Prior to the Nerima/Ayenee War of 2062, the NDI comprised of a grand total of 12 Battle Fleets, 8 Infantry Divisions, and 4 Armored Divisions. With nearly 4.9 million personnel comprising its ranks, the Nerimian Confederation's military forces were at an unprecidented level of strength, capable of even threatening the Ayenee Space Coalition. Despite two attacks against the Confederate homeworld, Nerima Prime, the NDI emerged victorious in this war against the ASC without the loss of a single warship.
In response to the assaults against Nerima Prime, Supreme Commander Cameron Blackblade authorized the Titan Programs, a series of efforts designed to increase not only the defensive capabilities of the Confederation, but beef up the offensive capabilities of the entire Nerimian strike force. Blackblade set several goals for this ambitious project. First, he decreed that it must transform the military strength of the NDI into a war machine that could fight on several fronts at once in both offensive and defensive theaters. Second, Blackblade instructed the NDI to diversify and upgrade existing weapons and battle systems to increase the technological gap between the Confederation and her Ayeneean foes. Third, Commander Blackblade ordered a total reorganization of the NDI's military structure. While the NDI Spacy, Tactical Aerospace Force, and the Advanced Tactical Assault Corps were autonomous units unto themselves, the role of the NDI Spacy's warships began to take precedence over the units of other forces of the NDI. Nerimian warship production nearly quadrupled after the end of the War of 2062, with several new classes of warships entering service with the Spacy. The twelve battle fleets that once made up the entire NDI Spacy were now increased to twenty-one, incorporating regimental forces from the TADF and the ATAC armies into the fleet itself, so that full capability could be unleashed by one self-contained unit.
The results of the continuing Titan Progarms are visible in the following report of the current status of the NDI's Warship, aerospace, armor and infantry assets. A description of the typical NDI unit-organization scheme follows the report and outlines how the various assets are configured for battle.
Despite recent innovations in mobile suit and variable fighter tactics against large fleets of warships, the NDI still considers its fleet of interstellar warships the most powerful weapons ever devised by any race. Capable of faster-than-light (FTL) travel and possessing the most powerful weapons systems available, the NDI's interstellar warships are the very backbone of the entire Nerimian Defense Initiative. The NDI Spacy, therefore, is the lifeblood of the Nerimian Galactic Confederation, providing defense against alien invaders who would otherwise wreak havoc upon the civillian populations of the Confederation.
As recently as 2050, the NDI Spacy's fleet was considered powerful, yet primitive according to current standards. The entire Spacy fleet consisted of just 36 interstellar warships, with just under one hundred other slower-than-light (STL) vessels to escort the mammoth Bastion Class Battleships that formed the core of the NDI Spacy's fleet. At the time, the massive chassis of the Bastion vessels were the only one's capable of equipping the powerful FTL drives that made FTL travel possible. The doctrine of the Admiralty was to use their battleships as a combination between a true battleship and an aircraft carrier. While this doctrine of combat was effective against smaller threats such as the Invid and the Protodevlin, once the NDI met up with threats such as the Meklar and the Sakkras, a new doctrine was needed, and furthermore, the need to add more interstellar drives to their warships was made necessary.
This ushered in the third-generation of NDI Spacy warship, the feared Kirishima and Lightning Class cruisers, the Kyushu Class destroyers, and the infamous Tatsumaki Class guided missile frigates. With the miniturization of FTL drives and advanced construction materials, these new classes of warships quickly replaced the second-generation escort vessels that once served with the Spacy's fleets. The discovery of the nanolathe also allowed the rapid construction of these smaller vessels, which were on average nearly twenty times less in terms of cost than the Bastion battleships. With the incorporation of cruisers, frigates, and destroyers into the fleet, the Spacy became much more effective, able to move their battleships back to defend more strategic targets while cruisers and other vessels served to fill in the gaps where the battleships could not go.
However, only within the last ten years has the NDI Spacy's fleet become the dominant force in the galaxy, incorporating advanced computer technology coupled with general advancements in propulsion, weapons, and construction technology into their fleets. The end result was the later third-generation vessels and the brand new fourth-generation vessels that made their appearance in the late 2060s.
The Orion Class battleship is quite simply the most powerful warship design known, incorporating weapons systems so horrible that the usage of just one could unleash an extinction level event upon any planet it is used against. Unleashed in early 2061, the first Orion Class vessel was the Uriel, which served as the flagship for the entire NDI Spacy's combined fleets. Three Orion Class vessels were produced--the Uriel, Ragnarok, and Cataclysm.
In addition to the emergence of the massive Orion battleships, the NDI Spacy produced its first dedicated FTL carriers, the Whirlwind Class command carriers and the Sierra Class escort carriers, both of which provided heavily needed variable fighter support to various NDI Spacy battlegroups. To provide added defense against advanced torpedoes and anti-warship missiles, Tatsumaki frigates have been upgraded with advanced ECM jammers and interceptor systems that can defeat the ballistic weapons with a great deal of success. To extend anti-warship firepower, the new Prometheus cruisers and Firesword destroyers have entered the fray equipped with a vast array of beam weapons that can cripple enemy warships with the greatest of ease. The first shakedown trials on the brand-new Memphis guided missile cruisers are going on near Draconis, the design is slated to go into full production by early 2072.
These fourth-generation vessels extend the capabilities of the fleet far beyond what Commander Cameron Blackblade could have ever envisioned. Instead of creating a fleet with advanced defensive capabilities and medium offensive power, he created a galactical juggernaut that simply swept through enemy lines of defense with incredible precision.
As of 1 January 2069, the NDI Spacy warship assets comprised nearly 11,600 warships in twenty-one separate battle fleets, which on average consist of just over 450 vessels each.
Though the NDI has historically devoted the majority of its resources towards the development and maintenance of its starfleet, it continues to maintain the most dominant aerospace forces in the galaxy. NDI aerospace assets include the feared VF-26 and VF-28 variable fighters, which function both as starfighters and assault mecha depending on the form the pilot chooses during combat. Additionally, NDI aerospace forces consist of the brand new XF-14 unmanned superiority fighter, which prove exceptionally useful when swarming tactics and the need for expendable forces is readily apparent.
The development of the Whirlwind and Sierra carriers have increased the usefulness of the NDI's aerospace forces, which can be rapidly transported from world to world, providing valuable air support to forces throughout various theaters of battle. The NDI has upgraded many of its aging VF-26 interceptors with brand new technology, extending their usefulness despite their nearly 20 year service with the NDI.
Because the NDI's aerospace fighters are considered variable fighters (VF), they can also assist in ground assault roles by transforming into solider mode, which essentially makes them a lightweight mecha capable of turning the tide in the first few skirmishes of a battle. The NDI continues to upgrade its aerospace forces to make them much more effective in terms of attacking enemy warships.
NDI armor assets primarily consist of Veritech hovertanks (VHTs), such as the VHT-07 Jaguar and VHT-08 Manticore and mobile suits such as the Ocelot and Shatterstar. Assigned primarily to punching massive gaps in enemy formations, NDI armor forces are among the best in the galaxy, Veritech technology allowing Nerimian armored units to function in many more environments than their enemies.
Despite the aging armor designs used by the NDI's ground forces, they are still just as effective as the closest enemy counterparts - the Imperium and the Chaos Space Marines. The NDI has extended the longevity of its armored war machine by upgrading existing equipment to meet the specific challenges of modern day warfare. The NDI began this endeavour shortly after the invasion of the world of Braxis. With the introduction of the OmniMech, the mobile suit assets quickly became the ultimate weapon of ground warfare, their ability to be tailored to any situation with modular weapons and propulsion systems making them the primary strike weapons of the ATAC. While OmniMechs are in limited supply, the NDI has deployed most of these machines in company-sized forces throughout its ground forces. The NDI's Procurement Department oversees the distribution of OmniMechs and typically uses them to reward the loyalty and performance of specific regiments. As a result, most have been assigned to veteran and elite units.
Though the NDI has achieved notable success at diversifying and upgrading its mech assets, it has had less success in building them in sufficient numbers to meet the sheer swarms of enemy armor produced by the Chaos and Imperial forces on Ayenee Prime.
For most of its history, the NDI divided its infantry assets into two main groups: regular infantry troops and the Nerimian Elite Strike Teams (NEST). NEST troops undergo rigorous physical, mental, and political screening before accepting them into the NEST program. Candidates who pass the entrance screening then receive four years of grueling training. Only small numbers of candidates complete the NEST program; those who do are highly skilled shock troops without rivals in any modern military force. As a result, the NDI reserves its precious supply of NEST troops for only the most important missions.
In contrast, the NDI traditionally regulated its regular infantry support troops to minor garrison detail or assigned them to armor-support duties, where they served as little more than expendable cannon fodder. However, with the coming of the Evolution Project, this entire scheme changed. With the infusion of Newtype troops into the fold, the inherent psionic ability of the human race was now present on the modern day battlefield. The average infantry trooper was now on par with a NEST trooper, which almost immediately increased the effectiveness of NDI infantry forces.
Also, with the widespread usage of the new Dragoon, Warhawk, and Elemental powered armors, the survivability of the average infantry trooper increased drastically, and soliders equipped with powered armor could now seriously threaten enemy armor assets. However, the troops that used to go into the NEST program are now known as 'Elementals', their incredible psionic ability allowing them to unleash powerful psionic attacks, even controlling the elements around them. These Elementals became the ultimate shock troops of the Nerimian Defense Initiative, capable of defeating the supernatural elements of the Imperial and Chaos military forcse on Ayenee Prime.
Currently, NDI infantry forces are undergoing a major change as units outside of front line units (Such as the 1st Sword of Heaven regiment) begin a major upgrade to powered armor systems.
Front-line NDI forces are typically assigned one carrier battle group, one aerospace division, one armor divison, and one infantry division (The NDI commonly refers to this arrangement as the Average Regimental Composition scheme, or 'Forward ARC). All such support units attached to a carrier battle group act under the orders of the battle group's commanding officer. As a result, the commanding officer may find himself in charge of two or even three full regiements of personnel and equipment.
