Technocracy of Umeria: 3300 Military Budget
In FY 3300, the Technocracy of Umeria proceeds full speed ahead on its "Fleet 3310" construction program, building new ship types known collectively as the "Century Fleet." GroundSec is kept at maintenance levels of funding, with no expansions planned in the near future.
The lead waves of screening vessels of the latest type have already been completed under the program. Frigate and cutter-tender designs have received only incremental upgrades. The most noteworthy advances found among the Fleet 3310 construction are in the new
Renata Fields-class destroyers, which are greatly superior to the older classes in energy-efficiency and component service life. While closely equivalent to the older
Scheele and
du Chatelet classes in gross measures of firepower and reactor output, their greater endurance and lower operating costs increase their multirole capability. Analysts predict that the
Renatas will begin to intrude on the interdiction, patrol, and reconnaissance missions, traditionally the province of the lighter but higher-endurance Umerian frigates.
In addition, the latest Flight III
Hero-class light cruisers are updated to carry electronic warfare and C3I systems noticeably in advance over what was practical on the older hulls of the class. Upgrades to the
Hero-class show a significant improvement, though not a sea change compared to the Flight I and II designs.
Most foreign observers believe that once an adequate number of
Hero Flight III's are in service, SpaceSec will begin retiring the remaining
Conductor-class cruisers. These older ships are at best mediocre in the light cruiser mission by current Umerian standards. However, this process may not begin for several years, as there are an enormous number of
Conductors among the system control forces. Since all current cruiser construction is devoted to escorts for new capital ships, replacing the
Conductors is simply not an option for the next several years, barring an increase to the already liberal construction budget.
Improvements to the
FF-7000 and
AGP-3700 series frigates and cutter tenders are unremarkable- mostly of interest to the Umerians themselves, rumors of new enhanced-yield missile and torpedo warheads notwithstanding.
Meanwhile, most popular attention regarding the "Century Fleet" focuses on the capital ships: the
Vindicator-class dreadnought and
Aurora-class battlecruiser. Both classes are equipped with the Mk XV Block 5 ion cannon, which offers roughly a 50% increase in firepower over the older Mk XIV proton guns. The
Vindicators enjoy similar increases in shielding, electronic warfare capabilities, and broadside armament, at the price of greatly increased tonnage and considerably increased design complexity.
The
Auroras are less changed structurally, representing a predictable scaling up and rearming of the
Patriot-class heavy cruiser, in the same way that the
Explorer and
Tornado-classes evolved from the older
Bombardier cruisers. Foreign analysts believe that the
Auroras will benefit less from upgrading to the Mark Fifteen, as Umerian battlecruisers are already 'glass hammers,' greatly overgunned for their tonnage and defensive armament; further increasing their firepower out of proportion to the rest of their systems is unlikely to make them all that much more effective in combat. Some have already predicted that the
Auroras are going to prove a disappointment.
Possibly in light of this, the Umerian government has ordered a hold on completion of the initial wave of six
Auroras. This appears odd, as the ships' structure was almost entirely complete by December 3299. Normally, they would be starting commissioning trials shortly.
Some speculate that they may be spending extra time on internal refits, though security around the
Auroras' building slips is even tighter than usual and no one has gotten close enough to be sure exactly what's going on.
This year Umeria is laying down another six
Auroras and two
Vindicators, with the third
Vindicator being delayed on account of disruptions to shipyard schedules because of the delays in completing the lead wave of
Auroras. In addition, the Space Security Force will be laying down screen elements for the three new capital ship squadrons approaching completion in the coming fiscal year. As a special budgetary measure, some light combatants are being laid down excess to requirements for that; more on that later.
For detailed descriptions of Umerian warship designations, see
the following data.
Umerian GDP: 63000 terastarbucks ($)
Fleet construction budget: 6300 terastarbucks ($)
Capital ship construction:
x2 FY 3300 $650
Vindicator-class ion dreadnoughts:
Laid down January 3300, due to leave yards January 3303.
x3 FY 3299 $650
Vindicator-class ion dreadnoughts:
Laid down January 3299, 250$ of construction completed by game start (paid for in order of battle).
Additional 400$ per ship paid now. Due to leave yards January 3302.
x6 FY 3300 $250
Aurora-class ion battlecruisers
Laid down January 3300, due to leave yards January 3301.
[Analysts predict that like the FY 3300 wave, these ships will be delayed for further systems installation, which would take place in FY 3301]
x6 FY 3299 $250 Aurora-class ion battlecruisers- DELAYED:
Paid for in starting order of battle. Originally due to leave yards January 3300; an additional six months has been scheduled for installation of
[CLASSIFIED BURN BEFORE READING], also known as "internal upgrades to electronics fit," at additional cost of $100 each. Build plan thus revised to:
x6 $100 upgrades to FY 3299
Aurora-class ion battlecruisers:
Upgrades begin January 3300, due to leave yards ~May-July 3300
Capital ship cost: 2(650)+3(400)+6(250)+6(100) = $4600
Screen element construction:
x3 $200
Aviary-class
fleet carriers, plus fighter complement.
Laid January 3300, due to leave yards ~October 3300
x6 $60
Hero-class light cruisers
To be constructed in three waves of two, entering service at four month intervals throughout the year.
x18 $40
Renata Fields-class destroyers
To be constructed in six waves of three, entering service at two month intervals throughout the year.
x12 $15
AGP-3700-series
cutter tenders, plus attached cutter wings.
Continuous production at a rate of one per month, throughout the year.
Screen element cost: 3(200)+6(60)+18(40)+12(15) = $1560
Supplementary construction:
Trans-Frontier Command Expansion:
x1 10$ re-equipping and refurbishment of SCIENCE! vessel
Austin Cardynge for long range voyage; see future posts.
x3 30$
FF-7000 series frigates
Laid down in January, February, and March 3300, commissioning in March, April, and May 3300
x2 $15
AGP-3700-series
cutter tenders, plus small craft complement
Laid down January and February 3300, commissioning February and March 3300
(additional $10 of fleet procurement budget vanishes into the black budget and/or someone's pants, never to be seen again by the civilized galaxy)
10+10+90+30=140$
Total
4600+1560+140 = 6300$