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?