Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

With the Lodamese Armed Forces firmly set in its ambitions to enhance its long-range strike capabilities, the Defence Procurement Administration (DPA), has announced the commencement of a supposedly highly competitive bidding/proposals process to determine the future strategic bomber aircraft(s) for the Lodamese Air Force. The announcement was made via a press statement wherein the DPA confirmed that approval from the Secretary of Defence had been obtained to open up the process to domestic and international competitors. The Lodamese Armed Forces has long expressed its ambitions to build and maintain long-range strike capabilities as it has viewed such a capability has important to maintaining an edge over its regional and international contemporaries. “Long-range strike would ultimately enable us to conduct a broad spectrum of operations beyond our borders whilst keeping more sensitive assets at home, the picture being built should be one wherein Lodamun is capable of bringing an ever-increasing degree of firepower to the doorstep of potential adversaries.” A declassified DoD memo read. According to the DPA statement, potential competitors were requested to present designs (either conceptual or pre-existing) for long-range strategic bombers capable of working in tandem with aircraft such as the LF-16 and the LF-15 (multi-role fighters which form the backbone of the Lodamese Air Force’s capabilities). It noted that said designs need not include stealth capabilities as such a requirement is not within the range of capabilities currently needed by the Lodamese Air Force. At the DoD weekly press briefing, DoD Press Secretary Rayan Park was asked to comment on the DPA statement wherein she said: “The Secretary of Defence considers long-range strike capabilities, that is the ability to conduct sorties in regions/sectors of the world well being Lodamun’s borders or the reaches of a friendly airbase, as essential to a Lodamese Armed Forces with ambitions for enhanced security throughout the Seleyan continent and the various bodies of water surrounding it. Long-range strike in this instance does not pertain to weapons but aircraft with a range capable of striking targets almost anywhere.”
 
The Department of the Air Force confirmed that it has been looking at various examples throughout the world in building out the specifications/requirements which are now present in the DPA bidding process. According to Secretary of the Air Force Joel Young, the Air Force had been looking at the Trigunian Air Force’s employment of its own strategic bombers throughout history. Concurrently, the Tu-95, Tu-22m3 and the Tu-160 strategic bombers conduct numerous operations throughout the Northern Hemisphere, primarily within the Keris/Macon region; from maritime patrols to air policing. It noted that what made the TAF’s use of its strategic bomber assets so interesting was its secondary role as a missile platform. Here, Secretary Young noted that although historically, the bombers had been used to carry nuclear weapons (when Trigunia maintained such weapons), however as the nation’s dynamic changed, bombers were altered to become platforms from which Trigunia was capable of launching a broad spectrum of munitions including hypersonic cruise missiles and glide bombs. “Although they were built with the specific purpose of launching nuclear weapons, they are now being used as a sort of flying missile platform from which the Trigunian Armed Forces can bring significant firepower to bear. This is the sort of capability we want Lodamun to possess,” Secretary Young said. According to the DPA/Air Force specifications, proposals ought to include two design concepts; one should be supersonic and the other subsonic.