A/N: I'm very sorry for the prolonged delays. I have to attend an interview for an animation diploma, as well as practice for my driving license. Whatever it is, I managed to complete this chapter, and I'm expecting criticism from all of you. It's okay, give your opinion. Whether good or bad, it matters to me.
Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 5, Day 4. FPDA Defence Chiefs' Conference, Singapore.
On 4th May of 1639, the Defence Chiefs of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) member-nations were in Singapore for the vital FPDA Defence Chiefs' Conference (FDCC), which had been called to discuss the measures that should be taken to face the possibility of future threats and full-scale warfare.
While it is undeniable that the United Kingdom had a nuclear arsenal of UGM-133 Trident II missiles launched by the Vanguard-class submarines on their side, it is clear that a proper war strategy is needed to ensure that peace between any parties can be preserved, coercion can be prevented and deter aggression.
During the introduction speech, Singapore's Chief of the Defence Forces Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong congratulated Air Marshal Kevin Short following the nation's reinstating of its strike wing as well as the acquisition of 19 BAE Hawk 108/208s donated from the storage of RMAF for its newly formed No. 15 Squadron RNZAF at the Auckland Base, including restoring its training facility, before he proceeds with the main topic of the discussion.
As the conference continued, Malaysia's Chief of Army General Tan Sri Ahmad Hasbullah Mohd Nawawi took the opportunity to present his idea, and it attracted everyone inside the conference. He proposed the concept of refurbishing old or already retired weapons ranging from land, sea and air equipment, as well as weaponry that was once in the service of each nation's armed forces as he believed that they could still pack a punch.
He also suggested that every nation's defence corporations should form a joint venture to manufacture the required components so that the performance of their soldiers could be upkeep over time.
The meeting lasted for three days, and on 7th May 1639, with the financial approval between the five nations' Ministry of Defences, Ministry of Finance and their Prime Ministers, on the assets to be reconditioned, the New World Refurbishment Program (NWRP) were underway.
Though some of the Defence Chiefs initially questioned the cost and the purpose of the Program when they already had modern military equipment, the additional financial aid of Qua-Toyne, Quila and Louria, which this news reached their ears, proved helpful in helping convince them of continuing to support the program in the face of its costs.
At the same time, the already existing personnel in each nation's armed forces will be trained to handle these pieces of equipment.
Below are some of the listed assets that would be refurbished to meet its modern requirements:
1. United Kingdom
>Land
i. FV101 Scorpion (All surviving units will be rearmed with the long-barrelled Cockerill Mk3 M-A1 90mm gun to increase its lethality)
ii. FV433 Abbot SPG (All surviving units will first be purchased from private owners or companies before they can be modernised with a modern Fire Control System and receive new engines)
iii. FV102 Striker (All surviving units will have their Swingfire replaced by either Starstreak or Martlet missiles)
iv. FV4201 Chieftain (All surviving units, except for ARV, ARRV and AVRE, will be modernized to the standardized Chieftain 900; computerized Fire Control System, refined L11A5 120 mm tank gun, fitted with Chobham armour, air conditioning, night sight for the commander, Laser Engineering Hydro-Strut suspension and Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel. The Marksman version too will be upgraded)
>Air
i. Handley Page Victor B.1A XH648 and K.2 XL231 (Every spare part for these aircraft can be obtained from the rest of its kind on display. Both aircraft will be receiving improved radar and contemporary flight systems. Its 4 × Armstrong Siddeley A.S.Sa.7 Sapphire turbojet engines will be refurbished according to the NWRP. Modifications will be carried on both Victor's bomb bays)
ii. Vickers Valiant B1 XD818 (Every single spare part for this aircraft can be obtained from the rest of its kind on display and will be receiving improved radar and contemporary flight systems)
iii. Avro Vulcan XL429, XH558 and XM655 (Not much needed to be refurbished as all three Vulcans are flight-capable. Modifications will be carried on all three Vulcans' bomb bays and its weapon system to accommodate missiles)
iv. Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2 XV226 (Every single spare part for this aircraft can be obtained from the rest of its kind on display. Not much needed to be refurbished)
v. British Aerospace Harrier II (Every surviving unit on display will be refurbished for the frontline role and it will be tasked to the Royal Navy)
vi. BAE System Hawk (All units will be maintained from retirement)
>Sea
i. Sea Eagle (To overcome the possibility of anti-ship missile shortages, the production of the long-retired Sea Eagle missiles will be restarted. This time, it will receive a better guidance system, as well as be launched by either fixed-wing aircraft or warships of various platforms from Destroyers to Submarines)
ii. Martel [AJ 168] (Similar to the Sea Eagle missiles, the long-retired anti-ship version of the Martel missile would be reproduced and receive a similar upgrade to the Sea Eagle, enabling it to also be launched on warships of various platforms Destroyers to Submarines)
iii. Type 23 Frigates (Following the progressive construction of the Type-26 class and the Type-31 class frigates, the Royal Navy has decided that HMS Monmouth, HMS Montrose and HMS Westminster which were previously inactive and awaiting disposal, will be reconditioned and transferred to the Royal Malaysian Navy. These vessels are renamed as Puteri-class; KD Puteri Gunung Ledang, KD Puteri Santubong and KD Puteri Sejinjang. Similarly, the Royal New Zealand Navy received HMS Kent and HMS Sutherland and changed their name to HMNZ Southland and HMNZ Waikato)
2. Singapore
>Land
i. AMX-10P PAC-90 (All surviving units will be reconditioned back for the frontline service even though some suggested that it should be scrapped)
ii. M113A2 Ultra (All units will be maintained from its retirement)
>Air
i. Grumman E-2C Hawkeye (All surviving units on display will be refurbished back to their original state for frontline service)
3. Malaysia
>Land
i. Radpanzer Condor 4x4 (Despite the Army already having 178 Tarantulas to replace them, all remaining units that haven't been turned into target practice will be reconditioned to the standard of DefTech's two modernized prototypes. It features new air intakes and beefier suspension and its original 2 x 7.62 mm turret will be replaced by a single 7.62 mm GPMG or an M134 Gatling Gun protected by a weapon shield. Units that had been already equipped with a 20 mm chain gun turret will only undergo a few changes. The rest will be turned into logistic vehicles)
ii. SIBMAS (Despite the Army already having 300 Guaranis to replace them, all remaining units that haven't been turned into target practice will be reconditioned)
>Sea
i. OTOMAT (Following the ongoing upgrade and refurbishment programme of the four Laksamana-class corvettes, it has been decided that all of the corvette's former forty-eight OTOMAT Mk. 2 anti-ship, sea-skimming missiles to be included in the programme as well)
ii. Eurotorp B515 (The dual triple lightweight torpedo launchers that were previously removed from the Laksamana-class corvettes would be refurbished and rearmed under the corvettes' ongoing upgrade and refurbishment programme)
>Air
i. MiG-29N/NUB (Eight MiG-29N/NUB that have been grounded can be used in parts to bring back the rest eight MiGs into their full service. The Aerospace Technology Systems Corp will be fully in charge of this project to realize the long-planned MiG-29NM. Weapons systems and pylons will be upgraded, making the MiG-29NM capable of carrying the full range of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons available to the Su-30MKMs as well as integrating Western-made missiles. This is done following the BAE Hawk 108/208s inside RMAF's storage were donated to the RNZAF. Even though the RMAF had already acquired 36 FA-50 Golden Eagle from South Korea before the transference of the five nations, the MiGs still have potential in aerial engagement)
4. Australia
>Air
i. F/A-18 'Hornet' (All remaining units of F/A-18A and F/A-18B will be reactivated and some of them will be allocated to the No. 19 Squadron RAAF stationed at the RMAF Base Butterworth, Pulau Pinang. At the same time, Australia would donate 20 F/A-18B to RMAF to bolster the Malaysian Hornet's fleet)
ii. Dassault Mirage III (As been agreed by Senator Linda Reynolds, the current Minister of Defense of Australia, every remaining unit of Mirage IIIO(F) on display will be brought back to its serviceable condition following New Zealand's request to resharpen its Air Forces strike wing capability. Every single spare part for this aircraft can be obtained from the rest of its kind on display)
5. New Zealand
(So far, New Zealand does not have any plan to reactivate its remaining Aermacchi MB-339CBs and A-4K Skyhawks that are currently on display at the museums following the nation's acquisition of 19 BAE Hawk 108/208s from Malaysia and 8 overhauled former Australian Mirage IIIO(F) for their re-instated strike wing.)
Once the program is on its way, it is expected that it will last for seven months. The technicians would have their heads squeezed by too much difficulty, and the holidays would have gone away. As a result, the refurbishment will proceed in the form of rush work and the use of existing weapons.