Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

Building on the momentum of the previous security summit between the three states, Lodamun, Hutori and Dolgava have inked a trilateral arrangement, which authorises the construction of various radar installations in the latter two nations as part of broader plans to develop an integrated air and missile defence umbrella spanning parts of the Northern Hemisphere. At a substantive press conference held at the Department of Defence building in Kensington, Assistant Secretary of Defence Anthony Sloan stated that the agreement, which had been signed by the respective Defence Ministers of the three states, had been signed at the latter half of the security conference following a series of closed-door discussions. Although the intimate details of said discussions are unlikely to be discussed publicly, Secretary Sloan stated that the agreement signed had essentially granted approval for Lodamun’s decades-long requests to develop and deploy over-the-horizon radar in both Hutori and Dolgava. Dating back to the agency’s inception, the SDA had attempted to lobby for both Bekenial and Akums’ permission to establish separate, yet connected OTH radars in the two countries as part of a now-shelfed initiative aimed at establishing a layered early warning network for Northern Seleya in exchange for annual royalties on the land with which the radar sites would have been established. Notwithstanding the fact that, per an SDA assessment of Lodamun’s departure from the Anantonese Empire, its previously held ambitions for the sub-region are now tempered, the trilateral security summit has breathed new life into the SDA’s efforts, albeit with a major alteration.

SDA Director, General Roland Kalecki, confirmed that the Hutorian-based OTH radar would likely be based on the Isle of Sutton with unique proximity to the Sir Robert Sutton AFB (Air Force Base). For the better part of four decades, Lodamun has been increasing its presence in the White Ocean region, using Hutorian bases as a crucial staging point for long-range drone patrols and icebreaker patrol,s among others. Although Hutorian investment into these key areas has suffered, successive Lodamese administrations have insisted on the continued use and gradual upgrading of infrastructure to support the nation’s operations in the region remained essential. The OTH radar, which has been pre-emptively coined HUTOR (Hutorian Over-the-horizon Radar), is likely to face the White Ocean and parts of the Naidyan/Trigunian archipelago. The radar would provide the Royal Hutorian Air Force and Navy with greater situational awareness beyond existing radar infrastructure (i.e. hard point structure and ship-based). According to General Kalecki, “The nature of these systems is such that they can be used by friendly forces to establish ‘radar tracks’ against combatant surface or air power. However, it does not allow us to classify such tracks as to exactly what type of threat (sea or air-based) is currently being observed. In its basic sense, it provides us with the ability to be queued on the fact that there is something within the area which would require verification from other systems. Having to trade classification abilities with an extraordinary range is certainly something that we can live with.” On the radar’s orientation, Secretary Sloan was quick to clarify that the radar’s future positioning was not an attempt at signalling to the Nadiyan state of supposed contempt, but was born out of the fact that threats to Hutori had traditionally originated from that “general direction”.

Kalecki also confirmed that preliminary site surveys had been completed and that construction was underway for the Dolgavan-based OTH radar, TĀLSKAT (tr. Long View). Similar to HUTOR and LAORA, TĀLSKAT would be primarily operated with the intent of providing the Dolgavan Armed Forces with much-needed eyes into the Anantonese Ocean. Despite the presence of the now centuries-old, but recently upgraded SOSUS network in the Karzon Strait, both Lodamun and Dolgava possess no real ability to see into the Anantonese Ocean in the absence of surface search radar on aircraft or vessels. According to Kalecki, the radar, once operational, would likely aid in detecting vessels, aircraft and potentially hypersonic weaponry. He noted that a particular limitation of OTH radar which is likely to rear its head in the Anantonese Ocean and the Karzon Strait primarily relates to geographic anomalies. “Essentially, we would be able to establish a radar track, but owing to the nature of geography, the tracks could potentially bounce from one position to another or could be lost in intermittent periods,” Kalecki explained. Secretary Sloan has stated that the established cost of the two radar arrays would likely hover around 1.4 billion LOD, which is expected to be shared among the three nations.