Commonwealth Air Force

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Commonwealth Air Force
APAF flag.png
Active1919 - present
CountryArthurista
AllegianceCommonwealth Defence Forces
BranchAir Force
Size90,000 active, 40,000 reserve
Motto(s)Per Ardua ad Astra
MarchBattle March of the CAF

In theory, the Commonwealth Air Force is the main aerial warfare branch of the Commonwealth Defence Forces. It is, traditionally, the most neglected of the Commonwealth Defence Forces' three arms of services. Given the nation's maritime focus, and the penchance of its military planners to rely on surface-to-air missiles and ballistic missiles for air defence and deep strike respectively, the Commonwealth Air Force has compete with the more prestigious Fleet Air Arm for scarce resources.

Nevertheless, CAF provides significant capabilities to the CDF which the navy is unable to deliver. While the fleet operates strike aircrafts, CAF's land based heavy bombers offers far heavier offensive capability in terms of both payload and range, as well as playing a complementary role to maintaining sea superiority when equipped with anti-ship missiles.

Recently, Fighter Command has sought to replace its multitude of models with two high performance multirole fast jets: the 4.5 generation Tempest FGR.2/3, which will be deployed in bulk as the backbone of the air force, and a smaller number of 5th-generation UFC F-29 Hurricane fighters as a 'silver bullet' force for the most dangerous and demanding missions. The resulting savings in logistical and maintenace requirement ought to enhance the overall operability and readiness of Arthurista's fighter squadrons.

Fighter Command

The title 'Fighter Command' is a holdover from the 1930s. In reality, it is responsible for all tactical fast jets in the CAF's arsenal. The aircrafts it flies can roughly be divided into three categories: heavy fighters and interceptors, lightweight fighter-bombers and long range strike aircrafts.

In line with CDF's strongly defence-oriented setup, the focus of Arthuristah fighter designs has always been short-field performance and the ability to operate in a dispersed manner and take off from roads, enhancing the resilience of Arthuristan air power in the event of a full scale invasion of the island.

Bomber Command

CAF's Bomber Command commands the strategic bomber force, with a fleet based on the Continental Imperator. The Bomber Command was once the primary deliverer of Arthurista's strategic deterrent, before this role was taken over by the Commonwealth Navy. It also plays a vital part in supporting the Commonwealth's conventional forces by carrying out close support, deep strike and maritime strike operations.

Support Command

This branch is primarily responsible for logistics and transportation. Various variants of the Arthuristan Dynamics Centaur remain the mainstay tactical airlifter. The main strategic airlifters is the Globemaster.

Air Defence Command

Since the CAF is responsible for the strategic air defence of the nation, it is armed with numerous batteries of surface to air missiles independent to those of the army's. As of early-2014, its main weapons are the Scutum long range anti-ballistic missile, variants of the AD-12 Area Defence Missile, the Arrow anti-ballistic missile and the Lyran Skyguard.

Commonwealth Air Force Regiment

The CAF Regiment administers all ground forces which directly belong to the CAF. The majority of these are light infantry 'squadrons' (companies) used as force-protection units for airfields and other vital ground installations. It also trains the forward air controllers organic to each of the Commonwealth Army forward observation teams.

The CAF Regiment also commands two special operations units: the Ground Intervention Group and the Assault Retrieval Group. The former is tasked with providing specialist joint terminal air control and targeting support for Arthuristan special operations, whereas the latter is a specialist unit tasked with combat search and rescue operations.

Aircraft inventory

Fighter Command

Bomber Command

Electronic Warfare Command

Coastal Command

Support Command

Reconaissance Command

Training Command

Munitions

Air-to-air

Gravity bombs

Land/surface strike missiles:

Ballistic Missiles

  • Blueflash FOBS inter-regional ballistic missile (long-term storage)

Ballistic Missile Defence

Historical Aircrafts (post-1945)

Fighters

Strike

Bombers

AEW&C

Utility

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