Royal Antoran Air Cavalry
Royal Andoran Air Cavalry | |
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Caballería Aérea de Andora Réal | |
Founded | 24 September 1913 |
Country | Andora |
Type | Air Force |
Role | Aerial warfare |
Size | 68,219 personnel |
Part of | Royal Corric Defense Forces |
Headquarters | Descarai, Casilló y Réal |
Motto | Somos Rapidos y Furiosos |
Colors | Sky, Teal, and Gold |
Anniversaries | 24 September |
Commanders | |
Chief Marshal of the Air Cavalry | Carlos Gamesa Palmas |
Wing Marshal | Ruben Linares |
The Royal Andoran Air Cavalry (Corric: Caballería Aérea de Andora Réal, abbreviated CAAR,) is the air component of the Royal Andoran Defense Forces. It was formed in 1938 after the Great War as the Andoran military modernized and the concept of combat aircraft became more widespread. Originally consisting of a few dozen lightly armed monoplanes, the Air Cavalry expanded significantly in subsequent decades to become a key part of Andoran 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 1987 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. In 2022, the Air Cavalry was renamed as part of a national adoption of the name Andora.
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 Andoran 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 68,000 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.
Personnel
In 2020, the CACR possessed a strength of 68,219 active members and 10,188 reservists. The civilian personnel component made up approximately 60% of these numbers, most working in maintenance, logistics, and damage control. In 2021, the Royal Andoran Defense Forces began a significant downsizing and modernization effort to reduce bloated service numbers and replace old equipment from the mid-1900s. The General Staff have indicated they would like to reduce the Air Cavalry in size to 38,000 soldiers and 4,000 reservists by mid-2022.
Training
The Air Cavalry operates three primary training institutions. The Descarai Combat Academy, the largest military college in the nation, has basic and advanced courses detailing air warfare doctrine and practices. The two practical training programs, located at Fort Lluvieré Air Base and Fort Bugrí Air Reserve Base, cater to both military and civilian aviation, with the Stratosphere Program at Fort Lluvieré reserved for selected pilot cadets destined for elite service. Training starts with the basic T-12 Perro prop aircraft and then graduates to the L-72 Méro light combat trainer.
Aircraft
The Air Cavalry operates 391 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 upgraded the fighter inventory in late 2021 with the purchase of 24 GA-20M and 36 GA-36s from Volkia and 12 JAS-39E Gripens from Cryria, replacing the 56 L-65 Tiburóns that had been in service since the 1970s and the 32 L-60 Mantarayyas from the 1950s. The Mantarayyas were sold as scrap and the Tiburóns sold to the Company of the Quill as their new air wing.
Combat Aircraft | |||||
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Aircraft | Origin | Type | Photo | In service | Notes |
GA-20M | Volkia | Air superiority fighter | 24 | Newly purchased Volian dedicated air superiority fighter | |
JAS-39E Grifón | Cryria | Air superiority fighter | 12 | Newly purchased Cryrian multirole air superiority fighter | |
GA-36 | Volkia | Interceptor | 36 | Newly-purchased Volkian high-speed interceptor | |
L-72 Méro | Andora | Light combat aircraft | 12 | Combination trainer and light combat aircraft | |
Maritime Patrol | |||||
U-85 | Andora | Maritime patrol and surveillance | 8 | Patrol aircraft for detecting threats to coastal installations, shipping, territorial waters | |
U-47/AS | Andora | Anti-submarine aircraft | 7 | Armed with sonar buoys, torpedoes, depth charges | |
Electronic Warfare | |||||
U-40 | Andora | Electronic warfare and surveillance | 2 | Special deployment EWAR aircraft | |
Airborne Early-warning and Control | |||||
U-87/AEWC | Andora | AEWC | 2 | Airborne battlespace control aircraft | |
Aerial Firefighting | |||||
UF-41 Aguacero | Andora | Water bomber | 7 | Flying boat water bomber | |
H-13 Ilueva | Casilló y Réal | Helitack | 10 | Firefighter transport and water bomber | |
Transport | |||||
U-42 | Andora | Utility and transport | 13 | Used for artillery spotting | |
U-87/T | Andora | Transport | 30 | Standard personnel transport aircraft | |
U-89 | Andora | Airlift | 4 | Strategic airlift capable | |
U-880 | Andora | Transport/Tanker | 2 | Part of 33rd Refueling Squadron | |
Helicopter | |||||
H-23 Uro | Andora | Multirole/air assault helicopter | 80 | Has gunship and attack helicopter variants | |
H-20 Marsopa | Andora | Utility helicopter | 33 | Found most often in naval deployments | |
H-22 Macana 4 | Andora | Naval utility | 42 | Has scout and SAR variants | |
H-17 Delfín | Andora | Transport helicopter | 20 | Used as a heavy-lift helicopter | |
H-18 Delfín Rége | Andora | Transport helicopter | 25 | Longer range than H-17 | |
Trainers | |||||
T-12 Perro | Andora | Trainer aircraft | 6 | Cannot be converted to combat use |