NationStates Jolt Archive


ARSB Army To Undergo Radical Reform

Soviet Bloc
06-12-2004, 02:52
Cheif Marshal of the Army Vladimr Tumerov stood before the large crowd of journalists, photographers, political members, and even a few foreign dignitaries. Behind him were the rustic red curtains with the Soviet Bloc flag adorning each side of the stage along with the flags of the Ministry of Defense and the Army. As he stood there, waiting for the crowd to quiet down, dozens of flashbulbs went off, illuminating him for a camera's shutter to snap a picture of him which would remain far past his lifetime...

"Ladies and gentlemen..." started the often quiet and rather stern Tumerov. At the sound of his booming and authoritive voice, the crowd quieted, "I stand before you today to reveal to you, the face of the next generation Soviet Bloc war machine." The curtains pulled back revealing four large LCD screens, each with a series of data, the Army crest, the Soviet Bloc flag, and a few random pictures, which would be went through later.

"As most of you may know, the Parliament, earlier this month, agreed to allocate all wasted funds to the Ministry of Defense, particularly to AOREA, for research and development on the next generation of warfare for the Soviet Bloc Armed Forces. I am here today, to detail to you what will happen to our nation's Army." He stood to the side as a slide show began playing, the lights dimming.

"Today's Army is outfitted with the VEPR S2 Situational Awareness System. This gives our soldiers more capability than ever before and allows them to see, hear, and identify the enemy long before they'll ever see our's. It also allows them to work with all aspects of the Soviet Bloc DefenseNet, a global system that wires all of our military together. It is truely a remarkable system, except its a bit bulky." He turned towards the audience as a picture of an ARSB infantryman came onto the screen wearing a much lighter and more streamlined VEPR system. "This is the VEPR S3 system. The future combat system for our infantrymen. However, the project is only in developmental phase and it isn't slated to be put into use for another four years."

"Anyways, among its many improvements over the VEPR S2 system is its far less weighty and bulky. Using the cutting edge of science, we have created smaller and lighter microchips and computer systems that will be distributed across the VEPR S3 wearer's body. These will lessen weight and decrease the vulnerability of the system."

He paused for a minute while he changed the 'slide', a picture of only the VEPR S3 base layer appeared and rotated to its right. "However, this is not just a situational awareness system any more. AOREA scientists have developed and designed a system for the VEPR S3 named the Physical Attribute Acceleration System." The screen zoomed in on the bicep area of the base layer. "Buried within the folds of the skin-hugging base layer are these..." The screen zoomed farther in, on a microscopic level, revealing thousands of bundles of fibers. "These are electro-muscular fibers. They can tighten and lengthen on demand, much like human muscle, using data gleaned from the wearer's computer and a series of pressure sensitive sensors deployed through-out the base layer. Due to the limits of such a system, the electro-muscular fibers can only allow the wearer to increase his relative strength by two times. The system aides in lifting, physical combat, running, jumping, ducking, rolling, and most every maneuver." He changed the screen to show a VEPR S3-E experimental suit-wearing soldier to leap over a wall much higher than could be accomplished. The soldier then went on to perform a series of spectacular stunts including ripping things apart, bashing things in... You get the idea.

"Now... You may be thinking this is the pinnacle of Soviet Bloc infantry systems. It is not." He changed the view to show a radically different Soviet Bloc infantryman. He wore no bulky helmet with the visor (mainstay of the VEPR series), no noticeable heavy armor, no noticeable computer system, and looked far more aggressive. "This is the VEPR Next Generation Combat System. This system will be unhindered by the former restraints of the S3 system as it will not require the testy pressure sensors. It will also not require the bulky head gear required to display gathered data to the soldier... It will, instead, use a direct neural interface to present the gathered data to the soldier either through his own mind or it can be projected into his optical nerve, creating the illusion of free-floating data. The electro-muscle fibers will be directly connected to his motor thoughts and therefore, the soldier will benefit from up to four times his normal strength."

"Another great innovation of the VEPR NGCS is the fact that the entire computer system and everything will be within the base layer itself. Flexible microchips placed in the small of the back, microns-thick 10-gigabyte/second optical wiring, and a system that hooks directly into the soldiers brain/spinal cord. A system will also transfer the wearer's own electricity, generated by the heart, brain, and by also using static electricity, to the system which will use super-efficient computer materials, meaning the batteries required will be small and far less cumbersome than its S2 counterparts."


The screen changed to a sheet displaying data about the military. "Now. You may wonder how this all ties in with a radical, new Army. We are reducing our combat numbers from 1.2 million combat personnel down to 500,000 combat personnel. They're training will be increased from twelve to sixteen months, elevating them past most other nation's special forces. The 700,000 personnel to be dropped will be released over the next ten years and will be allowed to join the Reserves or District Guard. Armor and infantry vehicle forces will be reduced as well but not to the same extent."

"I've done my part, now do your's... In other words, I'm open to questions form the audience..." Vladimr returned to his position behind the podium, awaiting the questions.


The hands shot up and Vladimr basically pointed off in the distance and a member of the audience stood up. "Hi, I'm Svetlana Ghervina, Rostov News Network." Vladimr nodded. "What would happen to our overseas deployments, specifically the forces in Buechoria?"

Vladimr straightened up, "Most overseas forces will remain the same except those required in the Future Army. Otherwise, most overseas deployments will be redesignated as Reserves and any overseas deployed forces will be forced to remain in the military until their tour is up, then they will be allowed to leave or relocate to a different branch. Next question?"


"Viktor Eunterov, District One News. When will the VEPR NGCS be available to our troops and how many will receive it?"

Vladimr nodded as the man spoke, "Good question. The price of the NGCS is extraordinarily high, so much that we cannot outfit the entire infantry force, well, at least until we find a way to mass produce the components necessary to the unit. At best estimates, the VEPR NGCS will be ready in 10-12 years."

And the questions went on... And on... And on...


OOC- And now, anybody that wants to can post any question, that is if, you really want to... Otherwise, this is to mainly serve as reference, information, etc.