PENIRGMAN - In a brief statement issued today, Imperial Armaments have confirmed that a specialist team has been assigned to research hardware salvaged from destroyed Drifter battleships and assess the viability of reverse engineering any discovered technology for potential application in future projects.
News of the research has been met with varying responses from across the cluster, with a spokeswoman for the Lai Dai Corporation offering assistance through their Imperial partners at Carthum Conglomerate, and the Ishukone Corporation openly advising caution "in respect to the unknown nature and potential instability of the salvaged hardware".
In the Federation, Gasschies Ordt, Chief Researcher for CreoDRON, openly criticized the move when questioned by The Scope, saying "their business is in the construction and distribution of offensive hardware, and attempting to weaponize a cutting-edge technology that is barely understood by even the most brilliant scientific minds in the cluster should not be taken lightly. Imperial Armaments should be extremely careful with this technology".
Meanwhile, reception to the announcement within the Republic has been hostile on most fronts with Widolden Akfi, Chief of Security for Boundless Creation responding to questioning with more questions than answers, saying "another piece of technology that the Empire seeks to turn on the Matari people? Most likely. The development of this technology needs to be heavily regulated by the Directive Enforcement Department, and I will be speaking with Director Vesren, along with tribal leaders in the coming days so that we may bring our concerns to the attention of the Inner Circle."
At this stage Imperial Armaments has not divulged details of their research or how the technology will be applied, however the corporation has defended itself against claims that the primary focus of reverse engineering is weaponization, categorically denying that this is the objective at the current stage of research.