Confederate Defence Grid

At once, we departed on the helicopter for a view of the defence platform; upon approach, I was taken aback by its size, which was much larger than I had thought it would be. It was a strange sight; a beacon of warmth and civilisation in a barren, frozen sea.

—Edward Coldstone, Cira: A Legacy (1675 AN)

The Confederate Defence Grid is the defence network maintained by the Ciric armed forces to safeguard the land and citizens of the Ciric Confederacy. The defence grid consists of a number of different tactics which are utilised inside and outside confederate territory to control passage through the confederacy, as well as to keep watch on any foreign presence nearby the confederacy's territories. The defence grid is split into three main areas of defence, which serve different purposes and areas; these are the sea grid, land grid, and surveillance grid. These are each managed by officers of the Ciric armed forces.

Sea Grid

The sea defence grid is maintained by a series of weapons platforms offshore that surround the entire island of Sypyr and the territorial waters of Minh-Cong on Hypernostria. The purpose of these platforms is both to protect the confederacy from possible threats and to serve as stations for the surveillance grid. These platforms are large concrete and Ferris Fortis platforms situated on the sea ice and anchored to the seafloor to prevent drifting; they are equipped with multiple Keller-22 gunships and three Arvar class patrol boats, which are occasionally replaced with a Haven class corvette, as well as a number of missile launchers using Falcon type missiles. These weapons platforms serve the purpose of detaining foreign ships that enter the waters of Sypyr and Minh-Cong. Merchant ships passing through the waters are halted at the platforms and inspected for weapons shipping, which is illegal in the confederacy unless the ship has a permit issued by the confederate government; ships that contain weapons are turned away, while any military ships are halted and questioned, after which, if they are not intending hostility toward the confederacy, they are allowed to pass with a small toll. This is different in the waters of the antarctic territory of Sanama, in which the defence platforms do not stop private ships at all, and military ships are not tolled if they work for either an individual in the territory or the Sanaman government.

Land Grid

The land defence grid consists mainly of outposts and checkpoints placed in the unsettled portions of confederate territory and along the border of the confederacy with the green. These are manned by confederate guardsman and serve much the same purpose as the sea grid defence platforms, checking individuals wishing to come into the confederacy from the green for weapons smuggling.

Surveillance Grid

The surveillance grid of the confederacy is maintained primarily by the other two areas of the defence grid, the outposts and platforms of which are equipped with surveillance stations that use cameras to monitor the entry and exit of ships and persons into and out of the confederacy, as well as radar technology to catch ships that try to come into the confederacy bypassing a checkpoint. Furthermore, the surveillance stations are equipped with passport scanners to log the passports of those who wish to enter or exit the confederacy to make sure that individuals are not crossing the border illegally. Sea grid platforms situated outside of confederate territorial waters are not equipped with surveillance stations.