⠀⠀UIF Coast Guard purchases 48 new cutters from PLAID, causing scandal
GRANITSMORE; 2206 - Earlier this week, the UIF Coast Guard took delivery of the first of forty-eight new suspiciously well-armed cutters from Penguin Logistics and Internal Defence, a Zokesian arms production company based on Fish Island. These ships are intended to replace the aging diverse stock of small cutters the Guard currently possesses, while also fulfilling a Navy requirement for a “galley” type small craft with significant antiship missile capability.
Opinion pieces written in defense periodicals have strongly criticized the acquisition, railing against the decision to procure vessels from foreign yards as opposed to domestic ones. The Coast Guard has defended its decision, citing the currently atrophied capabilities of domestic shipbuilding, which has been rocked by a series of recent mishaps and setbacks.
Though the current “Amber Coalition” government approved the purchase earlier this year during military budget negotiations, it is well understood that the decision to sign off on the deal was taken reluctantly and defeatedly. “We had no other choice,” said the First Consul when asked about the missile boat purchase a month ago, “Our shipyards simply do not have the technical expertise for mass production at the levels we want yet. Procurement has significantly degraded since the end of Reclamation in the late forties. Our government is working to reverse the decline of our manufacturing as soon as possible."
In related news, the Navy has contracted PLAID engineers and managers to assist in the construction of new shipyards around the country and is working to strengthen ties with VAE Shipyards of Vocavium in anticipation of an upcoming "large shipbuilding project" long rumored by many in the naval establishments of both countries.
