Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

Following months of deliberation and potential threat assessments by the Department of Defence (DoD), the Office of National Assessments (ONA) and the Defence Procurement Administration (DPA), Whitehall Press Secretary Seth Grove, confirmed that President Derrick Rice had approved the transfer of F-16 and F-15 combat aircraft to the Kafuri Armed Forces in the hopes that the aircraft could enable the Majatran-state and long-time Lodamese ally to beat back the unlawful Istalian invasions which have besieged the nation for the better half of a year. Previously, it had been reported that the DoD and Whitehall had been mulling a decision to provide arms and munition to the Kafuri Armed Forces as a means of providing Kafuri forces with much-needed firepower. These discussions, largely the subject of closed deliberations between key policy experts, concluded earlier this week with the DPA finally granting permission for surplus F-16s and F-15s currently in the service of the Barrington State Air Guard and the Millford State Air Guard respectively. Grove noted that much of the delay related to the DPA’s final decision largely came down to whether it was more feasible to construct new aircraft or to provide surplus aircraft as an “intermediary”. “The DPA, as the agency responsible for the procurement, transfer and sale of all military hardware produced within Lodamun has been at the forefront of these deliberations. A lot of the discussions we [the Administration] have had were squarely focused on whether it was faster to produce new aircraft or to transfer assets from existing stores. Ultimately, it was decided that we’d transfer assets from existing stores,” Grove explained.

It had been noted that a major constraint to Kafuristan’s ability to beat back the Istalian invasion to the Istalian border largely rested in the nation’s inability to bring significant airpower to bear against the Istalian regime. It was previously reported that the nation’s limited number of F-16Ks were being strategically deployed, with particular attention being placed on their survivability recognising that they possessed limited numbers. “It is clear that Kafuristan has to recapture air supremacy and begin denying Istalian forces the advantage over the numerous domains in incremental steps,” Thomas McGee, an analyst with the Centre for Geostrategic Policy and Research noted. “Precision airstrikes against hardened targets; entrenched positions, bunkers and fortresses; SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defence) and CAS (Close Air Support), should be the name of the game going forward for the Air Defense Forces and the Kafuri Royal Guard Corps Aerospace Forces.” He noted that the decision to include the F-15 in the aid package was important as it would provide the Kafuri Air Defence Forces with the necessary strike capability to potentially reach into Istalia itself, bringing the effects of the conflict ever closer, “in the face” of the Istalian regime and the Istalian people. “I don’t think that Kafuri Air Defence Forces or the KRGC Aerospace Forces should limit their operations to Kafuri airspace. We [Lodamun] should be providing these pilots with technical training to use ECM (electronic countermeasure) pods to be able to conduct daring strikes deep inside Istalia, to underscore to the regime in Romula that the dominance they once had throughout all domains would now be bitterly contested,” McGee added.

As the F-15 is a different aircraft, with different avionics compared to the F-16 (which Kafuri pilots are familiar with), Grove confirmed that a small detachment of Kafuri pilots would have to be flown to Lodamun wherein they will learn alongside pilots from the Lodamese Air Forces and the Commonwealth Guard. “The F-15 is a very different aircraft compared to the F-16. By its very nature, it is a strike aircraft through and through. As such, there are markedly different avionics governing how this aircraft functions in the combat environment. The Department of Defence has given the green light for a detachment of Kafuri pilots from the KRGC Aerospace Forces to be flown to Lodamun where they will train under Air Force and Commonwealth Guard pilots to become proficient operators of the aircraft,” Grove revealed. As the Rice Administration’s final foreign defence decision, much of the work of continuing to arm Kafuri Armed Forces is likely to be picked up by the incoming Haney Administration, with both President-elect John Haney and incoming Secretaries of State and Defence Oliver Caillou and Kristian Harding reaffirming their support for the al-Nasr Government.