Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

Having long articulated its ambitions towards information dominance in the future combat sphere, the Lodamese Armed Forces is moving forward with its long-held plans to develop a class of signals intelligence ships, with Harrington Dynamics Maritime’s design being chosen over other competitors. Since the initial restructuring of the Lodamese Armed Forces under the Neilson Administration, it had been envisioned that Lodamun would maintain a fleet of signals/electronic intelligence vessels which would provide the Armed Forces and the nation’s intelligence service, specifically the ODI (Office of Defence Intelligence), with the ability to gather intelligence within various theatres of concern alongside being able to conduct electronic warfare operations against potential adversaries. The Defence Procurement Administration (DPA) has confirmed that it had chosen the Harrington Dynamics design over those proposed by CMME and Dodson Shipyards. The HD design is largely based on a design developed by Asvald Gruppen for the Kazulian Armed Forces. The design, although small compared to other vessels, nonetheless punches above its weight as compared to contemporaries, it is likely to possess additional sensors and capabilities which could streamline intelligence gathering. The DPA noted that specifications were primarily geared towards ensuring the vessel had been built with modularity in mind, pointing to the need for systems to either be updated/upgraded via software uplinks or through hardware changes in port. Defence Analysts have sought to strike a clear distinction between the proposed vessel and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) platforms as there still remains some confusion regarding the two. 

Kyle Mcdonald, a senior analyst with the Centre for Geostrategic Policy and Research, spoke candidly on the nature of the proposed vessel, offering that it ought not to be confused with an instrumentation ship used to measure and track the trajectory of ballistic missiles. “In its very basic sense, this is a spy ship. Its general purpose is to intercept and decipher data from communication, electronic emissions and radar. Once deciphered it disseminates that information to the relevant agencies, sub-agencies and armed forces branches,” Mcdonald explained. Both the DPA and DoD were mum on the official details surrounding the vessel’s purpose, numerous experts have come to substantiate Mcdonald’s claim, with a former analyst from the ODI who refused to be identified, detailing the potential manner in which the vessels could be deployed once operational. “These vessels will primarily be dispatched to areas of contention. Is a conflict brewing in some Dovanian banana republic? One of these vessels is going to find itself at the very edge of that nation’s economic exclusion zone (EEZ), with its anchor dropped in international waters. These vessels are going to be seen hovering around submarine cables, as I suspect they will possess some means of tapping into these capables to gather electronic intelligence intercepts.” Interestingly, insiders note that the vessels are being built exclusively for the ODI instead of the Lodamese Navy, which lends credence to Mcdonald’s assertions that the vessels are spy ships intended to intercept and decipher data from nations while at sea. The vessels, of which there are reportedly five (5) to be constructed, will not be constructed domestically, but will be constructed in Kalistan at a cost of Although it provided very little in the way of clarity, the DPA noted that the Department of Defence and the ODI are expected to work with the shipbuilder Kaliburg Shipyards to maintain the highest degrees of secrecy related to the project. “I suspect that they’d want to keep the nature of the sensors and the design of the dome a secret from potential adversaries,” Mcdonald proposed.