Seran Royal Air Force

Seran Royal Air Force
Emblem of the Seran Royal Air Force
Founded	April 14th, 1956 (68 years, 8 months)
Country	Unified Sera
Type	Air Force
Role	Prompt and sustained aerial combat Combined arms operations Combined arms maneuver and wide area security Aerial Reconnaissance Airborne and air assault operations Special operations Set and sustain the theater for the joint force Aerial Superiority Operations
Size	177,000 Regular Air Force personnel (2021)
Part of	Department of War Department of the Royal Air Force
Headquarters	Black Mountain
Motto(s)	"Ut Aquila Versus Coelum", "Like an eagle toward the sky"
Colors	Blue, Sky Blue and White
Mascot(s)	Eagle
Anniversaries	April 4th
Commanders
Prime Minister / High Commander	Akan Khalfani ya Mbaku
Secretary of War	Jabari Mansa ya Mbaku
Director of National Security	Deciumus Marius ya Latinius
Marshal of the Royal Air Force	Servius Agrippa ya Latinius

The United States of Sera Royal Air Force, Unified Sera Air Force, Royal Air Force, USRAF, and simply the Air Force is the youngest of Sera's established military branches. With an establish date of April 14th, 1956, the US Air Force is markedly younger than other branches of the same kind in other nations. However, despite the age of the branch, the government and military commanders aggressively pursued campaigns to modernize and build the branch in order to catch up with competitors as the landscape of war began to change.

This aggressive pursuit of modernization with the aid of regional allies allowed the USRAF to build a sizable and powerful air force in a much shorter time frame than what was originally broadcasted when the branch was still being established. As it stands, the USRAF is one of the most advanced in the world with strike capability increased through strategic air force bases abroad and through usage of Unified Sera's two aircraft carriers.

History

In the mid-1950s the landscape of warfare changed after the conclusion of the World War. Although Unified Sera sat out the war and did not take part in any direct military confrontations, the Department of War paid close attention to the way the warring powers engaged each other. Queen Zuri Tu'Aruc felt uneasy with the future of combat and worried that the U.S. would be left behind if drastic action was not taken to ensure Sera remained competitive. As the monarch during the bloody Seran Secessionist War, Queen Zuri knew the importance of maintaining a powerful and competitive national military. However, she would pass away before any real rpgress could be made in the pursuit of the burgeoning theater of aerial warfare.

Her daughter and now Queen of the United States of Sera Queen Zola Tu'Aruc took the reigns of the nation after ascending to the throne in August of 1956. She immediately began a campaign of reforming and reshaping the Seran military into a more modern fighting force. The Royal Army was restructured and reorganized to better account for squad-based warfare and combined arms tactics. The Seran Army, although baptized in fire during the Secessionist War 30 years prior, began to bleed experienced leaders and commanders as they began to retire from the military. Queen Zola strove to fill in these gaps in rank by first selecting individuals to oversee the several branches of the Seran military. However, such a massive change to the operation of the national military could not be achieved without Parliament, yet after pursuading key members of the legislature and allying with Prime Minister Mkonkwo, Queen Zola had the political capital and backing to begin making changes to the national military.

Rear Admiral Fox was photographed after testifying before Parliament about the necessity of a capable Air Force.

With the blessing and assistance of Parliament, Queen Zola began to search for leaders for the military. Parliament went on to identify and recommend individuals based on combat experience, leadership quality, and merit for the the new Marshal Rank that would bestow the officeholder with the power of supreme commander of their branch. This change was meant to free resources for the government and take some pressure off of the Prime Minister who still operated as the Supreme Commander of the entire military.

The Official flag of the United States of Sera Royal Air Force.

Four generals would be selected for the positions available for the Valkiri Royal Guard, Royal Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines. These dramatic reforms would become known as the "Zola Reforms".

Yet, Queen Zola's focus set squarely upon the idea of establishing an air branch. As a result, Queen Zola tasked the Department of War and the new Board of Defense Ministers to study the extensive use of aircraft during the World War. The prevalence and dominance of air power during the war demonstrated the sheer effectiveness of capable aircraft in the modern landscape of war. Fearing the possibility of being left behind on the battlefield, the Department of War channeled Army two-star General Alexander Caligula and Royal Navy Rear Admiral Lucius Fox to co-found the new branch.

The two began to work together on the creation of the branch. Initially, the two had disagreements about the structure, organization, and purpose of the branch. MajGen Caligula asserted that the Air Force should operate as "the aerial army"; transporting troops and operating to enhance the combat effectiveness of troops on the ground. Rear Admiral Fox disagreed and thought that the most effective use of the Air Force would be by supporting naval operations and protecting vessels.

A portrait of Major General Caligula of the Royal Army

Eventually the issue would come to a head when the BoDM reprimanded the duo and reminded them of what "they were there for". After their reprimanding, they regrouped and discussed possible compromises for the Air Force. They agreed that the best use of the Air Force would be to simply "do both". They then began to create the training regimen of what would become the first class of airmen and established the first Air Force Training Academy at Fort Black Rock in the Seran heartland. Airmen would be taught survival, marksmanship, swimming, first aid, engineering, and mechanical skills that would enable airmen to survive in whatever environment they found themselves in. Moreover, they rapidly pursued growth plans that saw the USRAF purchasing schematics, tapping scientists from allied nations, recruiting and training Seran pilots, and contracting Seran scientists to begin building, designing, and manufacturing the first aircraft. Of these first prototypes, the most well-known would become the M-1 multirole fighter aircraft that could operate as an air-to-air fighter and naval bomber/escort. Based on n designs, the M-1 became a favorite among the branches' new pilots. The M-1 used dual wing-mounted cannons and dual nose-mounted machine guns alongside commendable turning and acceleration ability to attack ground targets and engage in air-to-air confrontations. The M-1 could also be outfitted with dive-bombs, however at the cost of speed and maneuverability.

The first demonstration of the M-1 and subsequent variants led the Department of War to believe that the best way to move forward would be by investing even more money and manpower into the Royal Air Force. The Department of War offered the role of Marshal of the Royal Air Force to both Major General Caligula and Rear Admiral Fox, however Major General Caligula bowed out before the examinations required for the position and allowed Rear Admiral Fox to become the first Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

The duo who would become known as the "Fathers of the Airforce" and their portraits sit permanently at the entrance of the Air Force wing in the Black Mountain military installation.

Structure and Mission

There are five core missions of the Royal Air Force that have remained very similar if not the same since its inception in April of 1956, but they have evolved and are now articulated as air superiority, regional-global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, advanced regional mobility, advanced strike capability, and command and control. The purpose of all of these core missions is to provide what the Air Force states as "persistent aerial vigilance".

Royal Air Force Command Structure

Department of the Royal Air Force: Black Mountain, Kado, Unified Sera

Major Commands	Current commander	Location of headquarters
Air Superiority Command (ASC)	Gen Mari Keffa	Kente Air Force Base, Takhar, Yobu, Unified Sera
Special Pilot Education and Training Command (SPETC)	Lt Gen Marius Davis	Pompeii Air Force Base, Pompeii, Rhodes, Unified Sera
Royal Air Force Regional Defense Command (RAFRDC)	Gen Jerome Scully	Black Mountain, Kado, Unified Sera
Royal Air Force Reserve Command (RAFRC)	Lt Gen Jermaine Deli	Stolar Air Force Base, Stolar, Istrus, Unified Sera
Royal Air Force Special Warfare Command (RAFSWC)	Lt Gen Martzia O'keefe	Mombasa, Shaka, Unified Sera
Advanced Mobility and Logistics Command (AMLC)	Gen Jengo Barca	Kaang Air Force Base, Kaang, Sifya, Unified Sera

Commissioned Officers

Department of War Designations	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	Special grade
Designation of Paygrade	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Insignia
Service Dress Uniform Insignia
Title	Second Lieutenant	First Lieutenant	Captain	Major	Lieutenant Colonel	Colonel	Brigadier General	Major General	Lieutenant General	General	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Abbreviation	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	MA
No periods are used in actual grade abbreviation, only in press releases to conform with royal military standards.

Enlisted Royal Airmen

Department of War Designations	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7		E-8		E-9
Designation of Paygrade	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7		OR-8		OR-9
Insignia	No insignia
Title	Airman Basic	Airman	Airman First Grade	Senior Airman	Staff Sergeant	Technical Sergeant	Master Sergeant		Senior Master Sergeant		Chief Master Sergeant		Command Chief Master Sergeant	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force	Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Marshal
Abbreviation	AB	Amn	A1G	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt		SMSgt		CMSgt		CCC/CCM	CMSAF	SEAM

Equipment

The Royal Air Force fields 1,325 aircraft in its inventory. In large part due to both Parliament and the Monarchy aggressively pursuing operational capacity, range, and effectiveness in the sky, the Royal Air Force has the largest operating budget out of all of the branches. As a result, the RAF has scientifically advanced air capabilities and countermeasures. Of these vehicles, the B-19 "Hammer" is the only aircraft that was not designed to take off or land on one of Sera's two aircraft carriers. It is, however, a long-range capable vehicle and nuclear compatible. The M-35 "Fugitive" is the newest weapon in Sera's arsenal. The "Fugitive" puts a heavy emphasis on stealth capability and therefore does not carry as much weaponry as the M-27 multirole fighter.

As of writing, Unified Sera has a limited drone fleet. The small, almost non-existent drone capacity of the nation is in response to Sera's operational goals. As Sera's recent engagements have been limited to Adula for the past century, and because most of Sera's military allies are present on the continent, Unified Sera has not invested heavily into the production of drone aircraft.

Model/Designation	Number Built	Country of Origin	Description	Capacity	Maiden Flight	Image
M-35 "Fugitive"	223	Unified Sera	Single Seat air-to-air carrier-capable fighter aircraft with stealth capabilities and moderate range.	1 Pilot	March 11th, 2011
M-27 "Fox"	597	Unified Sera	Long range, carrier-capable single seat air-to-air and ground attack aircraft	1 pilot	August 22nd, 2004
MB-11 "Hellbat"	493	Unified Sera	Long range, carrier capable double seat ground attack aircraft suited for CAS operations	1 pilot, 1 navigator/weapons operator	December 23rd, 1991
B-19 "Hammer"	12	Unified Sera	Supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber	1 pilot, 1 navigator/weapons operator	June 13th, 1997