Kalistan

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Ministry of Defense announces new R&D Push at KalMilInCo
"Our Empire needs to step into the future," said Defense Minister
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 3, 5698


Defense Minister, Cmdr. Jane Smith, along with Robert Weller, head of Development at KalMilInCo

"For too long, our Empire has relied on other nations to provide us the things we need for our defense," said Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Defense, Naval Commander Jane Smith at a defense symposium in Kaliburg last month. "While others outpace us simply by sheer will, Kalistan is left waiting for someone to sell us this system, someone to cooperate with us on building that system. Our designs are, for the most part old, they are outdated, and others are moving ahead of us with no impediments whatsoever, not budgetary restraints, not access to post-modern technology. How is Kalistan supposed to adequately defend ourselves against seemingly limitless and unchecked potential of other states, unless we start developing our own systems and stop waiting for others to help us? Our Empire needs to step into the future, and we can only rely upon ourselves."

The Defense Minister was on hand to introduce Mr. Robert Weller, the director of development at KalMilInCo, Kalistan's military industrial corporation. Each year, KalMilInCo produces small arms, crew served weapons, field artillery, bullets, bombs and bandages. They also partner with corporations like AeroKal to produce a handful of military fighter jets based on designs that have been acquired through cooperation with other nations in the past and oversee ship construction and repairs and refitting at the National Shipyards in Kaliburg and at Port Swedes in Vrassa. All non-personnel related logistics is controlled by KalMilInCo, a publicly owned, privately operated corporation.

"It turns out that upon the completion of her audit last month, Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress was shocked to learn of the shape of our Air Force," said Mr. Weller. "This branch has been underserved for years, and of course, the Government itself is largely to blame for this, Her Imperial Majesty has concluded. Almost no research and development into new designs have been completed. Avionics based on older generation technology has been long ago outpaced by nations with more modern air forces, to the point where an analogy comparison between the Kalistani Air Force and modern nations would be the equivalent of biplane to a jet fighter. There are a number of reasons for this. But the fact is, Kalistan wouldn't stand a chance against a concerted attack by air, and once our air force was literally wiped off the face of the map, we would be at the mercy of enemy tactical bombers that could carpet bomb our cities or launch untold missiles with complete impunity, and our ground forces would be incapable of stopping them."

Mr. Roberts announced that KalMilInCo has received the pledge of the National Government to begin funding development of new aerial assets that are capable of putting up a serious defense of Kalistan. "Her Imperial Majesty has also ordered the construction of a new airfield facility in Bentasur so we can begin stationing naval air in Gaduridos. The base itself will not be expanded, but a large part of the base, consisting mostly of logistics warehouses adjacent to the Central Anantonese Ocean is not currently being used and those facilities will be demolished or repurposed to make way for an air strip, a control tower and naval air hangars, mechanics stations, a CP and new barracks facilities." While construction will begin immediately in Benstasur, it will go slowly at first until the civilian Commercial port in Luncasi is finished next year.

Meanwhile, KalMilInCo says that designers will begin working with engineers at AeroKal to develop a new line of multipurpose fighters, interceptors and naval attack aircraft. "We are in sore need of a more modern design with at least updated avionics, flight controls, and integration with Kalistan's rich tactical information systems," said Roberts. "Our goal is to create new planes that will match the speed, handling and threats posed by the planes of our neighbors. These designs will be based on our current planes in large part, but we will begin reworking them to see how we can get more performance out of them, along with increased safety and more efficient electronics packages that can do more with less."

Roberts discussed the role that machine learning would play in target acquisition and neutralization. "I am not saying that AI will fly the planes," said Roberts. "But computer algorithms have long been able to assist human combat pilots in finding threats and destroying them. We want to extend the range and accuracy of those systems, and can do this in a number of ways using technology which is already available to us. Combined with new ground and space based platforms, if we can give our fighter pilots access to this technology on a reliable basis, and integrate it with surface based defenses, we can neutralize our enemies' advantages before they ever get here. That way we don't have to keep up with nations that have unlimited access to whatever they want to bring against us. We can even the playing field before they ever appear in skies over Kalistan."

Roberts also said that KalMilInCo will now be working with IBSI on a range of anti-Missile technology, including anti-ballistic missile technology. "We have our own missile technology," said Roberts. "It's called our Space Program. Our earliest rockets were modified ballistic missiles, and through careful trial and error, we developed programs that could launche first small satellites, then larger satellites into stable earth orbit, and then geostationary satellites that look down on Terra 24 hours a day from a single point far out into space. We have cameras, we have data relays and analysis centers. We know how to build missiles of all sorts. And we even know how to first those missiles at supersonic targets: nearly all of our SAM sites rely on hitting a speck out of a clear blue sky that is travelling faster than the speed of sound. The fundamentals are all here. We can now bend this to help protect our homeland from the threat of incoming missiles, and instead of waiting for others to help us, we're just going to do it ourselves."

The news from the Defense Ministry and KalMilInCo was very welcomed by defense analysts who have long noted that air defense is a gaping hole in the Fortress Kalistan defensive doctrine. Kalistan has long been woefully underprepared for a modern air war: Much of that is that supplying nations have jealously guarded aircraft designs as they feel it gives them an advantage in war preparation. Kalistan has long felt incredibly frustrated with that attitude even among friendly nations, and it appears that Her Imperial Majesty has finally decided to remedy the matter. Most of the new dollars for research and development will come from money that was previously earmarked for naval procurement, much of which is now completed.

Roberts said research and design of the new classes of Kalistani fighters will take as much as ten years, but KMC intends to extensively test models long before the first prototypes are built, to prevent a development cycle suffered by most nations which sees projects often go way over budget, get stalled with bad design, cut corners and ultimately get cancelled with nothing to show for the money squandered. "We already know the planes we have can fly," said Roberts. "Our goal is to get more out of those basic designs, and catch up with those around us who have never had to experience similar challenges." And he said "Kalistan would like to design and build them ourselves, so we can rely on ourselves for our own security rather than going hat in hand to the major international suppliers who don't actually want to deal with us either way."

@TheRepublic