200 Berth Strategy Summary Briefing, Circa Late 2322 / Early 2323
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[-] 1. Introduction
The 200 Berth Strategy is a Federation-scale strategic war plan designed by Starfleet Tactical Strategic Review Division in concert with Starfleet Tactical's Design Labs. First developed under Pathe Lathriss in 2315, it details how the Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets could fight an existential war in the event of massive enemy occupation of up to half its territory. The current plan accounts for destruction of the Utopia Plantia shipyard, for the destruction or occupation of the capitol in Sol, and for hostile occupation from any direction including Ashalla Pact thrusts from spinwards or rimwards, Klingon invasion into Ferasa and Andor, Romulan attack into Andor and Vulcan, Harmony occupation of Okatha and Rigel, or even the attack from inwards of various major systems by hostile extra-universal powers.
Key to the 200 Berth Strategy are the member and ally berths, almost countless in number, which range from the 400kt berths at Risa to 750kt berths in Seyek space to the 3mt behemoths of the Amarkian Arsenal. A ship in every berth, claims the plan. Additionally, reactivated member fleet industrial assets are used as small-scale decentralized component production. Included in the file are updated ship designs for every berth size, which ensure that 150+ of the Federation's berths can be producing warships simultaneously.
[-] 2. History
The 200 Berth Strategy can trace its origins to the Federation's growing diversity, and to the Member World Coordination Office (now the Member World Coordination Division). Around the end of 2314, some MWCD representatives began inquiring as to if there were plans to reduce the now incredibly-diverse member fleets to a more standardized set. Standardization in Federation designs had long been a matter of course for the original four, but there was no official policy, just a natural inclination to centralization of starship technology and industrial resources from four species that had worked together for over a century. In addition, Starfleet Tactical had a sharp need to modify war plans to include both the extensive new territory and the emergence of new potential enemies. Any attack on the original four sectors would quickly threaten the other three, rending much of the old Federation under direct threat. With the accession of the Amarki, Betazoids, Caitians, Rigellians, Apiata, and Indorians in the short seven years between 2306 and 2313, the Federation had more than doubled in territorial size, and no longer would an occupation of any one sector threaten the bulk of the Federation.
Over the course of 2315, Vice Admiral Sulu was promoted out of Starfleet Tactical Command. With an opportunity to influence the Federation's strategic direction, a combination of MWCD coordinators from the Apiata, Indorian and Rigellian fleets, and Amarki, Orion and Caitian officers within Starfleet went to the newly promoted Vice Admiral Pathe Lathriss with questions over how and under what circumstances the newfound strategic depth of the Federation would be used. This led to the development of the first iteration of the 200 Berth Strategy, the 100 Berth Strategy, which outlined how the spinward and tailward halves of the Federation could operate if one half was under attack or occupation by a hostile power.
The 100 Berth Strategy was a direct development of the War Plan Glegch, which was the economic plan for total mobilization of the original four members of the United Federation of Planets and her affiliates in the face of total war with the Klingon or Romulan empires*. A second version of the plan was developed for the spinward half of the Federation, and Glegch was updated into the Tailward Strategy. Together, the Spinward Strategy and the Tailward Strategy represented the two halves of the 100 Berth Strategy, including plans to integrate the Amarki, Apiata, and Caitian component-producing assets to Starfleet-grade, and to integrate the Betazoids and Rigellians into the original four war economies in the event of total mobilization, with the Tellarite central position and flexible industrial base acting as a pivot. The 100 Berth Strategy's builds centered around two ship types, a 550kt frigate for the 500kt and 600kt berths of the original four, the Indorians, the Gaeni, the Apiata, and the Caitians, and a <1.1mt frigate (or the existing Renaissance, Kepler, and Comet projects) for the 1mt and 1.5mt berths of the original four, Amarki, Betazoids, Caitians, Rigellians, and Indorians.
*In fact, the late-2200s version of War Plan Glegch was nearly deployed twice, once under illegitimate orders of Admiral Cartwright during the Khitomer Crisis, and once in the lead-up to the Battle of Kadesh, where the final result was uncertain and total mobilization might have been necessary to stop a victorious Biophage.
[-] 3. Modern Implementation
As the Federation has introduced more members and allies, the 100 Berth Strategy has been updated, becoming the 200 Berth Strategy with three key economic areas, with an anticipated expansion into the Sydraxian Gulf as a fourth economic area as all four powers there are now Federation affiliates, and eventually rimwards as the STO, Risa, Ashidi, and Trill move towards greater integration as an economic area. Corewards, Spinwards, and Tailwards are the current groupings, with much work been done ahead of their delayed ascension to integrate the powerful Starkin economy, the fleets of the Starkin and Magen Chalal, and the remote location of the Ked Paddah major worlds into war plans. As the Federation has grown, critical shipbuilding infrastructure was positioned in Amarki and Apiata space, and programs upgrading member fleets to Starfleet-standard ships were strongly encouraged, the latest of which can be seen in the Sarqel Treaty Organization. Logistical routes were adjusted so that the bounty of the Gabriel Border Zone, the coreward colonies along the Horizon and Licori borders, and the rimward colonies in STO space are all serviced by different branches of the Federation shipping arteries. This has caused a distribution of shipbuilding infrastructure and auxiliary supply routes that is almost impossible to completely shut down in a single-front war.
The 200 Berth Strategy concludes that it should focus on three primary ship sizes, and that it must skew all its designs towards low-mineral and low-crew designs. A
480kt frigate, designed for the 400, 500, and 600kt shipyards, which service ships of 480kt, 600kt, and 720kt respectively. A 840kt frigate, which can be built in the 700kt, 750kt, and 800kt yards, servicing ships of 840, 900, and 960kt. And a 1.2mt frigate, which can be built in the 1mt and 1.2mt yards, serving ships of 1.2 and 1.44mt.
With the increase in standardization with members adopting Starfleet designs, and with some of the member fleet seeking new berth-suitable designs of Starfleet standard, Starfleet's Ship Design Bureau has engaged in a great deal of consultation with member world design teams in order to ensure parts and logistical commonality in upcoming designs. Thusfar, this cooperation and consultation have delivered a number of suitable designs at the 840kt level, including
a science frigate that may be prototyped by the Sydraxians and
a skirmish frigate that may or may not be produced by the STO**. On the 1.2mt level, there is a split between a
1.2 mt frigate and a
977kt Comet variant, but both designs require technology projected for 2325. In 2323, the best design available for 1.2 mt berths is listed as a
proposed Renaissance-A and the
Comet itself.
There is also some consideration to a <1.8mt cruiser for the 1.5mt, 2mt, and 2.5mt yards and a <3.6mt explorer for the 3mt, 3.1mt, and single 4mt yard, but these yards are of a much smaller concern as they are in total less numerous, are a larger target for raiders, the resources to service them under siege are comparatively greater, and such ships already exist in Starfleet use or existing expansion plans.
That the 200 Berth Strategy focuses on distributed production of cheap frigate-sized vessels has been pointed out as a doctrinal mistake by its detractors across Starfleet, including many flag-rank veterans of the Explorer Corps, who prefer relying on heavy ships and have done so to massive success in the campaigns they have commanded since the turn of the century. While it is true that existing Starfleet doctrine focuses on the production of heavy ships, as far down as long-build heavy frigates, the existing top-heavy Starfleet is a key component of the strategy. The 200 Berth Strategy presumes that Starfleet will be greatly reduced in repeated defense against a serious invasion, so it produces frigates that can easily be added to any remaining heavy ships in ad-hoc battlegroups. In this way, any remaining Starfleet cruiser or explorer can form the nucleus of a fleet along with the 200-berth frigates just rolling off the production lines. This is no accident, but deliberate planning for the state of the Federation's forces in the event of such a devastating war.
It has to be remembered that the 200 Berth Strategy is a contingency plan, allowing the Federation to continue to operate a formidable navy even through the destruction of our heavy forces, the loss of our largest concentration of berths, and the reduction of our incomes. Under ideal circumstances, production of heavy vessels could continue, but the 200 Berth Strategy is not designed for ideal circumstances, but for worst-case scenarios.
** 2324 Note: The STO decided against, but the design still exists.
[-] 4. Weaknesses
If the 200 Berth Strategy has a primary weakness, it is logistical. While it's possible the Federation or rump Federation could survive an invasion that occupies half its current territory, its merchant marine may not. By the time a war grinds its way through Sol or Amarkia and occupies multiple member states, it is almost certain that the merchant marine that services Starfleet's yards will have been ground into as much dust as Starfleet itself. However, the incredibly deep reserves of member state merchant marines may prove enough to continue a distributed shipbuilding program. The destruction of the logistical production net that services Starfleet's berths would also be felt, however in recent years the production of Starfleet critical starship components has been heavily decentralized for security reasons. Not to mention, member states each still operate their own starship-grade production plans. Coordinating these smaller-scale production facilities into a Federation-wide effort is a considerable focus of the 200 Berth Strategy's detailed planning, as is fast reactivation of decommissioned member fleet component production facilities.
Of course, a secondary weakness is political. Any Federation defeated enough to be relying on a distributed starship production network may be war-weary, on the verge of fracturing along member state lines, or ready to sue for a negotiated peace. But the 200 Berth Strategy is not a political strategy, simply a military-economic one. If the strength and threat it represents will give the Federation a stronger negotiating position despite the weakness of having lost a third of her territory, then it was well-used. There are also wars where negotiation is not an option, or where political will solidifies around a "no quarter, no step back" hard-line. If the Federation should ever need to fight to her last, the 200 Berth Strategy will provide to the last berth.
[+] 5. Conclusion
[+] 6. Further Reading
Author's Notes: I actually don't think I ever posted this outside of the draft on Discord. This is a document from a few in-game years ago, so the designs are actually significantly out-of-date. Notably, we anticipate a different set of 2325+ designs and also a different set of 1.2mt frigates, plus the Renaissance-A.
