NAVY ANNOUNCES MODERNISATION PLAN
Lubyakan Navy Announces Long Arm Modernisation Plan; Massive Orders to Foreign Suppliers Placed
Source: Lubyakan News Network (LNN)|30 November, 2014|Politics|Nonastov
Battlecruiser LNS Crucible Returning to the Carousel Shipyards as the Long Arm Phase I Modernisation Plan Begins
CAROUSEL SHIPYARDS, NONASTOV--The return of a warship as large as a Dominion class battleceruiser is almost always cause for celebration here in the famous port city on the Tovakyan Ocean. The Crucible alone has been home to several hundred sailors for the past several months, and with the rest of her task force not far behind, perhaps thousands of families will be welcoming home loved ones who have been away for far too long. However, it seems that this stay at home will be much longer than usual, for the Crucible is one of the first Lubyakan Navy vessels scheduled for an overhaul as part of the newly announced Long Arm Modernisation Plan. The Crucible along with nearly a dozen other capital ships and tens of cruisers, escorts, and submarines will be entering drydock for massive upgrades that the Ministry of Defence described as, 'The next step in Lubyakan naval presence in Poneria and beyond." In addition, LNN insiders have heard whispers that key industrial, electronics, and aerospace corporations across the Dominion have been contacted by the Ministry of Defence for new contracts in naval expansion.
The announcement of the Long Arm Modernisation Plan came as a surprise today from the Ministry of Defence, though it has been foreshadowed. The Dominion Council had been the recent scene of a major squabble between the Social Democrat and Federal Centre Parties over the defence budget in the coming year, with the Social Democrats advocating for tax cuts on the middle class, compensated for with a reduction in military spending for 2015. However, the Federal Centre, backed up by the Reichpolitik Party managed to drive through a vote which gave the Council's stamp of approval to the Governor-General's proposed shuffle in the budget for the coming year. Unfortunately, the exact details of the budget remain classified until the new year, but given the new naval announcement, it would seem that the Navy's budget has been increased. Whether this has come at the expense of the Army, Air Force, social spending, or the tax payers remains to be seen.
According to the Ministry of Defence and Navy Department's announcement, the Long Arm Modernisation plan is to result in a complete overhaul of the entire Lubyakan fleet, upgrading vessels to incorporate new top of the line electronic systems, and beginning what some in policy think thanks have called the, "long overdue replacement of hull designs within the Lubyakan Navy." The Lubyakan Navy has long received criticism for clinging to old styles of ship design, even as other powers--most prominently the Greater Pony Herd--developed new hull designs to take advantage of new technologies. This likely means the retirement of some classes of Lubyakan Navy vessel--some of which have had the same basic design since the 1980s--and the construction of new vessels to replace them. This upgrade plan of the Lubyakan fleet is scheduled to take place over several years, starting with electronics upgrades for certain key vessels along with the introduction of interim vessels based on foreign designs, followed by the expansion of these upgrades across the entire fleet, and finishing with the replacement of aging vessels with new domestically designed hulls and weapons. Confirmation has already come through that the Ministry has been purchasing equipment and production rights from foreign states, such as the Yohanessian VMK AG.
The Ministry of Defence and Navy have both stated the Long Arm plan is centred around remaking the Lubyakan Navy into a fully modern fighting force. Historically, the Navy has always taken a lower priority when compared to the threat of the Loron Pact, and during the Windigo War, it was widely accepted that the Lubyakan Navy would be almost completely annihilated in combat with the Herdite Navy. However, since the end of the Windigo War and the alliance with the GPH, the Lubyakan Navy has become a new centre of attention. The apparent failure of the Navy to adequately project power to protect even Protectorates within Poneria during the Taros Crisis drew huge amounts of criticism from Lubyakan citizens and policy groups. While details have yet to fully emerge, the Long Arm plan is most likely going to be highly focused on righting these perceived weaknesses, and bringing the Lubyakan Navy to a new high of power projection capability.
Chronicle Story Code: Military; Navy; International