Arkbird

An SSTO delivers the Arkbird's offensive laser payload on October 3rd 2010.

Arkbird

Overview

One of the final products of the Osean’s Strategic Defense Initiative, the Arkbird concept was the maturation of the nuclear deterrence policy of Countervailing Strategy in the late Cold War period, [1] an evolution of Mutually Assured Destruction that sought to focus on counterforce strikes against the enemy's military while defending one's own population centers from nuclear attack. [2]

In the 80s Osea had begun implementing ground and space-based ABM systems to intercept ballistic missiles mid-flight. Yuktobania, Osea’s primary ideological and strategic rival, [3] countered these moves both by implementing countermeasures into their missile designs (such as MIRV buses) as well as relying more on mobile and stealthy launch platforms like their ballistic missile submarines. [4] Recognizing that their ABM defenses would be outpaced by these new penetration aids and launch platforms, the Osean National Department of Advanced Technological Research developed the concept of a maneuverable spaceborne interception platform that would utilize atmospheric friction to change its orbit, allowing it to seek out and engage ballistic missile launches in their boost phase when they would be most vulnerable. [5] The idea was shelved due to the Yukto-Osean detente that followed the Belkan War. [6]

The concept was revived in a different context following the Ulysses disaster. Though Osea and Yuktobania were not directly impacted by the planetfall, much of their orbital infrastructure was damaged when Ulysses disintegrated, and countless micrometeoroids were left in near-Earth orbit, inhibiting redevelopment. [7] Faced with the daunting task of cleanup, along with Stonehenge's diminishing relevance, Osea and Yuktobania agreed to collaborate on a "High-Atmosphere Mobile Spacecraft" based on the Cold War concept to clear satellite orbits of debris. [8] Construction in space was achieved by the Basset Space Center's mass driver in western Osea, whose administration became shared by both nations' space agencies. [9] It was to be equipped with a Yuktobanian laser on the upper hull and an Osean laser on the lower hull, with missile ports meant to divert larger meteoroid fragments; however, concerns over potential military applications of the lower laser lead to it being struck from the design. [10]

The hull was completed in orbit by 2004, [11] and by 2008 80% of the area capable of hosting geosynchronous orbits had been cleared of debris. [12] While this had practical benefits for each nation, many observers saw the project as a concrete sign of Yukto-Osean reconciliation, which had been budding since the end of the Belkan War in 1995. [13] This was most visible at the G7 Conference hosted on the spaceplane in 2008, where Osea reaffirmed its commitment to strategic arms reduction as well as the creation of an International Space Station. [14]

When relations between Osea and Yuktobania suddenly deteriorated into open war in September 2010, however, the Arkbird’s original purpose reemerged. Faced with the strategic threat posed by Scinfaxi class submarines' non-nuclear ballistic missiles, the Osean military decided to weaponize the Arkbird by deploying the lower hull laser that was initially planned to be installed. Despite Yuktobanian attempts to disrupt its launch, the laser was successfully transferred to the Arkbird, which proceeded to intercept the Scinfaxi’s missile attacks and critically damage the submarine.

During the relatively peaceful period following the failed invasion of Sand Island, it was believed the strategic value of the Arkbird checked the numerically superior firepower of the Yuktobanian military in the ongoing peace negotiations. However, this advantage was lost when a saboteur smuggled a bomb onboard with a supply shipment, destroying its power generator. The status of the Arkbird following the sabotage was publicly unknown until it suddenly crashed into the northern Ceres Ocean due to undisclosed circumstances. [15,16] In 2020, however, it was publicly revealed that the Arkbird had been commandeered by Belkan terrorists with the support of Osean hawks seeking to escalate the war with Yuktobania. The terrorists attempted to drop a nuclear weapon on the Yuktobanian port city of Okchabursk, but their plans were foiled by an astronaut from the original crew and an intercept mission authorized by President Harling. [17]

Operators

Osean Aerospace Bureau
Grey Men (Hijacked)

Citations

The Arkbird rendezvous with an SSTO in Low Earth Orbit.