The Zacapine Navy is the main expeditionary army of the Zacapine Armed Forces. It is built on the foundations of an oceangoing blue-water navy which serves the dual purposes of protecting the littoral flanks of the peninsular Zacapine homeland in southern Oxidentale as well as projecting power clear across the oceans of the southern hemisphere from the Ooreqapi to the Makria ocean. In terms of its budget and active manpower, it is by far the largest branch of the Zacapine military and is roughly equal to the Air Force and the Army combined in these two categories. The Zacapine Navy is built around a force of fixed-wing aircraft carriers and specialized amphibious warfare vessels which support the primary combat forces of the Naval Aviation and Naval Infantry corps. Within the Zacapine Armed Forces, the Zacapine Navy is considered to be the primus inter pares of the three service branches, both because of its larger size and budget and because it independently maintains the general capabilities of the other service branches and often to a greater degree of readiness, training and technological sophistication.
The doctrine of Naval primacy of the Zacapine Armed Forces is largely explained by the geography and history of Zacapican. The north of the peninsular mainland, the only region from which a land invasion could come, is generally hostile and difficult to traverse. The nature of the terrain, from the Mixtepemec and Tlaltenantli mountains to the arid Xallipan plateau, makes the movement of any major ground forces of any nation difficult to sustain logistically. Because of this, it requires an small active force to patrol and defend but does not pose a major concern for full scale invasion of the country nor have these territories demonstrated any real potential to serve as jumping off points for further Zacapine conquest northward. Conversely, Zacapican is relatively vulnerable to maritime aggression because of its heavy reliance on sea lanes in its transport network and the concentration of its population along the coasts because of the geography of the country's mountainous and inhospitable interior. This has compelled various Zacapine governments as far back as medieval Aztapamatlan to focus on the navy both as a means of defense and of projecting power and influence abroad. The Aztapaman Navy was one of the world's premiere maritime fighting forces during the age of sail, although it suffered defeats at the hands of the Mutulese and later fell behind in the adoption of new types of warship over the course of the 19th century.
The Zacapine Navy was founded in 1904, the year of the fall of Aztapamatlan to the Zacapine Revolution, with a small squadron of captured Aztapaman ironclad steamers and sail-powered warships. From its inception, the Navy was one of the world's pioneering forces in the development of aircraft carriers and carrier aviation. The very first new ships commissioned by the Navy were a series of seaplane tenders supporting a flotilla of seaplanes serving as both long range torpedo bombers and as a makeshift combat air patrol protecting the fleet from enemy aircraft. These would be phased out around the time of the Hanaki War in favor of various types of conventional aircraft carriers that have been in service ever since. The central concept of the Zacapine Navy since these early years has been for surface combatants to avoid protracted battle with the opposing navy in each side batters the other with naval artillery and attempts to withstand strikes with heavy armor, and to instead focus on naval aviation which would be able to strike at the enemy while putting the fleet in as little danger of retaliatory attacks as possible, thereby accomplishing the same or better results in combat with less steel and fewer causalities. This concept would later be elaborated on with the development of guided missiles, increasingly advanced aircraft and the advent of more sophisticated methods of amphibious warfare which would see the capabilities of the Zacapine Navy expand far beyond their original scope.
Organization
The Zacapine Navy operates under its own administrative organ within the Secretariat of Defense. Its chain of command places the Zacapine Tepachoani Zianya Xcaret at the top as the commander-in-chief of the overall military, followed by the Naval Chief-of-Staff who is currently Admiral Talen Xalla. The Navy is subdivided into five operational groups, or corps (tlactli) in the Navy's parlance, which specialize in different types of operations as part of the Navy's areas of responsibility. Each corps is commanded by an Admiral of Sub-Admiral assigned the office of Tlatolcuauhtic by the Chief-of-Staff. In total, the Navy commands 100,000 active service personnel, all of whom are volunteer career soldiers. A special dispensation of the Armed Forces Law in Zacapican allows the Navy to enact its own conscription policy independent of the rest of the military during times of war to expand its manpower pool as necessary to conduct its operations.
Surface Force
Subsurface Force
Naval Aviation
Naval Infantry
Maritime Security
Service Vessels
Carriers and amphibious assault ships
| Class
|
Type
|
Displacement
|
Note
|
| Teomictiani class |
Fleet Carrier (CVF) |
70,000-80,000 tonnes |
1 active, 1 under construction
|
| Hualtecalaquiani class |
Fleet Carrier (CVF) |
55,000-65,000 tonnes |
1 active
|
| Tlexochtototl class |
Light Carrier (CVL) |
25,000 tonnes |
2 active
|
| Huitzauhqui class |
Landing Platform Dock (LPD) |
25,500 tonnes (full load) |
2 active
|
| Ayocacallotl class |
Logistics Landing Ship |
6,700 tonnes |
7 active
|
| Acaxoch class |
High speed landing ship |
1,515 tonnes |
4 active, 1 under construction
|
Capital Ships
First-Rate Escorts
Second-Rate Escorts
| Class
|
Type
|
Displacement
|
Note
|
| Tlaocoxtica class |
Frigate (FF) |
3,200 tonnes |
12 active, 12 mothballed
|
| Tepoztopilli class |
Frigate (FFG) |
3,600 tonnes |
13 active, 2 under construction, 1 planned
|
Small craft
Submarines
Naval Aviation
The Zacapine Naval forces have a strong tradition of aviation dating back to the earliest days of the Armada. What began as a fleet of seaplane tenders and Flying boat quickly evolved over the course of the 20th century into a modern force of nuclear-powered fleet carriers, light carriers and naval landing ships augmented with a significant air fleet of land based aircraft operating from airfields across the territory of Zacapican and its allies. In terms of personnel and number of aircraft, the Naval Aviation Corps of the Armada outstrips the forces of the Zacapine Air Force.
Aircraft
| Name
|
Type
|
Description
|
| Tlo-45 Sea Condor |
Navalized Heavy Multirole fighter |
Primary heavy fighter of the naval aviation arm.
|
| Tlo-31 |
VTOL fighter |
VTOL fighter reserved for use aboard landing ship types.
|
| Xo-22 |
Marine strike craft |
Land-based anti-ship bomber.
|
| Mix-14A |
SAR helicopter |
Amphibious helicopter equipped with hoist and winch.
|
| Mix-14B |
Minesweeping helicopter |
Amphibious minesweeping helicopter, used to augment minesweeping ships.
|
| Mix-28 |
Attack helicopter |
Primary combat helicopter of the Marine forces.
|
| Mix-24 |
Attack and transport helicopter |
Auxiliary role attack helicopter with transport capacity for Marine use, gradually phased out for better optimized Mix-28.
|
| TC-26 |
Anti-ship ekranoplan |
Anti-ship strike ekranoplan used in quick reaction forces in conjunction with Xo-22 bombers.
|
| TC-14 |
ASW ekranoplan |
Primary ASW naval aviation craft, used for anti-submarine defense within range of friendly shores. Large numbers remain in service with Zacapine Navy and allies.
|
| Itz-31 |
Carrier capable VTOL AEW&C aircraft |
Primary radar system for carrier operations.
|
| T-50 |
AEW&C aircraft |
Airborne radar system used by Marine and Naval aviation.
|
| T-40 |
Amphibious ASW aircraft |
Amphibious anti-submarine and maritime patrol jet aircraft, augmenting TC-14 and escorting naval squadrons and civilian convoys.
|
| T-42 |
Amphibious SAR aircraft |
Search and rescue variant of T-40, capable of conducting rescue directly from the water's surface through amphibious landing and take-off. Equipped with inflatable rescue craft.
|
| CQT-Tlamichin |
Maritime patrol aircraft |
Primary maritime patrol aircraft.
|
| CB-1 |
Utility aircraft |
Utility aircraft used as SAR, patrol, transport and trainer aircraft. Capable of light air support and ground attack. Commonly used in support of Marine deployments.
|
| Ome-B30 |
Jet trainer |
Main Zacapine military jet trainer.
|
| Y-61 |
Turboprop trainer |
Main Zacapine military turboprop trainer, commonly used to initiate novice pilots at the begining of their training before flying the jet trainer.
|