Kouralian National Air Force

'Abbiamo volare alto sulle ali di fuoco' We fly high on wings of fire
The Flag of the Kouralian Air Force
Founded	1950AD
Current form	2000
Headquarters	The Ministry of Defence (Civil HQ) Rosewood AFB
Leadership
Her Majesty	Queen Alyx Campbell
Minister of Defence	Sir Bernard Wallace of the Queen's Land
Lord Commander	Richard Croft
Personnel
Military age	18-63
Conscription	Not in Effect
Active personnel	550,000
Reserve personnel	100,000
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Kouralian National Armoury, KAE Systems (Kouralia)

The Kouralian National Air Force is the aviation warfighting service of the Kouralian Military, and it is intended to fight for air supremacy against - and conduct ground-attack operations in spite of – other air forces operating on a strength parity. It is the junior-most of the three military services by seniority, having been formed in the 20th century initially as an experimental corps of aviators attached to the Royal Army. It is generally stereotyped - correctly or not - as the service for the colder, considered, and more analytical mind, owing to the significantly greater importance placed on technical expertise across almost all trades compared to the other two services.

The National Air Force is responsible for crewing and sustaining almost all fixed-wing airframes in the Kouralian military, and most rotary-wing airframes as well. This includes combat, unmanned, transport, and battlefield support aircraft, even if the Army operates light utility platforms and Navy operates all types from naval flight decks. It is also the lead service for cyberwarfare, and takes the lead on development and implementation of space-based warfighting technologies – whether the use of contemporary satellites to develop intelligence pictures, or of technologies with more direct combat applications. Finally, the National Air Force also has a land warfare component known as the Auxiliary Aviation Legion which is principally tasked with seizing and defending facilities and materiel of importance to aviation operations.

History

The Air Force can trace its line to the formation of the Military Aviation Legion in 1911 by the Office of Legatine and Martial affairs which was the cabinet-level department responsible for overseeing the Royal Army. This originally consisted of ten civilian pilots commissioned into the Army and thirty already-serving officers who had expressed interest and displayed competence. It was here that the motto of the Air Force was inspired by its involvement in ending the decades long insurgency against the ‘Altonian Wardens’ rebel group. Having eluded attempts to crush its active fighting elements through skilful evasion of Royal Army columns by exploiting terrain and a less-than-loyal populace, it found itself rapidly outclassed. Indeed, in the opening two years of its formation, the Military Aviation Legion was deployed solely on public facing duties and on active combat operations against the Altonian Wardens. While initially employed to gather intelligence against an enemy that was wholly unprepared to conceal itself from the air, within a few short months it was regularly tasked with dropping grenades and strafing with machine guns. In memory of its decisive role in ending the insurgency, the Military Aviation Legion adopted a new motto of “” which translates roughly to “The Firewings of Peace.”

Simultaneously to this, the Royal Navy was conducting its own experiments in first taking off and later landing airframes on warships afloat. However, the naval aviation programme was some years behind the Army’s in reaching combat effectiveness. Furthermore, as this fledgling Airfleet never combined with the Aviation Legion, it could not be said to be a predecessor – even if cross-training personnel and sharing doctrines certainly helped to shape the modern Air Force.

Over the course of the next decade and a half, the Militry Aviation Legion grew in size and in prominence before being reconstituted as its own Service Branch in the 1920s. Due to the relative peace that the Crown Union experienced throughout the 20th century, the branch’s development was often behind the curve compared to international efforts and it took until the Millennial War where shortcomings in the quality and technological level of airframes in use were revealed, and the Kouralian Government began to prioritise bringing the Air Force to a parity with the other two services.

Doctrine

Like the Navy, the Air Force is very noticeably subordinate to the Army. Its equipment varies from the cutting edge spread thinly on a number of headlining formations, to dated-but-not-quite-obsolete hardware across a majority of squadrons. Roughly 10% of the Air Force's Strike Wings makes use of 5th Generation Fighters, while roughly 40% make use of Gen 4.5 and the remaining are firmly 4th Generation. This is not to say that the Air Force Board is not aware of the deficiencies in its equipment, but that it is not granted the financial wherewithal to fund the widespread modernisation that they would like to carry out.

The Air Force defines Air Power as 'the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events', and defines its mission as ensuring the Kouralian Crown never lacks for the Air Power required to accomplish its goal. However, while advances in interplanetary capabilities continue, it remains that the Kouralian Air Force cannot conduct independent offensive operations without the Army to take and hold territory and the airbases built on it. For this reason, aside from in Transport, Strategic, Cyber, and Space Commands - the non-combatant commands, the Air Force only acts to establish air superiority or to conduct ground attack missions in support of Army operations.

Organisation

High Command

The Marischalcy Board is the professional high command of the Air Force. It is made up of the senior-most staff officers, and is regularly joined by senior elected and appointed civilians such as the Justiciar of State for War, or senior civil servants. The Chair of the Marischalcy is assisted by the Principal Marischalcy Warrant Officer, who is the service's senior enlisted advisor. It is their responsibility to bring the perspective of Warranted, Non-Commissioned, and enlisted personnel at the executive level.

• Lord and Master of the Marischalcy - professional head of the Air Force.
• Vice-Master of the Marischalcy, and Master of Capabilities - Deputy to the Chair, and responsible for Cyberwarfare and Space warfare capabilities.
• Fleet-Marischal - responsible for managing the operational tempo of the service and managing allocation of formations to joint service commands.
• Marischal-Artificier - responsible for technical support, outfitting, and procuring of Airframes and parts thereof.
• Marischal-Controller - responsible for procurement, distribution, and supply of munitions, consumables, and other sundries.
• Marischal-Adjutant - responsible for personnel development and support, and training.

The Admiralty Board does not exercise operational command of naval forces, as this is passed down via the Joint Service Commands. However, it is responsible for ensuring that sufficient vessels are allocated to each Joint Aeronautic Command to meet its purpose, as well as ensuring they are sufficiently staffed and equipped.

Administrative Commands

The Air Force is divided into a number of administrative commands or AD-COMs which are responsible for managing particular groupings of formations based on what sort of airframe they use, or what sort of support system they provide. These Commands are not used for operational purposes, and merely act as a way for the service to manage its manpower.

• Fighter Command is responsible for all interceptor, air superiority, and multi-role strike aircraft that have an air-to-air capability that are operated by the Air Force.
• Bomber Command is responsible for all aircraft intended for delivering munitions to ground targets without air-to-air capabilities - including strategic and stealth bombers.
• Transport Command is responsible for all strategic and tactical airlift capabilities offered by fixed wing airframes: this includes VIP transport.
• Coastal Command is responsible for all maritime patrol aircraft and supports Waterguard and Naval forces in anti-smuggling operations.
• Helicopter Command is responsible for operating all rotary-wing airframes.
• Munitions Command is responsible for operating all ground-based strategic missile launch sites.
• Digital Warfare Command is responsible for leading in cybersecurity and also for probing the digital defences of other nations.
• Flight Training Command is responsible for all flight training, from basic to training on the actual airframe the pilots will operate on.
• Legion Command is responsible for managing the Aeronautic Legion: the Air Force's ground warfare contingent.

Air Force Station

All staff in the Air Force work towards the crewing of airframes, and unlike in the the Navy they are not divided up into distinct departments or branches. For example, a single Air Force Station under a Group Captain may operate an Air Wing of roughly 50 aircraft - usually of a particular type. The Air Wing will be supported by:

• Operations Wing is responsible for the management of the airfield and its supporting services: for example the Security Squadron, Air Traffic Control Squadron, and the attached Air Force Legion Troop.
• The Forward Support Wing is responsible for maintaining the airframes.
• The Depth Support Wing is responsible for second-line maintenance and logistics - for example repairing a faulty engine which the FSW has completely detached from an airframe and replaced.
• The Tactical Intelligence Wing is responsible for Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition.
• The Base Support Wing is responsible for things like Facilities Management, Catering, HR, and Medical, Dental, and Chaplaincy Services.

Personnel

Ranks

Officers

	OF10	OF9	OF8	OF7	OF6
Air Force Legatine-Grade Ranks
Rank Title	Lord Grand Air Marshal	Air Master Marshal	Air Marshal	Air Vice-Marshal	Air Legate
Kouralian Title	Legatus-Ærea Marischal-Magnus Patrighius	Legatus-Ærea Marischal-Mæyster	Legatus-Ærea Marischal	Legatus-Ærea Vys-Marischal	Legatus-Ærea
Abbreviation	LGrMshl	AMMshl.	AMshl.	AVMshl.	Leg.A
Insignia
Typical Command/ Appointment	Chief of Air/Defence Staff	Joint Forces Command	Component Command	Tactical Air Force	Aviation Legion

	OF5	OF4	OF3	OF2	OF1
Air Force Field Ranks
Rank Title	Captain of the Air	Wing Commander	Squadron Leader	Master-Vintenar	Vintenar - Ensign
Kouralian Title	Capitæyn aþ'Ærea	Comaundær aþe'Fyþære	Centenær aþe'Squadrærea	Vyntenær-Mæyster	Vyntenær - Veſſilian
Abbreviation	CaptA'A	CdrA'F	CtrA'S	MVtr.	Vtr. - En.
Insignia
Typical Command/ Appointment	Air Force Station, or a Flying Wing	Ground Wing, or a Flying Squadron	Ground Squadron, or a Flying Flight	Held after 3 years.	Held for first year and then two years after Pilots graduate as Vintenars.

Enlisted

	OR 10	OR 9	OR 8	OR 7
Air Force Warrant Officers
Rank Title	Master Warrant Officer	Leading Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer Class I	Warrant Officer Class II
Kouralian Title	Mæyst'Æiutante	Æiutante Sceltiæ	Æiutante Primo	Æiutante
Abbreviation	MWO	PWO	WO1	WO2
Insignia
Typical Command/ Appointment	Command SEA	Legatine SEA	Principal Technical Specialist/ Wing Serjeant	Lead Technical Specialist/ Squadron Serjeant

	OR6	OR5	OR4	OR3	OR2	OR1
Air Force Other Ranks
Rank Title	Master Serjeant	Serjeant	Dycenar	Leading Airman	Able Airman	Airman Ordinary
Kouralian Title	Særvien-Mæyster	Særvien	Dycenær	Aviere Sceltiæ	Aviere Abiliæ	Aviere Ordinariæ
Abbreviation	MSjt.	Sjt.	Dy.	AL	AA	AO
Insignia
Typical Command/ Appointment	Platoon Serjeant	Section Commander	Detail Commander	Specialism/Seniority Grade	Basic Grade	Held for 2 years

Equipment

Aircraft are given designations in three parts: the type-name of the airframe (which is decided upon adoption by the Marshalcy Board), the role type of the aircraft, and the model number. In full, the designation may be given as Phoenix D Mk.2, for the second model of the Drone-role variant of the Phoenix airframe. This would usually be shortened down to Phoenix D.2.

Role Type	Description	Role Type	Description	Role Type	Description
AEW	Airborne Early Warning	FGA	Fighter/Ground Attack	HMA	Helicopter, Maritime Attack
AS	Anti-Submarine	FS	Fighter/Strike	HR	Helicopter, Rescue
ASR	Air-Sea Rescue	GA	Ground Attack	HT	Helicopter, Training
B	Bomber	GR	Ground Attack/Reconnaissance	HU	Helicopter, Utility
BK	Bomber/Tanker	GS	Ground Attack/Strike	K	Tanker
C	Transport	HAS	Helicopter, Anti-Submarine	KC	Tanker/Transport
CC	Communications and Control	HC	Helicopter, Cargo	MRA	Maritime Reconnaissance and Attack
D	Drone	HCC	Helicopter, Communications and Control	R	Reconnaissance
ECM	Electronic Countermeasures	HGR	Helicopter, Ground Attack/Reconnaissance	S	Strike
ECR	Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance	HSP	Helicopter, Special Purpose	SP	Special Purpose
F	Fighter	HM	Helicopter, Maritime	T	Training

Planes

• Phoenix Family = Piaggio p.180 Avanti
• Archer Family = Hawk
• Slingshot = Super Tucano

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Image	Description	Numbers
Fighters
Firewing	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	F.2	File:Kouraliancvn.PNG	* Not F-22 Raptor (BAE Replica)	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	F.1 FGA.2 MF.3	Image	* Not F-35 (P.125) * Includes A, B, and C versions.	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	F.1 F.2 FGA.3 GR.4	Image	* Not Harrier 'predecessor fighter-bomber' (p.1216) * Naval Version (uses characteristics of F/A 18E/Harrier II GR9)	X,XXX
Bombers
Celarean	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	B.2	Image	High-Speed/Low-Altitude Strategic Bomber	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	GS.3	Image	* Tactical Tornado-style Bomber	X,XXX
Attack
Colt	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	GA.1	Image	* Ground Attack aircraft	X,XXX
Archer	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	GA.2 GR.3	Image	* Attack-mode Hawk	X,XXX
Filly	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	GA.2	Image	* Attack-mode Super Tucano	X,XXX
Transport
Castlegate	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	C.1	Image	* Outsize cargo transporter	X,XXX
Courier	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	C.1	Image	* Strategic Transporter	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	C.3	Image	* Tactical Transporter (A400 M)	X,XXX
Caesran	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	C.1	File:Caesran Transport.png	* Utility Transporter	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	C.2	Image	Carrier-capable Utility Plane	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	SPC.1	Image	* Strategic VIP Transporter (A380)	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	C.2	Image	* Tactical VIP Transporter (Bombardier Challenger 850)	X,XXX
Phoenix	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	C.2	Image	* Compact VIP Transport (p.180 Avanti)	X,XXX
Command and Intelligence
Warlord	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	CC.5	Image	E4 National Control Plane	X,XXX
Vygean	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	AEW.4	Image	E3 Sentry-alike	X,XXX
Commissioner	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	CC.2	Image	E6 Mercury-alike	X,XXX
Sweeper	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	R.2	Image	Raytheon Sentinel-alike	X,XXX
Watchkeeper	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	R.3	Image	Basically MC-12 Intelligence Plane	X,XXX
Electronic Warfare
Caesran	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	ECR.2	Image	C27J-derived EW Plane	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	ECR.1	Image	Tornado ECR-alike	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	MECR.3	Image	p.1216-derived Naval ECR	X,XXX
Miscellaneous
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	KC.4	Image	KC-10-esque Tanker	X,XXX
Designation	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	MRA.4	Image	Maritime Patrol Aircraft	X,XXX
Caesran	File:KourCrookfur Flag.jpg Crookfur	SP.3	Image	Special Operations transporty-thing	X,XXX
UAVs
Phoenix	Licana	D.3	Image	Descr Descr Descr	X,XXX
Zephyr	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	D.1 D.2	Image	The Zephyr is a High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite UAV focused on observation and signals relaying capabilities. It can fly as high as 70,000ft at 35mph and continuously operate using solar panels on the wings to refuel for 30 days continuous loiter time. It can also transmit real-time imagery, voice and data to areas covering 1,000km² over a long distance.	200
Trainers
Archer	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	T.1	Image	* Jet Trainer (Hawk)	X,XXX
Hedgehog	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	T.1	Image	* Cargo Trainer (T-1 Jayhawk)	X,XXX
Filly	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	T.1	Image	* Advanced Prop Trainer (Super Tucano)	X,XXX
Ignatius	File:Nationalflag Kouralia.png Kouralia	T.1	Image	* Prop Trainer (Cirrus SR22)	X,XXX

Helicopters

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Image	Description	Numbers
Attack
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	Erdogan-based Gunship	X,XXX
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	Kawaski OH-1 Scout Helicopter	X,XXX
Utility/Multi-Mission
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	Lynx Wildcat in Utility, Specialist, Electronic Warfare, maritime	X,XXX
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	MD 530F/Boeing AH-6 in Utility, Reconnaissance, and Specialist roles	X,XXX
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	Medium Utility Helicopter in Utility, Maritime, and VIP Transport	X,XXX
Transport
Squire	File:KourGemballa Logo.JPG Gemballa	Something	Image	Heavy Lift Helicopter	X,XXX
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	VIP Transport	X,XXX
Trainer
Designation	Licana	Something	Image	Training Helicopter	X,XXX