The Zoogie People
03-04-2004, 00:12
State of Zoogiedom Military Technology Showcase
This thread will be used for current and upcoming military projects unvieled to the public. I can barely keep track of them myself :P So this is my attempt at collating them into one place.
It is also sort of a method of copyrighting my current ideas - all of which I have come upon independently while searching Google (mostly for images) of future (as in several years from now) military equipment.
I am in particular hoping for comments and suggestions to improve some of these or refine their ideas.
Military
Army
The army is quickly revolutionizing and restructuring itself, and will strive for an era of efficiency, deadliness, logistical superiority, and, well, changing ground warfare as we know it. We have also found a new word - consolidation! We hope to soon reach an era where we no longer operate 24 different types of foreign import main battle tanks.
Es-19
http://www.webmutants.com/strategypage/XM8_Rifle_1.jpg
The Es-19 is a next generation assault rifle, intended to replace M-16A2s and M-4s currently in service with The Zoogie People's armed forces. It is completely modern tech - and may enter service as soon as Fiscal Year 2005. It utilizes the standard NATO 5.56-mm ammunition, and is very extensible, as illustrated here (http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=XM8_Rifle.htm).
The following is an image of Zoogiedom forces training with the Es-19 assault rifle (http://www.hk-usa.com/pages/military-le/mil-leimages/xm8apgsold1popup.jpg)(From Heckler & Koch website on the US XM-8 Program)
Future Combat System(FCS)
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/fcs-bak-s.jpg
The FCS is the future of ground warfare. Two options have been considered, and the go-ahead has been given to both. The first is an evolutionary main battle tank, somewhat like the image here: E-MBT (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/fcs-line.gif), while the other is a more revolutionary idea. The typical main battle tank in service today, if confronted by six enemy tanks, would be subject to return fire for a very long period of time as it subsequently dealt with each individual target. This second FCS project, already in final phases of research, will be able to take care of all six enemy tanks in less time for an M1 Abrams to take care of one. As missiles replaced guns in naval warfare, and as missiles replaced guns in aerial warfare, so will missiles replace guns in ground warfare.
The information thus far presented is still limited; therefore, the following three PDF articles will be instrumental in aiding your OOC understanding of the FCS...although our own project will understandably differ. [/url]Armament,[url] [url=http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/4fcs97.pdf]The FCS Future Main battle tank (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/5fcs97.pdf), and The FCS revolutionary combat system (death of the MBT) (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/4lastmbt.pdf)
EMBT: M-260 Centurion
FCS: M-246 Manticore
AF-11 Lamia
The AF-11 is an aircraft - quite unusual for an army, you might say. But we think otherwise. This very small, light, and efficient fighter will have an unusual, almost helicopter-fighter morphed shape. It will take off vertically from rough fields, and land vertically in rough field conditions. It will carry air-to-air armament for air defense, or air-to-ground ordinance (a seperate, slightly larger version) to deliver lots of firepower more quickly than helicopters can. There will be at least two different variants. No pictures available, although I have sketches of it personally.
Helicopter Projects - Slightly more secretive about helicopters, we have a pending light attack helicopter project with Lunatic Retard Robots, and our own reconaissance attack helicopter to relieve the RAH-66 Commanche.
Other Mechanized Projects
The following projects are also in the early stages of development: a self-propelled howitzer (Kyree), a guided MLRS (Peltast), and an armoured personell carrier (Hobilar), as well as several SAM systems.
Air Force
The air force is already a well established industry. We have countless fighters (most of them undergoing statistics retyping, but they were all in my old storefront, save one, whose uselessness has caused it to kick the bucket). The air force is very quickly going forth as well, ushering in a new era of aerial realistic warfare.
ZF-26 'Talon'
The Zoogie Aerospace built ZaS(ZF)-26 is the primary multirole fighter in service in Zoogiedom. Featuring active ECM systems, it is similar in many respects to the concept of the Eurofighter, although its primary goal was air-to-ground attack, as in the F-16. A twin-engine fighter, the ZF-26 is the most capable in terms of ammunition carriage of the multirole fighters.
ZF-29 'Flasher'
Designed by Star Aerospace Systems, the Flasher is a large FSW aircraft with primarily air-to-air functions. FSW is a technology we are currently getting into, and once we find the nation that suggested it to us in the first place, we shall reward them heftily. Despite its -29 designation, it actually has little in similarity with the X-29, except in the technological department. It is twin-engined and much larger, with a greater potential payload and range, similiar to the Su-47..although it is significantly different from that as well. The Flasher is actually the OOC thought evolution of the ZF-24, so think of it as the ZF-24 redesignated.
ZF-42 'Gecko'
http://www.simlabs.arc.nasa.gov/photos/images/aircraft/astovl.jpeg
Recently reclassified (from its former name, ZF-43), the ZF-42 is a joint project among the naval, air force, and marine branches. It is a stealthy strike fighter - this much we can disclose. It is similar in mission to the Joint Strike Fighter, but outperforms it so greatly that we are out of ways to express it - a recent fly-off contest between a live fire Gecko Phase IV prototype and a severely reinvented JSF (refined airframe, revamped avionics, different design to accomodate for UAV, enhanced dogfighting manueverability) resulted in the Gecko being the clear winner, suffering minor damage to the rear vertical stabilizer while reducing the JSF-UAV to a flying ball of flame. The Gecko comes in two version, the standard CTOL air force version, to complement the (very fine) Kazakhstanian A-15 in the surgical strike role, and the ASTOVL version, used both in the Navy and in the Marines.
Also of note, it won a 'prettiest fighter of Zoogiedom' competition, involving the ZF-27, ZF-26, ZF-28, ZF-31, and ZF-46.
ZF-31
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/images/x-31-b.jpg
A secondary air superiority fighter, the ZF-31 is also an aircraft where thrust vectoring is not an option - it's mandatory. (See below). With ESTOL capability and a good sized payload, the ZF-31 is also an excellent long-range air defense aircraft. However, its thrust vectoring give it an excellent 45-1 kill ratio in simulated dogfights against F/A-18F Hornets.
ZF-27 'Firebird'
http://www.airwar.ru/image/i/xplane/foas-i.jpg
The ZF-27 is Zoogiedom's primary (or what we like to term 'flagship') air superiority fighter. It uses very few control surfaces, and incorporates advanced thrust vectoring for manuevering technology unprecedented. In earlier military aircraft, such as the F-22 and Su-37, thrust vectoring was a nice whistle to have...in the ZF-27, thrust vectoring isn't just for kicks, it's heavily involved in the actual flying of the plane. A supermanueverable and capable air superiority fighter, it comes also in a naval variant (ZF-27M) and very extensible ground attack variant (ZF-27E). It is replacing F-15Es, F-22s, and F-14s alike. The Firebird's designers had a common rhyme circulating amongst themselves to constantly remind themselves of several important goals: One fighter to rule them all, one fighter to find them...one fighter to fly rings around all, and in the (varies depending on who you talk to) destroy them. Kill ratio in simulated dogfights with....
F/A-18E (52:1) Eurofighter (47:1) Rafale (56: 1) Su-37 (44:1) F-22 (45: 1) MiG-29C (64:1) Su-27 (61:1) F-35 (49: 1) F-15 (75: 1) F-16 (59: 1)Sea Harrier (98: 1) B-2 (100000500000000000000000006087000004 : 1)
[i]ZF-46 'Khopesh'
The Khopesh is another air superiority fighter, much smaller and more agile in size - perfect for advanced dogfighting. It was built to dogfight, with forward swept wings, special avionics suites, and a light airframe. This is a secondary air superiority fighter, but is able to scramble quickly and has an incredibly turn radius...among other things. (Single engine)
ZA-40 'Zweihander'
http://www.aeronautics.ru/.../news/news002/t1202_small.jpg
Certainly one of the more interesting aircraft in the Zoogie inventory, the ZA-40 is the new flagship close support aircraft. When AF-11s aren't necessary, this excellent twin-fuselage fighter with amazing capabilities goes into action. It is quite amazing the amount of damage this plane can sustain...it is fast replacing A-10s, OA-10s, and Su-39s in the military.
IS-38 Hamsoken
The IS-38 is designed to fly interdictory strike missions - in other words, effectively replace all B-1Bs, Tu-160s, and Tu-22Ms in service. This greatly simplifies the once messy situation of bombers, with the ZF-42 Gecko replacing the F-117. This will be the only bomber in service besides the B-2, and is designed to be stealthy (although that is not a priority) and fast - very fast. Its payload is also designed to be great, making it an important aspect of the Bomber fleet.
ZS-10 'Chasquis'
The Chasquis is a highly secretive project - a project to develop a stealthy strategic reconaissance aircraft capable of flying speeds at least at Mach 3. Rumour has it that the Chasquis will be similar to the US Aurora...all too true. This project is so secretive, you don't even know about it. (This is OOC, remember...you'd know about some, as they're in service, but not this one).
FS-37 'Stymphalion'
A subsonic future strike platform, the FS-37 is almost as secret as the Chasquis project. Designed to be stealthy and efficient, its role is to strike with deadly accuracy from long range enemy targets such as ships, hardened shelters, and other targets of strategic importants.
Will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/asc-bx.jpg) Or will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/ng_fsa.jpg) Nobody knows....
FS-39 'Black Stallion'
An UNMANNED future strike platform, this is yet another Black Project. Flying at supersonic speeds - rumours say close to Mach 3 - the FS-39 can carpet bomb enemy airbases, or engage from a distance. It will be able to destroy large clusters of enemy targets with great accuracy...or so the rumours go. Will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/lm-long-range-strike-apr03.jpg) Perhaps. But then, it could be this design that is the Black Stallion. Only the designers know. (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/n-g_hyper-strike.jpg)
T-56
http://www.aeronautics.ru/.../news/news002/s55_small.jpg
The T-56 is a trainer that is beginning to be implemented in Zoogiedom. Not much more can be said currently, as it is in its mid stages of development, but it is a fairly open project with lots of information available on it. It's a trainer! What can we say? It's cheap and good at...training...yeah. This thread can't say too much effectively about it.
C-240 Pallas
http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/idr/idr000704_7_p.jpg
The C-240 is a supersonic cargo transport, currently on sale. With greater capacity than the C-17, it is an excellent bet for a mid range cargo. How much more have we to say? It is already on sale here (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127367&highlight=), so if you are interested, everything that needs to be said is said there.
C-71 Progeny
http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/idr/idr000704_8_p.jpg
The C-71 Progeny is a different cargo, which tugs around a 190-ton payload. It is gigantic - and that is an understatement. Got C-5s? Got An-124s? These are a surefire replacement. Note: the An-225 is larger, yes. But do realize the An-225's primary purpose in Russia is piggybacking space equipment...Again, not much to say here, as it is already sold here in this thread. (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131905&highlight=)
And that sums up my aircraft...er...air force aircraft. *PHEW*
Navy
The navy is fast going into development. Restructuring and consolidation are the two newfound keywords. We have clear ideas (sort of) of what we want...and we intend to follow up.
ZF-28 'Sharkishki'
A joint project between Kazakhstania and Zoogiedom, the Sharkishki is the next generation Naval Fighter. Everything about this fighter is superb - wait until the release to read them all. The release should be soon - we assure you. The Sharkishki is quite possibly the best fighter in the Navy...and quite possibly, the best Modern fighter in the world.
Sohcahtoa-class attack submarine
This is Zoogiedom's attack submairne program, designed to beat out the Virginia in many ways. Sohcahtoa is deadly and will be the flagship SSN in the Navy...that much can be said for now.
Other Projects
Three aircraft carrier projects are underway - a Nimitz-replacement designed to be the primary carrier, an abnormally large carrier, and a light carrier. A helicopter assault ship is also being developed to replace Wasp-classes in the Marines. So far, the light carrier has been assigned a name - Martinet. The others have not yet.
A new Frigate is also being developed to replace the Perry-classes currently in service, and new destroyers and cruisers are also coming into design production...the destroyer is more developed and is named the Padishah-class. (DDX)
A supply ship will be developed to become the AOE-6 replacement, and is named the Olmec Class. A nuclear missile submarine, the Khandar, will replace Ohio class submarines. A possible heavy battleship/cruiser/missileer will become the flagship of the navy - the Kraken-class.
In addition, the Makina-class patrol submarine is being researched, and a slew of littoral combattant vessels are coming into service life.
Science & Technology
First, a bit about Zoogiedom...with a GDP per capita of $32,600, and a tax rate of 28% (varying up to 8% depending on income), we are one of the more affluent industrial societies. Our leading industries? (In no particular order)
* Automobile Manufacturing
* Defense
* Soda Pop Sector
* Woodchipping
* Information Technology
* Agriculture
Defense was thoroughly although not completely described above. The others will be further elaborated on below. First and foremost, one thing you should know about Zoogiedom is that it is highly concerned with efficiency and effectiveness. We often hold environmentalistic beliefs, which may seem to contradict what was said before, but it actually doesn't.
(Note: Much in-depth information regarding these technologies acquired form a book with consultant editor Wilson da Silva)
Agriculture
Since World War II, crops and animals have been harvested intensively, tripling food production by 1980, and dropping food prices by 25%. Sound good? Not in the long run. This type of intensive farming ruins land fertility, hurts the soil, among other things. Therefore, we have long since now developed methods of producing food sustainably.
Land usage is limited while food production is increased. By cultivating high yield strains, more food can be grown in smollar areas. Genetically modified organism are also used to a fair extent. In prior years, our agriculture was predominately beef-based. Recently however, on a general scale people began to eat more in a vegetarian lifestyle - that is, they still eat meats, but on a smaller scale, and the consumption of land-based meats and sea-based is more level. We found this convenient, as it takes four times the land area to produce the same amount of beef as grain. McDonald's international branch in Zoogiedom soon went bankrupt.
Some essential food, such as breads and nutrional supplements, are laboratory grown.
As for farming crops itself, this industry has expanded fairly greatly, due to the shift towards more vegetables and fruits (caused, incidentally, by one book, which led to another, which led to scientific studies, and so on...the lovely media). Farming is now done organically - traditional. No fertilizers, no monocultures, no pesticides, and no disruption of soil structure. The crops don't grow like perfect little boxes, but we have managed to keep the cost down by the sheer size of the industry. Industrial modern farming requires up to sixty times the energy imput - mostly from fertilizers and fuels. This organic farming is actually more effective, albeit more primitive. The benefits have been shown to far outweigh the costs.
The abundance of crops in Zoogiedom means that we are able to export limited amounts (the demand is rather high as well) to other countries, perferably two trade pacts at most.
Mining - Mining was once a great industry in Zoogiedom, although it has since diminished to a less major industry. However, it is still alive and kicking, and we are developing new ways to mine. Zoogiedom's hydrometallurgists are developing electrical mining methods, and spreading over the Isles, and possibly overseas. This will make mining greatly lower in cost, and also much less intrusive. The mining is almost done in total automation as well.
Around the Isles, Zoogiedom mining corporations mine much of the copper and silver imported into Zoogiedom, although Zoogiedom yields many gold mines, and more importantly, major mines of magnesium, titanium, and aluminum.
Perhaps more expensive, but better yet, Zoogiedom's space program is expanding into the mining industry. Asteroid and moons are targets for mining operations of nickel, iron, hydrogen bitumen, water, carbon, and various clay materials.
Power!
Zoogiedom conserves power in many ways. This may seem environmentalist, but it actually increases efficiency. Corporations required to be environment friendly help themselves with maintenance later on.
Many construction projects for homes use green architecture, and whole communities are designed so as to reduce the need for automobiles. Petroleum is a minor power source now - we have other ways of getting energy.
Recent damming projects around Zoogiedom have generated power for several regions, although this is not the only alternate energy source. Solar power is used in nearly every community in Zoogiedom - one will be hard pressed to find a city or town without extensive solar energy usage. Another big supplier of energy is wing turbines - lots and lots of wind turbines. From high altitudes to near coasts (these environments are plentiful in Zoogiedom and the Isles), lots and lots and lots of wind turbines are employed, providing a very significant chunk of Zoogiedom's energy - as much as 8%. Compare this to California, a state which employs wind technology to a great extent, powered only 1% by it.
Methane is largely the petroleum replacement. For many areas once dominated by petroleum, Methane is now the primary fuel. Methane is abundant in deep ocean, and well...we aren't exactly called The Zoogie Isles region for nothing.
Fuel cell batteries are also used to power phone and telecommunication systems, as well as portable consmer electronics. Built on the work of US physicist Robert Hockaday, Zoogiedom employs fuel cell batteries produced in 1.5-km long sheets, with service lives of 3,600 hours. Cell phones for instance run on a combination of water and methanol from a tiny squeeze bottle.
Fuel cells in general are used extensively - phosphoric acid fuel cells with 52.9% efficiency, powers many of Zoogiedom's smaller cities and towns. Fuel cells derived from both electrical and biological means - electrically separating water into hydrogen and oxygen as opposed to biological synthesis of ATP - is also significantly employed. The military uses biological-based fuels, hand in hand with waste from woodchipping, and roughly 42% of cars in Zoogiedom are electric hybirds. 54% are methane-based, and the remaining 4% are solar hybrids.
More on environment!
All schools and neighborhoods and cities and towns and communities in general are required to have EXTENSIVE recycling programs. Everything is recycled that possibly can be recycled. Newspapers - first, it can be turned into reuseable papers for our book publishing industry, but more importantly, it's biological waste for our fuel cells. Soda bottles - 6% of our sodas are in cans, and these are also recycled. 94% are made with glass bottles, sent back to the factory and thoroughly cleaned. Sound gross? It's a lot better cleaning than at your local restaurant. Milk cartons...paper...everything is recycled. Ten month old babies wake up in the middle of the night screaming "RECYCLE!"
Transportation
Commerce is one of our major concerns. Public transportation particularly - the same corporations that produce our automobiles are also in on busses and trains.
First, the hovertrain. By suspending the train in air above a track base, combined with streamlined design, drag and friction are almost eliminated. This uses the ground effect principle - a cushion of air is created under the vehicle. The shape of the vehicle and track achieve this, funneling air under the train to push it up as it goes along.
Maglev - magnetic levitation - is also used. It takes advantage of the repulsive and attractive forces of magnetism to lift and move the train. It is the only train system capable of travelling through densely populated areas at very high speeds - with no disturbance to residents.
Dual mode transport combines the flexibilty of personal automobiles and the effectiveness of an automated network of rails. Vehicles can operate independently on a normal road but are also designed to operate on a network of trackways.
Automated Beamcarriage Transport, or ABT, works by suspending large numbers of small, driverless vehicles underneath beams. Passengers and freight get on and off at regulated stations.
So much of the civilian technologies were either reworded in a more digestible fashion or directly taken from 'A guide to modern science,' edited by Wilson Da Silva, and published by Fog City Press.
This thread is OOC. All materials and concepts IC-copyright to Zoogiedom, exception of ZF-28 (jointly copyrighted by Kazakhstania). Certain things you'd know about, certain things you wouldn't.
http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/zoogiedom.jpg
This thread will be used for current and upcoming military projects unvieled to the public. I can barely keep track of them myself :P So this is my attempt at collating them into one place.
It is also sort of a method of copyrighting my current ideas - all of which I have come upon independently while searching Google (mostly for images) of future (as in several years from now) military equipment.
I am in particular hoping for comments and suggestions to improve some of these or refine their ideas.
Military
Army
The army is quickly revolutionizing and restructuring itself, and will strive for an era of efficiency, deadliness, logistical superiority, and, well, changing ground warfare as we know it. We have also found a new word - consolidation! We hope to soon reach an era where we no longer operate 24 different types of foreign import main battle tanks.
Es-19
http://www.webmutants.com/strategypage/XM8_Rifle_1.jpg
The Es-19 is a next generation assault rifle, intended to replace M-16A2s and M-4s currently in service with The Zoogie People's armed forces. It is completely modern tech - and may enter service as soon as Fiscal Year 2005. It utilizes the standard NATO 5.56-mm ammunition, and is very extensible, as illustrated here (http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=XM8_Rifle.htm).
The following is an image of Zoogiedom forces training with the Es-19 assault rifle (http://www.hk-usa.com/pages/military-le/mil-leimages/xm8apgsold1popup.jpg)(From Heckler & Koch website on the US XM-8 Program)
Future Combat System(FCS)
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/fcs-bak-s.jpg
The FCS is the future of ground warfare. Two options have been considered, and the go-ahead has been given to both. The first is an evolutionary main battle tank, somewhat like the image here: E-MBT (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/fcs-line.gif), while the other is a more revolutionary idea. The typical main battle tank in service today, if confronted by six enemy tanks, would be subject to return fire for a very long period of time as it subsequently dealt with each individual target. This second FCS project, already in final phases of research, will be able to take care of all six enemy tanks in less time for an M1 Abrams to take care of one. As missiles replaced guns in naval warfare, and as missiles replaced guns in aerial warfare, so will missiles replace guns in ground warfare.
The information thus far presented is still limited; therefore, the following three PDF articles will be instrumental in aiding your OOC understanding of the FCS...although our own project will understandably differ. [/url]Armament,[url] [url=http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/4fcs97.pdf]The FCS Future Main battle tank (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/5fcs97.pdf), and The FCS revolutionary combat system (death of the MBT) (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/4lastmbt.pdf)
EMBT: M-260 Centurion
FCS: M-246 Manticore
AF-11 Lamia
The AF-11 is an aircraft - quite unusual for an army, you might say. But we think otherwise. This very small, light, and efficient fighter will have an unusual, almost helicopter-fighter morphed shape. It will take off vertically from rough fields, and land vertically in rough field conditions. It will carry air-to-air armament for air defense, or air-to-ground ordinance (a seperate, slightly larger version) to deliver lots of firepower more quickly than helicopters can. There will be at least two different variants. No pictures available, although I have sketches of it personally.
Helicopter Projects - Slightly more secretive about helicopters, we have a pending light attack helicopter project with Lunatic Retard Robots, and our own reconaissance attack helicopter to relieve the RAH-66 Commanche.
Other Mechanized Projects
The following projects are also in the early stages of development: a self-propelled howitzer (Kyree), a guided MLRS (Peltast), and an armoured personell carrier (Hobilar), as well as several SAM systems.
Air Force
The air force is already a well established industry. We have countless fighters (most of them undergoing statistics retyping, but they were all in my old storefront, save one, whose uselessness has caused it to kick the bucket). The air force is very quickly going forth as well, ushering in a new era of aerial realistic warfare.
ZF-26 'Talon'
The Zoogie Aerospace built ZaS(ZF)-26 is the primary multirole fighter in service in Zoogiedom. Featuring active ECM systems, it is similar in many respects to the concept of the Eurofighter, although its primary goal was air-to-ground attack, as in the F-16. A twin-engine fighter, the ZF-26 is the most capable in terms of ammunition carriage of the multirole fighters.
ZF-29 'Flasher'
Designed by Star Aerospace Systems, the Flasher is a large FSW aircraft with primarily air-to-air functions. FSW is a technology we are currently getting into, and once we find the nation that suggested it to us in the first place, we shall reward them heftily. Despite its -29 designation, it actually has little in similarity with the X-29, except in the technological department. It is twin-engined and much larger, with a greater potential payload and range, similiar to the Su-47..although it is significantly different from that as well. The Flasher is actually the OOC thought evolution of the ZF-24, so think of it as the ZF-24 redesignated.
ZF-42 'Gecko'
http://www.simlabs.arc.nasa.gov/photos/images/aircraft/astovl.jpeg
Recently reclassified (from its former name, ZF-43), the ZF-42 is a joint project among the naval, air force, and marine branches. It is a stealthy strike fighter - this much we can disclose. It is similar in mission to the Joint Strike Fighter, but outperforms it so greatly that we are out of ways to express it - a recent fly-off contest between a live fire Gecko Phase IV prototype and a severely reinvented JSF (refined airframe, revamped avionics, different design to accomodate for UAV, enhanced dogfighting manueverability) resulted in the Gecko being the clear winner, suffering minor damage to the rear vertical stabilizer while reducing the JSF-UAV to a flying ball of flame. The Gecko comes in two version, the standard CTOL air force version, to complement the (very fine) Kazakhstanian A-15 in the surgical strike role, and the ASTOVL version, used both in the Navy and in the Marines.
Also of note, it won a 'prettiest fighter of Zoogiedom' competition, involving the ZF-27, ZF-26, ZF-28, ZF-31, and ZF-46.
ZF-31
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/images/x-31-b.jpg
A secondary air superiority fighter, the ZF-31 is also an aircraft where thrust vectoring is not an option - it's mandatory. (See below). With ESTOL capability and a good sized payload, the ZF-31 is also an excellent long-range air defense aircraft. However, its thrust vectoring give it an excellent 45-1 kill ratio in simulated dogfights against F/A-18F Hornets.
ZF-27 'Firebird'
http://www.airwar.ru/image/i/xplane/foas-i.jpg
The ZF-27 is Zoogiedom's primary (or what we like to term 'flagship') air superiority fighter. It uses very few control surfaces, and incorporates advanced thrust vectoring for manuevering technology unprecedented. In earlier military aircraft, such as the F-22 and Su-37, thrust vectoring was a nice whistle to have...in the ZF-27, thrust vectoring isn't just for kicks, it's heavily involved in the actual flying of the plane. A supermanueverable and capable air superiority fighter, it comes also in a naval variant (ZF-27M) and very extensible ground attack variant (ZF-27E). It is replacing F-15Es, F-22s, and F-14s alike. The Firebird's designers had a common rhyme circulating amongst themselves to constantly remind themselves of several important goals: One fighter to rule them all, one fighter to find them...one fighter to fly rings around all, and in the (varies depending on who you talk to) destroy them. Kill ratio in simulated dogfights with....
F/A-18E (52:1) Eurofighter (47:1) Rafale (56: 1) Su-37 (44:1) F-22 (45: 1) MiG-29C (64:1) Su-27 (61:1) F-35 (49: 1) F-15 (75: 1) F-16 (59: 1)Sea Harrier (98: 1) B-2 (100000500000000000000000006087000004 : 1)
[i]ZF-46 'Khopesh'
The Khopesh is another air superiority fighter, much smaller and more agile in size - perfect for advanced dogfighting. It was built to dogfight, with forward swept wings, special avionics suites, and a light airframe. This is a secondary air superiority fighter, but is able to scramble quickly and has an incredibly turn radius...among other things. (Single engine)
ZA-40 'Zweihander'
http://www.aeronautics.ru/.../news/news002/t1202_small.jpg
Certainly one of the more interesting aircraft in the Zoogie inventory, the ZA-40 is the new flagship close support aircraft. When AF-11s aren't necessary, this excellent twin-fuselage fighter with amazing capabilities goes into action. It is quite amazing the amount of damage this plane can sustain...it is fast replacing A-10s, OA-10s, and Su-39s in the military.
IS-38 Hamsoken
The IS-38 is designed to fly interdictory strike missions - in other words, effectively replace all B-1Bs, Tu-160s, and Tu-22Ms in service. This greatly simplifies the once messy situation of bombers, with the ZF-42 Gecko replacing the F-117. This will be the only bomber in service besides the B-2, and is designed to be stealthy (although that is not a priority) and fast - very fast. Its payload is also designed to be great, making it an important aspect of the Bomber fleet.
ZS-10 'Chasquis'
The Chasquis is a highly secretive project - a project to develop a stealthy strategic reconaissance aircraft capable of flying speeds at least at Mach 3. Rumour has it that the Chasquis will be similar to the US Aurora...all too true. This project is so secretive, you don't even know about it. (This is OOC, remember...you'd know about some, as they're in service, but not this one).
FS-37 'Stymphalion'
A subsonic future strike platform, the FS-37 is almost as secret as the Chasquis project. Designed to be stealthy and efficient, its role is to strike with deadly accuracy from long range enemy targets such as ships, hardened shelters, and other targets of strategic importants.
Will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/asc-bx.jpg) Or will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/ng_fsa.jpg) Nobody knows....
FS-39 'Black Stallion'
An UNMANNED future strike platform, this is yet another Black Project. Flying at supersonic speeds - rumours say close to Mach 3 - the FS-39 can carpet bomb enemy airbases, or engage from a distance. It will be able to destroy large clusters of enemy targets with great accuracy...or so the rumours go. Will it look like this? (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/lm-long-range-strike-apr03.jpg) Perhaps. But then, it could be this design that is the Black Stallion. Only the designers know. (http://www.invisible-defenders.org/images/fsa/n-g_hyper-strike.jpg)
T-56
http://www.aeronautics.ru/.../news/news002/s55_small.jpg
The T-56 is a trainer that is beginning to be implemented in Zoogiedom. Not much more can be said currently, as it is in its mid stages of development, but it is a fairly open project with lots of information available on it. It's a trainer! What can we say? It's cheap and good at...training...yeah. This thread can't say too much effectively about it.
C-240 Pallas
http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/idr/idr000704_7_p.jpg
The C-240 is a supersonic cargo transport, currently on sale. With greater capacity than the C-17, it is an excellent bet for a mid range cargo. How much more have we to say? It is already on sale here (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127367&highlight=), so if you are interested, everything that needs to be said is said there.
C-71 Progeny
http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/idr/idr000704_8_p.jpg
The C-71 Progeny is a different cargo, which tugs around a 190-ton payload. It is gigantic - and that is an understatement. Got C-5s? Got An-124s? These are a surefire replacement. Note: the An-225 is larger, yes. But do realize the An-225's primary purpose in Russia is piggybacking space equipment...Again, not much to say here, as it is already sold here in this thread. (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131905&highlight=)
And that sums up my aircraft...er...air force aircraft. *PHEW*
Navy
The navy is fast going into development. Restructuring and consolidation are the two newfound keywords. We have clear ideas (sort of) of what we want...and we intend to follow up.
ZF-28 'Sharkishki'
A joint project between Kazakhstania and Zoogiedom, the Sharkishki is the next generation Naval Fighter. Everything about this fighter is superb - wait until the release to read them all. The release should be soon - we assure you. The Sharkishki is quite possibly the best fighter in the Navy...and quite possibly, the best Modern fighter in the world.
Sohcahtoa-class attack submarine
This is Zoogiedom's attack submairne program, designed to beat out the Virginia in many ways. Sohcahtoa is deadly and will be the flagship SSN in the Navy...that much can be said for now.
Other Projects
Three aircraft carrier projects are underway - a Nimitz-replacement designed to be the primary carrier, an abnormally large carrier, and a light carrier. A helicopter assault ship is also being developed to replace Wasp-classes in the Marines. So far, the light carrier has been assigned a name - Martinet. The others have not yet.
A new Frigate is also being developed to replace the Perry-classes currently in service, and new destroyers and cruisers are also coming into design production...the destroyer is more developed and is named the Padishah-class. (DDX)
A supply ship will be developed to become the AOE-6 replacement, and is named the Olmec Class. A nuclear missile submarine, the Khandar, will replace Ohio class submarines. A possible heavy battleship/cruiser/missileer will become the flagship of the navy - the Kraken-class.
In addition, the Makina-class patrol submarine is being researched, and a slew of littoral combattant vessels are coming into service life.
Science & Technology
First, a bit about Zoogiedom...with a GDP per capita of $32,600, and a tax rate of 28% (varying up to 8% depending on income), we are one of the more affluent industrial societies. Our leading industries? (In no particular order)
* Automobile Manufacturing
* Defense
* Soda Pop Sector
* Woodchipping
* Information Technology
* Agriculture
Defense was thoroughly although not completely described above. The others will be further elaborated on below. First and foremost, one thing you should know about Zoogiedom is that it is highly concerned with efficiency and effectiveness. We often hold environmentalistic beliefs, which may seem to contradict what was said before, but it actually doesn't.
(Note: Much in-depth information regarding these technologies acquired form a book with consultant editor Wilson da Silva)
Agriculture
Since World War II, crops and animals have been harvested intensively, tripling food production by 1980, and dropping food prices by 25%. Sound good? Not in the long run. This type of intensive farming ruins land fertility, hurts the soil, among other things. Therefore, we have long since now developed methods of producing food sustainably.
Land usage is limited while food production is increased. By cultivating high yield strains, more food can be grown in smollar areas. Genetically modified organism are also used to a fair extent. In prior years, our agriculture was predominately beef-based. Recently however, on a general scale people began to eat more in a vegetarian lifestyle - that is, they still eat meats, but on a smaller scale, and the consumption of land-based meats and sea-based is more level. We found this convenient, as it takes four times the land area to produce the same amount of beef as grain. McDonald's international branch in Zoogiedom soon went bankrupt.
Some essential food, such as breads and nutrional supplements, are laboratory grown.
As for farming crops itself, this industry has expanded fairly greatly, due to the shift towards more vegetables and fruits (caused, incidentally, by one book, which led to another, which led to scientific studies, and so on...the lovely media). Farming is now done organically - traditional. No fertilizers, no monocultures, no pesticides, and no disruption of soil structure. The crops don't grow like perfect little boxes, but we have managed to keep the cost down by the sheer size of the industry. Industrial modern farming requires up to sixty times the energy imput - mostly from fertilizers and fuels. This organic farming is actually more effective, albeit more primitive. The benefits have been shown to far outweigh the costs.
The abundance of crops in Zoogiedom means that we are able to export limited amounts (the demand is rather high as well) to other countries, perferably two trade pacts at most.
Mining - Mining was once a great industry in Zoogiedom, although it has since diminished to a less major industry. However, it is still alive and kicking, and we are developing new ways to mine. Zoogiedom's hydrometallurgists are developing electrical mining methods, and spreading over the Isles, and possibly overseas. This will make mining greatly lower in cost, and also much less intrusive. The mining is almost done in total automation as well.
Around the Isles, Zoogiedom mining corporations mine much of the copper and silver imported into Zoogiedom, although Zoogiedom yields many gold mines, and more importantly, major mines of magnesium, titanium, and aluminum.
Perhaps more expensive, but better yet, Zoogiedom's space program is expanding into the mining industry. Asteroid and moons are targets for mining operations of nickel, iron, hydrogen bitumen, water, carbon, and various clay materials.
Power!
Zoogiedom conserves power in many ways. This may seem environmentalist, but it actually increases efficiency. Corporations required to be environment friendly help themselves with maintenance later on.
Many construction projects for homes use green architecture, and whole communities are designed so as to reduce the need for automobiles. Petroleum is a minor power source now - we have other ways of getting energy.
Recent damming projects around Zoogiedom have generated power for several regions, although this is not the only alternate energy source. Solar power is used in nearly every community in Zoogiedom - one will be hard pressed to find a city or town without extensive solar energy usage. Another big supplier of energy is wing turbines - lots and lots of wind turbines. From high altitudes to near coasts (these environments are plentiful in Zoogiedom and the Isles), lots and lots and lots of wind turbines are employed, providing a very significant chunk of Zoogiedom's energy - as much as 8%. Compare this to California, a state which employs wind technology to a great extent, powered only 1% by it.
Methane is largely the petroleum replacement. For many areas once dominated by petroleum, Methane is now the primary fuel. Methane is abundant in deep ocean, and well...we aren't exactly called The Zoogie Isles region for nothing.
Fuel cell batteries are also used to power phone and telecommunication systems, as well as portable consmer electronics. Built on the work of US physicist Robert Hockaday, Zoogiedom employs fuel cell batteries produced in 1.5-km long sheets, with service lives of 3,600 hours. Cell phones for instance run on a combination of water and methanol from a tiny squeeze bottle.
Fuel cells in general are used extensively - phosphoric acid fuel cells with 52.9% efficiency, powers many of Zoogiedom's smaller cities and towns. Fuel cells derived from both electrical and biological means - electrically separating water into hydrogen and oxygen as opposed to biological synthesis of ATP - is also significantly employed. The military uses biological-based fuels, hand in hand with waste from woodchipping, and roughly 42% of cars in Zoogiedom are electric hybirds. 54% are methane-based, and the remaining 4% are solar hybrids.
More on environment!
All schools and neighborhoods and cities and towns and communities in general are required to have EXTENSIVE recycling programs. Everything is recycled that possibly can be recycled. Newspapers - first, it can be turned into reuseable papers for our book publishing industry, but more importantly, it's biological waste for our fuel cells. Soda bottles - 6% of our sodas are in cans, and these are also recycled. 94% are made with glass bottles, sent back to the factory and thoroughly cleaned. Sound gross? It's a lot better cleaning than at your local restaurant. Milk cartons...paper...everything is recycled. Ten month old babies wake up in the middle of the night screaming "RECYCLE!"
Transportation
Commerce is one of our major concerns. Public transportation particularly - the same corporations that produce our automobiles are also in on busses and trains.
First, the hovertrain. By suspending the train in air above a track base, combined with streamlined design, drag and friction are almost eliminated. This uses the ground effect principle - a cushion of air is created under the vehicle. The shape of the vehicle and track achieve this, funneling air under the train to push it up as it goes along.
Maglev - magnetic levitation - is also used. It takes advantage of the repulsive and attractive forces of magnetism to lift and move the train. It is the only train system capable of travelling through densely populated areas at very high speeds - with no disturbance to residents.
Dual mode transport combines the flexibilty of personal automobiles and the effectiveness of an automated network of rails. Vehicles can operate independently on a normal road but are also designed to operate on a network of trackways.
Automated Beamcarriage Transport, or ABT, works by suspending large numbers of small, driverless vehicles underneath beams. Passengers and freight get on and off at regulated stations.
So much of the civilian technologies were either reworded in a more digestible fashion or directly taken from 'A guide to modern science,' edited by Wilson Da Silva, and published by Fog City Press.
This thread is OOC. All materials and concepts IC-copyright to Zoogiedom, exception of ZF-28 (jointly copyrighted by Kazakhstania). Certain things you'd know about, certain things you wouldn't.
http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/zoogiedom.jpg