Royal Antoran Air Cavalry
Royal Corric Air Cavalry | |
---|---|
Caballería Aérea de Corric Réal | |
Founded | 24 September 1913 |
Country | Casilló y Réal |
Type | Air Force |
Role | Aerial warfare |
Size | 78,219 personnel |
Part of | Royal Corric Defense Forces |
Headquarters | Descarei, Casilló y Réal |
Motto | Ignis Vocat Honestos (Fire Calls the Honest) |
Anniversaries | 24 September |
Commanders | |
Chief Marshal of the Air Cavalry | Carlos Gamesa Palmas |
Wing Marshal | Ruben Linares |
The Royal Corric Air Cavalry (Corric: Caballería Aérea de Corric Réal, abbreviated CACR,) is the air force of Casilló y Réal. It was formed in 1913 in the waning years of the Great War as the Corric military modernized and the concept of combat aircraft became more widespread. Originally consisting of a few dozen lightly armed biplanes, the Air Cavalry expanded significantly in subsequent decades to become a key part of Corric defense policy. Efforts in the 1950s to design competitive attack craft paid off with the L-60 Mantarayya and the L-65 Tiburón, which have variants still in service today. The focus of the Air Cavalry shifted in the mid-1970s to airlift and transport, and the success of the aircraft produced for this purpose saw them enter the civilian market after several years.
The Air Cavalry saw two combat squadrons and one transport squadron go AWOL during the 1979 Corric Succession Crisis. These pilots took their aircraft, and were attempting to plan an attack on a major military target before they were arrested, tried, and imprisoned. The stolen aircraft where meanwhile scrapped due to the dishonor of being used by insurrectionists.
According to current doctrine, the Air Cavalry has four main goals: to defend the nation and its infrastructure and citizens from foreign aggression, to provide capacity to transport ground-based troops and equipment of the Royal Corric Defense Forces, to operate ground-attack capability against surface targets, and to operate as a surveillance and control element during warfare. As of 2021, the Air Cavalry has 78,000 active members and around 400 aircraft.
Organization
The Air Cavalry is made up of Brigades. There are four Air Brigades, which are made up of fighter craft, two Air Bombardment Brigades, which have the ground-attack and naval patrol craft, and two Transport Brigades, composed of heavy-lift planes, transport helicopters, and similar aircraft. Brigades are divided into Groups, which contain Squadrons as well as supply and support elements. Air Brigades have two Groups with two squadrons apiece. Air Bombardment Brigades have two Groups, each with three squadrons. Transport Brigades have three Groups with three Squadrons. Outside the Brigade structure are two specialized squadrons: the 33rd Refueling Squadron and the 34th Electronic Warfare Squadron. These special squadrons contain only two and four aircraft respectively.
Aircraft
The Air Cavalry operates 407 aircraft across its various Brigades with some being phased out of service over the coming years. The CACR does not have a dedicated modern fighter or interceptor airframe, which has been a point of contention for several decades. The General Staff are currently exploring new options as current inventory is sorted, including the Cryrian JAS 39E Gripen and the Volkian GA-20M and GA-36.
Combat Aircraft | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Photo | In service | Notes |
L-60 Mantarayya | Casilló y Réal | Ground attack aircraft | 22 | Being phased out | |
L-65 Tiburón | Casilló y Réal | Fighter-bomber | 36 | Being rotated to dedicated ground attack missions | |
L-72 Méro | Casilló y Réal | Light combat aircraft | 12 | Combination trainer and light combat aircraft | |
Maritime Patrol | |||||
U-85 | Casilló y Réal | Maritime patrol and surveillance | 8 | Patrol aircraft for detecting threats to coastal installations, shipping, territorial waters | |
U-47/AS | Casilló y Réal | Anti-submarine aircraft | 7 | Armed with sonar buoys, torpedoes, depth charges | |
Electronic Warfare | |||||
U-40 | Casilló y Réal | Electronic warfare and surveillance | 2 | Special deployment EWAR aircraft | |
Airborne Early-warning and Control | |||||
U-87/AEWC | Casilló y Réal | AEWC | 2 | Airborne battlespace control aircraft | |
Aerial Firefighting | |||||
UF-41 Aguacero | Casilló y Réal | Water bomber | 7 | Flying boat water bomber | |
H-13 Ilueva | Casilló y Réal | Helitack | 10 | Firefighter transport and water bomber | |
Transport | |||||
U-42 | Casilló y Réal | Utility and transport | 13 | Used for artillery spotting | |
U-87/T | Casilló y Réal | Transport | 30 | Standard personnel transport aircraft | |
U-89 | Casilló y Réal | Airlift | 4 | Strategic airlift capable | |
U-880 | Casilló y Réal | Transport/Tanker | 2 | Part of 33rd Refueling Squadron | |
Helicopter | |||||
H-23 Uro | Casilló y Réal | Multirole/air assault helicopter | 120 | Has gunship and attack helicopter variants | |
H-20 Marsopa | Casilló y Réal | Utility helicopter | 40 | Found most often in naval deployments | |
H-22 Macana 4 | Casilló y Réal | Naval utility | 35 | Has scout and SAR variants | |
H-17 Delfín | Casilló y Réal | Transport helicopter | 20 | Used as a heavy-lift helicopter | |
H-18 Delfín Rége | Casilló y Réal | Transport helicopter | 25 | Longer range than H-17 | |
Trainers | |||||
H-18 Delfín Rége | Casilló y Réal | Trainer aircraft | 12 | Cannot be converted to combat use |