- TNP Nation
- McMasterdonia
For the third volume of the 2017 Stories of The North Pacific in the national military category, the Executive Staff of the Ministry of Culture has chosen to feature: Esplandian Armed Forces. Congratulations to its author, The Sanada Clan.
As a featured author, Esplandia is welcome to display the Stories badge in their signature and in the featured dispatch:
The factbook will remain pinned in the WFE and linked in the News Box until November 12. It is also reproduced below for your convenience. Note that this factbook consists of many in-game dispatches and has complex coding that cannot be accurately reproduced on the forum. I strongly encourage you to look at the original: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=596811
You can nominate factbooks to be featured in Stories of The North Pacific by contacting the Minister.. And you can join the team selecting the features by applying for the Executive Staff here.
The Esplandian Armed Forces form the military of the Kingdom of Esplandia, tasked with defence of the country, its overseas territories, and the dependency of Tajis; as well as promoting the Kingdom's wider interests, supporting international peacekeeping efforts, and providing humanitarian aid. The branches of the Armed Forces are: the Crown Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 61 commissioned ships; the Esplandian Army, Esplandia's principal land warfare branch; the Crown Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft; and the Huskavrls, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force proficient in multiple schools of combat.
The Commander-in-chief of the Esplandian Armed Forces is the monarch to whom members of the armed forces swear allegiance. However the Landesgrad maintains the armed forces during times of peace with the passing of quinquennial armed forces acts. The armed forces are managed by the Defense Council of the Ministry of Defense, headed by the Warden General.
The Kingdom tested its first nuclear weapon under Operation Violrang in 1952, becoming one of the first dozen nations in the world to achieve the status of a nuclear power. As of 2015, Esplandia remains a recognised nuclear power, with a total of 35 nuclear warheads. Of those, no more than 16 are deployed and active. Its nuclear deterrence system is based on Trident missiles on board ballistic missile submarines.
Navy
The Crown Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force, and as of April 2015 consists of 61 commissioned ships. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Fleet Commander of the Navy.
The Surface Fleet consists of amphibious warfare ships, destroyers, frigates, patrol vessels, mine-countermeasure vessels, and other miscellaneous vessels. The Surface Fleet is structured around a single eastern fleet and a smaller western fleet since 1871. The recently built Alpha-Wolf destroyers are technologically advanced air-defence destroyers. The Crown Navy is building two Queen Catheryn class aircraft carriers, embarking an air-group including the advanced fifth-generation multi-role fighter, the F-209.
A submarine service has existed within the Crown Navy for more than 100 years. The Submarine Service's four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarines carrying Lockheed Martin's Trident II ballistic missiles, forming the Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. The service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Modernization of the Armed Forces Act, the Warden class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn and the attack submarine flotilla is now exclusively nuclear-powered. Seven Avalus class nuclear-powered attack submarines have been ordered, with two completed, one on sea trials, and four under construction. The Avalus class are the most advanced and largest fleet submarines ever built for the Crown Navy, and will maintain Esplandia's nuclear-powered submarine fleet capabilities for decades to come.
Esplandian Army
The Esplandian Army is made up of the Regular Army and the Army Reserve. The army has a single command structure based at Eborum and is known as "Army Headquarters". Deployable combat formations consist of five divisions (1st Infantry, 2nd Armoured, 3rd Overlander, 4th Mountain, and 5th Mechanized) and eight brigades. Within the Kingdom, operational and non-deployable units are administered by ten regionally defined "regenerative" divisions and the Karthied Crown Guard.
The Army has 50 battalions (36 regular and 14 territorial) of regular and territorial infantry, organised into 17 regiments. The majority of infantry regiments contains multiple regular and territorial battalions. Modern infantry have diverse capabilities and this is reflected in the varied roles assigned to them. There are four operational roles that infantry battalions can fulfil: air assault, armoured infantry, mechanised infantry, and light role infantry.
Regiments and battalions e.g.: the Parachute Regiment, exist within every corps of the Army, functioning as administrative or tactical formations. Armoured regiments are equivalent to an infantry battalion. There are 6 armoured regiments within the regular army, of which two are designated as "Armoured" and four as "Vanguard Reconnaissance". With the exception of the Household Cavalry, armoured regiments and their Territorial counterparts are grouped under the Royal Armoured Corps. Arms and support units are also formed into similar collectives organised around specific purposes, such as the Corps of Crown Engineers, Army Air Corps and Crown Army Medical Corps.
Crown Air Force
The Crown Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Frontline aircraft are controlled by Air Command, which is organised into three groups defined by function: 1st Group (Air Combat), 2nd Group (Air Support) and 10th Group (training aircraft and ground facilities). In addition 3rd Expeditionary Air Group directs formations in [nation=short]Tajis[/nation]. Deployable formations consist of Expeditionary Air Wings and squadrons—the basic unit of the Air Force.
The Crown Air Force operates multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft. Ground units are also maintained by the Crown Air Force, most prominently the CAF Police and the Crown Air Force Regiment (CAF Regt). The Crown Air Force Regiment essentially functions as the local ground defence force of the CAF. Roled principally as ground defence for CAF facilities, the regiment contains nine regular squadrons, supported by five squadrons of the Crown Auxiliary Air Force Regiment.
Huskavrls
The Huskavrls are the Kingdom's elite troops. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (3rd Commando) and various independent units, the Huskavrls specialize in amphibious, arctic, and mountain warfare, as well as covert reconnaissance and urban warfare. The 1st Division Riflemen are headquartered out of Queensport, while the 2nd Division Infiltrators are headquartered in Feyzo Island, [nation=short]Tajis[/nation].
Civilian agencies of the Ministry of Defense
The Esplandian Armed Forces are supported by civilian agencies owned by the MoD. Although they are civilian, they play a vital role in supporting Armed Forces operations, and in certain circumstances are under military discipline.
Crown Fleet Auxiliary
The 13 ships of the Crown Fleet Auxiliary (CFA) primarily serve to replenish Crown Navy warships at sea, and also augment the Crown Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Riverhead-class landing ship dock vessels. It is manned by 1,850 civilian personnel and is funded and run by the Ministry of Defense.
Hydrographic Office
The Hydrographic Office is an organisation within the Esplandian government responsible for providing navigational and other hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements. The Hydrographic Office is located in Hastonfen, Scaltenbracht on Admiralty Way and has a workforce of approximately 1000 staff.