Armed Forces of Zahava

The Sanctorus Imperialis Militarum sometimes referred to simply as the Militarum, is the armed forces of The Imperium of Zahava. The Militarum consists of five service branches, Imperial Army, Imperial Navy, Imperial Air Corps, Frontier Troops, and Imperial Guard. Units are assigned to one of four theater commands known as Themes which are based on geographic location. The Militarum is the worlds largest military force in terms of manpower and equipment, and has an annual budget of 255 billion dollars annually. In recent years the Militarum has undertaken great measures to upgrade and modernize its forces, with particular attention being given to the navy.

The Militarum is under the direction of the general staff who work in concert with the Administratum of War. The commander in chief of the Militarum is the Primogenitor. In times of crisis the Imperial frontier troops, along with the national police the Ordo Custodes serve as additional reserve and support elements for the Imperial army.

Military Themes


The Imperium is broken up into four distinct military districts, known domestically as themes. Within each Theme each service branch carries out primarily administrative duties such as training, equipping, and maintenance of equipment while the Theme command exercises operational control. Theme commands are typically made up of general grade officers, with at least one officer from the various service branches operating within the respective Theme. One officer, typically assigned by the General staff serves as the chief officer in charge of each Theme, with all other service branch commanders serving under them. This system is set up to ensure the carrying out of combined arms operations across all service branches is streamlined, effective, and additionally allows a theme to independently respond to a situation as it arises without need for direction or authorization from the general staff or administratum of War. Each theme command also has a liaison for the custodes, and other lower level civilian security and intelligence groups to coordinate efforts between the military and civilian national security groups when the need arises.

Imperialis Akritarii
The Imperialis Akritarii (The Imperial Formations) known commonly as the Akirtarii is the component of the Militarum responsible for conducting land warfare. The Akritarii has around 975,000 personnel, down from over a million following the 2000 military reforms. The Akritarii account for over half of the Militarum's total manpower. The Akritarii are dispersed over the four theme commands, and are reinforced by civilian national security organizations during times of crisis and can call on an additional 525,000 reserve forces. Roughly 75 percent of all Akritarii divisions and brigades are now mechanized, or armored, doubling the percentage of such forces available in 2000. Additionally in 2017 two two amphibious mechanized divisions were also established.

As part of the 2014 reforms, the total number of Akritarii manpower has decreased to free up funding for overall modernization programs, as well as special emphasis being placed on advancements and improvements in special operations, information technology, electronic and information warfare, the deployment of integrated battlefield information networks, command and control systems, satellite communications, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems, deployment and advancement of high tech weapons systems, as well as an emphasis on conducting by 2021 the Akritarii is expected to be fully mechanized apart from reserve forces and the formation of two additional amphibious mechanized divisions to established what will be known as the first imperial expeditionary corps will be complete.

Imperialis Nautika

The Imperialis Nautika (Imperial Navy) known commonly as just the Nautika is the component of the Militarum responsible for conducting naval warfare. Historically the Nautika was a great source of national pride, although begging in the late 1800s and into the early 1900s the Nautika was in a steady decline, being eclipsed by other world powers and taking on a role more closely aligned to a coast guard, and geared towards supporting the Akritarii.

This changed in the mid 1970s when a program of modernization began, largely the Nautika focused on the development and construction of submarines leaving the surface fleet to remain in a strictly defensive role. This again changed in 2000 when a shift towards modernization of surface vessels began and the development of the two fleet system was first adopted. The home fleet, would remain a largely defensive force, while the Imperial High Seas Fleet would be designed to serve as a to include the construction of at least three aircraft carriers, two escort carriers and one fleet carrier, the escort carriers were completed in 2018 and in mid 2019, while the fleet carrier is expected to enter service in late 2020.

The Nautika operates a naval infantry force of 30,000 broken up into six brigades, and 28,350 personnel serving in the naval aviation wing operating several hundred attack helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft both from vessels and coastal naval facilities.

Imperialis Aeronautica

The Aeronautica Imperialis (Imperial Air Corps) is the aerial warfare branch of the Militarum, fielding in excess of 2,000 aircraft. The vast majority of fixed-wing aircraft in the Militarum falls under its command, and as such it is closely integrated with the other service branches at the operational level. It is responsible for safeguarding the airspace of the Empire, as well as providing air support to the rest of the Militarum and projecting force in foreign territory

Imperialis Praeceps

Sanctorus Imperialis Praeceps (Frontier Troops), commonly referred to simply as the Praeceps are the border defense force of the Empire, responsible for preventing unauthorized access to Imperial territory from the land and sea. These forces man border checkpoints across the frontier and operatea number of ships and aircraft for coastal and harbor defense. Praeceps also maintain checkpoints in every international airport in Imperial territory. The Praeceps also work closely with the Ordo Custodes in enforcement of Imperial Law and dealing with civil unrest

In the event of war, the Praeceps serve as a stop-gap force intended to delay an invading army long enough for forces of the Stratia to arrive in strength.

Ordo Hetaeri

The Ordo Hetaeri (Order of Companions) is tasked with providing personal security for all Imperial residences, and for providing personal protection to all members of the Imperial family.

Ordo Scholari

The Ordo Scholari (Order of the Scholars) are tasked with providing security for all shrines, temples, and other religious sites, as well as providing personal security for ranking religious figures

Zahavan General Staff

The General Staff is the joint command organ and the headquarters for which all the Zahavan armed forces answer to. The general staff is headed by the Chief of the general staff.

The general staff serves as the chief operations command with primary duties being studying and planning of the strategic aspects of warfare and drafting of battle plans or campaigns.

Strategos

The Strategos serves as a body and while consisting of members of both the Ordo Externus and Ordo Custodes, the Madda organization operates independently in order to provide an entirely intelligence-focused assessment to the Emperor, the ministry of war, and the general staff.

Ordo Externus

The Imperial Foreign Intelligence Ministry, or Ordo Externus serves as the main foreign intelligence gathering component of the Imperial armed forces. Tasks include identifying, monitoring, foreign agents operating within the Empire. Additionally the Ordo Externus is responsible for the operation of Imperial assets operating in foreign countries

Ordo Custodes

The Imperial Security Directorate, or Ordo Custodes, commonly referred to simply as the Custodes is the main state security service of the Empire. The official responsibilities of the Custodes are the physical protection of Imperial citizenry government officials and buildings; the uncovering and neutralization of plots against the same. Though not specifically named, these responsibilities are understood to encompass domestic and foreign intelligence gathering, counterintelligence activities, and anti-terrorism operations. The Ordo Custodes are most noted for being deployed against individuals or organizations deemed enemies of the state by the Imperial government.

Intellegentius Administratum

A national-level intelligence agency, responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The Intellegentius Administratum is also tasked with the protection of Imperial communications networks and information systems.

Service
The military service is held in three different tracks: Regular service – mandatory military service which is held according to the Zahavan Conscription law Permanent Service – military service which is held as part of a contractual agreement, these are the full time professional soldiers Reserve service – a military service in which citizens are called for active duty of at most a month every year, for training activities and ongoing defense activities and especially for the purpose of increasing the military forces in case of a war.

Women
Women have served in the medical and logistics services since 1960. Until 1991 women were restricted from serving in certain services and combat roles, since 1991 women have been permitted to serve in all functions of service without restriction so long as they are capable of meeting the same requirements and standards as males in the same role.

Mission
The Mission of the Zahavan Armed Forces as outlined in the constitution is as follows:
 * To defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation, and to defend its population against foreign or domestic armed aggression.
 * To render assistance in the case of natural catastrophes and disasters of exceptional magnitude, and engagement in international crisis response operations.
 * To support national policy and protect Zahavan interests
 * To Protect the Monarch of Zahava

Doctrine
The Zahavan General Staff at the Royal War College in conjunction with representatives of the ministries of War, Interior, Public Security and Foreign Affairs produce a every four years, which is broken down into three parts, the report is known as the National Defense Brief and is submitted to the Emperor and Ordo Custodes.

Part one lists what are believed to be the most immediate threats to Zahava, proposes policies to minimize or eliminate these threats. What is currently being done to eliminate or minimize the threats, and what systems or procedures are inadequate. The Second part lists projects which the joint general staff wish to see developed, as well as what the projected costs for each program will be. The last part of the report outlines the current military budget and provides extrapolations giving a general idea of what the military budget required, proposed, and desired would be for the next four years. Coupled with reports from the various other ministries the national defense brief determines the structure of funding until the next report.

The National Defense Brief is a highly classified document, although sanitized versions of the report are submitted to the media and disclosed to the public.

Part I
Immediate Threats:


 * Cyber warfare attacks carried out by individuals or hostile states against state and private infrastructure

Part II
Policies and Means to neutralize threats to the State


 * Further development and integration of existing cyber warfare monitoring and defense systems, Establishment of Specialized military network warfare forces, Further development of offensive cyber warfare and intelligence systems. Establishment of new cyber warfare and intelligence research and education centers

Weapons and Equipment


Some of Zahava's military equipment is imported, and used as is, or adapted for Zahavan use such as. Zahava has also developed its own independent weapons industry, which has developed weapons and vehicles such as the

Zahava has also produced a number of remote controlled weapons platforms, which can include machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles on a remotely operated turret attached to various vehicles or fortifications. The Zahavan armed forces also posses a number of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles used for observation and reconnaissance, and possess advanced combat engineering equipment from armored bulldozers to ground based robots and other mine or explosive clearing vehicles.

The Zahavan armed forces also has several large internal research and development departments, and it purchases many technologies produced by these Zahavan security industries. Many of these developments have been battle-tested in Zahava's numerous military engagements with neighboring countries or rebel groups, making the relationship mutually beneficial.

Chemical and Biological Weapons


Since the early 1900's the Zahavan armed forces have researched, developed, and produced a wide variety of biological and chemical weapons agents, with production peaking in the 1970s. Until 2015 it was believed the stockpiles of such weapons were being destroyed, however the government, under pressure following a security leak has acknowledged one facility for the purpose of producing, and storing stockpiles of chemical agents. The government has not commented on the size of its chemical or biological weapons stockpile, nor has the government disclosed which chemical and biological agents it has produced or possess.

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