Zacapine Navy

Zacapine Navy
Active	1904-present
Country	Zacapican
Allegiance	Zacapine Armed Forces
Branch	Navy
Size	100,000 active
Nickname(s)	Red Fleet
Motto(s)	Fire upon the waves

The Zacapine Navy is the main expeditionary army of the Zacapine Armed Forces. It is built on 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.

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

Class	Type	Displacement	Note
Huitzilopochtli class	Battleship (BB)	72,000 tonnes	Museum ship
Nezhualcoyotl class	Acalchimalli	5,100 tonnes	Museum ship

First-Rate Escorts

Class	Type	Displacement	Note
Nochcalima class	Cruiser (CGN)	9,800 tonnes	7 active, 2 under construction
Itzpapalotl class	Strike Destroyer (DDS)	8,800 tonnes	5 active
Xiuhcozcatl class	Frigate (FFG)	6,000 tonnes	5 active
Tlacochtecuhtli class	Destroyer (DDG)	5,000 tonnes	5 mothballed

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

Class	Type	Displacement	Note
Tecpatl class	Offshore patrol vessel	2,420 tonnes	12 in service.
Quauhololli class	Offshore patrol vessel	1,427 tonnes	Gradually mothballed
Huiteconi class	Inshore patrol vessel	54 tonnes
Tlecuilli class	Minesweeper	750 tonnes	12

Submarines

Class	Type	Displacement	Note
Ezcoatl class	Attack submarine (SSN)	16,000 tonnes	6 active
Matoyahuiani class	Cruise-missile submarine (SSGN)	10,300 tonnes	8 active
Tzontemoctli class	Attack submarine (SSK)	6,455 tonnes	5 active

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.

Naval Infantry

The Naval Infantry (𐐣𐐬𐑅𐐯𐑊𐐬𐐿𐐶𐐨𐐽𐑋𐐯 𐐀𐑊𐐸𐐶𐐨𐐿𐐰-𐐰𐐻𐑊, Moceloquichme Ilhuica Atl, lit. "Ocean Troops") are the ground combat forces of the Zacapine Navy. They originated as the naval landing forces of the Armada taking the form of landing parties and shore parties drawn directly from the manpower of the warships present, often using the lifeboats of their vessel to land these infantrymen on shore. The original purpose of these landing units was to secure a beachhead for troop transports, under the command of the Army, to make an unopposed landing and carry out the bulk of the ground combat. However, the capabilities of the Naval Infantry would be greatly expanded over time to grant the Armada greater flexibility, reduce the planning time of amphibious operations by cutting out the time consuming coordination with the Army, and overall assert total independence of the Admirals from the Generals. The modern Naval Infantry are no longer a purely infantry force, being highly mechanized and equipped with some of the most advanced armored vehicles and heavy equipment available to the Zacapine military.