Government Support: Unlimited
Budget: 155 Mobilizational Capacity Available
+50 Total for 1 Month
-40 for 2 Months
-30 for 1 Month
-25 for 5 Months
Battles of the Lunar City-One Tunnels:
AAR by Captain Maol Tuathail
Available lunar forces after the initial attacks were reduced to approximately four thousand soldiers, with the remainder perishing in the initial exchanges and house-to-house fighting with the invader. Increased agility is certainly worth something and there has been a strong increase in the use of heavier rifles that render much of the protection of the Type 43OC suit useless weight in close contact. Continued counter-offensives along with smaller-scale tunnel attacks have managed to inflict casualties with our little force tying down what AID has reported to be two full divisions of troops from terrestrial telescope observations. Most of those have accepted the purpose of their mission with a few lamenting that now there's truly no escape but none have been willing to sell their lives cheaply.
Initial maneuvers by the Enemy were at first a major sign of tactical changes being implemented with most forces shifted back and attacks stopping as AID indicated significant movements of fleet assets. Expecting more of a conventional laser bombardment a platoon was sent up to the surface buildings to observe and ensure that nothing novel was attempted with communication lost shortly after. According to AID reports the primary weapons of their frigates are particle beams that have rendered most of the surface structures at City One irradiated blocks that can neither hold defensive formations nor offer any protection against the enemy. 3rd Platoon all died along with some units that were too close to entrances with surface counter-attacks ordered ceased in the aftermath.
Two days after cooling and a temporary operational pause, some of the more scientifically literate members managed to improvise a fully digital x-ray scanner out of available mining equipment with most of a spectrometer available for more detailed analysis. The images were imperfect from both sources with data coming in jumbled and of questionable interpretation but every bit that could be sent down through the FTLC unit would be invaluable for reverse engineering and countering the technology. The platoon recomposed of those with applicable graduate degrees was effectively held back for the upload, with then prioritizing most of the bandwidth outside some text messages to get as much information back as possible.
The troops instead were left with the technical problem of holding for at least twenty days and preferably sixty to get every scan and material analysis back home. No one on this mission did not expect to die for Dannan and at least this way the sacrifice would have more meaning than choking the invader on its blood. Defensive perimeters were re-established in the upper tunnel network with traps left for whatever bastards the invaders sent into the buildings. The enemy of course may have figured out what we were doing or just decided that keeping organized teams in their rear was too much of a burden to bear and began immediate attacks.
Ground was fought over and locally counter-attacked until frontal units ran out of ammo with several of what has been designated as "heavy" invader armor secured for analysis along with a half dozen of screaming bastards that got abandoned by their commander and taken apart as a sign for the others. Heavy corridor fighting still benefited the enemy despite every advantage as their equipment was more agile and any advantage initially conferred by the Type 43 OC was rendered impotent by improved rifles. Machine Gun fire still proved adequate to put down any example sent against the lines with a few exceptions of tougher suits rumored but not confirmed. Nuclear charge use was held off outside one instance where a team managed to infiltrate past a sizable element, trapping it in the tunnels and allowing for a comparatively clean capture after waiting for their air to deplete.
The upper complex was lost by the fourth week, leaving just the deeper complex dug out in the aftermath of the reconstruction era. There are still several kilometers of tunnels left to fight for but the unit is partially depleted of ammunition and air reserves are running lower and lower with limited scavenging from the upper floors enabled by the rotation of troops and their general hesitance to go even deeper. The narrower practically maintenance tunnels dug into the base during wartime are poorly mapped but offer perfect positioning for ambush tactics and using high dust confusion against the enemy. In high regolith conditions, invader forces seem to panic, shoot wildly, and flail uselessly without much impact. Achieving the condition is in itself difficult and requires limited grenade stockpiles but the temporary smoke-screen offered has saved several sections so far and will likely save several more.
Upload of initial scan data has been completed with the newly captured armor prioritized for scanning and upload even if it is a simple iteration on the lighter unit. The primary armor is heavier, the arms themselves are reinforced and properly mechanized with far fewer gaps in coverage along with generally thicker plating. According to the captives available the advanced vision modes in it enable some better visibility but not by much with no proper squad datalink capacity at all integrated into the model. Their air filters are renewable and far better than any of the old scrubbers on the suits, but can still degrade under use with a general increase in all-round capability. Further uploads of the new suit and helmet components are going to take another two months, it is unlikely that current positions can be held for one. The only option remaining has been a prepared surprise for the enemy once current positions are terminally over-run ensuring that nothing will await it in these tunnels.
High Flexibility Heat Pipes: The advanced high-efficiency heat pipes made of a diamondoid composite offer massive improvements in conductivity and thermal resistance. In alien use the material has been extensively mounted onto powered armor for comfort applications but its high working temperature and comparatively simple structure have allowed for rapid copying. The novel application of thin-layer diamondoids in flexible packaging offers unparalleled thermal conductivity away from reactors, for the use of radiators, and to make the next generation of space suits. Applications for it are still dependent on poor local production methods but it can revolutionize several fields and designs with ease. (New 44 AE) (Reverse Engineered)
Orbital Defensive Operations
AAR by Admiral Seosamh Morganach
Orbital command has been provided with a pittance of capable mobile defensive assets with the old pre-war fleet principle amongst them. Static defenses have been better available with the outer and inner band of BPL mines sufficiently built up to deter attack along with lighter missile systems dug into most otherwise unutilized habitats and cylinders. The latter was sent up with reduced capacity compared to the former but it was judged as sufficient for the time. Personnel onboard the stations and fleet were narrowed to seven thousand soldiers, cutting the commands to the bone to reduce casualties. Most of the systems have effectively been automated with scuttling charges armed on any significant infrastructure that is to be left behind or attempted to be secured by the Alien Enemy.
Alien fleet assets have been entirely focused on the four light craft that have been seen in the initial invasion with further operations around the belt and moon practically showcasing their abilities. Each is a one-hundred-and-fifty meter vessel constructed around what current theories believe to be a magnetic mirror fusion drive of some variety that is aneutronic due to the inherent limitations of the design. Primary weaponry is a particle beam mounted through the forward aspect which matches drive thrust, indicating a lack of maneuver when using longer-ranged weapons and what should have been an initial clue that alien armor packages are resistant to similar exposures. Secondary weapons consist of pulse lasers on the external aspect with a powerful single shot but a steadily degrading rate of fire that could theoretically be exploited better by older type multiple-kinetic vehicle missiles than newer unitary systems.
The assets available painted a grim picture and the alien commander failed to significantly misplay their hand, focusing on unilateral long-range fires to strike through the defensive belts. Fragmentary launches were attempted as the outer-defensive run was degraded and the stations there destroyed but little practical effect was accomplished. The enemy took its time winnowing the external defensive rung, staying at long range from the missiles and degrading the mines rather than risking any attack. This still bought effectively weeks as slow demining efforts were almost certainly causing constant wear on the enemy and providing time to refit planetary orbital defenses. With the sensor cover provided it is believed that the enemy did not notice the severe lack of terrestrial defenses and was too consumed with operations.
Enemy incursions past the initial fields proceed with a loss rate of at least eighty-seven percent of the remaining mines and the destruction of any cylinders at the line. With the commander choosing to avoid any intact captures, crews were ordered to return planetside from the lower belts to avoid the pointless waste of capable personnel defending targets that would destroy anything. By the end of the month clearing operations towards the lower orbit had begun from the same perspective with a slow methodical approach towards shooting off the belts. Stations received the heaviest immediate fire through the use of particle weapons at large scales.
With the degradation of low orbital minefields and the resumption of the functionality of terrestrial batteries plans for one last space-born counter-attack were authorized. Missile depletion across the minefields and stations was reaching extreme levels and the fleet was out of range of terrestrial systems due to its positioning in higher orbit. A coordinated launch of approximately six thousand missiles with a thousand containing bomb-pumped lasers mixed into the primary wave. Alien automatic targeting proved deadly on the approach despite reaching saturation density, but the first waves did their job by reducing the effect of their lasers by forcing thermal maxima. Detonation of forty lasers followed within the tac-AI's calculated most effective range band flashing all four frigates white on the primary aspect.
Mission kills were unavailable with the fleet itself beating a rapid retreat to positions around the moon, at least indicating that some damage was done to the ships themselves. Radiators on the surface have been destroyed along with severe damage to any of the point defenses on one aspect of their little fleet, cutting effective laser-weight in half if the enemy does not use an optical fiber system. Damage was still not enough to cause a drive failure or disable any one craft due to lacking concentration and the damage done to the missiles but it was enough to force a retreat. Likely on armor hard X-ray doses are going to be immense with a strong possibility of high casualties amongst their naval crews degrading overall combat performance. Lessons have been learned about the aliens' armor package, capabilities, and hardware, but none of it is enough in the context that the orbital defenses have been expended and landing operations are likely to begin midway through the month.
The situation on the front is grim with steady alien offensives launched to secure the orbitals, if with far more caution than ever before. The personnel on the moon have continued to sell themselves dearly, defending the gains of the Authority to the last corridor. All are expected to receive the highest award for their service to Dannan, their perseverance, and their ability to hold down two full divisional formations from planetary landing operations. Alien fleet movement in the meantime has refocused on the reduction of in-orbit defenses from a conservative position, degrading the fortifications without much return fire at least initially.
Slow progress in the outer belt was followed by rapid progress through the inner belt as their primary particle cannon weapons proved far more capable than their lasers. With the rapid degradation of cylinders and the close of mines placed into the debris belts, tactical options have been severely limited. A tentative counter-attack with bomb-pumped systems was authorized and enabled through the command chain hoping to sufficiently disrupt alien forces over the planet and achieve something for the missiles placed in orbit. Initial waves of missiles were planned to be kinetic with a follow-on attack of proper BPL systems.
Results were decidedly mixed as the attack did manage to make a penetration into Alien defensive grids but none of the four frigates were seen as significantly suppressed despite being flashed white by the x-ray lasers. Crew radiation doses may have been significant but from a visual perspective, little actual damage has been done as the frigates have chosen to pull away from low orbit.
The remainder of the pre-war fleet in orbit was lost in the action along with the first fusion-powered ships available to the authority, no matter how obsolete they were. Low orbit infrastructure has been all but destroyed with little left intact returning the planet to the same state as it was in the immediate aftermath of the war, arguably a worse one. The current prognosis for launching new orbital systems is grim as even if those frigates are degraded the presence of heavy particle beam firepower has eliminated the ability for any relief attempt to be launched. Low orbit is still protected by the steadily improving capacity of planetside batteries and missile forces but there are not enough assets available to deter large-scale landings if the Alien Enemy maintains its careful course.
Planetary morale has also shown some concerning losses after the easily visible launch of missile systems, nuclear exchanges, and following retreat of the alien forces. Domestic propaganda machinery has already started to present a picture of a forced retreat but this is unlikely to be perceived by the public as anything but a desperate defensive action. No one notable has so far said anything publicly about the course of the war but hopes are not high for the current defensive operation. The public needs a larger victory than a series of progressively grimmer last stands with the Alien Enemy cutting through every defensive force and bit of infrastructure in the way. The army will not be ready to deliver a large-scale counter-attack for months, but for the sake of morale, more than suicidal holding actions are necessary.
Broadcasting has generally shifted in tone to one encouraging surrender over the previous strange mixture of disarmament and appeals to a fantastical central authority. They advocate now for a sort of commercial pact, with the opening of the planet, exploitation of local resources, and establishment of companies as a first step of general colonization. Explicit calls have been made that these practices would help us and serve as an uplifting and repairing experience, but these are nothing but fantastical delusions. Our colonial history has a vast history of the same offers being made before the eventual extermination that has happened time and time again. Any concession now or worse disarming will only serve as a first step towards a complete local extermination once forces are sufficiently embedded as the Alien Enemy is if anything more aggressive than even the worst of Mouran colonial policy.
Decentralization of Chemical Industry: The chemical industry is core to maintaining the manufacturing of munitions and will be essential as the war drags on to destroy the enemy. The disruption of the production of chemicals will not inherently damage the production of most printed objects but the need to produce thousands of new chemical plants in bunker networks and at a smaller scale will place a strong emphasis on redundant production. If started now programs will not be finished until at least a month after the new year but they will allow for industries to keep running under the weight of moderate orbital bombardment. (79)
Managing to maintain the production of ammonia and several other critical compounds while relocating most of the plants has been a challenge with parallel programs for expansion started at the same time to provide ready-made bases to mount non-printable parts. Reactors have been steadily built into bunkers that are far more reinforced and hidden with operations conducted under the cover of night to reduce Enemy visibility of operations. Production disruptions are still expected with portions of capacity degraded for at least the next few months, if insufficiently to slow down essential armaments production. Disruptions in relocation from bombardment are still expected to be significant but now that the program is underway every month greatly increases the overall durability and redundant supply of munitions.
Decentralization of Metallurgical Industries: HEA feedstocks need to be produced in large numbers to keep the printing economy going and the alloys are not the simplest to make in large quantities. Basic steelworks can be easily relocated underground and decentralized now that the cost of electricity is cheap and electrolytic processes for HEA production can be done with only a strong power input. Plants would have to be built around fortified reactors and combustion generators, as the electrolytic cells will be easier to replace than power production capacity. Islanding every power plant will introduce disruptions and civilian brownouts but out of all industries, the metallurgical one is the easiest to decentralize. (42)
Feedstock production and refining have already moved to all electric industries with minimal inputs outside of raw ore, thus rendering their relocation theoretically the least challenging. Hiding the high power industry has taken practically all new construction capacity for electricity generation as the units are neither efficient nor small. Still, outside of an immediate cratering of production of printer feedstocks disrupting some elements of local production the relocation plan is entirely underway with machinery already partially relocated. Relocation sites have been harder to conceal due to energy requirements but hardened and compartmentalized facilities are expected to stand up to bombardment far better than old-style factories.
Redundant Power Grids: There is no limit to the amount of petroleum and gas in the ground, especially with more modern methods of energy generation. Accepting that large-scale fusion and nuclear plants will become battlegrounds or be destroyed in the first days of the invasion, old combustion plants can be relocated and fortified with new ones constructed on a high-efficiency turbine basis. The development of hundreds of small plants built under disguise and with flue gas injection used to disguise it enough to keep military industries stable and supplied under a concentrated campaign. (79)
All printed low-quality turbines have been rejected for several other applications but they work perfectly for the establishment of emergency power generation. Small-scale nuclear reactors have started to be dug underground along with a wealth of more conventional combustion power plants. Gas and oil wells are plentiful and each one represents a wealth of energy to be used for the development of military industries. Power production, if anything, is going to be expanded outside pre-war standards if the current program keeps up and losses to bombardment are measured, possibly enabling a larger expansion of current defense industries. If bombardment is focused, starting the program this late will have little effect but the compromise has already been made.
Quantum Computing Systems: Gathering quantum computing systems and developing the capacity of local scientists to break the Enemy's code will be a massive undertaking but one that can be done. The encryption systems are better than those used by the Synod but not overwhelmingly and with enough computing performance they can be overcome. Most of the systems will be built in discrete bunkers with support personnel nearby continuing signal decryption for as long as necessary. If the alien radio signals can be cracked and unified then further analysis of their language can begin allowing active agitation operations against the invader. (69)
Banks of the latest 10kqbit processing systems have started to be built in bunker networks fed the current radio broadcasts and counter-analyzing them for key alien verbal terms and how they can be solved. A solution to their encryption has not yet been presented but historical samples have proven approachable and crackable as the units expand in capacity and capability. The arguably larger issue has come in determining what represents important communications to decrypt rather than what can be decrypted. A full linguistic dictionary is available at this point with intelligence officers mandated to learn it across three pronunciation categories over the next two months to establish an adequate operational understanding.
Build Fortified Works in the North-Western Sector: The Northwest of Tir Na Nog is the sector with several critical facilities and industries. The launch ramp is elsewhere along with several other bases and the majority of factories, but it was the primary front for the war itself and represents some of the richest areas of the planet. These islands are war-torn but they need to be fortified to sufficiently repel the enemy. Military bases are overwhelmingly located here and strikes against it will almost certainly be made to degrade military infrastructure. The fortification effort will focus on the rapid construction of tunnels and bunker networks, hardening the area and providing several fortified fallback points if sizable regions are lost. (70)
The Northwest has a few adequate quality units allocated to it under the command of the Glass Uaine and Dierach Ghlinn Military Districts but these are very much secondary theaters under Plan Orange. Fortification work has thus been focused more on defending key urban and industrial areas over preparing for wider counter-attacks being conducted on a broader front due to the lack of allocations of mobile units. Primary defensive works have come in the development of under-city tunnels, linking factories to living places to allow production under bombardment, and significant emplacement of artillery batteries around key areas. A dedicated attack by the Alien enemy is unlikely to be held off. Still, the defenses should buy sufficient time for other industrial measures to be implemented and tie down forces for months, if not years.
Build Fortified Works in the Southern Sector: The cities across the south have been mostly close allies during the war with less developed territories and cities but vast tracts of land. Significant portions of planetary mining are in the South where the richest fields have been located along with the majority of petrochemical reserves. Defending the mines and smaller cities will be more challenging but it can still be done if programs are focused on the construction of rural tunnels, and hardened points, and ensuring that local resistance can continue even if formal organized resistance is driven away. (70)
The least equipped sector with under-equipped mobile units is unlikely to offer much resistance without fortifications and has zero hopes of a mobile defense under current Plan Orange Allocations. To amend this fortifications have been extensively urban with linkages to key mining industries starting to be constructed under protected railways to maintain the flow of materials. Port buildings and loading areas have also been made redundant and fortified to keep up some flow of material towards the industrial centers and ensure that Dannan can continue to resist even if it is disrupted. Many small towns have received basic trench and tunnel works around them along with mines, giving more strung-out elements in the sparsely populated South some defenses against an easy landing, even if they are entirely insufficient for defeating larger Enemy formations.
Anti-Orbital Gun Upgrades(2/2): Continued modernization of the remaining batteries is going to cause gaps in coverage and significant issues in defending the planet if the Aliens make a sprint for the landing but it needs to be done. Battery effectiveness is massively increased from the upgrade package and if the time can be secured then low orbit can remain a significant threat to the Alien Enemy in sectors of relative control. Upgrades are going to be carried out in the same way as previously, with local sites dependent on the overall power grid as a temporary measure until more permanent power generation capacity can be established for each fortified complex. (105)
Moving at night and disguising the changes as part of the relocation program with deception operations conducted in other areas has likely ensured that the Alien Enemy has not noticed significant deficiencies in the defense grid. Second wave upgrades have been carried out under the cover of night and with hidden trucks moving materials to and from each site but now the entire series of planetary batteries are ready to operate on a modern standard. Pulse efficiency on the more rapidly fabricated units is not as good as the first few theoretical examples but the difference is mostly academic in the amount of LN2 consumed. Operator training has also been intensified during the battery downtime with comprehensive simulations run against known alien profiles to ensure that each battery crew is as trained as they can be.
[]Decentralization of Armaments Industries: Shell production needs to be organically built up to wartime standards more than it needs to be relocated and shifted around. Instead of focusing on moving the old industries directly, new ones can start to be constructed at a rapid pace. Shells are comparatively simple to print and can be done at scale from several smaller newly established plants. These would each not be able to provide enough for sustained operations but if the Enemy's way of war is at all similar to our own they might be sufficient. The massive lead costs for such operations will be significant as new printing capacity will be rapidly constructed but it will be necessary for the war to come. (-50 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Decentralization of Electronic Industries: Shifting away electronics production for non-militarized nodes is not possible but high yield 2nm production is available and machinery for 500mm wafers has already achieved 95% yields without much issue. These machines can be moved to every strategically important location and fortified with clean rooms built into otherwise innocuous buildings. Camouflage can only go so far and this will degrade immediate production but once the industry is relocated and fortified there is unlikely to be a shortage of basic chipsets on which most military hardware operates. (-20 Mobilization Capacity for 6 Months) (Will Disrupt Production)
[]AI Allocation Systems: Inventory management and Industrial management AI have been a mainstay of the state sector of the economy but they can be pushed further. Military allocations for strategic plants can be brought onto the unified system with algorithms focused on the regional and cross-regional allocation of production on a set series of methods and print bases. These will cause oversupply by design and likely have some issues in allocation but several aspects of the economy can be pushed to full-scale mobilization. Every plant, factory, workshop, and mine can be coordinated and brought into one cohesive economic system. (-40 Mobilization Capacity) (+10 Mobilization Capacity per Month)
[]Expansion of Mining Industries: Material packets from the orbits are not going to continue forever and the belts have been cut off, with much of the expected material still needing to be processed in orbit. This will lead to material shortages in the short and long term necessitating the full-scale opening of old mines and resuming extraction industries. The available amounts of metals on the planet are limited and several resources will have to be rationed but otherwise, the economy has possible six months of material left, maybe extended to twelve with strong rationalization. (-30 Mobilization Capacity) (Construction Project)
[]Deepening of Tunnel Networks: Dug-in tunnel networks have proven themselves in lunar battles and the use of significant screens of earth is a classical aspect of asymmetrical warfare. This will focus on tunneling out from primary defensive zones otherwise ignored by Plan Orange to allow for the shipment of personnel and materials across the under-protected continent. Most of these will be narrow and primarily built for military work over any significant other purpose but the ability to strike asymmetrically even with imperfect units cannot be underestimated. (-40 Mobilization Capacity) (Construction Project)
[]Urban Metro Systems: A full train system under each significant city is going to be a major investment both in digging it out and the necessary heavy equipment but they are unmatched in moving resources and materials. Underground trains are resistant to bombardment and can be loaded with enough cargo to sustain industry and troop movements even in cities under siege. Construction programs will start now but are not going to be completed for at least six months as the scale of mobilization required will be massive. Larger cities will be prioritized for the effort with them likely to be fully reinforced in the first four months. (-20 Mobilization Capacity for 6 Months) (Construction Project)
[]Rapid Plutonium Production: Nuclear warheads are the great equalizer and with the insistence of the Enemy on banning them they represent a unique vulnerability. Plutonium-producing piles can be localized regionally with deuterated lithium further distributed. Standardized warhead production plants can be fortified and self-contained, each producing a paltry fifty warheads a month but over forty of them are planned. Production will take at least two months to start but a steady supply of nuclear warheads will provide further munition options to compensate for field expenditure. (-40 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Basic Infantry System Production: More than half of current infantry are not equipped with modern armor and weapons despite the immense efforts placed on increasing production. The demands placed on armor visors alone have been massive with the reproduction of the full set coming even slower. The economy has performed miracles with the production of millions of examples in short months but miracles are not enough to get the entire army into fighting shape. A new two-hundred-factory program needs to be started to mobilize millions of otherwise unemployed workers for the war, focused on the production of enough armor, guns, and munitions to move current forces to a universal ready state by Spring 45. (-20 Mobilization Capacity for 3 Months)
[]Third Generation Infantry Equipment: The immediate lessons learned from lunar combat have shown several Enemy vulnerabilities that can be compounded on. The presence of softer elements of their suits leaves them vulnerable while the use of heavier rifles has required the re-thinking of current defensive measures. The alien rifle is impossible to armor against but sufficient protection against both the carbine and machine gun can be reached across the front aspect and head. Improving camera redundancy is also expected for the next generation design, improving visibility and combat performance no matter how outmatched the individual infantryman is. These modifications will likely take two months to reach production models but they will be essential for increasing force durability. (-20 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Restart Theoretical Infantry Programs: The alien designs have proven that powered armor can be done on a reasonable weight package with a significant expansion in capability. None of the technologies on display can be replicated to a large extent but something of a shittier version can be made with current techniques. Basic systems to improve mobility can be centered around the legs with a hardened frame made to allow for that to support the rest of the weight available. Durability and agility will suffer but the use of heavier equipment in close quarters has shown that the enemy can be out-concentrated and defeated with a sufficient concentration of forces. (-15 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Continue Expanding AFV Production: UNISA is meeting its original targets but the teams that have pioneered plant expansion can be further subdivided to continue raising production. The new plants will take months to establish themselves but expanding them will bring localized production to several islands. This tide of metal will primarily focus on basic versions and fast conversions as much of the design can be iterated up with even a questionably skilled workforce. New factories are going to take months to set up and would only start spooling in four months but starting construction now will ensure a constant tide of armor, with over thirty thousand hulls a month expected by summer 45 AE. (-30 Mobilization Capacity for 4 Months)
[]Heavy Tank Program: Restarting a heavy tank program with near unlimited defense funding is going to be necessary if a proper AFV is going to be made in any significant numbers. This will likely build off the experience with wartime designs, tentative projects made earlier in the year, and the lessons learned from lunar combat. Current generations of kinetic ATGMs were insufficient for penetration against even their IFV necessitating a new generation of weaponry. A laser primary armament has been dismissed as when using captured arms their armor is if anything more resistant to laser fire than kinetic systems. This leaves the re-introduction of heavy gas gun systems on a frontal aspect tank-destroyer chassis, allowing domestic improved awareness systems to compensate for the lack of conventional engagement profiles. (-30 Mobilization Capacity) (Subvote)
[]Dedicated Heavy SPAAG: Splashing their VTOLs with conventional fire is going to be challenging but their shape and design are not too unlike those which were operated by Synod Forces. They are almost certainly far thinner skinned than any other vehicle but well protected against conventional laser weapons if alien design trends hold. To provide a counter-capability and minimize the threat a dedicated electric transmission vehicle loosely based on the old Type 38 Tank can be brought into production. The primary armament will be a passive tracked 57mm gas gun firing sabots at at least 3.5km/s. Secondary armament is to consist of a complex of pulse lasers in case engaged at close range of with missiles, allowing it to fulfill a dual role. Massive amounts of new production capacity will have to be mobilized to make the vehicle work and produce it in numbers, with significant quantities expected only by the summer if work starts now. (-40 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Type 36 Alternative Variants: Simple conversions of Type 36 to mortar carriers and alternative transports have been done as a matter of course but the hull has significantly more capability. Making variations capable of mounting MLRS racks, anti-aircraft munitions, carrying munitions as pure transports, and heavier artillery on a mobile platform. Some have even proposed a front aspect-only 152mm gun variant, capable of firing full-scale anti-armor darts and heavier HE shells in a direct-fire role to compensate for a lack of proper armor. All of these will take time to work out and more time to establish conversions for but with the production of guns and electronics a greater limiting factor than hulls, production can be scaled even further on the same platform. (-25 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Expanded Air Force Funding: The aviation enterprises have managed to produce more Type 45 Fighter Bombers than expected but they still need more support to keep the pace of manufacturing. Programs to expand turbine and avionics manufacturing will be started now as fuselages are if anything easier to produce than other components of the airframe. Parallel programs for in-progress modernizations will be started to improve resilience after first contact with the threat is made planetside. Further, new munitions are almost certainly going to be needed to fight the enemy especially once a counter-offensive is in full swing and fire support is a necessary and consistent factor. (-20 Mobilization Capacity for 3 Months)
[]Hypersonic Missile Production: Several viable hypersonic designs exist and are theoretically capable of being advanced to production with several limitations. Instead of focusing on a perfect program any enterprise able to push their design into production can be given the resources to do so. Current propositions are more designed for anti-shipping roles than anything else but their inertial guidance systems are still adequate. Stealth coats via plasma shielding have already been tested, possibly allowing for low-altitude penetration of Alien defenses. (-40 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Next Generation Cargo Ships: Cargo hulls are going to experience significant attrition no matter how many optimistic opinions are held. Increasing the shipbuilding industry as rapidly as possible and building up stocks of ships that can be sufficiently filled with foam to ensure that no amount of laser fire can compromise overall buoyancy. In theory, they will still be disabled by laser fire from orbit, but that will not be enough to bring the hulls down. If all else fails, the still floating hulls can be towed back to a dock to receive new diesel engines that are made for modular mounting, allowing a rapid return to combat service. (-20 Mobilization Capacity for 3 Months)
[]Submersible Shipyards: Building large shipyards capable of building large numbers of submersible cargo transports represents a major technical challenge but one that can be met. Cargo hulls built around 25m radius hull sections with vertical doors are entirely technically possible with a submergence depth of one hundred meters expected during cargo-carrying operations. Quieting is not going to be sufficient for modern standards but a simplified nuclear power plant will be enough for the rapid transportation of cargoes to islands under siege. Building the boats is going to take most of a year for even initial production but starting it will come at significant industrial expense and the commitment of large printers. (-60 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Accelerate Submarine Construction: There are not enough submarine dockyards to significantly raise production, but some measures can still be taken to accelerate production. Section building machinery can be expanded to produce more equipment for new submarines while missile production can be increased to compensate for any deficiencies. The new boats are going to have more issues than previous examples and the reactor cores will be built to a lower standard but any mobile anti-orbital strength cannot be under-estimated. (-40 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Expand Type 41 Car Production: The Type 41 car is adequate for most military purposes and can be rapidly modified to carry sufficient armor to defend against small arms on the front aspect. Further, they can be modified as light carriers for 90mm mortars for frontal use along with ATGM systems. Greater numbers of vehicles can also improve local transport capacity, bringing a light component to the military and rationalizing conscript forces by giving them some form of transport. With the deficiency of heavy metal, some lighter machinery is going to be needed and the cars are if anything simple to produce. (-15 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Found the Defense Engineering Command: There will be a bounty of alien equipment that needs to be turned against the enemy. It is likely to continue to contribute equipment, armor, and heavier systems that can rapidly be adapted toward combat potential. The groups of multi-disciplinary engineers needed for the rapid iteration of reverse engineering programs along with rapid prototyping are more of a consolidation of personnel than any specific technical capacity use. The largest issues will be organizational as forming an entirely new department under strong time constraints poses several challenges. (-10 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Emergency Starch Reserves: Building up the surge capacity of generation three starch organisms will be essential for maintaining continuous resistance against the enemy. These will mostly be built in the old way with massive plots of organisms organized at the shore and harvested using the available surplus labor. Yields are not expected to be great and the flavoring factories will have to be moved to continuous operation but a massive reserve of calories can be built up if the fighting takes several years, buying time for smaller-scale systems to be constructed. (-15 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Civilian Work Programs: Expanding simple jobs for many of the civilians now that the economy is on a war footing needs to be done to ensure that they are doing something and to bluntly keep up morale. Fortification is well and good but people need more than that and ensuring that every worker across the broader economy is doing something that has some meaning will be essential on that front. Most of the work is going to be simplified and coordinated out through the civilian government but some assets can be diverted without significantly imperiling the war effort, keeping some aspects of the service economy to buffer overall economic performance. (-60 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Domestic Morale Programs: Resilience is expected from the general public and the army but that alone cannot hold together a nation in a war expected to kill tens of millions optimistically. The internet and internal networks can be tuned to improve support for the war with algorithms built in to eliminate several morale vulnerabilities. Reporting is still expected to be accurate in the broadest sense but every civilian needs to have in mind a theory of victory and how it can be accomplished even in the darkest hours of the Authority. Significant casualties will degrade morale but as long as every Seelie alive knows that the government will continue resistance to the last soldier morale is unlikely to entirely break. (-20 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Reinforce Internal Networks: Ensuring that most devices cannot read alien agitation and have it influence them will be essential. Software updates as something of a digital traceable IFF will be implemented to improve redundancy to enemy attacks on most devices along with moving to new standards of communication. Gains are not expected to come quickly but organizing a few thousand programmers to update the most commonly used systems to reduce the impact of alien agitation programs can save a significant degree of problems later. This is technically a resumption of the panopticon and would be unpopular if the situation was less dire but it needs to be done to eliminate the opportunity for the enemy to compromise current systems. (-15 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Department Six Evaluations: Starting positive testing of current commands, politicians, and organizations with evaluators pretending to be collaborators needs to start to eliminate resistance. Electronic back doors will be used to tempt critical figures to organize alien efforts on the planet with a following deployment of AID teams for their rapid neutralization on immediately implemented treason charges. Any susceptibility to the enemy needs to be cracked down on now or it will morph into a larger problem. For those who are curious and fail to report it a removal from an essential position will have to follow as constant testing will be essential for rooting out the worst spies and collaborators early. (-25 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Organize Department Eight: The alien language is partially known and their radios are similar in principle if with slightly altered functions to domestic ones. The mass broadcast of propaganda reports on every battle and the futility of their struggle can be started especially as more information is available. It may even be possible to encourage defectors through adequate use of informational control and constantly generated content. Providing the enemy with fresh lines of entertainment along with some political content alone can serve to undermine the morale of the force and it can be done on a minimal budget as the study of the Enemy is already underway. (-15 Mobilization Capacity)
[]Refund the Applied Chemistry Department: Alien proteins have been scanned and analyzed and while so far little understanding has been made of their metabolism their neurological system is far more vulnerable. New-generation compounds can start being developed immediately to target their signaling systems and degrade force capability by forcing a higher pace of refits and cleaning. Sticking agents are going to be hard to develop without terrestrial armor examples but basic signal inhibitors can at least disable the enemy temporarily to increase rear-line attrition. Initial target compounds will be practically selected blindly with production certain to only slowly follow but in six months more advanced capabilities will be available. (-20 Mobilization Capacity)
6-Hour Moratorium Vote by Plan
