The Azanian Armed Forces

The Azanian Armed Forces are the military forces of Azania. The military consists of five branches; the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Naval Infantry Corps, and the Coast Guard. The monarch of Azania serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and coordinates with the Ministry of Defence to develop and execute the military policies of the nation. The highest-ranking military official is the Chairman of the Defence Board, a position which is currently occupied by Gen. Lilanga Suku of the Azanian Army. Additionally, the National Ready Reserve of Azania operates as the premier reserve component of the military, providing trained military personnel from all TBD provinces of the country to the common defence of Azania.

Azania maintains the Nth largest unified military force in the world, with just under 1,260,700 active personnel, and another 784,176 reservists as of December 2019. Furthermore, the military operates with a budget of US$ 254 billion for the year 2020 according to the budget presented to Parliament in 2019. Much of the budget is allotted to the maintenance of personnel salaries, and the vast weapon stores throughout the country for the rapid mobilization of the population during wartime. Due to the large size of the population in the present and the past, the military has always been an all-volunteer force, with conscription barred in the constitution in 1890. Military service has been open to women since 1912, and women today make up about 21% of military personnel. The military of Azania was unified into a single institution in the Defence Act of 1922, which laid out the framework that would serve as the basis for all future operations of the Azanian Armed Forces. It likewise established the modern Azanian military as it exists today, recognizing the Air Force, Coast Guard, and Naval Infantry Corps as independent branches of the military, with distinct formations separate from the Army and Navy.

The armed forces have played a distinct role in the history of Azania, helping to expand the borders of the nation during its formative years, as well as defending its sovereignty during various points in the country's history. Following the successful defence and expansion of the country in the immediate aftermath of the Anglo-Azanian War, the Azanian military emerged as one of the most experienced fighting forces in the world, and the largest military force on the continent of Africa. Decades-long fighting against European powers bolstered the capabilities of Azania's military and helped establish Azania as an independent power on the world stage. Contributions to the defeat of the Axis Powers during World War II would likewise cement the reputation of the armed forces as one of the world's premier military institutions. Today, Azania maintains several military bases overseas in various African states and hotspots where a military presence is required.

Azania has not disclosed its nuclear capabilities to the United Nations and is not a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Azanian military is believed to have successfully developed nuclear weapons in 1979, with some nuclear weapons experts claiming the country has a stockpile of between 100–500 warheads, a claim which Azania has neither confirmed nor denied. Regardless of the status of its nuclear capabilities, Azania possesses a vibrant nuclear power grid and is well within the threshold of developing an arsenal of nuclear warheads and the delivery mechanisms for them if pushed to do so. Azania has unofficially sworn itself to a "no first use" policy if a nuclear conflict becomes inevitable, leading some within the international community to believe the country does indeed possess a nuclear arsenal.

History

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The history of the Azanian Armed Forces dates to 19 June 1650, when unified armies were created out of the forces of Kongo, Mutapa, Nguni, Lunda, and Luba, centuries before the Ushirikiano Conference marked the establishment of the State of Azania. The Azanian Navy was established on 13 October 1816, and Azanian Naval Infantry Corps, established on 10 November 1820, were created in close succession by order of the Azanian government to defend the new nation against piracy and the growing threat that was the British Empire.

Command structure

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TBD

Service branches

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The Azanian Armed Forces is composed of five coequal military service branches.

Army

The Azanian Army (Kiswahili: Jeshi la Azania) is the land warfare service branch of the Azanian Armed Forces. It is one of the five uniformed services of the State of Azania, and the most senior of the five as designated by the Constitution of Azania. Traditionally regarded as the most venerable of the armed services, the army can trace its origins to 1641, when the armies of the Kingdom of Kongo, Kingdom of Mutapa, and the Nguni Kingdom were placed under a unified command during the Second Portuguese War.

The army is administered by the Azanian Commission for Army Policy, which is overseen by the civilian Minister of Defence, who is a senior civil servant directly appointed by the prime minister of Azania. Working below the Minister of Defence is the Chief of Staff of the Azanian Army, who holds no command authority, but serves as a military advisor to the senior civilian head of the army. The chief of staff is the most senior army officer in the military, and a member of the Defence Board. The Azanian Army is the largest branch of the military, with the authorized strength in the 2020 fiscal year for the regular Azanian Army being TBD active duty personnel; the Azanian Army National Reserve had TBD personnel and the Azanian Army Regular Reserve with TBD personnel; providing a total combined force of TBD uniformed personnel.

Navy

The Azanian Navy (Kiswahili: Jeshi la majini la Azania) is the naval warfare branch of the Azanian Armed Forces and one of the five uniformed branches of the Azanian military. The navy boasts the world's second-largest carrier fleet, with four in active service, two undergoing trials, one under construction, and a fourth carrier planned. It has 237 deployable combat vessels out of a total of 392 warships, 1,054 operational manned aircraft, and 309,714 active duty personnel with another 93,777 navy reservists, making it the 3rd largest navy in the world in terms of tonnage and 3rd largest in terms of total personnel. The Azanian Navy is also one of the fastest-growing navies in the world, with an additional 200 combat vessels planned for construction over the next two decades following the decommissioning of nearly half of the navy's fleet during the post-Cold War era of the 1990s, and the realignment of the world's geopolitical stage.

The navy is administered by the Azanian Commission for Naval Policy, part of the Ministry of Defence, and is monitored and directed by a civilian holding the office of Commissioner for Naval Policy. The most senior member of the Azanian Navy is the Chief of Naval Staff.

Air Force

The Azanian Air Force (Kiswahili: Jeshi la anga la Azania) is the aerial warfare branch of the Azanian Armed Forces. The air force as it exists today was formed in March 1922, through the separation of the Azanian Army Air Corps from the Army, which in turn amalgamated the separate aerial services of both the Army and Navy.

The Azanian Air Force operates the majority of the Azanian Armed Force's aircraft, although both the Azanian Army and Azanian Navy also operate aircraft. The AAF provides support across a spectrum of operations such as air superiority, precision strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air mobility, space surveillance, and humanitarian support. The Azanian Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, attack aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft.

The air force is administered by the Azanian Commission for Air Force Policy and is overseen by a civilian holding the office of Commissioner for Naval Policy. The Azanian Air Force is commanded by the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), who is a member of the Defence Board.

Coast Guard

The Azanian Coast Guard is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the Azanian Armed Forces, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Azania's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actors. It is responsible for border protection in the exclusive economic zone of Azania and its coastline and issues such as illegal fishing and exploitation of natural resources, maritime terrorism and piracy, biosecurity threats, and marine pollution. The Coast Guard is additionally responsible for the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea, or to persons at risk of injury or death on the shoreline of Azania. It is a multi-agency command within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, making it the only military branch outside the Ministry of Defence. The military head of the Azanian Coast Guard is the Chief of the Coast Guard, who is assisted by the Vice Chief of the Coast Guard and Chief Warrant Officer of the Coast Guard.

In 1856 the Maritime Policing Force was established and is regarded as the immediate ancestor of the Azanian Coast Guard. Its primary objective was to prevent smuggling, but it was also responsible for assisting shipwrecks. The Coast Guard was officially established in the Defence Act of 1922 as an independent branch of the Azanian Armed Forces under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, superseding the Maritime Policing Force. The new Coast Guard inherited several shore stations and watchhouses from its predecessor bodies as well as coastal vessels, and these provided bases for its operations over the following years. In 1939, the civilian Azanian Lifesaving Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was subsequently made responsible for the provision of coordinated search and rescue services along the entire Azanian coastline.