Victory on Delta 9

Earlier today the final ABBO stronghold was attacked by DDSAF bombers and sensor sweeps now confirm that no operational ABBO soldiers remain on Delta 9. The DDS have declared victory but it has been costly with over 6000 DDS soldiers dying in the fighting since the ABBO invasion plus 1000s of Deltan civilians. Environmental damage to the planet has also been severe with parts of Delta likely to remain irradiated wastelands for decades to come.

Now the attention is turning to Malau, a much tougher proposition but one which must be tackled. The population of the planet is being herded into dozens of "safety camps" on the planet and there is the fear the ABBOs may be planning to "cleanse" the planet or at least begin to in order to force the DDS' hand.

Other Fleet News (31/01/11)

• The Dinos have had a bumper month, they have added 3 Dinomark PTs, 4 Dinomark XTs and an SX-98 landing ship to their fleet.
• The Bolitic on the other hand are really feeling the effects of the war of succession on their warship production with many workers leaving to either join their Houses' armies or hiding. Only 1 Meltinan is reported to have been completed.
• The Porquatians have completed a Quagan 665 warship. There are reports the DDS are working with the Porquatians to offer an export version of the Quagan as part of the DDS exports portfolio.

Freedom 41B to be upgraded

The next 6 Freedom 41B frigates will be to a modified and improved standard starting with F178 which is due for completion soon. The main difference will be an ion scoop fitted under the main nose of the frigate. This gathers in ionized particles and other energy sources in space and these gathered materials are then converted into power using a pre-reactor fitted in the engineering. DDS Research think that the ion scoop could increase the range of ships by up to 8% and if successful on the Freedom will be rolled out to other ships in the fleet over the next few years.

The passive sensors and tactical systems have also been upgraded and there have been some unspecified modifications to disaster recovery. The first 6 ships in the fleet may receive these modifications late this year or early next.

• The DDS are reporting that FIDO VR capabilities are becoming vital in filling in gaps in personnel because of the war. FIDO VR allows for "off-ship" crewing using virtual reality and holographic projection if face-to-face interaction is required with "real" crew. The DDS says that this has allowed over 300 DDS crew members to return to action earlier from injury by crewing their ships remotely from a number of FIDO centres.

Media Guru
Windy finds out more about the Tarbotians' new allies.

DDS begin build-up for Malau attack?

AP has ordered the DDS South and Starbotian fleets to be put on full readiness (the so-called "24 hours alert") and has ordered 9 ships from DDS Central to re-inforce the fleet at Liberation. The DDS Amphibious Force has also been put on full alert. DDS bloggers think that an attack on the ABBO positions on Malau will occur within days of the final victory on Delta 9 which is thought to be days away now (the remaining ABBO forces are now surrounded at a stronghold near Illaton).

DDS expert Professor King-Meiouf thinks that the battle of Malau will begin by mid-February. "The cost will be very high but the DDS cannot delay it any longer. If the war rumbles on into the Spring then the ABBOs will have chance to regenerate their forces and the DDS will also be running low on cash reserves."

• The first 4 second-generation SROPS have been delivered following a delay in certification. The 76B has improvements to its docking bay, Canister TPM support and a number of other updates. 25 SROPS 76Bs are on order.

Wayne King-Meiouf : AP seeks to expand the DDS franchise

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

AP has been nothing if not energetic since he took over control of the DDS after the death of The Orchid. He has instigated a large number of changes to DDS policy and operations, usually with much play in the media thanks to his master of the dark arts Hibiscus. However one area of DDS change has been kept firmly in the background.

This has been the expansion in the Hoods and the new roles they are being found. Now the Hoods were just one faction in the DDS, many thought of them as just a bunch of geeks who couldn't accept Rotarios was dead. However AP has bought them back to centre stage in the DDS (of course he was one of the creators of the Hoods in the first place years ago and it is rumoured he is still Grand Wizard in the Order of Hoods).

The Hoods are much higher profile in the DDS and their star has risen while that of Windy Massive has waned, helped by the painful losses to WM in the war. Mysteriously WM units have borne the brunt of fighting on Delta 9 and there have been some criticisms that AP is purposely trying to weaken WM. AP has replied he does not micro-manage how DDS Army units are deployed. There may be some truth in that as Zeppelin, the head of the army, is regarded as his own man and one reason WM units have seen more fighting is that they are much better at fighting while Hoods are usually only any good in operations if the enemy cannot fight back very well such as beating up children or the disabled.

Something else which hasn't been reported very much is that AP is seeking to expand the role of the DDS in the UNP. He has offered Hood units to assist with local policing on Proxima 5. This is thought to be a pilot unit and if successful maybe one day all UNP members will employ the Hoods in internal security. AP is thought to want to remove the distinction between the DDS and the UNP. To AP the DDS is the UNP and vice versa. If he can achieve such a merger then the flow of resources and power into the DDS will be much greater, though also will be their responsibilities.