Deltaria

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Twitter

Cachtice: The Supreme Federal Soviet and Soviet Senate have both ratified a new series of reforms aimed at increasing party oversight in a large amount of private companies from Deltarian origin. The new reform, first propsoed and pushed by the Politburo and General-Secretary Volf, mandates that any company registered in Deltaria needs to fill in a form declaring that it will not interfere with national politics and will not undermine the authority of the state. While seeming obvious at first lawyers and activists have pointed out that this provision will give state owned companies a greater say in the economy, as harshly competing with them could be seen as "undermining state authority." Another provision in the newly passed reform is that all "natural" Deltarian companies that were thus created in Deltaria will have to have a dedicated "party office" with at least one communist party or affiliate party representative. This representative will have weekly meetings with the board of directors and or CEO and will be responsible for applying Tukerist and Communist ideals within the inner workings of the company. The representative then has to report to the federal communist party once every year detailing the performance on the company on "good behaviour". If a company is deemed to step out of line it can be fined by the government. This provision has also raised eyebrows and angered some, stating it directly interferes with a part of the free market. The government and Politburo have on the other hand stated that, "Companies may still form, they may still operate like usual, this reform is merely meant as a check and balance to ensure that workers rights are respected and pay and working conditions remain high and in order."

Despite the explanation from the Ministry of Industry most political experts see it as a way for Volf and her party loyalists to increase the Communist Party its influence on society, which has been a goal for Volf since her ascendence to power. In a recent interview the General-Secretary stated that, "the nation has seen remarkable success since the party took over from its so called 'democratic' predecessor. It is our dity, as party members but also as Deltarian citizens, to continue this success and give the party the authority it needs to continue to strive for Deltarian greatness."

[Rogue]

OOC Source: The Defense Post

Cachtice: The Ministry of Defense has ordered 10 additional Darali-class nuclear attack submarines from the cooperation between UEG and Mávat Medvěd which recently announced its intention of developing a new modernized version of the Darali-class. The Darali-class is a submarine that has played a pivotal role for the Deltarian Armed Forces and has been their main submarine for centuries. It was modernized before, receiving a new engine and sensors. This new upgrade and modernization program will also focus on implementing a new nuclear reactor and engine, allowing the submarine to be quieter and faster according to preliminary reports. The work done on the DNS Mirat and the Yingdalan-Deltarian nuclear partnership should aid in the development of this new reactor engine. Furthermore the sensors and defensive capabilities of the sub are to be upgraded and a new periscope will be installed. The newly modernized class will also receive a new crew compartment with a new design to increase the comfort of the crew when their shift is over. The hull of the submarine will receive new plating, meant to both lower the chance of being picked up by radar/sonar and increase the integrity of the entire sub.

The UEG-Mávat Medvěd partnership was agreed upon by the two sides around a year ago, with Mávat Medvěd taking on the task of designing and engineering a variety of ships while the UEG would open their shipyards and be in charge of construction of new, or modernization of old ships and submarines. This project will be the first true test for the partnership, with Mávat Medvěd currently finalizing the design of the modernized Darali-class and UEG making preparations for construction. The Ministry of Defense has also approved the modernization of the current Darali-class fleet to the modernized Darali-class. According to the finalized report on the approval the entire project will cost a estimated 2 to 5 billion, with 1 to 2 billion going to the construction of the new subs and the remainder going to the modernization of the existing fleet. It is expected that the project will last 2 to 3 years after construction has commenced.

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Reddit

Sekowo: The Mrazek Carrier Strike Group of the Deltarian Navy has sailed passed Sekowo in what is presumed to be a show of force "in the name of socialism" by geopolitical experts. The carrier group was on a global training mission, sailing past Artania and afterwards around the Ananto strait before ariving near Sekowo. The group was conducting its training mission in the name of the CPIS alliance, with a Coburan frigate accompanying the Deltarian carrier group. The naval force sailed very close to Sekowan national waters, with two Deltarian R-33C jets reportedly even violating the air identification zone of Sekowo when flying near the carrier group before landing back on the DNS Mirat, Deltaria's sole nuclear supercarrier. The move is seen by foreign policy and geopolitical experts as the CPIS putting pressure on the Sekowan government, which is in the process of withdrawing from the communist alliance. Some hawkish politicians and communist activists have commended the move, saying that, "Deltaria and its allies must always defend socialism whenever it is threatened." The carrier group moved passed Sekowan territorial waters and stayed in the area for more then two days, after which it resumed course towards the Aldegar Canal on its way back to home base.

While Sekowo has not yet officially responded this officially marks the first sign of CPIS power projection, making it known that the alliance is possibly ready to intervene in defense of itself and of its primary goal, defending socialism and communism around the globe. The Red Navy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have denied the mission to be a form of power projection, stating that, "The Red Navy had planned this mission a year ago and is simply performing a routine training mission with its allies."

[Rogue]

OOC Source: C&EN

Cachtice: Deltaria's second nuclear powerplant in its nuclear power program has today been fired up and opened with around a thousand bystanders attending the event. General-Secretary Volf, in a rare public appearance, was there to open the plant which will provide electricity to over 300.000 households mostly situated in Ushalande. This new reactor features several improvements over the first build reactor in Deltaria, with a new type of nuclear rods as well as a better connection with the powergrid this new plant should work more efficiently, being able to transform the uranium into energy more efficiently. Premier Volf gave a speech, stating that this marked "a great achievement" for Deltaria which is seeing "its nuclear power supply grow by the day, allowing us to lower our Co2 emissions and produce large amounts of electricity at a lower cost. We thank our Yingdalan partners for their continued cooperation and expertise as our own scientists learn more by the day."

Concerns that Deltaria might create its own nuclear program have so far not borne fruit, the branch for nuclear inspections within the World Congress has found no evidence of weaponized uranium or attempts at a nuclear weapons program and the Ministry of Science and Technology has allowed inspectors the freedom to inspect the plants and other sites of the Ministry with impunity, as long as it is done in a respectfull way. A third nuclear plant is under construction in Dissuwa, which will be the last plant currently on the agenda, with the three combined providing energy to more then 1 million households, over 5 million people in total. This third plant is set to finish construction in late 4925.

[Rogue]

OOC Source: B2B

Cachtice: The Council of Ministers, backed by the Politburo, has announced its "Rural Infrastructure Initiative". The initiative details the federal government its plan to invest a total of 100 billion over the span of 15 years to strengthen, expand and improve rural infrastructure. It would significantly improve the secondary road system in Deltaria, strengthen and repair rural bridges and railway lines and "connect rural communities as to increase economic output and inter-community cooperation." The plan will be directed by the ministry of infrastructure and transport, which thus takes away the authority that the regional republics had in maintaining regional infrastructure. General-Secretary Volf even went as far as saying that the Republic's had "failed" in adequatly maintaining and improving their infrastructure networks but that she would still be "open" to cooperaring with the Republic's if they wished to do so. As quickly as the speech was made the Premier's of Ushalande, Alazinder, Darali and Dissuwa stated they would "welcome with open arms" the investment from the federal government and allow the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to direct the programs in their respective Republic's. The Premier of Doron Akigo did not give permission to do so, but the Supreme Soviet of Doron Akigo, which has been filled with federal loyalists in recent years, has already prepared a motion to force the republican government to allow the Ministry to start the program in Doron Akigo, setting aside the governments decision.

The program is launching next month. The goal is initially to assess the situation on the state of rural infrastructure and perform immediate repairs to bridges and roads. A second goal is to pave many current dirt roads, with the hope of 80% of the rural roads being paved at the end of the program in 15 years, currently this rate sits at 42%. The tourism sector has also reacted positively to the initiative, expressing their "sincere hopes" that the improved rural infrastructure will, "bring more visitors to the great landmarks mostly situated in the roral communities of the country, allowing us to better teach Deltarian history to the world."

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Wikipedia

Cachtice: A new missile has entered serial production for the Aerial Forces. The missile, named Ankar (based on the Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal), was developed by aerospace company Prokládaný, new to the military market. The company first intended on developing a hypersonic air launched missile, capable of hypersonic speeds and meant to penetrate enemy airspace. This objective however failed to meet its goals, prompting the company to stop development. The airforce however asked for the continuation of the project with a new goal in mind, the creation of a air-launched ballistic missile. This objective was met with enthusiasm with Prokládaný developing the Ankar missile based on the framework of their work on the hypersonic missile initially intended for development. The new missile has been specifically designed to be mounted on a variety of Deltarian aircraft, with the majority of them being the MiG-31 interceptor. It is launched from the jet and meant to target and destroy enemy air defenses, enemy naval threats and overcoming enemy air defenses to hit specific targets, for which it was specifically designed. The initial testing phase, which lasted 3 years, has now concluded with positive feedback from the Aerial Forces and Ministry of Defense. Prokládaný has signed a contract with SATURN Aerospace, which will be tasked with producing the missile. A initial order for 50 of them has been placed, as the missile is rather expensive to produce. Observers note that while this design has a HE-fragmentation payload it seems that the design details suggest that in theory it could carry a nuclear payload, allthough Deltaria is not known to possess nuclear capabilities it could be interesting for a possible export version of the missile.

The missile's intend was specifically meant to overcome Northern and Yingdalan air defenses, which was the basis on which it was approved. Deltarian defense expert call it the "puncture missile" as testing seems to confirm that it can puncture through small concentrations of advanced AA missile defenses of various kinds. The missile is expected to gradually enter service in the next two years.

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Reddit

Cachtice: The Federal Space Agency has conducted a major landmark test for its Marmors 4926 program. The test, conducted yesterday, saw its heavy lift rocket being launched, marking a major accomplishment for the program and allowing the agency to start its work on the actual preparation for the launch of the mission, scheduled to happen in 5 years. The agency is currently hard at work developing the robot that will be placed on the planet, with certain valuable materials currently being imported and the craft slowly being constructed in a undisclosed facility. The rocket test marks the first time that such a rocket has been launched by Deltaria, as the previous missions and major mission to the moon were all performed with mid-rang/power rockets. This heavy rocket will allow the craft to reach Mars and possibly carry more cargo then the medium sized rockets so far could. The craft currently under construction will also receive extra equipment, being allowed to weight more then it would have with the existing rockets.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has recently invested a additional 1 billion into the project, allowing the FKA to speed up the process. The current launch date is set for August 4926, exactly 5 years from now. The FKA has stated that if no major problems occur it will likely meet the given deadline.

[Rogue]

OOC Source: DEBKAfile

Tukarali: For the second time within a short period Deltaria has signed a deal that will allow it to establish a naval base in one of its fellow CPIS nations. The deal, negotiated over a year, will allow Deltaria to construct and maintain a military naval base near the city of Lomba in Tukarali, to the east of the country. The base will be of similar size to that in Cobura and will house two Velryba-class destroyers, one Slava-class cruiser and two Racek-class nuclear attack submarines. In addition to these naval assets being permanently based here the base will also have space for a squadron of multirole fighters, likely to be 25 RiG-35 jets which will be primarily used for aerial reconnaisance and limited support missions when needed. There will also be a dedicated force of around 100 ZNZS special forces on the base which could be transported with one of the ships to be deployed when neccesary to for example combat piracy or conduct covert operations. The lease on the territory for the base will last at least 50 years and will not only give Deltaria a new naval base to operate from but one bordering the Antonese Ocean and being extremely close to the vital Aldegar Canal, giving it a prime strategic location to operate from. The base will allow the navy and armed forces overall to "conduct more far reaching global operations, allowing us to be where we need or want to be quickly and efficiently" according to Navy Admiral Jamin Dorka. One condition on which the base is to be constructed is that forces stationed there will be primarily used to protect CPIS influence, protect Tukarali waters and airspace and not fire a first shot as to prevent a unwanted war in the future. All points were agreed upon.

It is the second time in just a few years that Deltaria is opening a military base abroad, with it now operating two bases outside of Deltaria and increasing its global reach for potential military operations. Its move to now enter the Antonese with a permanent force is a strategic one, with increased tensions between Deltaria and Yingdala as well as Seko and other nations in the region the base will allow Deltaria and its CPIS alliance to keep a presence in the Antonese, whether other powers like it or not.

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Twitter

Cachtice: The Military Command Staff, the highest commanding body within the Armed Forces, has released a 200 page report in which they describe their vision for, "the future of combat operations and military technology." In the report the command staff describes the desires that the military itself holds for the future combined with already underway plans that it is executing with several defense companies. According to the report the future of Defense, "relies heavily on evolving technology." No longer will militaries around the world be able to solemnly rely on large numbers of medium quality equipment to properly defend themselves or project power, instead a renewed focus on new technology should be the way forward with especially the army being mentioned in this regard by saying:

While at this moment major powers operate large, often relatively well equipped ground forces, the MCS is of the believe that this will become less important over the span of the next 30 or so years. A increased reliance on advanced technology, higher cost of military equipment and the development of autonomous AI being implemented in new systems will make sure that armies will decrease in size and focus more heavily on targetted expenditures. Developing new technologies and creating a stronger specialized/elite force will be higher on the agenda for most major global powers.

When it comes to the navy and airforce the same counts, while the navy will still rely heavily on, "both quality and quantity", it will become increasingly more costly to maintain the fleet not only for Deltaria but also powers like Yingdala. The navy is projected to be a "budget slurper" in the report, possibly taking up 55% of the military budget "if the current expansion trajectory and modernization drive continues in the coming years." The airforce is projected to become a more specialized force, with certain jets being phased out to allow for a "cohesive and well organized airforce." While the report mostly researched the future of warfare in general it also projected the military its own plans, to be dsicussed with the Ministry of Defense. In the end of the report several of these plans were summarized. The MCS for example proposes to lower the amount of soldiers in the ground army from the current 800.000 to 600.000 by the end of 4930. This would "free up funds and organizational capability to further develop specialized forces and units able to adapt to the changing military environment." Deltaria's special forces, the ZNZS, would then be expanded from the current 8.000 active soldiers in it to around 15.000. The Deltarian Parachute Brigade, another elite unit in the Armed Forces, would also be renamed to the "Orli" or "Eagles" in Luthorian and expand from the current 20.000 to 25.000 men. In addition to the increase in men for the specialized forces in the army the report also suggests a increase in R&D investments, particularly for new infantry equipment and other gadgets, as well as investments into a new sattelite network, capable of connecting with new technology and give special forces a enhanced view during missions.

When it comes to the navy the MCS proposes to continue the current trajectory, with a focus on two specialized fleets (the Kirov Battle Group and Mrazek Carrier Group) and smaller ship compositions in between. There is some criticism on the potential costs of naval expansions, for which the MCS believes there "needs to be a suitable solution." The airforce should "lower the amount of different aircraft designs in its active inventory" to ensure that maintenance costs are lowered and more investment can be poured into modernizing and specializing the remaining aircraft. A example named in the report is the R-27, which should be "fully replaced by the R-35" according to the MCS. The full report has been handed to the Ministry of Defense, with Defense Minister Lenka Štěpánková stating publicly that, "This is a important report that will guide Deltarian defense policy into a new era and ensure that our military remains one of the most modern and effective fighting forces on terra."

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Spotify

Cachtice: The Deltarian music streaming service ListenIn has revealed its major 2.0 update, introducing podcasts and enhancing audio quality on both mobile and dekstop applications. The update was much anticipated, being announced last year and now finally being revealed to release this december. The update will mark the first time that the streaming service introduces another audio option besides music alone, allowing users to create and stream podcasts on the platform free of charge. Those that would like to freely choose the music they listen to can take the new platinum membership, costing only a estimated 10 LOD a month. Since its relaunch around 10 years ago ListenIn has gained users from across the globe, being most popular in Artania where it has over 90 million users. Globally ListenIn has around 300 million users, 120 million of which are paying a subscription fee with the remainder being free users. The streaming service has become an outlet for new music releases and has garnered attention from big names across Terra. It is currently the largest streaming service in Terra and its estimated value is determined to be over 8 billion annually, with private donations being counted in.

ListenIn has also be a outlet for political discontent in authoritarian countries. In Deltaria, despite heavy censorship of the internet, ListenIn has so far managed to remain independent and can have limited access to foreign music, prompting Deltarian artists to become creative and create protest songs about the Deltarian regime through the platform. The same counts for users and creators from other authoritarian leaning nations, making ListenIn not only a entertainment platform but also one with significant political and cultural influence. While some lawmakers in the Supreme Federal Soviet have tried to limit the increased marketshare of ListenIn they have so far failed to do so, prompting a further growth of the platform.

The new ListenIn update is expected to release this december, with users excited for the possibilities and shares of the company increasing by 30% today, with shareholders and traders excited over the upcoming update and the effect it may have on the expanding subscription service of the platform.