Trinity Defense System

The Trinity Defense System (also known as TRINITY or the TRINITY Program) is the national integrated aerial defence system and military program for the Imperium of Caphiria. The Trinity Defense System is a multi-layered network of overlapping systems working together alongside the three primary defense systems: MALEPHIST, The Twelve Disciples, and WORMWOOD.

MALEPHIST is a short-range laser air defense system designed to destroy short-range rockets, artillery, and mortars up to 10 km; The Twelve Disciples is a mobile all-weather air defense and C-RAM system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 10 km to 300 km; WORMWOOD is the medium/long range anti-ballistic and surface-to-air missile system designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles from 50 km to 500 km.

Also part of TRINITY is ODES, a low-level, quick-reaction surface-to-air missile system capable of engaging aircraft, helicopters, unmanned air vehicles, drones, and precision-guided munitions that is available in short and medium range configurations. The Trinity Defense System utilizes the Revelation family of missiles, which consist of 22 all-weather, all-terrain surface-to-air missiles. Revelation 1-6 are short range, Revelation 7-14 are medium range, Revelation 14-22 are long range. TRINITY also includes an overlapping network of early warning and tracking radars, as well as command and control posts.

While the TRINITY program was approved in 2001 and operational in 2016, its origins can be traced back almost four decades. Funding for a national air defense system was approved shortly after the start of the Occidental Cold War in the 1960s, but the development would not begin until 1984. This early system proved to be a success and ultimately led to the the modern program. The scope, scale, and capabilities of the TRINITY program have been continuously growing and expanding, making the program one of the most actively developed military programs in the world and with an estimated lifetime cost of over $200 billion, the TRINITY program is also one of the most expensive projects ever, military or otherwise.

Background and development

The concept of an integrated defense system came from the growing geopolitical tension between Caphiria and Urcea, primarily in the form of the theory of the Levantine Creep and subsequent Occidental Cold War. Caphiria became increasingly paranoid of the threat of ballistic missile attacks on its soil and the while it already utilized air defense systems in strategic locations, the idea for an integrated system across the country gained momentum.

The Ministry of Defense approved a $100 million research and development project in 1967, codenamed CLYPEUS, but the project was put on indefinite hiatus at the end of 1971, with experts saying that the project would consume more resources than even the most liberal projections.

As Cold War-era tensions relaxed, particularly with Burgo-Caphirian relations in the so called "thaw", Caphiria was experiencing rapid economic growth by 1982. This increased government spending and ultimately allowed the CLYPEUS project to be re-examined. An additional $400 million in R&D was given in 1984 to fund the CLYPEUS II project and the first successful prototype was tested in 1989. This led to the development of CLYPEUS III, which was given an initial operating budget of $1.5 billion with development starting in 1990.

CLYPEUS III went from the drawing board to combat readiness within less than six years, a remarkably short period of time for a weapons system designed from scratch, according to military experts. It proved its effectiveness against rocket attacks, having intercepted 20 missiles and rockets fired into Caphiria with an overall effectiveness of 75 and 95 percent. Because of this success, the project expanded in scope and capability and in 1997 the CLYPEUS III project was designated as "completed" and became defunct.

The successor project, TRINITY (originally in reference to trinitarianism and later to reference short, medium, and long distance coverage) was approved by the Senate in 2001 with an initial $25 billion of funding and subsequent $5 billion annual budget. In 2008, the project was "promoted" by the Ministry of Defense and integrated directly into the Imperial Armed Forces as the TRINITY program. It was declared operational on 21 May 2016.

Funding and cost

The entire CLYPEUS project (CLYPEUS, CLYPEUS II, and CLYPEUS III) cost an estimated $2-5 billion across its entire lifetime. When the TRINITY program was approved by the Senate in 2001, it was given an initial operating budget of $25 billion.

From 2001 to 2016, the annual budget for the TRINITY program was $5 billion (a total cost of $75 billion). When the defense system went live however, the Ministry of Defense stopped publishing the budget for the program publicly for security purposes. It is speculated that the budget for TRINITY has significantly decreased since being declared operational. This means it is only possible to see the budget for the TRINITY program during the Census. The 2020 Census revealed that the annual budget was $3.5 billion ($2.5 billion for R&D and $1.5 billion for operation and maintenance); the 2025 Census showed no change in budget; projections for the 2030 Census indicate a slight increase to $4 billion, which is in line with current and future expenditure.

Using Census data, the TRINITY program has cost an estimated $40 billion from 2016 to 2026. Combined with previous data, the estimated cumulative lifetime cost of the modern TRINITY Program from 2001 to the present is $140 billion, which would make it the 6th most expensive megaproject in Caphirian history and one of the most expensive military projects in the world, active or otherwise.

Deployment

Due to the scope of the project, TRINITY was deployed in two phases to minimize risk and failure. Testing lasted several years from 2010 to 2015 until The Imperium felt confident in each individual component. The Legion would deploy the Trinity System in multiple locations to assess its combat readiness in both remote and hostile environments. The bulk of the testing was done on Coribus, a small island in the Odoneru Ocean. The system successfully intercepted several missiles and successfully attacked the squad that had fired the rocket.

In February 2016, the Ministry of Defense was satisfied with the results and declared TRINITY was ready for an "evaluation phase" in the field and was declared as an "operational experiment".

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Criticism

Cost

Before the system was declared operational, many conservative Senators balked at the cost of the project compared to traditional defense systems. One vocal detractor of the program, Senator Eduarin D'Antotta pointed out that Caphiria's enemies could simply drain the Imperium's financial resources by launching very large numbers of missiles that would overwhelm the system and ultimately bring financial ruin. Potică Schiappelli, one of TRINITY's lead managers,responded that the cost issue was exaggerated since TRINITY intercepts only rockets determined to constitute a threat, and that the lives saved and the strategic impact are worth the cost.