We could also assign our researchers to put together something for our allies to give them a small leg up on larger warship construction. No real 'new' tech but methodologies to use their existing infrastructure to put together destroyers or even light cruisers.
Even with the Grand Fleet effectively destroyed we are still stronger than our allies since they don't have a single heavy cruiser between them. We will need to pull back out pirate hunters until we can get some new ships built.
One way to make some money for the Empire, get some use out of old ships and keep the navy aggressive would be to form squadrons of old ships and send them pirate hunting in the Fringe. Even our oldest corvettes in service are still better than what 95% of pirates are riding. We would get some...
I agree on limiting any agreements with both nations to a certain time period distance or both. Even if the Fringe is not developed enough for dedicated trade routes a circuit that stops by once or twice the year will have enough business to keep busy. It also keeps us in touch with the reason...
Between greater interactions with the worlds north of us, analysis of the pirates equipment and interrogations will we get an intel report on the technical state of the IS and the regions around it? Will this lead to legislation restricting the export of technology, knowledge, etc..?
Will we get a chance to sell basic military equipment to the various statelets in the north? Or push through a law on what technology our corporations can export to foreign nations?
US isolationism will be much stronger in this TL given they can show the ridiculous amount of debt the US took on and the multiple wars in places like Vietnam and Afghanistan that opponents of internationalism can point to. Poland can also stir up plenty of domestic trouble in the US by pointing...
That would be a funny test, go to Britain and blow a hole through the armor belt of one of their older battleships then mention these will be all over the world soon. The reactions form the Admiralty would be hilarious.
Civilian sales will also bring in a lot of money for Poland given the much better gun laws Europe had and the significant quality increase in ammunition.
It'll be interesting to see how anti air weapons operate against some of the biplanes and other primitive planes without metal skins or the high heat signatures of jets.
After this expansion of the explorer corps is needed to track down and identify BS facilities. We might even detach a dozen cruisers to go and look around rather than doing 4 systems at a time.