford shiny pointy toys.

This addiction to massive fleets of warplanes and tanks is a legacy of the Clone Wars. Unless the Clones can break the addiction and properly rebuild as a much smaller, agile, info-rich force then they will continue to face the burden of maintaining and operating their vast fleets of toys.

HCS View : The Cloneworld Navy dodges a bullet

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

So now we know something about the cuts the HCS are going to suffer over the next 6 years. The HCS Navy have been the first to announce what they are going to do, and it is interesting that in the short term the Cloneworld fleet of the HCSN is going to end up quite a bit better off...

It was expected that the HCSN was going to abandon plans to establish blue water fleets on Austini 55 and Aquaworld and concentrate on Cloneworld. The primary mission of the navy is now to support the strategic deterrent and provide a means of fighting back against an invader. This is why there has been a lot of effort (and zarks) spent on aircraft carriers, stand-off weapons and in a few years ballistic missiles. Those missions have been protected.

Although Cloneworld will now not get its larger "future carriers" in the short term they will gain a significant amount of war potential. A helicopter carrier (which should enter service by the end of this year) will help support amphibious operations and release more space on the compact Cloneworld class carriers for fixed wing aviation. A third carrier (which is expected by 2114) should allow the navy to maintain a carrier at sea, have one in readiness and one in maintenance.

Aviation wise the HCSN on Cloneworld has also done well, nothing has been canceled, some F-40Ns will be retired a couple of years early but that is hardly a bad thing as they are pretty obsolete already. The navy will still get its F-45Ks and will have 3 carriers to fly them off. Their submarine arm is also untouched.

Therefore by 2120 the HCSN on Cloneworld will be able to deploy a serious amount of combat power to support, protect and supplement its key weapon (which of course will not be affected by any cuts) : the sea-launched CSM. Plans for blue water navies elsewhere are gone but the navy has managed to hang onto and protect its primary reason to exist.

HCS View : The pain to come

Introducing our new contributor on HCS affairs Keith Remadra. Unfortunately General Garendin will no longer be able to comment on HCS affairs for us but Remadra is a fine replacement. He has been an expert on Clone and HCS affairs for decades, servicing at the UNP during the Clone Wars as chief advisor to the Security Council on Clone affairs. From 2105 to 2109 he served as advisor to the military attache at the re-opened Proximan embassy on Cloneworld and now has taken up a position at Solaris State University in the Department of Astral-Politics.

The Clone economy is in trouble, that much we all know. What is less clear is what the Clones are going to do about it. Recent leaks have indicated that massive cuts in budgets will be needed to rein in the budget deficit, one figure that seems to be gaining favour is a 10% cut in department budgets across the board followed by zero growth for the next 5 years. This cut and budget freeze would apply to the defence budget.

So the HCS could be facing a big cut in its budget followed by 5 years of no-growth, in other words the HCS will have to make do with 90% of their current budget for the next 6 years. This seems harsh but it must be remembered that the budget has been increasing for years, indeed the cuts will mean the budget is reduced down to the level in 2107, not exactly the end of the empire then.

But the cuts required will be hard and there is a lot of debate as to what will be cut. Collating these various sources i think we can be fairly certain on the following taking place.

• The HCS will lose around 35 regiments, all 4 regiment brigades will be reduced to 3 regiment strength (the majority). Most cuts will be infantry regiments. Artillery will not be cut as it has only recently been invested in.
• The withdrawal of the T-88 will be accelerated and new build like T-55ZDM2 reduced to minimum rate. The stock of AFVs in storage is likely to be further reduced thus lessening the HCS' ability to rotate AFVs.
• The F-40 may end service at the end of this decade and not the next, the F-45C programme is safe (development has been paid for now) but production may be slower. A-84 and 85 production is likely to be also slowed down. The F-47 might be reduced, especially if the HCSAF decides it has to cut combat squadrons.
• Older transport types already scheduled for retirement may go quicker, the HCSAF might seek to increase commercial company involvement in air transport tasks.
• The HCSN's future carriers will be either pushed back until the mid-2120s or canceled outright. The Austini 55 carrier might be instead given to Cloneworld. Surface warship production may be cut, no ships are likely to be withdrawn.
• The submarine fleet is likely to be unchanged, and CSM/SeaGale development will probably be left unchanged. CSM is partly funded outside of the military budget.
• The Space Navy could emerge unscathed though updates may be reduced. The Space Navy might look to see if there is scope in replacing manned ships with more drones.
• The Amphibious Warfare fleet will be untouched though older transports might be withdrawn quicker due to their more expensive maintenance needs.
• Big investment projects like the communications upgrade will be looked at though there probably arn't many things that can be done there (indeed the upgrade has been delayed for too long).
• New projects like an effort to build a credible cyber-warfare capability will be reduced or even canceled outright.
• Training and maintenance is likely to be reduced.

So the HCS will be facing reductions, luckily some big development projects like F-45C and CSM have already been paid for (though costs will remain especially in the production phase). Details about what will happen will be dribbled out later in the year. The HCS that remains will still remain an incredibly powerful arm with almost unrivaled full-spectrum capabilities but later in the decade the effect on the reduction in training, upgrades and new build will start to be keenly felt.