Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

Amidst years, if not decades of negotiations with numerous stakeholders and various assessments done on whether the Armed Forces was truly prepared for its integration into their current combat systems, the Department of Defence announced that Lodamun would join the X-43 Programme, with its preferred representative, Hemlock-Rogway set to become the recipient of the schematics of the aircraft including its coveted stealth suite and advanced avionics. In a press statement issued earlier this morning, the DoD noted that the Hutorian Government, which for the better half of the previous two millennia, has been the quasi-overseers of the project, had subsequently approved Lodamun’s entrance into the programme, with intent to transfer much of the responsibility of managing the programme to Hemlock-Rogway and the Lodamese Department of Defence in lieu of its presence. The X-43 Programme began a millennium ago with the hopes of enhancing the capabilities of the world’s fighters via the development of a next-generation fighter interceptor. It had been imagined that, recognising the natural progression of combat aircraft towards increased use of stealth technology alongside the deployment of advanced, beyond-vision-range weapons, such a capability would be needed among the major militaries of the world at the time. The project’s founding members included Zardugal, Hutori, Kazulia, Dolgava and Istalia, all of whom cooperated in numerous ways to build what would eventually become the X-43(35) Joint Strike Fighter. Lodamun’s entrance comes exactly two millennia after the programme had been initiated. Following the collapse of competent leadership in Zardugal, management/administration of the project had been transferred to the Hutorian Ministry of National Defence under the auspices of the Horizon Technology Corporation (HTC), the nation’s leading aerospace defence firm. The collapse of competent leadership in Hutori subsequently left the programme in stasis.

Lodamun’s ascension to the project comes amidst concerns within the Lodamese defence establishment related to the capabilities of near-peer competitors. Pointing to developments in Majatra, namely the renewed efforts of the Jelbic Empire (JE) to recuperate a centuries-long lost grip on power and influence in the Majatran continent and the continued proliferation of otherwise dangerous weaponry by Beiteynuese defence firms, it was believed the Lodamun had been falling behind on maintaining its edge and that an Idisian (Herculean) leap would be required. The DoD statement noted that the X-43’s capabilities would provide the Lodamese Air Force and Navy with newer, more flexible options on the battlefield. Speaking to its vaunted stealth technology, the DoD noted that although it does not make the aircraft invisible to the radar of all systems (as is assumed by many), it nonetheless makes locking onto the aircraft particularly difficult. “The aircraft would undoubtedly provide the LAF (Lodamese Armed Forces) with the ability to conduct strikes potentially deep into enemy territory without being detected by most intermediary radar systems, alongside making it increasingly difficult for these systems to lock onto the aircraft for a firing solution,” Dominic Fletcher, a defence analyst, explained. “Ultimately, it is still vulnerable to more advanced systems. Nonetheless, the Air Force and Navy can take advantage of this clear boost in capability.” Concurrently, the X-43 possesses three (3) variants: the X-43A, which is configured for conventional take and landing, the X-43B, which is configured for short take-off and vertical-landing and the X-43C, which is configured for catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery. The DoD statement noted that in joining the project, the Lodamese Air Force had made an initial purchase of 60 X-43As.

With the aircraft’s schematics set to be transferred to Hemlock-Rogway, the company has noted that it has no intention of changing a single aspect of the aircraft’s general design. “The aircraft currently stands at the top of its class, and to state that in taking over the programme, we intend to make changes would be furthest from the truth,” the company said in a statement. It has been noted that the company is currently searching for a site to establish a domestic manufacturing hub for the aircraft, as the Lodamese pattern will be built domestically. Coined the X-43L, the aircraft is likely to possess more modern avionics compared to its older counterparts in Hutori and Kazulia, the two nations with active X-43 fleets. Chief of the Air Force General Peter Bradford noted that the introduction of the X-43 would not spell the end of the F-16, the F-15, or the F-18 as the three aircraft will remain in the service of the Lodamese Air Force, Navy and Commonwealth Guard indefinitely. Once constructed and fully integrated, the X-43 is likely to act as a Lodamese Air Force interceptor alongside Commonwealth Guard F-16s and F-15s. “Although the X-43 is being lined up to become the lead aircraft of the Air Force, it does not mean that the capable F-16s, F-15s and F-18s are being phased out. In fact, we have plans to dramatically expand our fleets to meet the demands to patrol greater portions of the Seleyan and Dovanian continents,” General Bradford explained.