Malgravean Air Force
| Military of The United Kingdom of Malgrave | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Headquarters | The Ministry of Defence, Epping (Civil HQ) Puffin Air Force Base, Epping (Military HQ) |
| Leadership | |
| Paragon-Queen | Helena Wlls |
| Minister of National Defence | Katia De Campo |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18-60 |
| Conscription | Not in Effect |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | MalDef |
| Foreign suppliers | KAE Systems |
The Malgravean Air Force is the aviation branch of the Malgravean Armed Forces. It is designed to achieve air supremacy, support other branches of the military and assist in the transport of supplies and troops to combat zones and areas troubled with disaster.
It is one of the oldest branches of the Malgravean Armed Forces having been established shortly after the establishment of the Malgravean state as a way to monitor and attack hidden Imerian insurgents and slaver forces that were then hidden on the original homeland, however, it has since evolved into a fully fledged combat service.
Due to the nature of aviation and defence spending in Malgrave, it is often joked that the Air Force is always stuck in at least one cycle modernisation. At present this is correct, as the air force is going through a major modernisation following on from recommendations from an earlier series of military exercises, with the Air Force replacing older interceptor, ground-attack and fighter aircraft with newly designed manned and unmanned aircraft.
History
The Malgravean Air Force was established shortly after the establishment of the Malgravean state in 1910. Initially, the Air Force was tasked with gathering intelligence on insurgents present in the original homeland and was instrumental in a handful of operations which resulted in the capture of Imerian prisoners and the liberation of a slave labourers, however, over the following two decades the Air Force developed into other combat operations providing support to local troops through bombardment and strafing runs on enemy positions.
Starting in 1915 the Air Force started to cooperate more closely with the Malgravean Royal Navy in an attempt to provide some of the benefits brought by advancements in aviation to the Royal Navy. Initially, the project focused on the establishment of coastal air bases maintained by the Royal Navy and Air Force to scout the surrounding waters around Malgrave for hostile fleets, however, in 1920 this changed as the Royal Navy started investigating launching aircraft from vessels.
At that point naval aviation was under the purview of the Royal Air Force, however, with the development of ship-based carrier aviation in the 20s this was moved over to the control of a naval aviation branch under the control of the Royal Navy, although, interservice cooperation between the Navy and the Air Force continued with multiple joint exercises carried out over the following years in an attempt to perfect new weapon platform and tactics.
In the short conflict between Imeriata and Malgrave prior to the Great Exodus, the Air Force cooperated heavily with the Royal Navy and Royal Army to strike against Imerian naval platforms and assist counter-offensives against Imerian positions. Both tactics enjoyed limited success, although, the Air Force sustained high casualties in these engagements and many pieces of equipment were purposefully destroyed prior to the exodus itself to prevent technology from being salvaged by the Imerians.
After the Great Exodus, the Air Force was invited to join a growing plot formed by dissatisfied members of the Royal Army, however, a majority of Air Force members refused this request. As a result in the early stage of the Malgravean Civil War a majority of defensive positions established by Malgrave were manned by a mixture of service personnel of the Air Force and Royal Navy.
Starting in the 1950s the Air Force was tasked with supporting a number of planned offensive operations by the Territorial Defence Force. Notable objections emerged within the Air Force to this course of action which was vindicated during Operation Swift in which assets from the Air Force were unable to provide proper support to the Territorial Defence Force due to shortages of fuel and ammunition.
After the failure of Operation Swift, the Air Force wasn't engaged in serious operation until the Battle of Pakosc when assets from the Royal Air Force flew several missions over Pakosc cementing air superiority over the region, delivering supplies to friendly units in the area and conducting key strikes against NWR positions. Such actions were praised heavily in the Royal Malgravean Times and used as an example to proclaim the recovery of the Air Force.
In the 1974 the Air Force was able to establish air superiority over the territories of the National Workers' Republic which presented them with the opportunity to conduct more aggressive operations against key NWR infrastructure and military bases. As a result, the Air Force was able to proclaim complete air supremacy over the NWR in 1977 which allowed them to assist operations of the Territorial Defence Force in the liberation of Aria in 1979.