NationStates Jolt Archive

TIS Headline News:

In Freeport today, President James Newman revealed the existance of a top secret weapons facility on Bearclaw Island, 300 miles northeast of Main Asherton Island. The weapons facility, which has been guarded quite heavily for the past [2 RL Months], is home to The Island States Aerospace HQ and Spaceport.

"I announce this now because of my stunning victory in recent elections," Newman remarked as he, as well as the Minister of War, revealed the location of the base, as well as hints as to what is being developed.

"What are about to be deployed enmass are our new GLAOMs, or Ground-Launched Anti-Ortillery Missiles. With the help of our Hattian comrades in the USR, we are ready to defend ourselves from space powers without having to engage them in space. However, we're also on the verge of major breakthroughs in nuclear fusion drives, cryogenic freezing, ion cannons, ship-to-ship missiles, advanced radar, Command and Control equipment, and we are incredibly close to an incredible breakthrough in Solid-State Hyperspace Modules, which will allow us to reach the stars. We must thank our Hattian allies immensely for giving us the ability to reach out to the galaxy."

While Newman would comment on the technology, he would not announce a timetable to the construction of the necessary facilities, nor when the first interstellar vessel would be launched. This is TIS Headline News...

"In a stunning reversal of current government attitudes, President James Newman has announced and released papers containing the stats for these new weapons":

GLAOM-01 Mk. II "Sledgehammer" (Ground-Launched Anti-Ortillery Missile)

A conventionally-launched weapon, that once it reaches the outer thermosphere, releases a plasma-driven, nuclear-tipped warhead with a yield of 20 megatons. The capsule containing the missile shoots off at it's target, guiding itself in and detonating against the hull or shields.

GLEMPM-01 Mk.V "Blinder" (Ground-Launched EMP Missile)

A conventionally-launched weapon that carries an EMP warhead. The EMP warhead, depending on it's configuration, can be used to disrupt radio communications over a large area, temporarilly knock out electronic systems over a moderate area, or completely destroy electronic systems within a small area. Will not work on sufficiently hardened electronic circuits and processors.


Mosquito-class Frigate (1st Generation TIS warship)

A fusion-driven and powered manned spacecraft, capable of fast acceleration and scooping up fuel from it's environment. Fuel sources include Helium-3, Deuterium, and Tritium. Weapons include:

1 spine-mounted ion cannon
30 missile-launchers (15 port, 15 starboard) containing ACSM-01 Mk. X
15 fast-tracking flak guns (firing ball-bearing canisters that break apart and spread debris across the path of a strike craft).

Basic Radar Suite (300 degree scanning arc)
Mk. I Energy Shields (breaks apart incoming objects before impact, dissipates energy weapons, weak).
1 meter thick Titanium armor
Solid-State Hyperspace Module (capable of 250 LY jumps with maximum charge)
Rudimentary FTL communications
Low profile

Crew: 16 (8 per 12-hour shift); 12 crewmen, 4 officers.


Genesis-class Colony Ship

A fusion-driven and powered manned spacecraft, capable of moderate acceleration and scooping up fuel from it's environment. Fuel sources include Helium-3, Deuterium, and Tritium. It is relatively defenseless.

Basic Radar Suite (300 degree scanning arc)
Mk. I Energy Shields (breaks apart incoming objects before impact, dissipates energy weapons, weak).
5 meter thick Titanium armor
Solid-State Hyperspace Module (capable of 250 LY jumps with maximum charge)
Rudimentary FTL communications
Large profile

Crew: 16 (8 per 12-hour shift); 14 crewmen, 2 officers.
Passengers: 2,000 colonists (cryogenically frozen)

"We are now being told that the orbital facilities have been operational in secret for 4 years now, and that 10 Mosquito-class Frigatess and 1 Genesis-class Colony Ship have been constructed. Plans for better ships, technology, and weapons are on the drawing board as we speak, and will be announced in several years time. Also, the GLAOMs and GLEMPMs are now being deployed across The Island States, in one report stating at many as 50 GLAOMs with much more on the way. This is TIS Headline News..."