Mennrimiak-Vayinaod Summit
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Hannkkara, Mennrimiak
September 4th, 2020Kristian Nylund was about to embark on their first major bilateral summit since taking the office of Archkonsul, obviously it was to be far more personal compared to the various meetings for the Treaty of Finisterre. Vayinaod had historically fairly good relations with the Kingdom of Mennrimiak, culturally the countries shared a common background and geopolitical shared some of the same ideals for the north Atlantic region.
This meeting was moreso for business however, Nylund was to proposed some basic agreements such as free trade and exchange for certain resources but the main course of this meeting was the first set of talks regarding modernization of Mennrimiak's military. Much of the nation's equipment was purchased in the 90's, and its aircraft and naval ships while still effective and serviceable were nearing the end of their life cycles.
Nylund had some representatives from the First Konsulate (Vayinaod's equivalent to the Ministry of Defense), and various Vardic military contractors in order to ensure that the talks would result in as much concrete agreements as possible. This first meeting was to set the agreements for the navy, something Nylund was excited to work on due to lack of exports for some of the shipyards.
Soon enough the pilots indicated they were on approach to Anderstorp International Airport, the eight hour flight finally over. On the ground Nylund noted the atmosphere, reminding them of home. The door finally openned, and Nylund began to go down the steps toward the arrival party.
"Prime Minister Niinistö it is a pleasure to finally meet you, may this meeting provoke good thoughts and eternal peace for our two nations," Nylund greeted as he shook the Prime Minister's hand for the first time.
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Sauli smiled as he aproached the vardic leader,was definetly someone he could talk to confidently, Vayinaod and Mennrimiak have a similar culture and enviroment, and that was something Sauli knew could make this meeting more comftrable
"Good day Archkonsul, be welcomed to The United Kingdoms Of Mennrimiak! I really hope you feel like home, can i offer you a motorcade to the Skagum Palace where our meeting will take place? Is pretty cold outside but im sure you are familiar with this.
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"Its quite lovely in my opinion," Nylund responded as the pair stood for more photos and eventually departed on the Prime Minister's offered motorcade.
After pulling away from the airport Nylund began to attempt in striking up a conversion, "Beautiful country you have here Prime Minister, it is truly a shame my predecessor never made it a priority to visit.
I've seen the Skagum Palace, would you indulged me with some knowledge that you personally find interesting about it. I'm always trying to learn."
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"Thank you, we are pretty kind and we love the visits but we get very isolated from the rest of Europe because of the Atlantic ocean, and of course i can tell you something interesting, The palace was built not much after the discovery of the region as the residence for the colonial goverment and when we got our independence it was occupied by the Royal Family, and now it is the oficial house of the prime minister and were we like to host international meetings, ¡It even was the parliament building! Im a person that appreciates the history very much."
(Skagum Palace) -
"Fascinating!"
Soon enough the motorcade pulled up to the Palace, more photos were taken for the press pool. Once more of the formalities were finalized, Nylund with the Prime Minister ventured into the magnificent building.
Eventually coming to the room where their delegations were to begin the talks. Once everyone was settled, Nylund began the conference.
"It is with the most gratitude that I extend the opening remarks for this conference, I do hope that our talks on the matter of trade, military agreements, and other matters bears fruit.
As agreed upon in the pre-conference communications between our two governments, we will begin with the first series of talks regarding the requested modernisation of the Kingdom's armed forces. I have representatives from various defense contractors in Vayinaod here, as well as the First Konsulate's head of acquisitions to expedite the approval process for the exports.
You're government indicated a wish to specifically discuss naval assets Prime Minister, would you like to elaborate?"
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Yes, as we said on the pre conference talks we want to modernise our military forces because as our Kingdom develops and the external theats rise we get more vulnerable and thats why we need to develop a better army that can defend us efficiently,and we trust Vayinaod to help us, and of course this could also benefit you. Our main concern in this first meeting is our navy, as you may know many of our ships and equipment are almost at the end of their use and we need an urgent replacement, Now i ask you if we can see what the Vardic Naval Forces can offer to us.
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"Ah fair enough, I have a representative from both Kron Shipworks Industries, as well as Halsberg Systems who can present their proposals for your navy," Nylund replied gesturing to Eindriði Frank and Herman Pedersen respectively for their presentations.
"Thank you Archkonsul, and take you for your time Prime Minister. Kron Shipworks was responsible for the current Ness-Class patrol vessels acquired during the 1990s, and as such is in a fantastic position to work with the requirements of Mennrimiakic Navy.
Currently, as allowed by the Foreign Sales Act of 2019, Kron Shipworks in conjunction with the First Konsulate of the Archrepublic is prepared to complete an expedited order of Gärtner Class patrol vessels to not only replace those currently in service, but provide an additional 10 over a set period of time as required by the Kingdom.
The Gärtner Class is designed as a patrol vessel with anti-ship missiles included in the design, alongside the formidable standard guns you see on most patrol vessels. This provides the Gärtner Class with much more flexible application in both coast guard duties, as well as coastal defense. In addition, it has a 76mm cannon compared to the Ness Class' 40mm.
Kron Industries is prepared to offer 25 boats (15 to replace the current fleet, with an additional 10 for future expansion) for 40 million Euros per ship, for a total contract cost of 1 Billion Euros. Assuming all formalities are met, the first set replacement ships could be expected by December.
While Kron Industries did not assist in the development of the current frigates used by the Kingdom, it absorbed the former company which did Lilac Limited. We are prepared to in cooperation with the permission of the First Konsulate, offer the Stenger Class frigates for sale. Typically these are not approved for export, but the First Konsulate is prepared to agree to it for this case.
It would be a total of ten frigates, five to replace current ships, with five more for future expansion. The total contract would be for 2 Billion Euros, for a per unit cost of 200 Million Euros. The Stenger Class are equipment with 8 Anti-Ship Missiles, 8 Anti-Land Tactical missiles, a 127 mm naval gun, an aviation facility with space for one medium-lift helicopter. Along with a suite of electronic warfare, sensors, and other items as noted in the dossier provided to you. Its range of 4,500 nautical miles will be more than enough for the Kingdom's requirement I hope, however it is capable of at sea replenishment just in case. The first set of ships would be delivered in January.
Speaking of at sea replenishment, we are prepared to off Emma the Beautiful Class Supports ships for about 300 Million Euros a piece depending on the amount purchased. All ships potentially could be delivered by February of next year.
I am available for any questions Prime Minister," presented Eindriði Frank of Kron Shipworks.
"Take you for your time Prime Minister, Halsberg Systems was involved only with the assisting development of local submarines, however, current restrictions from the government in the Archrepublic would prevent such a specific cooperation once again without a more comprehensive agreement. Halsberg systems is prepared to work with the Kingdom from its Destroyers, to its submarines, as well as a more interesting proposal for the end.
We are prepared to export the Copala-Nylund class submarines for 425 million Euros a piece depending on the amount purchased. The class contains 36 torpedos, with 6 torpedo tubes. It has a range of 6100 nautical miles, I can not divulge the maximum depth due to security concerns at the moment however I assure you to be more than enough for the Kingdom's needs. Some ships are already laid down, and could be delivered within a few months.
The submarines are the first in the world to utilize Lithium-Ion batteries, and utilize an air-independent propulsion system to extend the stealth capabilities of the ship and lower its acoustics when dived.
Halsberg Systems in conjunction with the Breen Consortium is prepared to offer 6 Breiner Class destroyers, three to replace current vessels, with three more for future expansion. Total cost per ship would be 750 Million Euros. The ships are designed for fleet defense, as well as anti-ship operations for coastal defense with some anti-air capabilities. The dossier on them provides a detail list of their armament, but they share much of their basic weaponry with the Stenger Class providing standardization that will drive costs down year to year for budgetary purposes.
With the consent of the Kron Industries, and the Archrepublic we are also prepared to present the option for the purchase of one Willem the Just Class light aircraft carrier, with delivery in about 8 months. The total cost would be 1.2 Billion Euros, with the potential to be outfitted with 8 V/STOL aircraft and four helicopters of a combination there-of. Along with a myriad of defense systems Incorporated into the design.
The First Konsulate is prepared to actually provide the fleet of AV-8B harrier jump-sets it is about to decommission for no-cost. The aircraft it would provide are the youngest jets in the fleet to ensure they have a productive service-life with the Kingdom.
Much like my counterpart I am open for questions Prime Minister," finished Herman Pedersen.
"As am I, these companies have the full support of the Archrepublic in this dealing and the First Konsulate is very intent on expediting the approval process," added Kristian Nylund.
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The Prime Minister talked for a moment with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Economy and Finances and then he said "I like their ideas i must admit but about the proposal of Halsberg systems, i like your ideas about the Copala-Nylund class submarines and the Willem the Just Class aircraft carrier , i imagine both of them have a required amount of money for the maintenace, how much is it aproxmately?
And for the carrier you proposed giving us 8 V/STOL aircraft included with the carrier but we know the vardic airforce uses F-45V which is a variant of the Duxburian F-35B, we would want to know if there is a way we can get a contract for that model?For Kron shipworks,the proposal of the frigate Stenger Class is something we are very interested, can you give us some specifications about it?"
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"The typical yearly maintenance cost for a Copala-Nylund Class attack submarine can be expected at around an average of 45 Million Euros, costs can be driven down through a number of means and Halsberg Systems is prepared to work with local corporations and shipyards.
Extended maintenance periods every 5 years will cost around 75 Million Euros, with midlife overhauls and other retrofits as ordered costing about 125-175 Million Euros per year based on current projections. The midlife overhaul/retrofits should take anywhere from 2-3 years.
With an expected service life of 30 years, and only one retrofit/midlife overhaul total maintenance cost would be somewhere in the neighborhood of around 1.5 Billion Euros for total maintenance costs for a single vessel.
The Willem the Just Class carrier will have a yearly maintenance requirement of about 95 million Euros, with extended maintenance periods of about every 6 years which will cost 135 Million Euros. Major overhaul/refit half-way through its 42 year life span take about 2-3 years and will cost 200 million Euros a year. Total maintenance for its lifecycle will be about 4.5 Billion Euros based on current projections. Halsberg Systems believes that certain cost-saving measures could reduce this to about 4.2 Billion Euros. Much like the Copala-Nylund Class submarines we are prepared to work with local shipyards and corporations in the maintenance requirements," responded Herman Pedersen, "Unfortunately, I will defer to the Archkonsul in regards to your request about the F-35V. "
"Yes, well," started Nylund, "The F-35V is a specific contract concluded with the Duxburian Union, I can not make any gurantees right now as to the possibility of obtaining the model for you Prime Minister. Vayinaod does not have export rights in the license agreement that was reached with the Duxburian Union. Right now the model has yet to reach production capacity in the Archrepublic and we are still receiving our own initial orders from the Duxburian Union with full rate production in Vayinaod set to begin next month.
I will contact the Duxburian Union to see if an arrangement can be made, but I will make no gurantees to it right now Prime Minister which is why the Archrepublic is prepared to offer our youngest portions of our harrier fleet to you for no-cost. Current estimates still give them about half their service life, which I'm sure can be extended with the help of Vardic engineers. This would be a temporary measure, especially as your nation could then utilize the harriers as training aircraft afterwords. However, if the Kingdom does decide to receive the carrier we will have a few months to finalize situation in regards to the aircraft. "
Mr. Frank of Kron Shipworks continued his portion of the presentation, "As stated earlier, the Stenger Class is equiped with a total of sixteen tactical missiles, a 127 mm naval gun, with aviation facilities to support one medium lift helicopter, two if one is kept in hangar while the other is left exposed.
It has a range of 4,500 nautical miles, with a top speed of 30 knots but is destined to cruise at 18 knots. The Vardic Republican Navy currently supports a complement of 140 personnel on the ship, but this can be slightly raised or lowered by the Kingdom's own requirements.
The Frigate is designed for coastal defense duties, but has additional capacities for air defense for convoy and fleet defense. This is aided by its suite of radar, sensors, and electronic warfare measures such as the LIG Nex1 SLQ-200(V)K Sonata electronic warfare suite. Also integrated, along with many of the other products presented at this meeting is the Naval Battle Management System, code-named DRADIS to help coordinate naval combat both on the surface, in the air, and below the water.
Is there anything specific you would wish to know Prime Minister?"
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Okay it is all perfect for me, Archkonsul really thank you for that part of your fleet and i think that can serve the Kingdom very well, but it is for sure that we cant rely on vardic engenieers to help us, and i want to know if they can teach our engenieers how to keep the navy working, as you may know our actual navy is very old and our engenieers have not much experience, and for now we only have worked with Kronstadt Industries a big Tech Company here on Mennrimiak but we dont have almost any contacts with them.
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"The prices offered by the two representatives here include training costs. Provided the Storting clears Mennrimiak, Kron Shipworks and Halsberg Systems will be allowed to work with local companies, and government agencies to conduct maintenance work here and will primarily intended only to offer technical support rather than conduct the work themselves. The goal is to make sure the Kingdom may operate efficiently with Vardic companies standing by to offering support only when needed.
Mennrimiak's status in the ADO will cause some apprehension in the storting, and some special considerations may in order. Including agreements that include penalties for sharing or reverse engineering our technology without explicit permission. As well as other national security matters. These agreements will be a necessity for some major portions of the sale, including the DRADIS system, as well as any hope for a F-35V export."
