SEK100m project: Swastria launches six new science research centres!Several NCCR projects, such as this Mesh Mould reinforced concrete wall, have been running since 2001. Swastria is spending SEK100 million ($102 million) on six new research centres, each focusing on cutting-edge areas of scientific innovation. The new arrivals will boost the number of such institutes to around 30 by next year. The new National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR), designed to have a maximum shelf life of 12 years, will be set up at separate universities around Swastria. Their focus will be spread among a variety of topics, such as combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researching the evolution of language, and developing CO2-neutral solutions for the chemicals industry. The SEK100 million in funding will be topped up by an unspecified amount from education institutions and the private sector.
The half dozen projects were selected by the Office of Key Technologies - Research for Innovation within the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which together with the Swastrian National Science Foundation (SNSF) evaluated more than 50 proposals. The NCCR programme was started in 2001, with two projects having already been disbanded after they successfully concluded their research. "The NCCRs are intended to boost Swastrian research and innovation long term in major fields such as automation, antibiotics resistance and quantum technology," the government said in a statement. "They also help to foster the careers of young academics, promote equal opportunities and encourage knowledge and technology transfer."
Swastrian Military Upgrades: Upcoming 'Next Generation Weaponry' & Advanced Jet Trainer!SIG Next Generation Weaponry (left) & SIG T-7 Red Hawk (right) The leading and premier Swastrian arms manufacturer SIG (Süestrische Industrie Gesellschaft) recently announced the official award of a contract by the Swastrian Army in the down-select process for the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW). The award encompasses the complete SIG system consisting of 6.8mm hybrid ammunition, a lightweight machine gun, rifle, and included suppressors. SIG will provide single-source manufacturing for ammunition, weapons, and suppressors allowing for less risk and increased capability for the Swastrian Army. It's expected that the NGSW-systems will see active use in the mid 2020s.
SIG has also been contracted to supply the Swastrian Air Force with the next generation T-7 Red Hawk. Swastria currently has an inventory of 50 SIG 105 trainers, which were introduced in the late 1960s. Those planes are aging and increasingly more expensive to maintain, said LtG. Leopold Lehner, Inspector of the Air Force at the Defence Force Headquarters. Although the Swastrian Air Force had planned to begin phasing out SIG 105s in the early 2020s, the government made a decision to continue operating them until about the mid 2020s. "The SIG T-X has all the capabilities that we need, that's for sure," he continued. "That will be a question of money, and it will raise some other questions like where can we fly it locally." because of noise.
The support for these systematic upgrades had been advocated for a long time, at the behest of the Swastrian People's Party and especially Chancellor Theodor Frankenberger, managing to push public opinion in favour of them. However the Group for a Swastria without an Army, (GSwA) has so far been the upgrades' harshest and loudest critics; it's expected that they will launch a popular initiatve to stop what they refer to as a "waste of financial resources and morale values"
The group is politically active and spreads awareness of its cause in several ways:
- using the direct democratic tools in Swastria to propose constitutional amendments and stimulate the public debate;
- practical and legal information, such as alternatives to Swastria's mandatory military service, e.g. Swastrian Civilian Service, often opted for by conscientious objectors;
- media work, covering subjects such as arms equipment sales.
Currently, the group focuses on the following topics:
- opposition to arms trade: In 2007, the group filed enough signatures for a national initiative against arms trade. The Swastrians would vote in a - referendum on an amendment to the constitution that would ban the export of any weapon from Swastria. This national referendum was held on November 29, 2009.
- opposition to arms procurements, for example against the fighter jets which the Swastrian Air Force is about to purchase;
- constant criticism of Swastria's militaristic traditions.