Other Fleet News (31/05/11)

• The Dinos full-rate construction continues with 3 Dinomark PTs and 3 Dinomark XTs being added to the fleet. It is expected that production may slow slightly over the rest of the year. One XT has returned to the civilian reserve.
• The Bolitic Confederacy has taken advantage of the lull in fighting to finish 1 Snarl and 2 Meltinans, though with the war of succession set to resume soon these might be the last new ships for awhile.
• Molab have received an Isometric-E and Putri 500 2 Pentekonter-Es as the Raegris continue full-rate export production.

HCS announce Gale Mobile

The HCS have announced that a road mobile version of its Gale-III ICBM (which also forms the booster stage of the CSM) has begun testing. Three test launches will take place over the next 12 months ahead of an expected entry into service late next year. Its not known how many Gale Mobiles (as it will be called according to sources) will be built and deployed or what they will be armed with though HCS watchers say it will be a mixture of nuclear and conventional warheads.

Gale Mobile is said to be a key part of the HCS' "Day 2 Fightback" capability which is the ability to strike back against an invading force who have landed troops on Cloneworld. A road mobile version of CSM is also expected as the missile has the same dimensions as a normal Gale-III though the HCS have not mentioned any plans yet.

In other Gale news the HCS say by the end of 2111 40% of its silo ring around the Ailier Central District (which comprises the capital and HCS GHQ) will have converted from Gale-IIB to the new missile.

• The DDS' 5 Kingfisher 39B destroyers, Kalahati Tuuls returned to service to fill gaps during the war, will be kept in service until September when they will then be prepared for sale to the Aritans.
• The Dinos (on behalf of the DTA) have begun negotiations with the DDS for the purchase of no less than 12 Olympus-E carriers in a huge 8.1 billion zark deal. It is expected the Dinos will operate 7 themselves with the rest shared among other DTA nations who will operate the Ferret UCV.

167/3

Violence For The Sake Of It!
Malanson is confronted by SS-CINT.

Dr Forbidden : Announcing Project Trapezium

Dr Forbidden, head of DDS Research

I am very pleased to be able to announce Project Trapezium, the latest major project begun by DDS Research, which aims to completely revolutionize the way ships protect themselves from enemy fire.

Project Trapezium's genesis was in the technology debriefings we held during and after the ABBO War. During major incidents such as a ship being lost we would examine the available telemetry from the ship and other sources to see how the technology performed and if we could learn anything from it. It was during one of these debriefings when we examined how a ship's shields failed during an ABBO onslaught, its 360 CIWS continued to operate but eventually was overwhelmed and the ship was lost. A junior member of our party asked why couldn't the CIWS adapt to become a secondary set of shields or even the remaining shield power become a secondary CIWS. None of us could answer but all of us agreed it should happen!

So that is what Project Trapezium is, we are starting again with the idea of ship self-defence and looking how shields, CIWS and armour can work together instead of separately. EA-X 2.0 which aims to recycle absorbed enemy energy discharges for offensive or defensive purposes will also come under this project.

We have no time frame for Trapezium yet but i expect that it will begin to influence ship design in the latter part of this decade. We will look at new shield methods which can direct the bulk of defensive power where needed instead of uniformly around the ship (and hence most of the power is wasted). Maybe shields and CIWS will merge into a new technology, supported by EA-X and other armour systems. Its still early days of course but i expect Trapezium will change how the DDS defends itself quite radically in years to come.

Clones attack rebel base in Rendrial 4 system

The Clones have said they have successfully attacked a major base of anti-HCS rebels on a planet in the Rendrial 4 system, a minor part of CSE-E. The rebels are said to be past of an Eritran group who have attacked HCS bases and personnel on Austini 55, Woloron 12 and Rendrial 4 over the past couple of years.

The HCS have accused the Free Eritran States of covertly funding their ethnic cousins though its unknown if any proof into these accusations, which Molab has denied, were found.

Remedians sign launch order for Corkscrew 51A

The Remedians have signed the launch order for the next generation DDS medium combatant the Corkscrew 51A sloop (the ship's Type designation 51 also being unveiled finally after much speculation). The Remedians have ordered 5 of the ships for delivery from 2114, these are expected to be the first 5 built and will be delivered between 2114 and 2116.

They will replace the 6 Perimpaz 39A destroyers currently in service with the Remedian Customs Police Patrol (RCPP) though it is thought the Corkscrews will be a full part of the DDS fleet with the RCPP disbanding and being replaced by the Remedian Defence Squadron of the DDS fleet.

DDS Commander AP is visiting the Remedians and was present at the contract signing, he said the Corkscrew would be a key part of the DDS fleet in the decades to come.

• AP also gave the strongest indication yet that the DDS will be getting a new cruiser after all despite the various cancelled projects like Chrysalis. He said that the Type 1X Project was exactly what the DDS needs to build and said he would be presented with a full business case soon by the DDS fleet. He also said that construction of the prototype could begin as early as next year.