Royal Calaréann Air Force

The Royal Calaréann Air Force or RCAF is the air branch of the Calaréann Defence Force. The RCAF has by world standards a moderate but potent combat force that has a proud history of proving itself to be capable against much larger forces.

The present size of the RCAF reflects the growing size and stature of the Calaréann Defence Force in general. However, the RCAF is able to boast a capable force of 106,864 full-time personnel and just over 1,857 aircraft, making is perfectly capable of defending Calaré's air space against an infraction from any foreign power. The professional head of the Royal Calaréann Air Force is the Chief of the Air Force Staff, currently Air Marshal Kieran Armstrong, who is assisted by the Air Commander to oversee the five operational groups that make up the modern air force. The Chief of the Air Force Staff in turn reports to the Chief of the Defence Force Staff, and is a member of the Joint Defence Headquarters Chiefs of Staff Council.

History
For more, see Military History of Calaré.

Civil War
The Royal Calaréann Air Force can trace its history back to the beginnings of the Civil War in 1996, when the first aviation elements of the Calaréann Militia were established. The decision to create an air arm was made by the central committee of the militia in a minute dated to the 14 April 1996. Initially, the Militia Air Command consisted of just three Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters seized from a private company operating from Orange Airport. The first commander of these helicopters was Peter Comerford, a former air force pilot who had settled in Calaré some years before the outbreak of the war.

Under Comerford's leadership, the helicopters were used for various transport and air attack roles throughout the early stages of the conflict. However by 1998, all of the helicopters had been either shot down or captured. It wasn't until after the Battle of Tarana that the militia again had some air capability, when two Australian Army Eurocopter Tiger helicopters were seized in the battle. Unlike the previous helicopters, the Eurocopters were a dedicated military helicopter, and were used to better effect, despite the great lengths taken to protect them from attacking forces.

Establishment of the RCAF
With the conclusion of the Civil War through the Treaty of Singapore in 2000, preparations were made for the creation of a permanent air force for the newly founded nation. This service, known as the Calaréann Air Force, was formed when Calaré became independent on the 31st October 2012, with Comerford as the first Chief of the Air Force Staff. In December 2002, the air force received a prefix of Royal, which became effective on 1 January 20103.

The new air force had to build a fleet of aircraft and helicopters almost from scratch, and had to acquire them on a very tight budget. Despite these limitations, the decision was taken by the government and senior planners within the defence force that the air force should maintain aircraft that were as modern as possible. It was also decided that Calaré would require an air force with strike capability. The government also decided that the air force would need a strong transport arm and that there would be no separate Army and Navy aviation arms. Instead just like New Zealand, the RCAF would be responsible for all aspects of aviation and would therefore require helicopters that could fulfil these roles. Although this decision was later reversed in 2009 as part of the strategic review known as the Calaréann Defence white-paper.

To that end, 18 attack helicopters for army missions and eight anti-submarine helicopters for naval missions were acquired by the air force between January 2003 and March 2005. Likewise, cheaper fourth-generation fighter jets were passed over in favour of fourth and a half generation fighters that were themselves on the cusp of becoming obsolete. In February 2002, New England had announced that it intended to fast-track the purchase 36 JAS 39 Gripen fighters from Sweden, and delivery of these craft began in February 2004. It was hoped that these fighters would give some ability to defend against the F/A-18 Super Hornets in the possession of the Australian Air Force.

From 2017, Australia would began to acquire the F-35 Lightning to replace the F/A-18 Hornet. This led to Calaré participating in projects to design and produce a fifth-generation fighter along with a number of European nations. These new craft are to be delivered in the early 2020s, and will give Calaré the ability to defend itself against those superior fighters acquired by her rival.

Six Day War
By the mid 2000s both sides were evenly poised with their air forces, with a variety of aircraft placed at their disposal in the event of open conflict. However, the events of the Six Day War in July 2005 did not see the great clash of air forces many had anticipated. On the morning of 5 July, the opening day of the conflict, the RCAF attacked and destroyed three Australian airbases and most of the aircraft on the ground there. The ability of RCAF to neutralise Australia's air capability in the first hours of the conflict meant that very little air warfare actually took place and no dogfights were recorded.

The only time Australia regained any air ability was with the assistance of the United States Navy and its aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. However this support proved to be short lived, with the carrier sunk on 9 July 2005. It was this loss of air capability that effectively ended Australia's ability to fight the war, and defeat came quickly afterwards. The war led to some serious lessons being learned by both sides, but these were particularly felt by Australia, with its air force having been caught off-guard by a surprise attack on the first day of the war. This was an action made all the worse by the inability of the air defence system to pick up on approach of the RCAF strike fighters.

Recent Times
Since the war, the RCAF has not directly participated in another military conflict. The Air Transport Group has been involved in peacekeeping operations, as well as assisting allied air forces from Europe on humanitarian operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Several squadrons have been rotated to duties with the Joint Taskforce Command to facilitate Calaré’s contribution to these missions.

For its part, the RCAF has continued its long partnership with European aerospace companies, with virtually all its fleet of fighters, helicopters, transport planes, and training aircraft coming from Sweden, the United Kingdom, or Western European countries. On all of these new generation projects, Calaré has been involved from the beginning therefore giving it a leading role in the design and construction of these aircraft. Most recently, Calaré's helicopter fleet was constructed locally on licence from its European parent.

Organisation
See also, Structure of the Royal Calaréann Air Force.

The entire RCAF constitutes a single command, known as the Air Command, which is responsible for the five groups that constitute the operational arm of the air force. Unlike the army, the air force is not structured along geographical lines, and instead organises itself into nationwide groups with various roles that give the RCAF it's operational capability. Each group is made up of regular, reserve and national service units.

Each group is composed of personnel trained to provide combat, combat support, transport, surveillance and training support to the air force. Each group is comprised of a number of wings, which are further subdivided into squadrons or units. The command of these units is held by a officer of lessening rank down to a squadron, which is led by a Wing Commander.

Establishments
See also, Establishments of the Royal Calaréann Air Force.

The air force maintains three primary combat airbases, plus a number of auxiliary stations across New England. The headquarters of the air force is located inside the Joint Defence Headquarters at Throsby House, Wollongong. The principal air force establishments are the three airbases; AFB Arrawatta, AFB Kiera and AFB Wagga Wagga. There are also eight radar stations scattered across the country, all of which carry the prefix of AFA or Air Force Auxiliary. The Air Force Reserve has units located on each of three operational airbases.

Aircraft
The Royal Calaréann Air Force currently operates 1,857 aircraft, with 1,479 fixed wing and 378 helicopters in service as of June 2012.