Mr. Jacques Pott – 28/12/2022
Ternout, Telem, Novella Islands
Novellan National News Service
First of ten Egalitarian-class vessels delivered from Telem Naval Industries
The Egalitarian-class N.I.V. Aqis has been officially accepted by the Navy from state shipbuilder Telem Naval Industries following successful testing metrics, Minister of Defence Mr. Dallas Dawson announced today at a ceremony in Ternout. The supercarrier is one of ten in its class ordered to be built – each named after a state in the Novella Islands – and has been in construction for nearly four years. The most advanced vessel to ever be designed and built domestically, its completion marks a new era of naval technology and capabilities.
Crew training operations, which have been taking place on simulation models of the new vessel since 2021, will now continue on the ship itself. The simulator facility will be maintained, for preliminary training of the crew of the other nine supercarriers. The N.I.V. Aqis will become combat-ready no later than the end of 2023, after the crew has become fully acquainted with the carrier’s unique modes of operation, and it has passed its shakedown cruise, Mr. Dawson stated.
“The first vessel of its class always takes the longest to deliver,” said Ms. Tina Percy, a Telem Naval Industries spokesperson. “By the time we start work on the Xeles, we expect to be able to complete construction of the Egalitarians in just under three years each. All told, we expect to be delivering a carrier for sea trials at a rate of about one every six months, for the next five years.”
This will be the third vessel named after the state, bringing the total number of aircraft carriers in service back to ten, following the placement into reserve of the former Defiant-class N.I.V. Luminescence in 2021. A decommissioning ceremony for the N.I.V. Britannia – currently still in service, performing patrol duties off of the coast of Jervo – will take place next month, in anticipation of its Egalitarian-class successor being delivered in May of next year.
In line with Telem Naval Industries’ estimates for delivery times, the N.I.V. Stahl will be laid down in the same berth that the N.I.V. Aqis previously occupied. It will join what will be the Aqon, Cyanth, Hathon, Jervo, and Rolor – each at various stages of the construction process – at the Telem shipyards. The N.I.V. Stahl is expected to be delivered in early 2026.
Export demands grow, but the Dell Government won’t back down
Multiple high-level trade partners to the Novella Islands have repeatedly requested authorisation to purchase either the aging Defiant-class vessels as they are phased out of service, or an export variant of the Egalitarian-class – especially given even the older aircraft carriers are still highly advanced, when compared to the majority of the navies within the IDU. However, the Dell Government continues to refuse to reverse its longstanding policy of restricting the export of armaments of any kind, even going so far as to pass legislation banning the practice outright. The only exception to this law is a provision for the transfer of such military goods to international peacekeeping operations, provided oversight is maintained by Novella Islands military personnel at all times.
“If we ever exported these vessels to a foreign nation, the moment we deliver them, we lose control over what that nation does with them,” the Defence Minister said. “Ignoring for the moment the blatantly obvious threat of any arms exported being used against us in the future, one must consider the fact that we are unable to dictate foreign policy of sovereign nations; who is to say what threats may be enforced using our weapons, and potentially against our own allies?”
“Further, the threat of our state of the art technology falling into the hands of those who may reverse-engineer it and use it for purposes outside of any signed agreement is far too great. We cannot allow the sale of any of our military equipment, now or in the future.”
