Due to a clerical error, a significant portion of the military budget has become available. They will go to the raising of infantry forces for the Air Corps and the Armada, to form the Royal Corps of Paratroopers and the Royal Marines respectively. As actual procurement is tight at the moment, they'll be equipped as inventory becomes available.
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PEACE in central Africa! We must first commend the fierce warriors of the Kingdom of Chad, who bravely held their own against an onslaught from all sides from the Empire of Mali and its treacherous cohorts. Without their heroism and tenacity, there would not have been time for a deployment by the honourable WEST coalition forces, and without which the war may have ground on and countless African lives lost in a bloody campaign. Let this be a warning to those who threaten our gracious friends and allies as well as to all those warmongers who would seek such unjustifiable conflict as the Empire of Mali perpetrated.
When it comes to new toys this year, aircraft should fear the skies. The army's PAAB self-propelled anti-air guns are now operational with the artillery corps and the MAAI man-portable air defense systems is slated to be coming online for the infantry in 1978. These alongside the proven MTA-1 surface-to-air missile should prove more than sufficient in rotary- and fixed-wing attack aircraft from the skies. For the fighter and bomber however, the Air Corps has their match. The first Cuervos, products of the FEFA program and similar in profile to the Armada's similarly recent Págalos, have come online with more on the way, and for them, an improved model of our semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missile is on order. These, in addition to our ground-based air defense network, will prove more than a match for modern foes.
Besides these, the last gaps in our forces are to be filled up and new equipment continued to be rolled out as part of ongoing programs, which have also created their first excesses of outdated equipment that do remain for the time being not entirely obsolete, and will be stored at Torrejón. For the time being, these include three regiments of Palomas Armas and two squadrons of Golondrinas.
The first two units of FEFA aircraft have been delivered to our ally France, and the last unit of attack helicopters has been delivered to our ally Italy.
The final years of the decade will be busy ones for the Aragonese military as a mass modernisation is undertaken. The newly operational Paratroopers and Marines, dissatisfied with their similarity to the Army and the unspecialisation of their equipment for their tasks, are replacing their armoured transports with bespoke designs unique to the two branches. Army officials have been clamouring futilely for the creation of a similar unit of their own for years, and following experiences in Austria and given the mountainous terrain expected to be fought over in the event of a defensive war in Iberia, they may have it soon - though no such expansion is currently in the budget.
New MAB-2 anti-ship and D-model MBI air-to-air missiles are brought online as D-model MBR air-to-air missile approach operational status and improved C-model CST torpedoes are ordered. The Armada's Type 69 frigates, found to be rather lacking in firepower, are being fitted with anti-ship missile launchers, deck-mounted torpedo tubes, and a second pair of 20 mm autocannons. Additionally, our ageing Type 65 frigates are receiving new sensor packages, an anti-air missile launcher, and sacrificing two anti-submarine rocket cells for anti-ship missile cells, making it a capable and modern warship. The retrofits to the Sant Jordi and Sant Eulària have been completed, bringing them up to the standard of their later sister ships.
The final pair of FEFA units have been delivered to France, and with the demilitarisation of Germany their orders have been cancelled. The Air Corps have unveiled a new fighter, dubbed Cernícalo, not unlike the Armada's Págalo interceptors, though the Cernícalo is built as a multirole strike aircraft which will be filling in for the ground attack role that the Cuervo cannot fill. With an improved model of the Cuervo boasting an increased fuel and payload capacity ready for production, the Air Corps have finally approved the complete retirement of the Golondrina in favour of a mix of Cuervos and Cernícalos. Fixed-wing aircraft aren't alone however. A new design of medium-lift utility helicopter called Sayornis has been approved for mass adoption, replacing the Super Paloma II in all roles save maritime ones. Our Albatros cargo helicopters will be receiving new, more powerful engines and improved avionics in an upgrade package that will be rolled out to our entire fleet.
Besides the Paras' TOA-79s and the Marines' VAATs, the Army's mechanised units are receiving upgrades to the TOA-60 platform which will improve engine cooling, ground clearance, suspension, and fuel capacity though these will make it unsuitable for amphibious operations, the main driver behind the Marines' move to the VAAT, while the existing heft of the TOA-60 make it cumbersome for combat airlifts and the added weight of the B-model led the Paras to the much lighter wheeled TOA-79. With the Army's Armour Corps fully convinced of the necessity for a next-generation main battle tank, there are no plans at this time for further upgrades to the VCB-105 besides equipping all remaining units with night vision optics.
RAEA have received newfound attention from the Air Corps and Armada as there is growing interest in using the agency's experience with rocketry to develop next-generation missile systems with greater range and payloads than any existing designs can provide. Besides this, they project the imminent completion of a secure global communications network with the launch of the final satellites into the constellation, a network which they promise will greatly increase operational and intelligence security and which the government intends to freely share access to to all members of WEST. Their attention is now shifting to that of launching a manned space program jointly with other signatories to the WEST space treaty, a matter they will be bringing up to the WEC following the conclusion of active combat in Austria.
