Oceanic Union Defence Force
Oceanic Union Defence Force |
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The Spacefaring military arm of the Oceanic Union is divided into two separate organisations, the OUDF Navy (OUDFN) and the much larger OU Patrol Fleet (OUPF). The former is a purely military organisation, whose ship names are prefixed by OUDFS (usually pronounced 'Odd Fuss'), the latter a paramilitary organisation whose ships names are prefixed by OUPS (pronounced "Oops"). In times of crisis, many OUPF ships serve alongside their purely-military cousins, and there seems to be little difference in practice. Due to practical experience in anti-piracy duties and exploration in disputed territory, the OUPF ships often have better gunnery skills, despite having somewhat less military training. OUDFN ships are often painted in individualistic colour schemes, often aboriginal, maori, abstract or polynesian motifs using earth colours. OUPS ships are a basic medium blue, sometimes with an abstract design, often not.
The History of the OUDF's activities in space is shrouded in some mystery. Various sources contradict each other, and it is official policy of the OUDF to say little to clear up the confusion. Some sources put the beginnings of the OUDFN as far back as the original Gilderstein Foundation experiments, others state that the OUDF was the last of the minor powers to enter space, behind the Indonesian Commonwealth and LLAR.
What is certain is that by the 2180s, the Oceanic Union has claimed vast numbers of mainly M-class star systems, and has placed navigation and communications buoys on them. These systems are for the most part completely valueless, so no other power has bothered to claim them. Should the OU find anything of value, it has often found the system taken from it by force majeure. However, the OU has reasonably good diplomatic relations with all the major powers, and is adept at playing them off against each other. It is also expert at assymetrical warfare - OU raiders are Vandals par excellence, able to strike in unexpected places, cause vast monetary damage, and withdraw with few casualties on either side. Many nations and even some of the larger organisations have taken OU territory and kept it: but none have profited thereby, and usually they are all too glad to give it back. The OU provides a valuable service to all spacefaring nations, providing navigational beacons, keeping down piracy, and providing search-and-rescue services. Its large patrol fleet's regular visits--both in and out of OU space--are often the only lifeline some of the smaller scientific and industrial colonies have to the rest of humanity.
The bulk of OUDF ships in the 2180s have been built relatively recently, in the very ambitious Basic Operational Refit Of Navy (BORON) programme. This unique design philosophy emphasises ease of construction of a few basic designs, each capable of being fitted with intercheangeable modules. A nearly unarmed patrol ship may thus be converted to a fully capable heavy destroyer, a light cargo vessel, a commando raider, or even a fleet escort in a matter of weeks. This has meant that the very large OUPF is composed mainly of one basic design, cheap to operate and very reliable. In times of crisis, many of these vessels would be given military modules, and take their place as escorts in the battle line. Many of the OUDF Navy's ships are non-BORON designs though, often based on NAC designs, and are optimised for either long-range firepower with powerful beams and missiles, or really close action using massed scatterpack launchers.
BORON ships are noted for their toughness, but are considered somewhat under-armed compared with the ships of most other navies. Due to the limitations of modular weaponry, they are unable to use the heavier beams and still retain their advantages of cheapness and reliability. This does however fit in well with OUDF doctrine, which emphasies a long-range strike, followed by rapidly closing to 'decisive range' where the smaller beams' firepower is greatly increased.
This section is divided into 3 parts.
The Basic section, where each of the designs is shown, including a picture of the vessel and its SSD, in FB1 format.
The Modules section, showing a number of the more common modules that may be fitted to any hull.
The Examples section, showing a number of hull+module combinations in service at various times with the Oceanic Union and other navies.