Providence Bloc Loses Another Skirmish Over the D-GTMI System

NC. took the system in May to facilitate rapid fleet deployment across it's rental holdings and the Delve region. Thsi was originalyl part of a plan to take Delve by force, but was largely abandoned due to the force projection changes of Phoebe.

ProviBloc used this chaotic time after the patch to launch and op against the system, deploying SBUs on Nov. 4th. reinforcing both the Infrastructure Hub and the Station, in order to reclaim the lost system. While sources within Northern Coalition(dot) claimed the system held no strategic importance anymore, they did say that the Alliance would form for convenient timers.

D-GTMI system, Providence region. On the 9th of November, 22:30 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc clashed with Northern Coalition(dot) to decide the fate of the system, which was lost to Providence earlier in May.

One such timer was on the 8th of November, 14:00 EVE Standard Time, when Providence Bloc’s Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, seventy pilot strong, engaged an Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet belonging to Northern Coalition(dot), at sixty pilot large. The fight, mostly carried on the T-RPFU Gate, saw Providence Bloc lose decisively to Northern Coalition.

Battle Report for the 8th of November can be found here.

On the next night, the tables were turned. AS a 170 strong Ishtar fleet against 150 Tengu pilots of NC.. NC took position on the T-RPFU gate and waited for Provi. Provi however elected not to jump into the gate camp and tried to lure NC onto the opposite D-GTMI gate after deploying their fleet there.

NC. very quickly obliged the Provi forces. The resulting skirmish was very short lived. After a few opening kills against Tengus were scored while NC. organized, as soon as they anchored up, the tanks held firm and focused fire wiped considerable Provi forces from the field.

This was exacerbated by an 80 pilot PL Tengu fleet with bomber support that jumped in to join in the fun. This meant Provi very quickly retreated and conceded the system.

With Providence Bloc soundly defeated, Northern Coalition(dot) turned its attention to the Sovereignty Blockade Units  deployed in the D-GTMI system and removed them, extracting safely.

Battle Report for the 9th of November can be found here.

The T-RPFU system hosted at the height of the battle four hundred and sixty pilots, with Time Dilation peaking at 72% but playing no major role in the fighting. Providence Bloc lost a quarter of its fleet, forty ships, for five billion ISK in damages, compared to Northern Coalition(dot)’s thirteen and two point six billion respectively.

Though the Infrastructure Hub was destroyed the day after, the fight over the sovereignty of the system is far from over. With the reputation of Providence Bloc and their recent success in the Northern Catch war, it is not so much a question of whether or not the system will be re-claimed, but what the price will be for its eventual return.

Video of the fight: