Given that the shipyard variant is currently winning, I must admit I feel like ive put too much money in reserve for that plan. Would anyone be angry if I added the academy groundside infrastructure to the plan, giving it the same amount of reserve as the Greed Variant?
Edit: the deed has been done. Shout at me if this is a problem for you.
Just saw this, but yeah I preferred the original version because putting that much money in reserve compared to the Greed versions was exactly why I picked it instead of those.
Since I'm hoping to not drop the subs, unless we want to put off the wet navy for another full cycle as the only other project for them costs even more, I'm looking at the reserve money amounts in plans without that extra 300B. And beyond doing the subs eating up more of the pie and leaving less in reserve by just existing, they're also another major project that will end up competing for the even smaller reserve slice when cost overruns start showing. I don't think we'd have any trouble finding somewhere to spend that 200B in the plan as it was.
[X]Plan A Professional Military, Shipyards and FEMA.
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Professionalized Units
-[X]Improve Wages (-600B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers: (-300B)
-[X]Expanded Orbital Shipyards: (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units: (-100B)
Made a plan in the same vein as the one leading, but with a focus on keeping our army slim and professionalized, whilst raising wages so we can hopefully achieve a volunteer peacetime force. The cost in raising wages is about 600 billion Or, but if you take out scholarships, since competitive wages will mostly obviate the need for them, that's about 400 billion Or, and if you take out the 100 billion from continuing the current policies, that's 300 Billion, which is definitely affordable. Especially considering it does not have (Makes Army Procurement More Expensive) so we get even more cost savings. I think we can afford this politically, the Army should be happy since we've gone with their bid and UNISA came out with a good product, and if we commit to a more extensive mechanization program I think this should come out mostly politically neutral. This leave us with a budget of around 1710B Or.
[X]Plan A Professional Military, Shipyards and FEMA. DARPA Edition.
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Professionalized Units
-[X]Improve Wages (-600B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers: (-300B)
-[X]Expanded Orbital Shipyards: (-200B)
-[X]Advanced Projects Agency (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units: (-100B)
I also made a version with an Advanced Projects Agency, giving them 200B Or to get started up. This leaves us with slightly less money. 1510B Or, but having it might make the FTL test bed bid less challenging.
I've drawn up a plan under the drection of @DkArthas who felt a great desire to not "let careerists and mercenaries take control of the military".
It massively expands who we're calling up with a promise to ensure all those riflemen have appropriate kit. I've established the simulator facility to compensate for the crew quality with reduced professionalisation. Mass drivers should hopefully help to fund the expanding force. Disaster response is pretty much mandatory but I also think an Intelligence Corps is an important pick.
[X] Plan For The People By The People
-[X]Next Generation Infantry (+400B)
-[X]Expand Call-Ups (-200B)
-[X]Conscript Technical Roles (+200B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers (-300B)
-[X]Simulator-Training Systems (-300B)
-[X]Expand the Intelligence Corps (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units (-100B)
[X] Plan For The People By The People
-[X]Next Generation Infantry (+400B)
-[X]Expand Call-Ups (-200B)
-[X]Conscript Technical Roles (+200B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers (-300B)
-[X]Simulator-Training Systems (-300B)
-[X]Expand the Intelligence Corps (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units (-100B)
Just saw this, but yeah I preferred the original version because putting that much money in reserve compared to the Greed versions was exactly why I picked it instead of those.
Since I'm hoping to not drop the subs, unless we want to put off the wet navy for another full cycle as the only other project for them costs even more, I'm looking at the reserve money amounts in plans without that extra 300B. And beyond doing the subs eating up more of the pie and leaving less in reserve by just existing, they're also another major project that will end up competing for the even smaller reserve slice when cost overruns start showing. I don't think we'd have any trouble finding somewhere to spend that 200B in the plan as it was.
Ah, my bad then. I'll reverse it and just create a new variant for shipyard + academy. I dont think leaning this much on procurement to spend our money is a great strat comparatively but w/e, we can *probably* find a way to spend that money.
Since it seems we're going to use Maintain the Current Standard we should use this time to figure out if we are going to prepare for mostly professional or conscript for the military, so anyone think we should push for one or the other for this or that reason?
Personally I actually prefer the status quo as it stands, strongly leaning towards mandatory service. To explain I'll touch on a thing I looked at in the prequel, which is elf demographics:
THE CASE FOR MANDATORY SERVICE IN THE SEELIE DEMOCRATIC AUTHORITY
or
CONSCRIPTION IS OKAY SOMETIMES
So, starting with demographics. Since the amount of hard numbers we have at hand is limited, I'll be making some assumptions to make the argument work. Don't focus too hard on the numbers themselves. From the prequel we know that serious attrition was halted at around 450-500 million people, and if I'm not forgetting something we started increasing in population again before 10 AE. Given improving healthcare, poverty levels and general living conditions (poverty is a strict negative for elf birthrates since they don't grow old and therefor don't need their children to take care of them later in life) and some time to recover I think it's fair to assume that our current population is maybe around 600 million.
Staying at current recruitment levels would therefor mean that <0.1% of our population would be in military service. This is not a high amount, and not a serious burden on our civilisation. Therefor given any serious military conflict or standoff mass mobilisation, as compared to the current standing army, is guaranteed. Even if the war stays off-world manning levels will need to increase massively to provide garrisons and security ect. The institutional benefits of mandatory service is massive here; it means we have a good, if still wholly insufficient, training pipeline already set. It means we have reservists that can be called up with minimal refreshment training.
Speaking of reserves, to simplify things lets say our army is now 600k people strong, with a 50% / 50% split between long serving professionals and first service conscripts. Im gonna go out on a limb and say the conscripts serve a 5 year period, meaning each 5 years we'll have rotated out 300k conscripts. This means we increase our reserve pool by 300k every year. Assuming we just let these reservists sit with minimal refreshment training, but given the excellent mental abilities of elves, let us put these reserves in 3 categories: 1st rate reserves, 2nd rate reserves and 3rd rate reserves. Reservists start at 1st rate, then degrade one "tier" every 20 years. This gives us a standing pool of 1 200k 1st rate reserves, 1 200k 2nd rate reserves, 1 200k3rd rate reserves which would allow us to mobilize a total of 3 million and 600 thousand men over a moderately long period of time. We can improve the capabilities of reservists fairly easily and cheaply, depending on scale, with refreshment training. This is all while staying at what's otherwise a very slim army size of 600k people. If we let this amount drop significantly not only do we weaken the institution of mandatory service itself and open ourselves up to it being removed entirely, which is very much no good as I'll get into later, but this reserve pool drops like a brick. Again, given the very small size of our standing army this would be extremely harmful to our readiness and mobilization capabilities, and therefor our military security.
Finally, for the positives of mandatory service it allows us to economize our servicemen and women. Have the conscripts serve in army, navy and airforce formations on the planet is both obviously better for them as it has them closer to their homes, while also meaning we don't have to fill those slots with our long serving professionals. Quite frankly there is zero need to have a 50 year serving hyper-experienced army lifer carrying a rifle and riding in an IFV groundside. He might be a crack shot and hard as nails but the alien space lasers will vaporize him just as easily as the perfectly dependable, 5 year serving conscript that has spent more time training then a human professional soldier has.
I'll make a follow-up post into the dangers and pitfalls of professionalisation "shortly."
[X] Plan Benefits, Scholarships, Circuits
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Professionalized Units
-[X]Improve Benefits (-200B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers (-300B)
-[X]Orbital Circuit Production (-400B)
-[X]Army Scholarships (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units (-100B)
[X] Plan Benefits and Scholarships
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Professionalized Units
-[X]Improve Benefits (-200B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers (-300B)
-[X]Army Scholarships (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units (-100B)
[X] Plan Benefits and Scholarships and Drafts
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Continue Current Policies (-100B)
-[X]Improve Benefits (-400B)
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers (-300B)
-[X]Army Scholarships (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units (-100B)
Here. A version that maintains conscription as well. It completely destroys any idea of having a reserve ending up with 0B + 300B without subs. Not including a version with circuits because that would actively run a deficit.
[X]Plan Groundwork and Spacework, Shipyard Variant
-[X]Space Industry Prioritization: (+900B)
-[X]Continue Current Policies: (-100B)
-[X]Maintain the Current Standard:
-[X]Belt Mass Drivers: (-300B)
-[X]Expanded Orbital Shipyards: (-200B)
-[X]Dedicated Disaster Response Units: (-100B)
Turn 4 (36AE): Lawsuits Without End
Budget: 2210B Or
Political Support: 50-59
Cultural Changes:
For as much as the old generations harped on the internet and the cultural changes it spawned along with the massive boom in strange productions in its proliferation, the current boom is similar in some ways but markedly different. Relaxed social norms from previous governments have rolled back the suppression of certain beliefs for the masses with parliament arguing back and forth over marriage equality instead of more important matters. Further changes have only continued in the social sphere with the effective legalization of several novel psychoactive substances, declaring that the old herbal tonics weren't good enough for them. Few practical effects have even been seen from the change with those prone to it doing it, just now with some additional tax revenue.
Social media and its similar platforms have once again returned to the standard plague of the information age, despite a nuclear war, mass surveillance, and whatever else came onto it, it has remained like a particularly durable roach. The software for the newer systems is entirely new and non-derivative of anything old because the sheer moral crisis that a few liberal busybodies can generate over surveillance cannot be understated by anyone outside parliament. The youths for their part, especially those born in the post-war generation are closer to those born at the start of the internet age than more modern generations, learning on deficient hardware just like in the good old days before tablets became universal.
The most concerning new trend has been associated with social media, increasing the rate of mental health casualties with no real solution or reduction plan. Continued programs towards genetic changes and even some cybernetics have been hailed as the next revolution but it has instead gone to strange youths with stranger ideas. If one can entirely change their skin color why would they, and for what possible reason would it be to some primary color? Arguably, some of this is the fault of the doctors enabling the youths as those just growing up simply do not know better, but the sheer variety of modifications that are simply sold on the regulated market is concerning. The largest incoming moral crisis of our time is almost certain to come from some combination of social media or an idiot going too far and getting the entire field shut down.
Politics:
Lobby Politicians: As before, it's essential to talk to the politicians so that they know why they are funding the army and can at least understand the military partially. Meeting with representatives outside the BFP will cause some minor political ruffling but that will easily be compensated through further understanding. Of course, this will be getting excessively involved in parliament and could politicize the post, but a few dinners aren't going to be viewed as threatening outside the insane. (42)
In spite of the generally poor prospects for an electoral win, the BFP representatives have remained optimistic about their chances, attempting to enter several districts. The fact remains that a significant portion of the remaining population is either an army veteran or has been born in the aftermath of the war itself. The party bosses have advocated for a strong strategy based on a mixture of rebuilding the army and stabilizing equipment from before the bombs, pushing hard for more optimistic systems rather than another pile of mostly conventional weapons. If elected the BFP is almost certain to back increasing spending, but it will inherently be tied towards the development of orbit and further manufacturing.
Organize Legal Teams: Taking time away from politics will allow for the intensive study of law and the organization of dedicated military legal teams. The primary target of the teams will be a series of lawyers to protect procurement and military interests against bureaucratic overzealousness. This will be accompanied by a focused effort to study the law and ensure that the organization is more than capable of managing in the current political environment. Expansion can follow on to improve justice in the force and provide a parallel command and then internal structures to reduce discipline errors. (Mild Political Cost) (83)
Discovering several pre-war lawyers that managed to still make a name for themselves was fortunate with several legal firms having personnel that served in the army and even a few academy friends to make the initial connections. The massive benefits of a contract with the army have further attracted several smaller firms as a consistent income is worth a lot compared to the demands of other duties. Compromising with the firms over some drinks, almost two hundred direct legal advisors have been hired for lower commands while army-case representation has also been negotiated. The prominence of the Sygner trial has effectively provided enough work to toss the lawyers at, saving a good portion of funding compared to attempting to conventionally hire firms.
Procurement Decisions: Generally phases go from you wanting something, to a prototype, to low-rate production(LRP), to full-scale production. Once you have a prototype or something in LRP, you can request changes to it to bring it into line with requirements either military or political
IFV Program: In a series of pleasant surprises the priority on modular manufacturing and the effective printing of the vehicle in sections has more than borne out in reality. The insert ceramic plates themselves and the effective internal NERA arrays have proved more complicated but have been delivered both on time and at the expected price. Scalability of production remains an open question for ceramics but the production method is established and affordable even if throughput will take time to achieve. Weapons integration onto the UNISA bid has continued without many issues leading to an effective entirely external mounting of eight Type-35 ATGM with simultaneous cross-launch capability for defeating APS systems. The standard 24mm cannon has stayed on with the inclusion of a separate RWS mount for the commander that can act as a redundant sighting post. Defensive systems have been reinforced with eight frontal heavy APS charges along with a distributed twenty-four light APS charges to deter the simultaneous launch of up to four improvised munitions from any angle. (240B Or Spent) (103)
[]Moderate Scale Procurement: Fulfilling the basic contract with a degree of hedging upgrading the general army divisional scheme can be split in half over the next decade. As the order of battle has increased to twenty-four mainline divisions, twelve will all be provided with two mechanized brigades rather than entirely mechanizing all units. The remaining units will be maintained as a light infantry force with some cost savings expected as light infantry is still needed for garrison duties and fast reaction forces. (Procurement Finished) (Slot Opens/No Roll)
[]Expand the Mechanized Corps: Reforming the army towards the pre-war standard and continuing the formation of mechanized units is going to be essential for maintaining force readiness. Six of twenty-four divisions will be maintained as light infantry units with a focus on more specialized training while all other divisions receive two mechanized brigades. The transition will require further funding to meet the goals in a decade but far less per unit than previously established in the procurement contract as research expenses are distributed. (100B Or) (Procurement Finished) (Slot Opens/No Roll) (Politically Popular)
[]Universal Mechanization: With the success of the bid and the massive demand for the new IFV a radical proposal has been made to further reform the army to one that can shift away from light and vulnerable vehicles entirely. The currently organized twenty-four divisions will be reorganized into thirty-six two brigade divisional commands all of which are mechanized. An armored component will be necessary for some with plans towards expanding the marine and air-mobile units with further attachments, but that remains a problem of the future. UNISA will need assistance with the establishment of a secondary plant but the sheer scale of modernization presents a massive and untapped opportunity. (250B Or) (Procurement Finished) (Slot Opens/No Roll) (Very Popular)
ATGM Systems: With only some mild technical issues left in the system Lunos has effectively delivered a capable anti-tank program that builds on wartime systems. As much of the targeting is localized to a single universal terminal phase, rockets have been practically built around it with several discrete options. On the infantry end the Type-35 rocket system is an effective automated fire and forget that can fire on thermal or electro-optical signature acquisition from a polymer tube, coming in at a portable twenty-three kilogram system loaded. Long-range and vehicle-based variations have been effectively constructed with the seventeen-kilogram terminal phase paired with a either thirteen or twenty-kilogram booster, providing long-range capability with an incorporated autonomous mode. Errant signature targeting remains a problem for the complex but all three are entering large-scale production to distribute anti-tank firepower. An offer has even been made to apply the same guidance package with a thermobaric head and a lighter terminal motor, cloning some systems across and enabling the targeting of specific points using the electro-optical seeker. (10B Or Spent) (97) (Procurement Finished) (Program Closed Out)
Military Trucks: Taking the insistence of full delivery and not being able to remotely meet it Sygner has immediately moved towards attacking the army through the courts. The previous expectation of the matter being resolved outside of major PR impacts has been rejected with few off-ramps offered. Instead, while all lawyers consider the case to be nearly unwinnable for Sygner, its publication has reached a massive number of outlets. Discovery has been done practically for the sake of throwing the military's name into the mud, attempting to achieve a payout rather than continuing the suit. The media for its part has continued to be exactly as annoying as expected with constant breathless reports on cost overruns and military corruption being "uncovered." The problem can to an extent be ignored but it needs to be made to go away before the election. (120B Or Gained) (Major Lawsuit Started) (Significant Political Costs) (36)
[]Escalate: The case is very much winnable and outside the PR impacts it should be comparatively easy to escalate to the highest levels. The army has far more money than a company and pushing it to the highest courts and getting the litigation to be as expensive as possible for a company is just as good of a deterrent. Costs are expected to rise but they've left us a few billion Or problem either way. (40B Or) (Likely Exhaustion/CEO Replacement)
[]Fight it out in the Courts: Continuing the fight at the current level of courts will drag out the case and continue to delay proceedings possibly to the point of the election. The case is entirely winnable as it is right now but more discovery and a constant mess of media attention will be a disadvantage. If all goes well a summary judgment can be forced but that in itself will take time and effort. (10B Or) (Case Continues)
[]Pay them Off: Accepting their terms and making them go away by recouping their development costs will keep the media attention off the army and make sure that everyone ends up with a problem. The army can move away from the case and Sygner can effectively be unofficially retaliated against by being locked out of military contracts for unreliability. Giving them their development funding back is going to cost more than fighting the case for a year but it will end the problem. (15B Or) (Lawyer Recommendation)
Transport Aircraft: With a commitment towards a light aircraft system the more actual question of reasonable design criteria will be essential. Current assumptions are built around a moderate-scale airframe with a set of turbine engines but that can be modified to a large extent. The main purpose of the airframe is going to be the transportation of infantry and personnel between islands along with some secondary uses as alternative platforms. Technical work that is done now will be built around that role but further capacity can be mandated to see if a sufficiently ambitious design can be developed. These additional capabilities in the bid would be a high priority even if each will necessitate severe technical compromises. (35) (Pick as many as Desired)
[]High Range Specification: Pushing strongly for achieving a five thousand kilometer flight range with a maximum payload rather than the unambitious three thousand originally planned can significantly extend single flight capability. The plane would effectively have to be larger with advanced engine developments to continue to meet the specification but it will allow for bids with improved propulsion technologies such as work on prop-fans or even a conventional turbo-prop. Efficiency improvements will rapidly be transferable to the civilian sector ensuring that further sales can keep program costs down.
[]Very Rough Field Capability: Developing a series of landing gear and instrumentation to land on unpaved runways represents a major technical challenge that has so far not been met in a similarly heavy aircraft. It should be theoretically possible to ensure that the plane can handle any smoothed-packed dirt runway but that will require further development effort. This will allow a minimization of local development expenses and allow for the prompt relocation of supplies.
[]STOL: Designing for a capacity to conduct eight hundred meter takeoffs when fully loaded along with a capacity for landing on one-kilometer landing strips. This will further enable the minimization of required runways allowing simplification and use in adverse combat conditions. The capacity to operate shortened runways will minimize operational and construction delays while also extending developments to adverse conditions in landing and takeoff operations.
[]Extend Transport Limits: Pushing to minimum carry weight of forty-five tons is going to require significant compromises elsewhere in the airframe but they can be made according to some experts. Carrying a single IFV is one thing but by extending the capacity some form of light armor with an adequate gun could be carried for more mobile units. Improvements in cargo capacity alone will make the program far more capable, requiring lower procurement numbers and aiding in efficiency.
[]Universalization of the Airframe: With the procurement and funding of a major airframe it's almost inevitable that the craft will be pushed into several roles ranging from AWACS to tankerage. Committing the funding now to design variations on the craft capable of flying with integrated radars and ensuring sufficient power access will cost some additional funding but significantly improve end capacity. Further, keeping production lines unified and standardizing conversions can produce some cost savings.
Second Generation Mining Ships: The priority for the development of the mining system has hinged on the continued development of a new series of drives to further improve efficiencies. As several promising new drive systems have been developed, there has been little reason to go with a conservative liquid core or even an old-style gas core open core. There is a lack of need for any high-impulse engine leaving the question of electric drives instead of high-power applications. Starting the program with new ambitious drives will be questionable but if the technology can be mastered on a lower priority hull it can easily be translated to higher priority systems. An over-run is guaranteed but the systems pioneered here will form the basis of the orbital fleet of the future. (250B Or Expected across several funding phases) (22)
[]Dual MHD-Gas Core: Maintaining a dense nuclear core with energy harvesting through dual MHDs along with a more conventional thermal loop can provide dual modal harvesting. Efficiencies from the total cycle are expected to reach eighty percent with radiator loop temperatures only approaching 1900K for engineering stability applications. The larger core size and increase in density of fission is going to reduce the effective efficiency of uranium utilization but the technology is more mature, limiting experimental elements to newer MHDs instead of reactor designs. Thrust in the setup will be delivered through electric propulsion with conventional copper droplet radiators.
[]Cold Dusty Core Powerplant: Pushing for the highest efficiency propulsion bus at the current temperature to avoid the development of new radiator systems, a cold dusty plasma core can be envisioned. The core itself will provide electricity through a dual MHD mounted outside the primary squeeze, harvesting a significant fraction of power with a smaller recovery Brayton Engine through the cooling loop. This will yield an effective thermal efficiency of nearly eighty-five percent as designed with a conventional liquid copper droplet radiator cooling the craft. Propulsion will be conducted through a conventional MPD drive, achieving high rates of thrust at improved efficiencies compared to older techniques.
[]Hot Dusty Core Powerplant: Refusing the limitation of older materials core temperatures can be further raised for an almost one-third mass saving on the radiator system. Effective thermal efficiency is expected to drop to 80% compared to colder designs but that is nearly nothing compared to the reduction in radiator mass the move to Nickel as a working fluid can bring. The effective hot loop of the craft will operate at a blazing 2500K, allowing for massive drives to be packed in with few limitations. Some tentative experimental proposals have also been made for a CNT ribbon radiator but that remains an open question of efficiency and scalability, as the latter would be significantly more resistant to enemy fire.
[] Non-Linear Fission Fragment: In a radical departure from the old class of reactors an entirely new generation of drives can be pioneered. The goal of the design will be an afterburning dusty plasma rocket capable of operating at several gears. Trickle charging from the light core will be available to the craft operating it but the majority of the power will be sent into thrust capacity. Several new designs for magnetic nozzles will be required but on the energy levels expected, it may be possible to construct a drive capable of high acceleration work and long distance Brachistochrone trajectories. The cost of the program is expected to be significant but the project will revolutionize all future long-distance space travel.
New Programs(Currently 3 Running, can select up to five concurrent programs)
[]Second Generation Infantry Equipment: Committing to an overhaul of the infantry equipment is a decision that can be made, but there is little funding to go around. Ensuring that at least the infantry has something resembling old systems of powered assistance, basic thermal imagers, and a rifle system capable of incorporating it will go a long way towards improving quality. New light anti-tank systems and armor will be developed to provide the average soldier with previously unmatched capabilities. Deciding on the degree of funding will be an open question but the program itself should be comparatively cheap despite the scale. (10B Or Expected)
[]Standardization of Orbital Troops: A space suit has been issued for the crew to operate in orbit along with some elements of a thrust system but entirely new systems are needed to accomplish basic military tasks. The current preferred format by the army is a type of unified pressure garment with a variety of systems integration for further models. A true heavy boarding suit is almost certainly beyond the budget or desired capacity but speculative bids can be put out to enterprises and companies on the topic. (20B Or Expected)
[]Heavy Infantry Prototypes: Continued development work on improved infantry systems and direct DNI systems has generated several curious proposals. Breaking from the conventional Seelie form in favor of a more compact chassis with thicker armor can be designed. Both terrestrial and off-world applications of the system are expected to enhance the performance of local systems, simplifying life support and protection systems by increasing compactness. (???B Or Expected)
[]Light Vehicles: A simple 4x4 with a diesel engine and the capacity to mount small arms protection and basic crew-served weapons. The program in question will be more of a productive capability as automobile manufacturing is still limited with few experienced programs. Some have even suggested making the requirements amenable towards an electric vehicle to enable a new all-electric army. The scale of the program and necessary factory increases to accomplish a full transition for the army will leave the program expensive but necessary. (50B Or Expected)
[]Space Capable Buggies: Making a buggy capable of carrying a fireteam and traversing a low-gravity lunar environment represents several massive technical challenges. Current examples have derived more from rovers but the technical work involved has left them deeply insufficient for most duties. The actual system would be a simple electric wide chassis focused on stability and the capacity for avoiding injury in case of a low gravity accident from lack of ground pressure. Weapon mountings on the system are going to be secondary with the vehicle serving more as a transport and towing platform. (50B Or Expected)
[]New MBT: There is currently no tank in production nor the capacity to build a tank in any form, massively limiting the ability of the army to even utilize its doctrine. The arguments over what to put in a tank are just as varied as the proposals made by both enterprises and businesses of what to build into a tank with ideas ranging from a rapid production mobilization tank to a true successor to the Type-38 chassis. Opening the program is expected to be expensive and take time but will be essential for any terrestrial military operations. (250B Or Expected)
[]Multirole VTOL: Experience in producing aircraft for either naval or terrestrial purposes has effectively been dissipated as the enterprises involved have been broken up for the better part of the last two decades. Starting with new engine designs being pushed into production along with dedicated plants for the next generation of radar-absorbent materials will likely take a decade as technology needs to be developed to a point that it can meet all operational requirements. Core design requirements for the program itself are immensely political as the differences between a naval-capable airframe and one that the army wants are immense. (400B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]Surveillance Drones: A long-distance loitering drone capable of linking towards uplinks in orbit and cruising to most points of the planet from either a catapult launch or airfield will be essential for observational capacity. The platform itself is almost certain to later be refitted for the carrying of ordinance but that is considered to be secondary relative to the massive technical demands of long loiter time and new electronic systems. Compact high-magnification thermals and optics will be the core product of the program no matter what bid is taken, providing a new basis for spotting fires. (40B Or Expected)
[]Loitering Munitions: Autonomous systems with high loiter times built based on disposable munitions have a limited effect on protected vehicles but are perfectly adequate in an anti-personnel role. Effective simplified systems with total autonomous control can be easily developed and produced in the thousands as a field expedient source of fires and suppression for concentrations of manpower. Some proposals have been made for mounting proper kinetic ordinance for APS penetration but those are primarily going towards heavier systems. Core aspects of the program are almost certain to focus on a heavier degree of automation and eliminating communications and jamming vulnerabilities. (40B Or Expected)
[]Anti-Orbital SSBN: Building out long-duration submarines capable of maintaining retaliation capacity in case of a sudden invasion or loss of orbitals is going to be an essential aspect of planetary defense. Committing to a massive program of construction will ensure that any ships caught in the initial ambush will be able to sustainably hide in the deep ocean. Independent supply capacity and long-duration nuclear reactors will have to be pioneered along with the capacity for building new higher-capacity pressure hulls. The program itself is going to be expensive and prolonged but there is nothing as important for national survival as the capacity to return fire against orbital dominance with hundreds of bomb-pumped lasers. (300B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]Next Generation Fleet Combatant: Long-duration patrol missions with a new generation of nuclear vessels with a high-efficiency gas core-mhd system can be designed to significantly improve capability. Massive onboard power systems can go towards the driving of electrical propulsion and laser anti-missile weaponry. Extending the old system of VLS cells and reducing the overall radar and physical profile of the ships will allow a massive improvement in strike and anti-aircraft capacity. The class itself is expected to mostly replace most surface ships on the planet with a follow-on class of LCS expected to allow for marine capacity. (400B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]Militarized Orbital Frigate: Instead of continued operations of frigates that were practically obsolete when they were constructed a new class can be laid down. Modernizing basic electronic systems towards new phased arrays and incorporating the latest generation of Gas core-MHD systems in a unified propulsion bus will be one of the core aspects of the program to provide sufficient thrust under combat conditions. MPD drives are almost expected for strategic travel requirements allowing the ships to flexibly patrol the inner system with a reasonable degree of acceleration. Technical requirements for the frigates are more expected to center around deep salvos of missiles and laser defensive systems forming a component of fleet actions. (250B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]Militarized Orbital Destroyer: The capacity to fit a particle beam into a ship is an entirely open question and one that is going to have to be answered. There is so far no concrete role for a heavy orbital competent capable of returning fire in an anti-shipping role. Designs for it range from a heavy missile carrier with liquid nuclear core missile busses to allow for closer range engagements to a heavy slow combatant with armor designed around firing heavy particle beams. Technical development will be the core aspect of the program with few examples of the class expected to be constructed before a refined follow-on is made. (300B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]FTL Test Bed: A theoretical basis for an FTL drive is available, all that is left is its construction and integration into a new ship class. The drive section itself will be a dominant feature that cannot be protected outside of thermal limitations, locating it as an effective torus somewhere on the craft. Basic spacefaring capacity will further be built up along with a semi-autonomous operation to test the nearly entirely untested technologies going into the ship. Standard drive schemes are expected to improve reliability with a focus on long-duration systems with the targeted exploration of a nearby red dwarf without planets likely to serve as a test case. (???B Or Expected across several funding phases)
[]Long Burn Space-Ships: Lying down a series of cargo ships with significant passenger capacities that are paired with enlarged reactors and improvements in droplet radiators can finally allow for the exploration of the outer planets. The long burn towards the gas giant will take time and impose severe logistical concerns but it can still be accomplished through the design of a new generation of ships. Technical integration of systems ranging from hibernation induction and automation can allow the vessels to minimize space dedicated to the crew, further improving efficiency and making the voyage far more possible. (???B Or Expected across several funding phases)
Political/Personal Reactions(Pick up to 2):
[]Large-Scale Exercises(Army): Testing doctrinal systems through large-scale exercises can be done through a bit of funding and working with the vehicles available. The fact is that current lighter elements are likely to remain for the next few decades leaving an open question of how exactly to use them. Using the technicals will cause consistent grumbling but the force may as well be trained on them. (Small Political Support Cost)
[]Publish a list of Recommendations: In an appropriate move to someone at the highest station, a list of recommended officers can be made and published for the lower ranks so that the next billets for promotion are filled. Further naval commissions especially in the case of a large shipbuilding program will open up slots for bright young commanders trying their craft, steadily rotating out some of the old guard. (Significant Political Cost)
[]Agitate for More Funding: Telling the civilian government that far more money is needed for programs outside of its darlings is going to be challenging with cost overruns but it will be essential for building an adequate fighting force. Not enough is going into the army to adequately obtain technical personnel, much less enough equipment to put them in and prepare them for duty. Something as simple as separating funds for salaries and allowing them to be drawn from a separate budget would be massive and soften the political view of the army. (Significant Political Cost)
[]Solving the Criminal Provocations: Panopticon was a ridiculous oppressive system but that does not discredit its original purpose for solving criminality through enforcement. With the recent rise in criminal activity, something needs to be done to reduce criminality to pre-war levels, especially for idle youths who are just entering the workforce. Taking a stand for a clean, transparent, and apolitical system with a robust series of checks and balances will be a radical but necessary step towards improving the general state of the population. (Massive Political Cost)
[]Lobby Politicians: Ensuring that the incoming conservative-green coalition is briefed on the necessity of military funding is going to be essential for continued support. Getting the likely future coalition ready to assume government and ensuring that they have an idea of future security threats is going to take time, but will be essential for continued support. The army has traditionally kept out of politics but working with the upcoming government is just good sense. (Some Political Cost)
[]Study Wartime Issues(Select Category of Equipment): Committing some time to do a full literature report on a critical wartime piece of equipment and how it exactly failed is going to be a massive crawl through the archives but someone needs to do it. Working for a few continuous days on pulling the papers will take some extra leisure time but it's expected if one is to understand anything of what they are doing. (-5 to +15 depending on roll)
[]Improve Force Morale: Social media has only served to sap the fighting spirit of the military both during the war and now. Consistent misinformation and the distribution of negative information have only intensified the lack of morale at the lowest level of the force with enlisted falling short of the expected standards. Control over the media is controversial but quick targeted programs to improve the morale of the force can be used with some algorithmic targeting, solving the problem and reducing preventable losses to mental illness. (Mild Political Cost)
[]Enforce Democracy: The current government has broken from the democratic principle through the alienation of the average worker and persistent failure to meet their needs. Instead of the army allowing the government to exist movements can be made to change over the green government and hold new elections to enable a transition to democratic methods. This is currently untested and it's questionable if elections would change anything but it remains a constitutional capability.
Infantry-Equipment Set:
Type 23 Combined Equipment: Working with wartime lessons learned and an anemic budget allocation that was expected to go towards all troops, a rationalized system of infantry equipment was developed. Any concept of semi-powered systems or technical sophistication was abandoned in favor of a more conventional system of a plate carrier and uniform combination with a degree of weather resistance. Chemical and biological protection has been limited to a simple respirator rather than the enclosed wartime suits, providing some resistance in the unlikely event of a chemical attack. The old electronically integrated rifles have been brought under a unified 6.5x52mm round along the lines of an R-45 system with effective mountings for optics. Anti-tank firepower has also been consolidated into a series of high-velocity kinetic systems favoring light systems capable of being fired at volume to overwhelm currently non-existent protection systems.
ATGM:
Type 35 Anti-Tank System: On the infantry end the Type-35 rocket system is an effective automated fire and forget that can fire on thermal or electro-optical signature acquisition from a polymer tube, coming in at a portable twenty-three kilogram system loaded. Long-range and vehicle-based variations have been effectively constructed with the seventeen-kilogram terminal phase paired with a either thirteen or twenty-kilogram booster, providing long-range capability with an incorporated autonomous mode. Errant signature targeting remains a problem for the complex but all three are entering large-scale production to distribute anti-tank firepower. The forty-three kilogram vehicle mount is to be standardized across the IFV force, providing a massive increase in long-range firepower.
Wheeled Vehicles:
Light Utility Vehicles: Repurposed vehicles ranging from civilian trucks to modified sedans that have formed several key fire elements. Design standardization has been implemented to the point that several models have a standard set of plating and mounting hardware, but these are effectively pressed into service civilian vehicles. Most mount some variety of medium or heavy machine guns but heavier variants do exist with anti-tank missile systems and recoilless rifles. A light vehicle replacement is considered a priority as the current mass of systems is both unwieldy and impossible to maintain.
Type 14G 6x4: Adapted from effectively a logging truck design from before the war and pushed into production as a dual-use vehicle to call the Type 14 inadequate is a failure in description. Initial models have been built with an all-analog system of controls to save on electronics with a suspension that is generally considered unreliable and the truck itself having negligible protection. Further variations have fixed some of the problems by installing some armor plating around the cab to protect against small arms fire, a roof-mounted machine gun, and all electronic control systems. The truck itself is still deeply inadequate and a death sentence for anything but moving infantry to fights, but it has been the ready replacement for most infantry units' mechanized elements.
APC:
Type 36(Pre-War) APC: An 8x8 mixed drive amphibious 1PC mounting one of the early refined diesel-electric drive systems to distribute power and provide improved throttle response in adverse conditions. Increased electrical power supplies have allowed the fitting of automatic laser blinders on all aspects with smart shot detection enabling automatic response fire by the mounted 24mm cannon. Further improvements in protection provide immunity of the craft from its gun on all but the rear aspect, with an active protection system integrated and containing eight front-focused heavy charges to deter missile attacks. Lighter chargers are further braced in the turret to allow smaller ordinances to also be engaged and deterred at a more reasonable mass cost, providing further improvements in protection. Troop capacity was cut down to only eight men in wartime, but that was judged as acceptable to extend missile capacity to eight launches of Type 43 missiles. Numbers in the current inventory are barely sufficient to equip a single division much less the entire force.
IFV:
Type 38(Pre-War) IFV: Taking design inspirations from the Type 38 tank and directly cloning over its drive system has allowed the standard IFV of the war to maintain a significant rate of advance despite weighing fifty-five tons. The machine is equipped with a primary 57mm cannon with several smart munitions along with significant reinforcement to a lengthened crew section for the complete transportation of an entire infantry section. Frontal composite screens are designed to be adequate against all but the longest rod 152mm munitions with significant resistance to penetration enabled by the engine-power system. Turret integration with the 57mm cannon has twelve heavy and twenty light APS charges along with a hex-emitter laser blinder system. The capacity for seven men exists only due to the automatic missile loader in the turret, limiting the system to firing off staggered shots from dual-missile cassettes in most cases. Less than two hundred functional examples exist due to the sheer age of the system, with most hulls entirely stripped for spare parts.
Tank:
Type 38(Pre War) Tank: The other component of the heavy armored system built around a 1500kW diesel engine combined with an electric drive. The tank is practically built around its central 152mm cannon and autoloader, feeding shells into the system at an acceptable rate with long rod penetrators of up to 1.6 meters capable of being loaded in two parts from hull-based cassettes. APS systems have been pioneered onto the tank with sixteen heavy charges and twelve light charges focused around the frontal aspect to degrade ordinance. Armor protection is not technically sufficient to resist an integrated penetrator from its gun, but that has been judged as sufficient. Automatic gun systems based on the Type 36 APC have been integrated with smart return fire capacity built-in with the 24mm Canon. Despite the existence of only a hundred operational vehicles the chassis has been used for everything from mobile laser anti-aircraft systems to IFVs in greater numbers.
Fixed Wing Aircraft:
None-Operational
Medium Drones:
None-Operational
Light Drones:
Improvised Surveillance Drones: A massive number of diverse quadcopters and basic fixed-wing drones have been produced at a massive number of workshops as systems for surveillance. These have mostly been built with simple radio systems and radio control systems built around applications on civilians and some specialized tablets. Some variants have been modified with basic tandem charge warheads for suicide attacks. The lack of standardization has limited their use of improvised munitions making the commissioning of new systems a high priority.
Naval Combat Ships:
19xType 37 LCS(Pre War): The older generation of lighter littoral combat ships utilizing gas turbines instead of more complex nuclear power plants. Most were built primarily for patrol and anti-piracy duties rather than complex operational requirements in wartime leaving most of them intact in the aftermath. The hulls themselves are equipped with a universal VLS system containing one hundred and twenty tubes rated for anti-shipping missiles along with a series of radar systems and a dual electrochemical canon setup for closer range support duties. Radar integration is considered acceptable even if anti-stealth tracking leaves much to be desired as a platform. Carrying capacities of marines and personnel are the primary purpose of the ship, with the current remaining stocks of the class effectively serving as oversized police cutters.
35xType 33 Frigate(Pre War): The lightest of the classes of ship in service in the thirties modernization program and one destined to act as a low profile low in the water universal combatant specialized in anti-aircraft work. A combined battery of sixty-four cells along with a light electrochemical gun makes up their primary armament. The main purpose of the vessels was the tracking and interception of anti-fleet missile systems while on a cheaper-to-build non-nuclear hull. More complex radar systems were pioneered on the class that would later go on every 30's era ship, allowing an unparalleled simultaneous over-the-horizon intercept capacity against sixteen targets in coordination with further data-linking radars along with data-link enabled lobs followed by terminal boost phase.
Submarines:
None-Operational
Orbital Frigates:
16xRiver-Class(Pre-War Type-35): Closer to a modified police ship than a true naval warship, the River class was originally designed as a vehicle to transport a platoon-sized element of marines between habitats. This was complemented by a limited degree of self-defense capability to police the orbitals along with enabling further orbital work. Drives were built around open cycle gas core reactors supplemented with MPDs for long-range maneuvers, giving each ship a healthy 50 km/s of delta V. With tensions increasing and ever-increasing conflicts with the northern colonial administration the 39 refit radically changed the role of the ships. A series of octagonal twelve-tube missile launches were incorporated into the frame by lengthening the ship along with an 8 MW pulsed laser system with a staggered series of lenses capable of engaging with three at any proper targeting angle. None of those helped in the retreat from lower orbit as guns ravaged the ships, but the few remaining examples have served as venerable shuttles after a total overhaul in 9AE. Reactor cores were replaced with new power ones and the crew section was further compressed to extend their capacities as troop ships, more than capable of supporting the transfer of three hundred men in an LDO-Lunar flight profile.
Orbital Destroyers:
6xDaring Class(Pre-War Type-32): More designed as a pleasure liner for important personnel in orbit along with a defended shuttle for crew transfers outward each Daring's practically the hallmark of a long gone age. Pioneering gas core systems in orbit along with massive travel drives the ships were meant to reach further than ever before in a state of unmatched luxury as tuned MPDs and massive power cores provided them with a usable delta-v of almost 180 km/s. In the 38 refit program, the previously peaceful ships were given a similar missile section to the Type-35 incorporating defensive systems and using the massive power system to mount massive high-temperature 12 MW lasers in a triplex configuration. Each ship can defend itself from anything short of a heavy missile attack, allowing unparalleled operational capacity while maintaining some luxuries. The 12AE refits only compounded on the class with the rationalization of quarters into a hot bunking system incorporating sectioned belonging storage and external mounts for additional crew or cargo. This has enabled a massive five hundred-man capacity along with tons of cargo, though life support resources are strained on such voyages.
Auxiliary Space Ships:
Debris Skiffs: The massive series of different classes of light skiffs that patrolled the orbits looking for debris and salvage have no unified class or performance envelope. The most universal factor for them has been the lack of a nuclear drive and a simple long-burning hydrogen engine for propulsion. Most were effectively a printed airlock, a radar, and a series of propellant tanks, capable of assessing larger debris and preparing them for deorbiting work. Lacking any defensive weaponry or nuclear systems a number of these have even been operated by practically civilian concerns from stations, offering tours and overviews. Standardization of small skiffs for moving around the orbital system is still deeply in demand but it remains a niche application now that debris has mostly stopped being a major threat.
8xType-22 Barge: Effectively an oversized gas core reactor attached to tanks of water and a system for mass on-site refining from carbonate asteroids the Type-22 miner is more of a tug than a true mining ship. Operations are conducted through the processing of several rocks until a reserve of water is built up, afterwards the ship approaches a metalloid rock or chunk, and its crew drills into it. Using highly efficient MPDs that are downgraded the ship steadily pushes the rock and itself into a slow intercept maneuver of Dannan, allowing the rock to then be mined in lower orbit. The two-year missions each Type-22 conducts are long and with a poor crew retention rate as the conditions on board are considered poor even compared to more rationalized ships, if only due to the length of missions. Iterations on the miners are already planned, even if they have not yet been implemented.
Automation:
Improved AI Market Models: Beating out a capable Seelie at modeling in the stock market has already been done but current ML models can take behaviors a step further. By optimizing direct data streams and using a model of learned behavior and information analysis, correct market decisions can be made well in advance by the general public and most investment agents. The actual deployment of the technology has been limited to financial firms focused on optimizing the market with significant gains expected for the early adopters. At this point, people have mostly been removed from market activity with high data algorithms trained off interpreting behavior taking precedence.
Total Line Automation: Previous efforts at predictive logistics and advanced ordering programs have only developed further with improvements made to the autonomous operation of entire facilities. Current algorithms are insufficient to replace all staff but something as simple as balancing and troubleshooting basic parameter deviation has already been demonstrated with further gains expected on the direct testing level. There is little need for first-line employees when logistics can be conducted in an automated manner with a further simplification of most industries that require sterile standards. Continuous improvements are only expected to continue as more advanced algorithms can further reduce necessary labor. (New 35AE)
Ballistics
Economics
Social Sciences
Computing
X-Ray Lithography Techniques: Next-generation lithography was judged as necessary to make the jump to 3nm gate widths, but even that has proven insufficient. New machines with X-ray light have been demonstrated on a laboratory scale, capable of making feature sizes smaller than previously considered possible with a lower number of errors from simplifications in the beam source. Effectively new machinery is now capable of making circuits on a previously thought-to-be impossible scale, eliminating lithographic challenges. The limitations of electron probability distributions are still notable, but they too can eventually be overcome.
Basic Quantum Computing: Further achievements in computing have not come from shortening gate lengths or improving the density of conventional circuits but through the creation of dedicated quantum computing units. These processors can hold almost ten thousand qbits with some capacity for calculation, even if they are not relevant for most tasks that are better suited for conventional computing. Most of the units are useless outside of discrete applications in small data problems and low-level particle modeling, but the application alone is sufficient to drive investment in the field and push for improved models.
Cybernetics/DNI
Dual-Band NI: Downband neural interfacing has always been considered a massive challenge for control systems and is not practical as a system. Basic sensation feedback can now be delivered with a neural splice avoiding any invasive procedures, and even with a significant learning period basic interfaces can be developed. Further, the technology offers the chance to directly train a single nerve to operate a multi-faceted machine through learning simulations comparable to physical therapy. Some sterile implant programs have started for first adopters with an exclusive up-band-only mounting but the technology once matured can apply to any number of military applications. (30 AE)
Basic Cybernetics: Continued advancements in both genetics and neural interfacing have brought forward a practical new era of implantation and dual-way linkages between neurons and computers. Using basic genetic modification to designate several metals as non-invasive to prevent an immune response along with advanced coatings, safe implants can be produced with few issues of rejection and minimal follow-on treatment. Direct neural control along with the direct splicing of nerves represents a further improvement in old techniques allowing theoretical direct control of larger machinery from a direct linkage. (New 35AE)
Transmission
Terahertz Networking: Taking advantage of previously untapped bands of electromagnetic propagation has defined the last generations of networking but it can be taken a step even further. Consolidating work and increasing transmitter power can only go so far in improving penetration, but for most environments, a simple receiver can be used. Propagation of signals in the range can allow for the transmission of data in gigabytes per second over the air, simplifying significant areas of infrastructure. Signal doublers and lesser bands are still needed for the penetration of obstacles, but the improvements from moving into higher ranges hold immense promise.
Energy Storage
MgLiS Batteries: A new revolution in the development of battery power has come from fundamental work on the development of next-generation battery chemistry. Combining the density of single-use aluminum-air cells with the rechargeability of lithium batteries, new magnesium-sulfur batteries with some lithium additives have been brought to commercial production. Voltage limitations and the need for finer electronics to take advantage of the lower voltage plateau have limited most implementations outside storage use to only 1000Wh/kg, but even that represents a massive improvement over previous chemistries. Current production costs are slightly greater than equivalent lithium ions, but as mass production takes off a cheap rechargeable battery capable of a massive number of cycles can be brought to every electronic device.
Thermal Storage: Paired high-temperature molten storage with a high efficiency high differential thermocouple offers a novel if mostly redundant cheap storage method. The effective price of the system is only dependent on its throughput in the thermocouple with the salts themselves forming a very cheap factor. Efficiency is poor and the actual capacity is mostly superseded by MgS battery compositions, but for several low-cost applications, it can be used. Some new batteries have been designed as a peaker system as massive volumes of salts are heated up to provide energy outside of the productive bands of renewable energy plants as entire lakes of salt are far cheaper than even the cheapest batteries. (30 AE)
Fission
Gas Core Reactors: In terrestrial applications, the maximum efficiency for a nuclear core operating in a conventional cycle has always been constrained by the Carnot equation. Working instead with a gaseous core and a partial system of harvesting using an MHD both thermodynamic efficiency and energy conversion efficiency can be nearly doubled. Electrical conversion efficiencies of nearly seventy percent have been achieved in theoretical test cases bringing orbital reactor core performance to larger-scale ground-side cores.
Third Generation MHD Generators: Through combined improvements in harvesting methodologies for power along with better systemic thermal isolation significant gains have been made in thermodynamic efficiencies of power production. These mostly involve a more refined MHD cycle with some secondary thermal harvesting, bringing waste heat output down to a far more manageable twenty percent of the generative process. This in no way gets rid of radiators and further efficiency improvements will be a massive technical challenge but they can still be undertaken. The far greater scale of new unit generation systems will make refits challenging but new vessels can be built to far improved margins of thermal control. (New 35AE)
Non-Propulsive Dusty Plasma Reactor: Continued drives towards gaining efficiency and the modification of thrust systems have demonstrated significant further improvements to efficiency. By taking an ultra-light fissioning uranium plasma and confining it in a pinch between a dual-end MHD harvester an efficient method of power generation can be designed with few downsides. The power system will explicitly not be suitable for off-drive harvesting like previous generation gas-core MHD couplings but the gains from the new method will be massive. Thermal efficiencies in the order of eighty-five percent can be achieved with a hotter operating cycle, only limited by internal chamber materials, leading to more efficient radiative hot loops. (New 35AE)
FTL
FTL Tachyons: Combining a specialized method of particle physics, the interaction of W bosons in a strong magnetic and electrostatic field has managed to reliably produce several tachyons. These particles have managed to do a previously impossible interaction in conventional models of physics and effectively send a signal out instantaneously. Receiver infrastructure has only been built in another lab, but a basic signal was transmitted along with a narrow band data stream through a Morse-like system. Theoretically, larger and more capable systems have already been commissioned, but they are not expected to be smaller than dedicated buildings and will almost certainly be limited in data transmission. (An unscientific carve-out of relativity in the sense of a privileged special frame that is nonetheless for writing what I want to instead of the more speculative science approach I am taking with everything else.)
FTL-Jump Drive(Theoretical): Through the prompt generation of exotic materials something of a temporary cross-dimensional linkage can be generated. Previous experiments with tachyons have significantly expanded the understanding of particle physics allowing for some glimpses into a possible even space where far larger objects can be sent in a theoretically faster-than-light trajectory. Current ideas of particle generation arrays are unstable at best and experience intense interference from gravitons effectively limiting techniques to areas of the system under less than 1e-4 m/s^2 of acceleration with even less preferred. Actual points where a transition can be induced are even fewer with four calculated to exist in the Dannan system but outside of testing with small objects, it is impossible to know if the model is applicable. Targeting is also assumed to be a major challenge with few known solutions outside of directing the field at the point of initiation, necessitating a massive amount of further testing. (30 AE) (More unscientific carve outs from relativity)
FTL Jump Point Theory: The discrete detection of pockets of so-called jump-optimal space has proceeded logically from previous theories with the refit of a daring class destroyer to assessing pods. Initial guesses that the points would exist outside the orbit of the fifth planet and limitations of gravity have been confirmed though there is a curious phenomenon involved with most jump points in that some are significantly "deeper" dimensionally than others. It is believed that a jump conducted from a deeper point would both be easier and less intensive, leaving other areas of the system as more secondary. Confirmation of further points in the outer system will take time, but current mathematical understandings of jump space do indicate that there should be a few around the gas giant. (New 35AE)
Fusion
Gain positive DT: The creation of massive tokamaks was to an extent perfected pre-war with reactors capable of 10GWe designed theoretically and affordable relative to other power sources. Miniaturization is an open and significantly challenging question without an active reactor for technical development, leaving the technology at a theoretical and underfunded dead end. Plasma temperatures generated can theoretically be sufficient for other fuel cycles but due to the increased issues in generating sufficient conditions even larger cores would be required. (Obsolete, will be removed 40AE)
Optimal Band DT: Further improvements on the conventional fusion fuel cycle and a sustained temperature of 80 KeV can now be attained and maintained without a significant technical burden for reactors of the old scale. This effectively optimizes interaction cross-sections of the fuel, raising the reaction rate while maintaining a similar degree of plasma density. Improvements in the magnets involved have trickled down to smaller-scale reactors with the expectation that a positive 1 GWe reactor could be constructed. The largest improvements however come in the larger cores as once the optimal plasma temperatures are reached the reaction rate increases by almost five fold making the largest cores economical for truly mass power-production applications. (New 35AE)
Biosciences
Genome Engineering: Taking a second look at the genome outside of the initial clumsy attempts by the old regime has yielded massive and rapid gains as transgenic applications have only grown in extent. Work towards tailoring physiological processes along with the specific location of genes responsible for appearance has effectively allowed an unlimited degree of modification. The forefront of the current breakthrough is a co-opting of internal systems of self-correction, allowing a specialized viral payload to infect large parts of the body along with the systems themselves with any remaining cells fixed to the new genetic package. Modifications ranging from more than tripling muscle mass set points to effective morphological control can be conducted, but most depend significantly on the degree of laws passed around them.
Self Healing Concrete: Targeted genetic engineering work on previous programs has come to the fore with the integration of organisms in conventional concrete pours. These engineered organisms are built to produce calcite to fill any hole left in the concrete from micro-fractures or thermal stress. While the material itself will still steadily get weaker due to the limitations of biological systems, the ability to fix most micro-fractures will massively extend all lifespans. Further, as the integration of organisms is practically a cheap step of end-state processing, it can be done for almost nothing, allowing all modern grades of concrete to have limited self-repair for no real loss in initial durability.
Hibernation Systems: Induction of a hibernation adjacent sleep-like state for long-duration orbital journeys has always been desirable but limitations in life support equipment have rendered it problematic. Rather than a total freezing of biological processes a sorta long duration low-calorie use sleep can be induced on a crew for long journeys performed by automated systems. Some degradation and risk are still expected from the process as it is refined but such sleepers can be kept at a minimal life support burden. Retrofits of the system onto ships have been delayed by the lack of automated systems capable of managing complex reactor parameters but several proposals have already been made for dual-setup craft. (30 AE)
Materials Science
High Entropy Alloys(Early): Developmental work on computational models of more complex crystalline structures has produced results practically as soon as sufficient computing power is applied. Breaking away from conventional understandings of bi-component alloys or base metals with mix-ins, the use of a massive number of mixed metals has allowed conventional material science to be revolutionized. Significant gains in basic structural alloys can be conducted in specialized smelting environments at a reasonable cost, even if many of the highest-performance materials capable of entering the realm of super-hard ceramics are limited by supplies of scandium and tantalum. Corresponding breakthroughs in additive manufacturing techniques have only improved performance, producing parts cheaply and with qualities well above conventional material science.
Engineering Plastics: Work in the biological sciences on easy-to-produce materials has rapidly enabled the creation of biological systems capable of making short-chain polymers. Limitations in internal chemistries and the needs of organisms to process feedstock from the atmosphere have made the process inefficient compared to the energy committed, but for low-quality biologically derived plastics, this is a revolution. Incredible cheap plastic can be brought into bulk construction roles as fillers, improving structural design and further lowering costs for low-quality biodegradable material.
Synthetic Diamondoids(low yield): Nothing prevents the production and shaping of a large block of diamondoid materials through innovative semi-conventional production methods along with improvements in deposition techniques. The only remaining question is if the expense of a diamondoid is useful in any good or product as the ultra-hardness can be almost replicated by more conventional and cheaper ultra-hard ceramics. Theoretical requirements involving only carbon are a positive factor but even those do not make the technology viable. (30 AE)
CNT Mass Production: Improvements have been made in non-biological processes for the production of long-chain carbon nano-tubes effectively making biological methods obsolete. Large-scale macro-catalytics have developed significantly on older techniques with scalable production of new materials. The changeover has forced the rapid adoption of new methods along with the increase of the chemical industry as simpler methods are steadily pushed aside. After some reconfiguration, it is expected that CNT incorporation can become a common factor for several industrial applications. (New 35AE)
Doctrine
Autonomous Drone Warfare: New theories of automation have not failed to reach the battlefield with concepts around a general increase in semi-automatic and automatic combat platforms favored. ECCM has only improved over time with many asking why it is necessary to risk Seelie lives in warfare when a single soldier can manage a dozen autonomous platforms. Development of doctrinal and technical concepts will involve committed testing of new platforms and new procurement goals limiting what can be done, but several visionary manuals have been written on the topic. (30 AE)
Missiles/Small Craft
Fission Drive Miniaturization: Technical work towards miniaturizing a liquid core fission drive has been possible if consistently problematic. Ensuring that effectively spinning fission fuel can have enough room for operation and adequate separation from the propellant is still a major technical challenge. Theoretical work towards slightly lowering temperatures and increasing mass flow while accepting emissions has been pushed forward but even that is theoretical. Effective launch profiles for rockets less than fifty tons can be made even if current costs make it prohibitive for anything disposable.
Orbital Industry
Early Spaceship ISRU: Procedures for the in-space refinement of metals have rapidly been developed to further exportation and increase yields. Next-generation mining techniques in the form of total asteroid capture followed by pulverization and liquefaction under mild centrifugal forces have yielded significant gains in refinement and on-site processing. The next generation of mining ships is expected to entirely incorporate new methods, effectively breaking off chunks of asteroids before capturing them and refining them internally. Water off-gas can be directly utilized for propulsion and life support while more solid elements are left for further refinement, allowing lighter nuclear drives to easily provide sufficient transit reserve.
Particle Sciences
MPD Improvements: With the start of construction for new ships, previously experimental techniques in the construction of magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters have effectively gone mainstream. Increasing the charge of the surface and allowing for a tentative protective coat in the flow has massively improved thruster durability for longer burns all while supplying more power. The already fairly efficient drives have been further thermally improved with the integration of superconducting materials on all non-contact components, reducing heat burdens and further power to weight.
Bomb Pumped X-ray Lasers: Utilizing the fission fragments of a warhead to pump a laser has historically been attempted to consistent yet mediocre results, but with the integration of better lensing material and a slightly more coherent media far better results have been produced. The lasers are still hard to focus and carry forward a minuscule amount of power even compared to a shaped nuclear charge, but they have a far longer range and exist outside of conventional atmospheric limitations. Fissile material use for each laser-specialized warhead is expected to be heavy due to the negligible impact a second stage has on device design, limiting any approach to use a dirty single stage.
Particle Beam Theories: Nothing prevents the mass scaling of the particle accelerator into a viable orbital weapon system capable of breaking the previous expectations of warship design. Massive linear accelerator designs can be made to accelerate a mass of particles to near relativistic speeds allowing for a massive impulse of radiation to be delivered to any target irregardless of previous armoring attempts. The scattering will effectively limit the ranges and the massive capacitor banks required for the generation of the beam have made the system at its lightest a thousand-ton intensely magnetic tube, but it can be developed to a sufficient point to cram into a warship. (New)
Production Methods
Advanced Additive Manufacturing: The largest gains in additive manufacturing techniques have not come from the methodologies themselves but from the materials fed into them and their integration into general industries. The manufacturing of specific specialty parts and the ability to rapidly prototype has remained from previous generations of manufacturing, what has changed however has been improvements in feedstock and deposition methods. Utilization of mixed powders has been a near-universal factor with finer grinding and materials that maintain hardness with a minimum degree of hardening prioritized. Using mixed powder high entropy alloy parts can be made to a higher standard than possible with other methods, integrating techniques as mainstream manufacturing methods on a previously unheard-of scale.
Biological-Epoxies: Complete production chains for biosynthetic epoxies and resins have been developed with only some requirements remaining for molding. The material is not as cheap as conventional regenerative cement construction but it is better insulating and far more portable for logistically challenging areas. Molding is still necessary making the process not truly automated but some proponents of prefabricated resin paneling made in a factory as a light alternative to prefabricated panels especially for external insulation applications. (New 35AE)
Thinking it might be worthwhile to use a Personal Reaction on
[]Study Wartime Issues(ype-22 Barge)
This is our current mining ship, so it's bonus should apply to developing our new one. In addition our 2nd gen design rolled poorly, so we're gonna need to try and boost this sucker so it doesn't eat way more money than anticipated. The only other political actions that look viable imo are lobbying and maybe improving force morale if we're feeling spicy.
Thinking it might be worthwhile to use a Personal Reaction on
[]Study Wartime Issues(ype-22 Barge)
This is our current mining ship, so it's bonus should apply to developing our new one. In addition our 2nd gen design rolled poorly, so we're gonna need to try and boost this sucker so it doesn't eat way more money than anticipated. The only other political actions that look viable imo are lobbying and maybe improving force morale if we're feeling spicy.
I don't think that's really got any "wartime" issues, given that I'm pretty sure we laid down the first of the current asteroid mining fleet after the war. If that action can be used as just a generic "get a single bonus for any procurement" action, then it should still work. If not, I think the procurement projects most likely to be picked soon that were also used during the war would be either the subs (for an expensive option we'd rather not turn out poorly) or the light vehicles/one of the infantry options/drones (for cheap but still good options taken to fill out our budget so we don't lose it).
I don't think that's really got any "wartime" issues, given that I'm pretty sure we laid down the first of the current asteroid mining fleet after the war. If that action can be used as just a generic "get a single bonus for any procurement" action, then it should still work. If not, I think the procurement projects most likely to be picked soon that were also used during the war would be either the subs (for an expensive option we'd rather not turn out poorly) or the light vehicles/one of the infantry options/drones (for cheap but still good options taken to fill out our budget so we don't lose it).
That's fair, I was going off the assumption it was a single bonus for any procurement action, as long as we have the prior equipment to review. If not, then I'd switch it to light vehicles.
Transport Aircraft: With a commitment towards a light aircraft system the more actual question of reasonable design criteria will be essential. Current assumptions are built around a moderate-scale airframe with a set of turbine engines but that can be modified to a large extent. The main purpose of the airframe is going to be the transportation of infantry and personnel between islands along with some secondary uses as alternative platforms. Technical work that is done now will be built around that role but further capacity can be mandated to see if a sufficiently ambitious design can be developed. These additional capabilities in the bid would be a high priority even if each will necessitate severe technical compromises. (35) (Pick as many as Desired)
[]High Range Specification: Pushing strongly for achieving a five thousand kilometer flight range with a maximum payload rather than the unambitious three thousand originally planned can significantly extend single flight capability. The plane would effectively have to be larger with advanced engine developments to continue to meet the specification but it will allow for bids with improved propulsion technologies such as work on prop-fans or even a conventional turbo-prop. Efficiency improvements will rapidly be transferable to the civilian sector ensuring that further sales can keep program costs down.
[]Very Rough Field Capability: Developing a series of landing gear and instrumentation to land on unpaved runways represents a major technical challenge that has so far not been met in a similarly heavy aircraft. It should be theoretically possible to ensure that the plane can handle any smoothed-packed dirt runway but that will require further development effort. This will allow a minimization of local development expenses and allow for the prompt relocation of supplies.
[]STOL: Designing for a capacity to conduct eight hundred meter takeoffs when fully loaded along with a capacity for landing on one-kilometer landing strips. This will further enable the minimization of required runways allowing simplification and use in adverse combat conditions. The capacity to operate shortened runways will minimize operational and construction delays while also extending developments to adverse conditions in landing and takeoff operations.
[]Extend Transport Limits: Pushing to minimum carry weight of forty-five tons is going to require significant compromises elsewhere in the airframe but they can be made according to some experts. Carrying a single IFV is one thing but by extending the capacity some form of light armor with an adequate gun could be carried for more mobile units. Improvements in cargo capacity alone will make the program far more capable, requiring lower procurement numbers and aiding in efficiency.
[]Universalization of the Airframe: With the procurement and funding of a major airframe it's almost inevitable that the craft will be pushed into several roles ranging from AWACS to tankerage. Committing the funding now to design variations on the craft capable of flying with integrated radars and ensuring sufficient power access will cost some additional funding but significantly improve end capacity. Further, keeping production lines unified and standardizing conversions can produce some cost savings.
Ultimately, I think our priority should be restoring a full range of air force capabilities as cheaply as practical. I recommend prioritizing universalization of the airframe (because that extends into letting us set up things like tankers and AWACS, as noted) and high range specification (because it's specifically called out as being likely to yield spinoff benefits for other forms of aviation).
The other capabilities are nice, but at this point we're the military of a world government and if we need to build longer airstrips or better ones, we can.
I think Very Rough Field capability or STOL would be better than range, especially for an island hopping plane on a planet with terrible weather and constant hurricanes.
The Type 22 barge was not present in wartime, I think, so idk if we can study it. "Spaceships" might be too broad, too.
Kind of liking the 'radical departure' mining ship design- For all that it might end up being a boondoggle, it'll also explore the technology and possibly build capabilities for the FTL testbed or next gen combat spaceships.
Hmm... Is there a game similar to War Thunder or World of Tanks? Cause if there is, we might consider "leaking" the tech specifications of the truck developed and let the devs use it on a condition they make it as shit as possible in game while remaining true to specifications. So that every zoomer tankie grow to hate Sygner with us being technically not involved.
We should have 2210B Or in budget by my count (shouldve stuck to adding scholarships lmao) so its time to slend big.
[]Plan Spend Money
-[]Expand the Mechanized Corps:
-[]Pay them Off:
-[]Very Rough Field Capability:
-[]STOL:
-[]Dual MHD-Gas Core:
-[]FTL Test Bed:
-[]Long Burn Space-Ships:
-[]Publish a list of Recommendations:
-[]Study Wartime Issues(Spaceborne Civilian Ships):
Expanding the Mech Corps is an easy win imo. Its a good system, we want more of it and the generals want more of it. Id be willing to get even more of the system really, just as a political bid and to, as the plan says, spend money bevause frankly we have too much. Then we do what our Lawyers say because thats why we hired them lmao.
The transport plane gets future-proofrd by focusing on what it can do better than a larger, heavier system in the future: rough field short runway capabilities. This will ensure the design has a lasting service even after objectively better designs get made.
Mining ship gets the more conventional systems because I want us to be able to put down hulls ASAP: we want to be able to spend more money in case we have a large amount of it left, and do it fast. If someone thinks any of the other options are objecticely much superior you can sell me on it but for now id rather have the long burn ship do that.
FTL gets started as per the plan, hopefully we spend a lot of money there! We also have ricky study civilian spaceships while publishing the Recommendations to start influencing promotions now that we're gonna start laying down (space)ships.
Again, for now the plan should be to fucking spend that bread. We do not want to get caught with a trillion Or in the bank next cycle.
I like the rest of this plan, but I'm unsure what we may get out of studying the performance of civilian spaceships during the war for the same reasons I'm not sure what we would get from studying how the mining fleet did. I think that could be better spent reading up on whatever military project we want to fill the IFV's slot with next turn.
I've got no strong feelings one way or the other on the Mining Ship drives, but with that plan aiming to spend lots of budget maybe the more ambitious drives are more likely to suffer cost overruns?
[]Plan Spend Money + economic aircraft
-[]Expand the Mechanized Corps
-[]Pay them Off
-[]High Range Specification
-[]Very Rough Field Capability
-[]Dual MHD-Gas Core
-[]FTL Test Bed
-[]Long Burn Space-Ships
-[]Publish a list of Recommendations
-[]Study Wartime Issues(Spaceborne Civilian Ships)
I do not disagree with Adronios plan majorly i think the focus lies the right places for the most part but i think we should think about how utterly fucked the aircraft situation is right now. I think future proofing it would be nice but in my mind it should not be our main focus as right now we have no effective aircraft at all and i doubt we are going to make a proper transport aircraft in the next 10 years (minimum) as we have so many other priorities including every other part of the none existing airforce. This means to me that we should focus on expanding production as much as possible and give the civilian goverment something they can work with. I thought about taking the "Universalization of the Airframe" but it seems very risky in the scoop creep it will introduce into the design process.
I like the rest of this plan, but I'm unsure what we may get out of studying the performance of civilian spaceships during the war for the same reasons I'm not sure what we would get from studying how the mining fleet did. I think that could be better spent reading up on whatever military project we want to fill the IFV's slot with next turn.
Mechanically the way the studies works is that it for that turn gives a bonus or malus to the procurement rolls for procurement that falls under the same 'equipment umbrella' as is being studied. The mining ships and long burn drive ships are both civilian under this category, possibly FTL testbed aswell (although thats actually a really poor category since technically its all military due to it falling under us, the military. A better name would probably be auxiliary ships or merchant ships.)
Narratively its just our PC reading up on relevant technical aspects of spaceships so that we have an easier time shifting through bullshit and hopefully making it so we get more good info before we make decisions.
I've got no strong feelings one way or the other on the Mining Ship drives, but with that plan aiming to spend lots of budget maybe the more ambitious drives are more likely to suffer cost overruns?
The idea is to develop the new mining ship quicker so we can start spending money producing as many as we can afford before the new budget cycles arrive: we still want to actually develop our space industrial complex as fast as possible and not just be stuck throwing money in development hell; we have the other two space options when it comes to burning money while being stuck in development hell!
