Union Global is the name of the parent corporation of multiple weapons and vehicle manufacturers who within their conglomeration have absorbed previously independent companies including: BAE Systems, Colt, Heckler and Koch, Lockheed-Martin, Ruger, AM General and Bell. Union Global is heavily profit motivated with the majority share held by the Cooper family who receive significant subsidies to maintain themselves on their southern France estate while the next significant interest belongs to CEO Adrian Sanders. The company rose to power through multiple cutthroat business operations and post arrival the careful introduction of their mercenary divisions against competitors using government support allowed competition to be eliminated. The Magnus opus of the UGDT revenue stream was attained in the EU contract to provide intelligence service and military planning assistance as well as forming an integral function in military oversight (motivated by a flurry of coup attempts and the requirement to introduce Marshall Law in many states).

The beginnings of the UGDT are difficult to trace due to the origins of what begun as simple corporate expansion cascading into a single company powerful enough to bypass monopoly laws and remain active in the chaos of collapsing governments. Nevertheless the main body of Union Global can be traced to the 2015 merger between Heckler and Koch and Ruger. This merger proved relatively minor since the companies while under a single controlling interest continued with separate R&D and production operations. Bell Helicopters sold the controlling share and were absorbed into the corporation while investigations were opened in America and the EU into the ownership and operations of the companies.

With the arrival in Late 2018 of the Alien ships in orbit the corporations ownership launched a release campaign in 2019 of multiple new lines and controversially a new company, owned through several sister corporations, Global Weapon Products. Global Weapon Products released multiple lines of cheap and efficient weaponry specifically selling rights to the Russian Federation for the newly designed A137c, a weapon designed as a successor to the extremely successful AK47 to be reliable, cheap to produce and compatible with many newer rounds. At the same time Global opened multiple lines fed by their other companies including a cheap Helicopter design and a thinly armoured (1cm) but easily mass produced tank. These vehicles and weapons were specifically targeted at many African and Far Eastern Nations. Global Weapon Products received heavy publicity for its controversial choices of customers including many operations with various dictators. However deteriorating communications and civilian safety reduced the spotlight upon the country.

In 2024 Alliance Techsystems was purchased and development began on the Athena R-052 weapon system which was completed in 2028 and heavily adopted by Israeli forces. In 2036 Lockheed Martin went into administrations after another large aircraft line failed to attain sufficient attention from airlines. The manufacturer was bailed out by a US government owned consortium. It would later be realised that nearly 70% of the shares were purchased via various subsidiaries by a single parent company.

Union Global Security Services at this time won a contract with the German Government to help rebuild their military services and provide experienced officers after an attempted military coup forced action, a few years later in Spain a similar event occurred. With additional strain upon military service now due to heavy introduction of Marshall Law the EU Security Consortium (formed 2016) decided to launch a Union wide movement to bring unified security services and laws on nature of Martial law keeping services. Union Global Security Services advise upon operations and are selected to provide experienced troops, bolster troop numbers and advise on security services. By the time Union Global Defence Technologies forms the majority of the major corporations under a single banner there is little note of how the weaponry and vehicles chosen by the EU are nearly all produced by Union Global members. When in 2026 the still newly formed People's Confederation of Eurasia invaded the Eastern Block there was heavy condemnation of the move and EU forces were preparing for war. A combined effort by US negotiators and Union Officials was made; a compromise was eventually made with control of the original Eastern Bloc nations being handed to Eurasian forces. In exchange the EU and US were to setup multiple military complexes within the Eastern Block therein reducing the possibility of a strike upon Europe.

France heavily supported a UGDT push to gain rights to setting up and monitoring the EU requirement as a move to stimulate corporate development. 80% of bases allocated to the EU were offered to the UGDT with the other 20% operated by each participating nation within the EU. In modern times nearly all policing services and military operations in European Nations are handled by at least a UGDT overseer if not entire UGDT teams.

The greatest achievement of the UGDT was its integration into the EU military. In the early 2020s the EU was forming its own military force as the Union began to present itself on the world stage as a major contender to other superpowers. In the controversial treaty (which many say motivated the British to leave the Union) the EU was to draw troops from the military command of all host nations though only a small force the overall strength was notable. However a loophole allowed the EU commanders to add to their forces through contractors. Union Global Security had already proved effective in providing mercenaries to help train troops in many nations, experienced commanders for important campaigns and experienced troops for operations (notably in African nations). UGSS (later UGDT) were chosen to provide a large boost to their services and over the next 20 years the UGDT would become synonymous with the mainstay European Union military. With the support of the UGDT military the French government embraced UGDT integration into their armed forces and when a group of Spanish generals sieged the government offices and took power the UGDT was called in to assist in rebuilding a stable government. By 2028 the EU military would be commanded at the upper levels by 70% UGDT personnel (though not all were officially from the UGDT).

In modern time the UGDT and EU have become almost impossible to distinguish from each other. On ground level SpecOps, intelligence and operations requiring high skill are nearly always handled as UGDT operations. In larger scale movements the EU military is directed and in many campaigns has been directly under the command of the UGDT's generals with little attempt to disguise this. While the UGDT maintains its own advanced military the close contract deals with member nations mean that in modern times the goals of the EU and the UGDT are almost indistinguishable. The UGDT exists for profit and is willing to use the EU military to achieve this, it does operate as a company however and for the moment is still an officially separate entity. However similarly there are multiple instances of the UGDT engaging practices for the benefit of the EU rather than the company, it is quite likely that at this point the politics of boardroom and tabletop manoeuvrings have become so intertwined that there is no one who can truly declare where one group starts and the other begins.

The most helpful description however lies at the ground level. Ignoring the ways in which one group may influence the other from the background there can at least be comparisons from the open operations. On this stage the UGDT is relatively minor, virtually all arms and weapons deals go through them and large company security is often handled by some subsidiary. In addition the company engages in military operations free of consequences which would have been harsh for such things only a few decades before. Much of the time however the UGDT generals act simply as hired but loyal soldiers and will do their best to support the Union and its member nations. A soldier wearing a UGDT uniform could simply be on loan from the German Army, or the Belgian Army or any of the other member nations. At this point in history any conflict with the EU will involve the UGDT as a supporter and any fight that happens will be with the UGDT with the EU providing the soldiers, and the money.

The hierarchy of Union Global is as difficult to locate as its origins though not through any active activity towards such prevention. While Union Global itself is in command of large scale operations lower down on the ranking there is serious competition between the various groups. Union Global is in charge of operations such as invasion, nation level contracts and any other operation, in addition it can take any contract obtained by its child companies and also as part of the agreement in every companies operations the Union Global parent may requisition any troops, vehicles or assets as if they are assets of Union Global themselves. While Union Global is in charge of large scale operations below this level there are many smaller companies which compete within the UGDT. It could be considered that in modern terms the companies operate independently but all are members of the Union Global group. The mercenary corporations compete for contracts and often disputes get dangerous. While UGDT allows development after a period of 4 years any new technologies (e.g. a new jet engine) are requisitioned and the specifications spread forcing competition and a continued striving for new technologies. There are several recorded instances of infighting within the UGDT between corporations. In many instances (especially in salvage runs) multiple UGDT corporations often using similar weapons and uniform with only slight differences in marking defining differences between groups.

Union Global Defence Technologies as of today is extremely profitable eliminating weak companies and allowing continued success by regulation of a closed economy. Their various operations catering to both low and high end markets as well as a modern ability to outcompete even national level production of some countries has ensured there are no traditional corporations that can hope to match their abilities, operation outside of the UGDT in a UGDT field is nigh on impossible. The close cooperation with the Association in development of nuclear fission and fusion as well as the trademark focuses upon Hydrogen fuel cell technology. The advanced fuel management of the UGDT has been an advantage however as part of the Association cooperation they were unable to incorporate the technology into their sale weaponry and so large scale advanced vehicle support has remained Union Global only. Nevertheless the UGDT unlike the Association have been unable to complete the infrastructure to produce complete maintenance upon nuclear power. Many UGDT vehicles are still reliant on fossil fuels and due to the effects of Apollyon upon plant life the food production of European states has been severely produced. In addition the UGDT does not currently have the nuclear infrastructure of the Association and so is reliant on other renewable or fossil fuels for Hydrogen production where needed.

In this way the UGDT is still heavily reliant upon the MET that the UGDT, while able to obtain Tamefyllon for their troops have not been able to match the agreement with the IMSSI that the MET have so successfully achieved.

The UGDT from the humble upbringings of some weapons companies has developed into the world’s leading developer of advanced technology on all fronts from weaponry to civilian biotechnology matched only by the levels of the Association. The UGDT is able to deflect responsibility of embarrassing operations to the perpetrating group but in reality ruthless operating procedures are actually encouraged as long as they bring profits. Union Global Defence Technologies is the single most powerful company on the planet and could theoretically rival complete countries in military power, and indeed has done so in the past with considerable success.

Case Study: Soldiers on the line

The European Union military system is a complex melding of the armed forces of various nations offering the benefits of independent national defence and unified force deployment which serves to extend the union’s military reach. A nation will handle its own military affairs as it always would have, in addition however troops must be offered and pledge allegiance to the European Union where they will serve from then on. The Union military operates its own missions and is recognised as taking precedence over the operations of other armies.

Due to the complex nature of the military organisation within the Union it can be unclear to which government a soldier owes their allegiance. Especially on the states that border the EU-PCoE disputed zone this can be added to by soldiers wearing similar uniforms. With the plethora of independent Rubble settlements deployment of troops to attempt to manage these disparate militarised elements of what could once have been considered their own peoples.

Nevertheless there are general rulings that help. In general defence of a nation and management of its internal affairs it is safe to assume that it will be the countries own armed forces operating the mission. If it is border control then this is usually also operated by the nation’s army however in disputed areas that are of significance to the union it is not uncommon to see Union troops deployed. In the case of clearing Rubble settlements this is part of an EU initiative to bring national control and infrastructure back out of the cities not the famine is over, therefore it could be Union or national troops running such operations. Additionally UGDT mercenary teams add an extra layer of complication in discerning the source of a mission due to their ability to operate freely within EU territories, they could be taking contracts laid out by the Union, an individual government or could be operating under the direct orders of Union Global. Additionally the ability of the EU and UGDT to requisition troops from member nations and the interchanging relationship where EU officials could call upon UGDT troops and vice versa make it even harder to distinguish leadership.

There are many, who state that the UGDT no longer has its own motivation but is just another cog in the European Union machine having been absorbed as another part of its military-industrial system. However the very nature of the UGDT ensure that it protects its own interests, in some ways the EU military has become merged with the UGDT to the point where they are almost a single entity. Since neither move against each other but rather will work towards the same goals or lend forces and expertise to help the other they have become an inseparable element of the European Union’s new military ambitions. Through the linking of a military across all its nations and the support of a government run technology development consortium the EU operates one of the largest and most advanced militaries in the world rivalled only in size by the Dhabi and Eurasian armies, they for the moment maintain their technological advantage.

Timeline

• 2015 - Heckler and Koch merge with Ruger
• 2015 (Late) - Eurocopter bailout Bell helicopters after severe losses coming through from 2012 science crisis.
• 2016 - BAE Systems engage a hostile takeover of Northrop Grumman; these are the first inklings of the UGDT large scale power.
• 2017 - McDonnell Douglas purchased by General Electric. General Electric (who in turn are controlled by General Dynamic) exploits market share to help advance McDonnell Douglas products by cutting support to competitors
• 2018 - EADS form secret cartel with BAE systems. Plan set out to achieve production monopoly in Europe for all military affairs and US to follow. Military contractor divisions opened
• 2019 - Daimler Aerospace closes, much of production facilities sold via the EU military to private contractors. Aerospatiale leadership join UGDT
• 2021 (Early) - Association owned Areva Nuclear has its technology licensed to the UGDT with future developments obligated to be returned
• 2022 - General Dynamics joins cartel with Eurofighter GmbH. General Dynamics use ownership of General Electric to raise prominence in UGDT however Euro-group retain major powers
• 2023 (Early) - Conglomeration of companies forced to reveal control and companies not agreeing in the cartel have their stocks plummeted. Renamed Union Defence Technologies.
• 2024 - Colt majority stake sold to Union Defence Technologies. 38% holding.
• 2025 (Late) - UGDT wins weapon supply contract to EU. 48 Nations in state of Martial law. News of horrible crimes against mutated in China and Russia.
• 2027 - Union Defence Technologies renamed to Union Global Defence Technologies after officially winning European Union law keeping rights
• 2028 (Early) - UGDT receive permission to setup independent military complexes throughout European Union.
• 2029 (Early) - UGDT win contract for security of IMSSI compounds. Compounds based primarily in Mid Europe.
• 2031 (Early) - UGDT win contract for weapons production in US military of their 3rd Generation Weapons range.
• 2036 (Late) - UGDT purchase the failing Lockheed Martin. Heavy changes to company functionality and large scale efficiency improvements.
• 2037 (Late) - UGDT win contract for upgrade and maintenance of current F-37 stock originally produced by the now completely absorbed BAE Systems
• 2039 - Boeing Defence, Space and Security shut down due to heavy losses in recent years. Likely at UGDT expense. US declare investigation into UGDT operations in the US
• 2041 (Early) - UGDT win contract for next generation US strike fighter production. Lockheed-Martin production facilities primarily used, Boeing responsible for minor part production.
• 2042 (Late) - UGDT forces receive help from Association forces to setup military bases safely on locations of their choice. Nuclear silos are prime estate chosen. These are payment for services rendered.
• 2043 (Early) - UGDT forces in Western Europe expand strength and remove government of Spain