Defense industry of Charnea

The Charnean defence industry manufactures war materiel for the Charnean Army as well as foreign clients. It makes up a small but highly developed sector of the Charnean economy, representing some of the most advanced indigenous manufacturing capabilities in Charnea. Most of the development in the defense sector is due to the Ninvite War-era arms embargoes imposed on Charnea which forced the government to establish indigenous production. In physical terms, the defense industry is highly concentrated in western Charnea with the majority of defense production centered in the greater Agnannet region as well as the far-western city of Ekelhoc. Some 20,000 Charneans are directly employed by the defense industry, with many more depending on the local economic stimulus generated by defense manufacturing plants for their livelihoods.

History

Pre-Embargo

The defense industry in Charnea represented a very minor contributor prior to the Ninvite War, both economically and in terms of portion of Charnean military equipment it manufactured. The only significant companies which manufactured equipment indigenously were the small arms manufacturer Kaokazuka and the Akayon Corporation. Akayon had its start in 1933, opening up as an indigenous military contractor set to build licensed foreign-designed vehicles for the needs of the Charnean Army. Akayon's first natively designed vehicle was the A45 Torka, which itself was largely derived from the design of Latin-built armored cars which had been delivered to the Army. The Torka proved to be a reliable workhorse prized by the Charnean military, which resulted in thousands of units being ordered from Akayon's factory in Agnannet. The resulting revenue was reinvested in further developments of more varied armored car chassis to serve the needs of the army. In this era, Charnean defense companies were focused either in sectors which the local industry could easily support, such as small arms and ammunition production, or in areas where the international arms market did not meet the specific demands of desert warfare requested by the Charneans, as was the case with Akayon's production of armored cars.

Ninvite War era

Charnea became subject to a multi-lateral arms embargo in 1977 as a result of its actions in the early years of the asymmetric campaign that would become known as the Ninvite War, which had escalated to the use of military force in 1974. Important arms suppliers such as Latium and Yisrael broke off their commercial arrangements with the Charnean military under political pressure from the international Gharbaic movement. Furthermore, the main import route for Belisarian-made weapons to reach Charnea lay through the Rubric Coast nations of Talahara and Tyreseia, which not only banned the sale of arms to Charnea but additionally blocked third parties from importing weapons to Charnea through their territory. This left the Charnean military with a rapidly diminishing supply of arms and ammunition at a time of unprecedented need, creating an explosion in unmet demand for weapons in Charnea. In the short term, this led to a growth in imports from nations such as the Mutul and Elatia which did not adhere to the arms embargo. More significantly, however, this led to the rapid growth and diversification of the Charnean defense industry, transforming it from a minor player of little significance to a highly developed competitor on equal standing with larger arms-exporting nations.

Akayon Corporation in particular was well positioned to expand into the emerging market for land vehicles due to its existing manufacturing base and 20 years of experience designing and building armored cars for the Army. The post-embargo years coincided with the beginning of development of the A84 Inabarom infantry fighting vehicle which, like the Torka before it, would become the standard workhorse of the Charnean Army following its introduction at the height of the Ninvite War. However, the embargo also allowed Akayon to diversify out of the niche of land vehicles and into more miscellaneous weapons manufacturing, namely the production of artillery and vehicle-mounted weapon systems such as anti-aircraft canons. The Ninvite War also saw the birth of the Charnean aircraft industry in the form of Eruere Enterprises, a venture sponsored by the Onekawan company Ahuriri Aerospace which allowed it to circumvent the embargo by manufacturing inside of Charnea through the Eruere subsidiary.

Companies

• Akayon Corporation - Armored vehicles, heavy weapons, artillery and ammunition
• Atri Industries - UAVs, missiles, electronics and radar equipment
• Eruere Enterprises - Airplanes and helicopters
• Kaokazuka - Small arms, mortars and infantry equipment

Products

Artillery

• K7 howitzer - 105mm artillery piece
• K5 howitzer - 155mm artillery piece
• S4 mortar - 60mm light mortar

Land vehicles

• A20 Akazaza - Infantry fighting vehicle
• A13 Abawen - Armored car
• A90 Aynod - Wheeled tank destroyer
• A84 Inabarom - Infantry fighting vehicle
• A68 Tizurdam - Armored car
• A45 Torka - Armored car
• Tohil Carryall - Mutulese-made truck chassis modified for military service

Aircraft

• Eruere Iguyas - Reconnaissance and light attack aircraft
• Eruere Taqqimt - Attack helicopter
• Eruere Azimbaw - STOL transport aircraft
• Eruere Ashwal - Light multi-purpose helicopter

Munitions

• Tiqeyyin-136 - Loitering munition
• Tiqeyyin-131 - Loitering munition
• TEL-6 Esayn - Air-to-ground Anti-tank guided missile
• TEL-4 Tegere - Anti-tank guided missile