Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

As a gradual build-up of forces on the Likatonian-Lodamese border continues, the Lodamese Navy has dispatched its largest amphibious task force to the Artanian Sea in the aftermath of the Idisian (Herculean) battle between the Kalistani and Kundrati Navies around the island of Etxea. In a press statement issued earlier this morning, the Department of Defence confirmed that both President William Tabner and Secretary of Defence Andrew Jordan approved the launching of the largest deployment of Lodamese maritime assets in centuries, with the sole purpose of re-establishing a clear Lodamese presence in the Artanian Sea. “Notwithstanding the brutal exchanges waged in that area, the Lodamese Navy reaffirms its commitment to security in all spaces, especially those who are of significant importance to our national defence and prosperity,” the statement read. 

It had been speculated among some OSINT (open-source intelligence) analysts that, given the scale of the attack launched by the Kalistani Navy in the Artanian Sea against the Kundrati Navy and recognising that the latter’s capacity to operate in the area and thus pose a threat to maritime operations had been completely destroyed, it would have been reasonable for the Lodamese Navy to take advantage of both Luthori’s passiveness as well as the lack of meaningful “competition” in the area to cement Lodamun’s presence perhaps permanently. These suspicions were largely aided by reports of Lodamese nuclear attack submarines being temporarily recalled from their posting in the Migrant’s Pass and Dovani, with some OSINT analysts even providing satellite imagery of the LCS-Pickerel, a nuclear attack submarine which had been previously stated to have been operating in the vicinity of the Migrant’s Pass, conducting R&R (rearming and refitting) at Naval Station Amsted in Aldegar.

The Lodamese Navy and by extension the Lodamese Government has been tight-lipped on the circumstances of its own passiveness, as numerous defence officials have avoided answering questions related to why Lodamun, a key ally of Kalistan and a nation which prior to the Battle of the Artanian Sea had a clear presence via Coast Guard and maritime patrol sweeps, had been noticeably absent from much of the fighting. Some defence analysts have poked at the fact that Lodamun had long envisioned a sweeping offensive against a combatant force which would have lent itself to establishing the Lodamese Navy as a clear force in the area. “We’ve been supposedly building up our presence in that area for decades and yet when the opportunity came to utilise that presence and deliver a crippling blow to Kundrati in tandem with our partners in Kaliburg, the Lodamese Navy and all its might was nowhere to be seen,” chided Zac Howard, a defence analyst for the Centre for Geostrategic Policy and Research.

Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Stephen Rush explained that Lodamun’s absence from the naval action in the Artanian was less about operational capacity and more about a lack of coordination among forces. He noted that although the Lodamese Armed Forces remained committed and uniquely tied to Kalistan’s operations in the Artanian Sea, the offensive was ultimately a Kalistani action, undertaken by the nation under the weight of its own capabilities. “We have always maintained that Lodamun will support Kalistani operations to the extent that they allow us to do so. The extremely successful yet devastating naval action in the Artanian Sea represents a purely Kalistani decision; one in which they conducted under the weight of their own capabilities and witt,” Admiral Rush explained. He noted that the action nonetheless demonstrated that the Kalistani Navy, despite previously held notions towards its incapacity, possessed the ability to conduct broadly successful operations without assistance from other nations.

The task force dispatched to the region comprises three St. Christopher-class Amphibious Assault Ships (AAS), three Portswood-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD), three Galley-class Landing Ship Docks (LSD), four Julliet Andrews-class Guided Missile Frigates (CG), three Andrew Neilson-class Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), two replenishment tankers and an undisclosed number of submarines. The DoD statement noted that the AAS’ complements varied from pure aviation (Harriers, Ospreys) and pure transportation (AAVPs, LAVs, LCACs). Some have noted that although the statement points to the deployment as a means of establishing a clear presence in the region, the complement nonetheless favours amphibious landing operations. “I can understand the Lodamese Navy wanting to finally get off its ass and demonstrate that it is indeed a force to be reckoned with in the Artanian Sea, but why would a Landing Ship Dock be needed?” Zac Howard questioned. “If I wanted to remind nations that I had a role to play in that area, the composition of that task force would have leaned heavily into our guided missile destroyers and frigates, and I would have let it be known that our nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines were in the area.” 

When pressed for clarity on the possibility that the task force had been dispatched to support a potential amphibious assault, Artanian Command (ARTCOM) Commander General Ronald Serrano stated that the task force’s principal purpose was to re-establish Lodamun’s presence in the area via active patrols of the Artanian Sea and to continued monitoring of Kundrati maritime movements, even as Kalistani disclosures point to the complete destruction of the Kundrati Navy. “The Task Force was dispatched to the region to re-establish our presence in the area and to monitor Kundrati and by extension Likatonia. We want to ensure that Kasaema can never pose a realistic threat to our interests and those of our partners in this region for the foreseeable future,” General Serrano explained. According to Serrano, inclusive of the Task Force, Azuron maritime patrol drones from Berkwaki and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft from Malivia will enhance their surveillance of the area.