Fuerza Aérea Venezolano

The Rys clawed its way over the knife-steep margin of the valley, rotors clattering, and Coronel Hector Tamoguchi rolled it into a dive down towards the muddy brown stream that no-one had ever graced with a name of its own.

“Pantera Flight, cleared hot,” the Cazadore Aérea FAC called from his observation site somewhere on the valley wall. “Storm Warning in three, two, one…”

Whether he said anything more was lost in the eruption as two Wellonese-built Hurricane UCAVs tore down the valley leaving sixteen 100Kg cluster munitions in their wake. The explosions saved Hector the trouble of acquiring the target through triple canopy jungle and he brought the Rys onto a new heading, straight for the remnants of the BLI camp. Speed built in the dive and the rotor noise diminished, the smart material of the blades automatically flattening them into the airflow to minimise drag. There were still huts and bunkers standing despite the onslaught, triple canopy made for pretty good improvised armour, and Hector started designating targets for the Granit pods clinging to the fuselage sides.

His wingman had argued for stand-off munitions, but Hector had overridden him, he preferred a weapon that let him see what he was doing, particularly in an operational zone where the counter-air threat was low. 

“Fuego,” he whispered into the fire control system and a dozen Granits leapt from their pods, exploding into the camp to add to the confusion. Behind them the quartet of Bakkie canard-rotor/wings with the assault element would be rolling into the valley, but if Hector could finish the job before they were down then that was fine with him.

“Boat breaking downstream,” his sensor operator called and Hector flared and pivoted the Rys, the rotors beating hard once more as speed bled off.

“Select plasma gun,” Hector ordered the aircraft, the targeting reticle leaping to life in his visor. He centred it on the fleeing motorized canoe, but it exploded into flame before he could fire, the Petit Duc tactical UCAV firing from the hover where it sheltered in the canopy at the edge of the river, proving once more that if you fought smart then the jungle wasn’t the friend of Juanito Indio, it was his graveyard.

Hector kicked rudder and the Rys slewed back towards the camp. His wingman was just climbing away from his own pass and there were no obvious targets left, just flames and bodies.

“Payback,” Hector muttered, touching his fingers to his lips and then to the holo tacked to the canopy frame. “But not enough, never enough.”

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Dan Hebditch and James Boschma for comments and criticism during this article’s extended gestation. This article draws very heavily on James’ article on the Ejército Venezolano and the Insurrecto problem, the Wo-170 and Wo-171 are also James’ creations, Various weapons systems mentioned here are the creations of James, Dan Hebditch and others. 

History

Twilight – the Colonels

When the Twilight War erupted in Europe and Asia most of Central and South America decided to stay on the sidelines and retain strict neutrality. This was more difficult for Venezuela than for other nations as Venezuelan oil production made them a strategic target. Historians working from surviving records have made a convincing case that elements within the Venezuelan government were selling oil to both the US and to Mexico, Cuba and the Soviet forces in Mexico and Texas. It is unclear from the evidence which side took umbrage, but the effects were devastating, with nuclear warheads targeting the major oil facilities and terminals. A low yield warhead targeted on Caracas appears to have been deliberately intended to decapitate the government and reduce the country to chaos. It was largely successful.

In the chaos, the heads of the Ejercito and Fuerza Aérea, in reality figureheads for a cabal of middle-ranking officers led by a rogue paratroop colonel, tried to put themselves in power. To their considerable surprise (and that of the government) several military units rallied to the defence of the civilian politicians, who were trying to coordinate relief efforts from the city of Maracay. Prominent amongst those was 2 Escadron de Caza, commanded by Coronel Felipe Jiminez. 2o Escadron was a shadow of itself with two aircraft, three pilots and a few dozen ground personnel, but those two aircraft were F-16 Falcons and possibly the most potent aerial force left in the South American continent. Over the course of the next three days Coronel Jiminez and his handful of men destroyed seventeen rebel aircraft, ranging from F-5s to Beech Barons and an ancient C-47 attempting a coup de main paradrop, they also undertook ground attack missions against the rebel ground columns and are judged by all the significant histories of the campaign to have been the single factor that kept the civilian government in power. Coronel Jiminez refused promotion from his grateful government, but became the de-facto head of the Venezuelan military

The aftermath of the nuclear strike combined with the coup and the low-intensity civil war which followed left the surviving government of Venezuela in no state to intervene outside its borders and when the Second Cisplatina War opened between Argentina and Brazil in 1998 Venezuela declared a policy of strict neutrality. In practice Venezuela’s neutrality leaked black gold as local commanders dealt under the counter to tramp freighters from either side, but neither Brazil nor Argentina were in a position to threaten Venezuela, an already nuked state being a target-poor environment.

Dawn – Latino Traders

Venezuela was slow to recover from the Twilight War. Venezuela’s industrialization had been driven by her status as the only Latin American member of OPEC and lacked the breadth and depth found in places like North America and Europe. The first priority of the government had to be feeding its people, but rehabilitating the oil fields and restoring some refining capacity was next in priority. Even with some oil flowing again the problem of restoring the Venezuelan economy was far from solved. Oil states are dependent on international trade and significant international trade was non-existent for many years after the nuclear exchange. An early priority for Venezuela as it started to find its feet again was therefore the construction or repair of sufficient shipping to allow it to find customers even if they weren’t yet up to reaching Venezuela themselves. Without really planning for it, the Venezuelans jump-started the economies of hundred of communities up and down the Atlantic seaboards of both North and South America (there was some Venezuelan presence on the Pacific seaboard, but damage to the locks of the Panama Canal meant that this was predominantly round the Cape traffic with the distances involved mostly considered prohibitive. The threat from pirates (or ‘customs vessels’ as New America insisted on describing its limited naval forces) saw the Venezuelan Navy the first of the services to expand again, deploying a class of long range patrol craft modelled on USCG high endurance cutters as escorts. The Air Force went with them, flying float-equipped ultra-lights as scouts off both the patrol craft and the tankers. The most significant action of this period was a battle in the Florida Straits between the New American privateers Racial Purity, Liberty and Manifest Destiny and the Venezuelan patrol craft Independencia, together with the 5000t tankers Palo Negro and Barquismeto. The battle cost the Venezuelans two ultralights and the Independencia, but sent all three New American vessels to the bottom. The success of the ultralights in sinking the Racial Purity with a napalm strike has always meant that the Venezuelan AF regards itself as part of the carrier aviation tradition.

Rebirth – New Threats

As Twilight faded from living memory Venezuela was once more a prosperous state, but the race memory of the nuking of the oil facilities by an unidentified trading partner made her very cautious of foreign involvements and consecutive governments were extremely happy to see Brazil taking on the role of regional policeman. They were less pleased by Mexican expansionism and focus swung back from the Navy, now less needed in a generally peaceful, lawful world, to the Ejercito and air force. As Mexican borders grew ever closer the Venezuelan government realised that their policy of isolationism could no longer guarantee their territorial integrity. Venezuela needed allies, but choosing an ally close to home would inevitably draw Venezuela into one of the two factions coalescing around the Brazilian or Mexican/Argentinian axes, and risk committing them in a continental war. Equally, while France, or increasingly Manchuria, would have been able to guarantee Venezuela’s independence as a nation, the cost would have been their own independence as a political force. Venezuela therefore sought allies from second rank states overseas, establishing links with Bavaria, Russia, Japan and, to a lesser extent, the United States.

Neutrality, backed by powerful allies, served Venezuela well for a century and a half, unfortunately in recent decades the strategic situation has evolved beyond that. Mexican expansion has swallowed up every state between it and Venezuela and the last near neutrals who could potentially ally with Venezuala as a bloc separate from either Mexican or Brazilian control went under with the birth of the Incan Republic. Venezuelan policy is increasingly dominated by the conviction that ‘we’re next’. The Incan-inspired insurgency in Amazonas has only convinced the Venezuelan military that time is running out and sub-rosa contacts with the Brazilian and French militaries have been increasing, not all of them with government approval.

Current Strategic Issues

International Ties

The FAV retains overt relationships with few foreign air forces as a sop to Venezuela’s supposed neutrality. Former links with the Bayerische Fliegertruppe have withered since German re-unification and now only Russia is a significant partner, with a handful of FAV pilots serving on exchange tours with the Russian Air Force (several FAV pilots were decorated by both Russia and Bavaria during the CAW, equally several Russian exchange pilots have received Venezuelan recognition for operations over Amazonas). A very few aircrew, mainly from Grupo Aérea de Patrulla have served with the Japanese forces. Covertly, links are much wider, with a FAV coordinating cell operating within the French Aerospace Control facility on Ile du Diable. As a FAB cell also operates at Ile du Diable it can be assumed the Venezuelans and Brazilians are in regular contact. Equally, Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales has growing, but largely unadvertised, links with the US Special Operations community

The Insurrectos

Even with the Mexicans poised at the border, the Insurrectos have been the FAV’s primary threat for the past decade. Routing them out on the ground is necessarily a job for the Ejercito and the intelligence services, but the FAV has been required to provide both movement and fire support for the Ejercito, particularly in Amazonas, at the same time that it provides security for its own installations and dependents. Initially the FAV attempted to fulfil these missions from within its existing structure, but it became rapidly apparent that it was less than perfectly suited to the role. However the FAV hierarchy was flexible enough to recognise this and to allow the evolution of Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales under the control of younger officers with the flexibility to adapt to a less structured form of warfare. GAOE has become very successful in the last few years, but with that success has come tension within the FAV, with the organisation more divided than it has been at any time since the Twilight War.

Death Over the Jungle

On 27th August 2297 FAV scored a major own goal in the so-called Freedom Air Incident. Airborne monitoring by a FAV Zvezda showed an aircraft on a supply run between known Insurrecto airstrips on the Incan side of the border. A Grupo de Caza Grad flying the regular CAP orbit over Amazonas was tasked to intercept and launched a single Kristal LRAAM from within Venezuelan airspace. The missile impacted the target which was destroyed. Within a few hours, Incan media sources were showing the wreckage of a Vías Aéreas De La Libertad Mensajero passenger aircraft, and the bodies of those killed in the incident. Unfortunately for the Venezuelans these included a minor Australian starlet holidaying in the area, guaranteeing that the Anglo-speaking media would echo the story worldwide. The political fallout was considerable and the personnel involved in the attack decision, from pilot to operational commander, were forced to resign their commissions. 

An investigation by Venezuelan intelligence eventually concluded that Insurrecto agents had hacked the FAV’s C4I system, deleting the information that would have identified the aircraft as a scheduled flight and substituting information that guaranteed it would be targeted. Unfortunately this was too complex a tale to be interesting to the media and the FAV has had to live with the ignominy of targeting a civilian airliner. A major upgrade in C4I network security was subsequently funded as a matter of urgency.

Order of Battle

Ever since the Twilight War the FAV has combined the functional and operational divisions found in other airforces into the single Grupo Aérea structure and has made it work. All squadrons holding a particular role are assigned to the Grupo Aérea for that role and numbered consecutively within the Grupo (although some squadrons have retained heraldry and titles from the pre-Twilight organisation). Of late the system has been breaking down with the massive expansion of Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales, which is felt by Grupo Aérea de Attaque, Grupo Aérea de Transporte and Grupo Aérea de Defensa to be infringing on their territory.

Grupo Aérea de Caza	 “Coronel Felipe Jiminez”	Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay	1e Escuadron	“Dragones” BoRT-23 Shkval (16)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	2e Escuadron	“Caribes” BoRT-13 Smerch-M (12)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	3e Escuadron	“Gavilanes” BoRT-16 Grad-M  (8)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay

Grupo Aérea de Attaque	Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	1e Escuadron	“Diabolos” BoRT-17 Uragan-M (6)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	2e Escuadron	“Los Linces”Andersson An-84 Rottkappchen  (8)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	3e Escuadron	“Los Lupos” Andersson An-84 Rottkappchen  (8)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	4e Escuadron	“Halcones” Komarov Ko-15 Stepnoj Orel  (12)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	5e Escuadron	“Grifos” Komarov Ko-15 Stepnoj Orel  (10)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay

Grupo de Caballeria Aérea	Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	1e Escuadron	“Caciques” Tikhonov Ti-4 Medved (7)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	2e Escuadron	“Guerreros”   Neuman Ne-76 Wiesel (16)	
Neuman Ne-77 Marder (4)
Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	
Grupo Aérea de Patrulla	Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	1e Escuadron	Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-17 Trauler (12)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	2e Escuadron	Andersson An-95 Rheintochter  (8)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona

Grupo Aérea de Vigilancia	Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	1e Escuadron	BoRT-22 Zvezda (4)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	2e Escuadron	Andersson An-83 Roggenhund (8)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay

Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas

	1e Escuadron	Tikhonov Ti-5 Rys (8)	
			Tikhonov Ti-6 Bars (16)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas
	2e Escuadron	MK Aerospace Bakkie-Utility (12)	
	MK Aerospace Bakkie-Assault (8)	
	MK Aerospace Bakkie-Skycrane (4)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas
	3e Escuadron	Vickers-Foss Atlas R.6 (2)	
			Heorot Aerospace Seamew TR2 (6)	
			Ncome River Aerospace Blouvalk (12)	
			Avions des Alpes Petit Duc (6)	
			Royal Masiran Systems Hurricane (8)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas
	4e Escuadron	de Defensa	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas
	5e Escuadron		Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera', Amazonas
		1e Pelotón de Cazador Aéreo 60 Men
		2e Pelotón de Cazador Aéreo 60 Men

Grupo Aérea de Instruccion	Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	Escuadron del Academia
	Garcia Lunez Colibri-T (24)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	Escuadron del Entrenamiento Combate	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	Escuadron del Entrenamiento Aerotransportado	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	Escuadron del Entrenamiento del Personal
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
	Escuadron del Entrenamiento de la Defensa
Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona

Grupo Aérea de Transporte	“Pegasos” Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	1e Escuadron	Semyonov Se-20 (6)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	2e Escuadron	Wolniak Wo-170 Fledermaus (10)	
			Wolniak Wo-171 Vampir (4)	
Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
	3e Escuadron	Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-20 Verbljud (12)	
Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-27 Zhiraf (6)	
Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
	4e Escuadron	Various VVIP types	
Base Aérea 'Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda', Caracas
	5e Escuadron	Garcia Lunez Colibri-L (6)	
Base Aérea 'Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda', Caracas

Grupo de Defensa
1e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
2e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona
3e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
4e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda', Caracas
5e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta', Barquismeto
6e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'El Libertador', Maracay
7e Batallón de la Defensa, Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona

Grupo de Logisticas 		Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia', Barcelona

FAV Bases

Base Aérea 'El Libertador',

Located in Maracay, Base Aérea 'El Libertador' is the home of the Fuerza Aérea Venezolano. FAV headquarters is based here, together with the headquarters of Grupo Aérea de Caza, Grupo Aérea de Attaque, Grupo Aérea de Vigilancia, and Grupo Aérea de Transport. All three squadrons of Grupo Aérea de Caza fly out of the base, as do a further seven flying squadrons, including most of the service’s large aircraft. A full three battalion brigade from Grupo de Defensa ensures the security of the base against Insurrecto attacks.

Named for Simon Bolivar, ‘El Libertador’ is the oldest continuously operated FAV base, having remained operational even during Twilight, however it is not the original base of that name. Maracay was formerly home to two FAV airbases, El Libertador and Mariscal Sucre. In the aftermath of the nuclear strike the FAV, together with surviving elements of the Ejercito’s co-located IV División Blindado and the surviving nucleus of the civilian government formed a cantonment around the more defensible Base Aérea ‘Mariscal Sucre’, seizing the area between the Lago da Valencia lakefront and the hills that was already dominated by the military bases, together with the lakeside agricultural areas south of Vista Alegre and the 3 kilometer long hilly peninsula projecting into the lake, which became the main dependent housing area for the senior echelons of FAV, Ejercito and government, which it remains to this day. As the situation stabilized in the first decades of the 21st century the FAV abandoned any plans to return to the original site of Base Aérea 'El Libertador' and transferred the more senior name to the former ‘Mariscal Sucre’.

By the early 2200s the base was again subject to considerable pressure from urban encroachment and the FAV was forced to take the decision to move flying activities away from the city. The only way to do this without abandoning Maracay altogether was to move them actually into the lake and a huge artificial island was constructed offshore from the peninsula, housing the complete airfield infrastructure and providing two runways large enough for spaceplane usage together with several smaller. The existing airfield site was retained, but redeveloped as support infrastructure and housing. It is known that at the same time as this redevelopment a series of deep command sites were constructed inside the hills of the peninsula. The FAV does not wish to go through this exceptionally expensive process again and FAV’s legal community are continuously vigilant in ensuring that civilian development does not encroach on the flight lines, unfortunately they have been less successful in ensuring that the development does not come close enough to shelter Insurrecto attackers. Isolating flightline activities in the lake has been successful at limiting opportunities for direct attack, but the base housing and support infrastructure are more vulnerable to Insurrecto threats. The lakeside perimeter does provide the base security force with some unique security concerns and the Armada provides an advisory team which is believed to include at least a squad of combat waders. Lago de Valencia remains a fragile ecosystem and has a distinctive odour that has prevented the development of any significant watersport and tourism industry. Various attempts at repairing the ecosystem over the past several centuries have ended in failure, sometimes under rather suspicious circumstances and there are strong suspicions that the FAV likes things just the way they are.

Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta'

Sited several kilometres north of Barquismeto, Base Aérea 'Teniente Vincente Landaeta' is the FAV’s frontline base in the event of hostilities with Mexico. It is assumed that the Mexican threat will include a hovermobile thrust through the mountains to the north and the base is therefore the home of Grupo de Caballeria Aérea and its gunships, together with two squadrons of Grupo Aérea de Attaque and an assault transport squadron from Grupo Aérea de Transporte. The base is extensively hardened against Mexican attack and its base defence battalion has more extensive air defence assets than that at other bases.

Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera'

Based in the heart of Amazonas, Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera' (named for the first FAV officer killed by Insurrectos) is the home of Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales. The base is the newest in FAV and unique in hosting only a single Grupo. With the exception of a flight of 3e Escuadron the entire Grupo is based here and the exception is solely because there are no facilities at GAOE’s home base big enough to handle the new Atlases. Also uniquely, Grupo de Defensa is not responsible for the defence of the base. The 4e Escuadron of GAOE is actually a short brigade of two base defence battalions which also provides security for temporary landing sites in the jungle as well as a recruiting ground for GAOE’s Cazadores Aérea special forces unit.

The personnel for the Escuadron are recruited from Grupo de Defensa and run through a jungle warfare course on site. There are valid reasons for a specialist defence force for GAOE, but its increasing size is causing growing tension with Grupo de Defensa who perceive GAOE as cherry-picking their best men. Whichever Grupo it belongs to, the defence force is certainly required, harassment attacks on the base occur roughly on a weekly basis. Usually these take the form of stand-off missile attacks, but more direct attacks using man-portable rockets, MANPADS and mortars are relatively common. The continuous threat gives the base the air of a jungle firebase on a giant scale, and in fact it is used by the Ejercito as a temporary R&R facility for the Ejercito troops manning the smaller firebases scattered throughout Amazonas. There are usually around a battalion’s worth of Ejercito troops on the base at any one time and these are available to augment base defence if needed.

The base is actually located atop a tepui, a sheer-sided massif rising 500 metres out of the jungle. Falling away to 300 metre high cliffs on all sides, the base is regarded as invulnerable to conventional assault, however this isolation means that all supplies must be flown in, no ground access to the base is possible. The tepui are regarded as unique depositories of genetic diversity and there was a considerable uproar amongst scientists and environmentalists with knowledge of Amazonas when if became known that FAV had placed a base on one. Under considerable pressure from both the government and more media aware echelons of FAV headquarters, Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales was forced to concede access to the base for a monitoring team from Universidad Central de Venezuela. Relations between the military and the scientists are best described as difficult. 

Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia'

Based at Barcelona on the coast, Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia' is the FAV’s training centre and host to both elementary and operational flying training units. The maritime patrol units of Grupo Aérea de Patrulla are also based there. Basic and elementary training is hands-on in Argentinian-built Colibris, but operational training is primarily simulator-based, with only final check flights taken in aircraft borrowed from the operational squadrons. Grupo de Defensa’s ground troops are also trained on the base, as are all enlisted personnel and Grupo de Logisticas makes its home here, with almost all of its 2nd line and depot level maintenance workshops on site. Also located within the confines of the base are the main facilities of the state arms company Sistemas Venezolanos Del Armamento. Until recently base defence was the responsibility of a single battalion from Grupo de Defensa, but after the 2301 massacre of a busload of recruits by Insurrectos an additional battalion was raised to augment base security.

Base Aérea 'Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda'

Located in central Caracas, Base Aérea 'Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda' is the smallest FAV base, but as home to the government-VVIP tasked 4e Escuadron and the MoD liaison tasked 5e Escuadron its aircraft are some of the most prestigious targets for Insurrectos and base security is extremely tight as a result. The FAV is under continual pressure to give up the base as it represents the single most valuable piece of real estate in the capital and has done for three centuries, however there is simply nowhere that the base could be moved to while still maintaining the VVIP transportation mission that is its raison d’etre.
	
Aircraft 

The political situation in South and Central America has forced the FAV to tread a careful path in pursuit of perceived neutrality, in aircraft purchasing no less than in other endeavours. Before the War of German Reunification both Russia and Bavaria were favoured suppliers, but post-war Germany has drawn away from Venezuela at the same time that it is pushed towards the Franco-Brazilian camp. Russia has remained a faithful supplier and has benefited from the policy as French aid funnels into Venezuelan coffers. Recent buys by Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales have experimented with British suppliers, who are perceived as having operational insight into the operations in Amazonas because of the current conflict in New Africa’s K-Zone.

Andersson An-83 Roggenhund

The Roggenhund (Rye-Dog) is a Bavarian built penetrating recon UAV that was procured before the War of German Reunification. While heavy casualties to penetrating drones could be expected in a hot war, the conflict in Amazonas is a relatively permissive air defence zone and no aircraft have been lost to enemy action within Venezuelan territory, however two Roggenhunds have been lost in operations on the Incan side of the frontier and a further two aircraft have been lost to mechanical failure or bird strike. Any further losses will force the FAV into an attrition buy, but German support has become noticeably sluggish as French involvement in Venezuela increases and the attrition buy might well turn into acquisition of a non-German system.

While not capable of operating as general strike UCAVs, the Roggenhund can exchange its sensor package with the Kugelblitz electronic attack pod. The FAV has several Kugelblitz packages, but opportunities to use them against the Insurrectos are extremely rare, while in a general war situation the Roggenhunds would be fully tasked for strategic recon.

An-83 Roggenhund	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Andersson 	
Type:	Penetrating Reconnaissance UAV	
Year in Service:	2287	
In Service with:	Germany, Freihafen, Venezuela, Others	
Crew:	N/A	
Weight:	4 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	3*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*500 Ltr Drop Tank or 1*Kugelblitz Electronic Attack Pod	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	18	
Signature:	-2	
Sensor Range:	200(+2), 50(+6) (Ground Penetrating) (50(+1) only, if fitted with Kugelblitz Pod)	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	1500 kph	
Cruising Speed:	650 kph	
Combat Movement:	3000 m	
Endurance: 	3 (4 with 2*500L drop tanks) hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	CTOL	
Price:	4 Mlv	

Andersson An-84 Rottkappchen 

The Rottkappchen (Little Red Riding Hood) is a Bavarian built strike-fighter of CAW vintage. While very capable in its day, it must now be regarded as no more than average in capability. The FAV Rottkappchen squadrons have suffered heavy attrition over Amazonas and are operating at no more than 50% strength. Grupo Aérea de Attaque is strongly resisting suggestions that the two Rottkappchen squadrons should merge and is pressing for rapid selection of a replacement aircraft. All FAV Rottkappchens follow the Bavarian (and now German) practise of displaying a slavering wolf’s head wearing a red hood as nose art.

An-84 Rottkappchen 	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Andersson 	
Type:	Multi-Role fighter	
Year in Service:	2285	
In Service with:	Germany, Brazil, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	9 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	25mm AC	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	4*2500 Kg, 8*200 Kg, 2*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Falke MRAAM, 2 * Spatz SRAAM, 4*Baer Heavy ASM, 4*200Kg Glide bomb	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	-2	
Sensor Range:	200 (+2)	
Ceiling:	25000 m	
Max Speed:	1750 kph	
Cruising Speed:	1000 kph	
Combat Movement:	3500 m	
Endurance: 	4 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	
Price:	2.5 Mlv	
	
Andersson An-95 Rheintochter 

The Andersson built Rheintochter (Rhine Maiden) Maritime Patrol Aircraft surprised the entire industry when it first appeared pre-WoGR, Bavaria not having a noticeable maritime capability (pleasure boats on the Königssee and the other Bavarian lakes not withstanding). However the Rheintochter was a pure private venture development and was competitively enough priced to draw in a steady stream of sales. Post-WoGR it won the competition to become the standard MPA for the German navy and banished any doubts about its ultimate profitability. The Rheintochter is a joined-wing tilt-rotor amphibian able to land on the water and listen passively for underwater targets, but for nations like Venezuela the water-landing capability also makes the Rheintochter very useful for SAR missions.
		
An-95 Rheintochter 	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Andersson 	
Type:	MPAA	
Year in Service:	2290	
In Service with:	Germany, Brazil, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot*2, WSO*2	
Weight:	18 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	2*A7T under nose, 270 degree arc of fire	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	10*500, 4*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2* Spatz-II, 2*Luchs Pod (4*Luchs/Pod), 4*Medium Torp, 6*Medium Sonobuoy	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	300 (+2), 5 (+3) BGL	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	1000 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	2000 m	
Endurance: 	6 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL Amphib	
Price:	5.25 Mlv	
	
Avions des Alpes Petit Duc 

The Petit Duc (Scops Owl) air-launched canard-rotor/wing UCAV was built as part of an integrated weapons system with the Grand Duc (Eagle Owl) heavy gunship, with the weapon system operators aboard the Grand Duc able to cover an extended frontage with the UCAVs or layer them for defence in depth. Armed with a light plasma gun and hardpoints for several light AVMs the Petit Duc is obviously not limited to anti-armour work and several nations have procured them for COIN work, or even the more robust kind of policing. Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales has pioneered the medium altitude delivery of Petit Ducs using parachute-extraction out of the rear ramp of Bakkie-Utilities. Post-strike the Petit Ducs will usually stage to a pre-secured recovery zone from which they can either be lifted by a Bakkie-Skycrane or refueled to return to base under their own power. Portable operator consoles were procured along with the Petit Ducs and can be installed in any of the FAV’s troop-carrying aircraft.
			
Petit Duc	
Nationality:	French	
Manufacturer:	Avions des Alpes 	
Type:	UCAV Gunship	
Year in Service:	2292	
In Service with:	France, Venezuela, Others	
Crew:	None	
Weight:	1.75 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	6	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	Mk4A1 PGCW (360 degree arc)	
Point Defence:	N/A	
Hardpoints:	6*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	6*Manta 1	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	8	
Signature:	0	
Sensor Range:	50 (+2)	
Ceiling:	2500 m	
Max Speed:	500 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	1000 m	
Endurance: 	1 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	ALVL or VTOL	
Price:	0.2 Mlv	

BoRT-13 Smerch-M

The Smerch (Tornado) was Russia’s primary air combat aircraft going into the Central Asian War, where it proved better able to deal with the Manchurian Type 37 Felix than any other aircraft on the allied side, certainly better than the French Aquilon or Poignard, but, given equivalent pilots and starting conditions, the Felix still tended to win more often than the Smerch. Aerodynamically the Smerch is a relatively conventional tailless diamond planform, being most noted for the large LERX chine that actually extends a few centimetres past the front of the nose proper. The Smerch-M was a post-war reworking of the design to deal with some of the more easily solved weaknesses, but a major improvement would require an entirely new airframe, which eventually appeared in the form of the BoRT-23. The FAV operates a single squadron of Smerch-M, but has an attrition/war reserve of unmodified Smerchs that could be upgraded at need.

BoRT-13 Smerch-M	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	BoRT	
Type:	Air Superiority Fighter	
Year in Service:	2289	
In Service with:	Russia (retired), CAR, Venezuala and others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	13 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	CP-30 Plasma Gun (Use A4)	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	2*250, 6*150 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2 * Kristal LRAAM, 4 * Rubis MRAAM, 2* Oniks SRAAM	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	10	
Signature:	-4	
Sensor Range:	400 (+2)	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	3000 kph	
Cruising Speed:	2500 kph	
Combat Movement:	6000 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	
Price:	2.75 Mlv	

BoRT-16 Grad-M 

The BoRT-16 Grad (Hail) was the high-altitude interceptor partner of the Smerch during the CAW, and instantly recognisable by its twin fuselages and central tandem wing with integrated scramjet and large sensor/weapon pod. Grads suffered proportionately lower losses than the Smerch, Aquilon and Poignard during the CAW, but that was because no sane pilot would contemplate getting into a manoeuvring fight in a Grad, whereas the other fighter types could often be tempted into it by an artful Manchurian fighter controller. The FAV’s Grad-Ms were built post-CAW with the upgraded avionics and self-defence suite that the Russians rolled out across their entire fleet as a quick-fix until the next generation could come on-line. Despite this the FAV Grad-Ms are already showing serious fatigue problems as they have frequently been tasked with tactical reconnaissance missions at altitudes they are ill-suited to.

BoRT-16 Grad-M	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	BoRT	
Type:	High Altitude Interceptor	
Year in Service:	2289	
In Service with:	Russia and others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	11 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	CL-75 Laser	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	8*150 Kg	
Typical Warload:	8*Kristal LRAAM	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	4 (-2 below 1000 kph)	
Sensor Range:	750 (+3)	
Ceiling:	25,000 (zoom climb), 20,000 (sustained) m	
Max Speed:	6500 kph	
Cruising Speed:	2000 kph	
Combat Movement:	13000 m	
Endurance: 	1.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	Fixed CTOL	
Price:	4 Mlv	

BoRT-17 Uragan-M 

A very close relative of the Grad, the Uragan (Hurricane) converts the design into a penetrating recon-bomber by eliminating the sensor/weapon pod, bulging the fuselage sides into weapons bays and replacing the ultra-high-speed engines of the Grad with ones optimised for a slightly slower flight regime. FAV Uragans are primarily used for reconnaissance on both sides of the border. Unlike the Grads of Grupo de Caza the Uragans are not yet showing fatigue problems, their structure is better stressed for flight at lower altitudes and their better air to ground sensor suite means that they can actually operate at higher altitudes than their cousins and still produce better results. However their maintenance load has started to climb noticeably in the last couple of years and the trend is unlikely to improve.

BoRT-17 Uragan-M 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	BoRT	
Type:	Recon-Bomber	
Year in Service:	2293	
In Service with:	Russia and others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	11 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	4*2000, 4*150 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Diamant ALCM, 2*Rubis MRAAM, 2*Oniks SRAAM	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	2 (-2 below 1000 kph)	
Sensor Range:	500 (+3)	
Ceiling:	20000 m	
Max Speed:	4000 kph	
Cruising Speed:	2500 kph	
Combat Movement:	8000 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	Fixed CTOL	
Price:	4 Mlv	

BoRT-22 Zvezda 

The BoRT-22 is the final member of the Grad/Uragan/Zvezda troika. Again the configuration features twin fuselages with a central tandem wing, but the Zvezda (Star) also has a relatively conventional high aspect ratio mid-wing of considerable span that optimises the design for a high altitude loiter, the engines being a further variation on those used in the Uragan. Sensors incorporated into the fuselage sides and wing structure turn the Zvezda into a perfectly functional AWACS, but one dependent on off-board interpretation of the sensor date as there was no way to shoehorn a crew of fighter controllers into the design, in fact even the pilot proved surplus to requirements when weighed against additional capability and the Zvezda is a UAV. FAV Zvezdas are expected to remain in service for some considerable time.

BoRT-22 Zvezda 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	BoRT	
Type:	AEW Drone	
Year in Service:	2284	
In Service with:	Russia and others	
Crew:	None	
Weight:	11 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	2*100 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Medium Decoy	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	10	
Signature:	7 (2 with sensors inactive)	
Sensor Range:	1500 (+3)	
Ceiling:	20000 m	
Max Speed:	1000 kph	
Cruising Speed:	600 kph	
Combat Movement:	2000 m	
Endurance: 	1.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	Fixed CTOL	
Price:	6 Mlv	

BoRT-23 Shkval

The Shkval (Squall) was the aircraft the Russians needed most post-CAW, a modern, agile air-superiority fighter capable of taking on the Type 37 Felix in a turning fight and emerging victorious. Polkovnik Yelena Boronin had been one of the few allied pilots able to take her father’s Smerch design up against the Felix and win consistently, but had plenty of time to think about the requirements for a Smerch replacement while spending four years in a Manchurian PoW Camp waiting to be repatriated after losing her final fight. 

Within weeks of Yelena Boronin’s repatriation Boronin, Radvushenko and Tikhonov had scrapped the BoRT-21 Molniya design in favour of Yelena’s BoRT-23 concept, which returned to the thrust-vectoring inline-triplane configuration that had been a favourite of earlier Russian designers but had been unfashionable for nearly a century. Fortunately the Molniya and Shkval had similar internal volumes even if they looked radically different and the Molniya’s avionics suite was ported wholesale into the new airframe, allowing BoRT to complete the new design in time for the Russian AF trials at Akhtubinsk, at which it emerged triumphant over the Tikhonov Ti-7 Volk. Since that time the Shkval has picked up a worldwide reputation as probably the best dogfighter in service anywhere and has proved its superiority to the Felix on more than one occasion. However, no Shkval has yet come up against a Type 41 Flashdance. The FAV is well-pleased with its Shkvals, the only problem with the design in the eyes of the FAV pilot community is that they don’t have more of them.

BoRT-23 Shkval 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	BoRT	
Type:	Air Superiority Fighter	
Year in Service:	2295	
In Service with:	Russia, India, Venezuela and Others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	9.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	CL-150 Laser	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	10*150 Kg	
Typical Warload:	6*Rubis MRAAM, 4*Oniks SRAAM	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	22	
Signature:	 -6 (-8 below 600 kph)	
Sensor Range:	450 (+4)	
Ceiling:	20000 m	
Max Speed:	2000 kph	
Cruising Speed:	1250 kph	
Combat Movement:	4000 m	
Endurance: 	4 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	
Price:	3.75 Mlv	

Garcia Lunez Colibri-T

The Colibri (Hummingbird) is unique within the FAV in being an aircraft from the Argentine-Mexican bloc. However it is a perfectly capable trainer design and one without a significant wartime role that would be compromised by the linkage. It was also competitively priced and as a canard-rotor/wing is capable of being used for both fixed and rotary wing streams. All FAV Colibri-Ts operate with the Academy Training Squadron, although in practice most FAV units make some use of them for check-flights and the like. Unlike the FAA, FAV does not operate its Colibri-Ts with the rotor/wing locked.

Colibri-T 	
Nationality:	Argentinian	
Manufacturer:	Garcia-Lunez 	
Type:	CR/W Training Aircraft	
Year in Service:	2286	
In Service with:	Argentina, Others	
Crew:	Pilot, Instructor	
Weight:	4.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	N/A	
Hardpoints:	N/A Kg	
Typical Warload:	None	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	1	
Sensor Range:	100 (+0)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	320 kph	
Cruising Speed:	280 kph	
Combat Movement:	640 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL or CTOL	
Price:	2.1 Mlv	

Garcia Lunez Colibri-L

In addition to the Colibri-T, FAV operates a limited number of the four-seat Colibri-L in the liaison role. The Colibri-T has a token weapon carrying ability, but in FAV use the hardpoints are normally used for baggage pods and the Colibris rarely venture outside the coastal strip where most FAV bases are found.

Colibri-L 	
Nationality:	Argentinian	
Manufacturer:	Garcia-Lunez 	
Type:	CR/W Liasion Aircraft	
Year in Service:	2288	
In Service with:	Argentina, Others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	6 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Guarda	
Hardpoints:	2*250 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Cargo Pod	
Cargo:	3*Passenger	
Evasion:	16	
Signature:	-2	
Sensor Range:	100 (+2)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	320 kph	
Cruising Speed:	280 kph	
Combat Movement:	640 m	
Endurance: 	4 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL or CTOL	
Price:	2.25 Mlv	

Heorot Aerospace Seamew TR3 

Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales’ most recent purchase results from a fortuitous similarity between operations in Amazonas and in New Africa’s K-Zone. The Seamew TR2 has been produced for Alician troops serving in New Africa as a manned substitute for a long-endurance tactical reconnaissance drone. Most reconnaissance UAVs are either fast, high and short endurance; medium-high, slow and long endurance; or low, slow and short endurance, whereas hunting foot patrols in the jungle, whether they be Kafer or Incan, requires an aircraft that can fly low and slow while having significant endurance, a capability none of the standard concepts quite match. Alicia’s locally developed Seamew MR1 low-end MPA, a very conventional turboprop whose only outstanding feature was its 12 hour unrefuelled endurance, seemed to offer just the right platform for development of a tactical reconnaissance variant and initial trials were successful enough to draw GAOE’s attention. FAV Seamew deliveries are underway and while the aircraft is not yet operational the results from initial operational trials are very promising.

Seamew TR3	
Nationality:	British/ Alician	
Manufacturer:	Heorot Aerospace 	
Type:	Tactical Surveillance Aircraft	
Year in Service:	2303	
In Service with:	Alicia, New Africa, Venezuela	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO	
Weight:	5.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	L87A2 Plasma Gun	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Targe	
Hardpoints:	2*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	None	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	10	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	200 (+1), 50 (+4)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	800 kph	
Cruising Speed:	450 kph	
Combat Movement:	1600 m	
Endurance: 	6 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	

Komarov Ko-15 Stepnoj Orel  

The Stepnoj Orel (Steppe Eagle) was the primary Russian multi-role fighter of the CAW period, mainly tasked with CAS and BAI missions but able to turn its hand to interdiction and interception if the occasion demanded. It suffered even heavier losses than the Smerch when engaged with Type 37 Felixes, but the loss rate was not all one way. The FAV Orels were procured at the end of the CAW direct from the production line and have earned a reputation for rugged honesty in their operation. Their pilots trust them, but they are being used hard and are not growing any younger. The Orel is noted for its far-forward mounted canards and very straight rear wing with downswept tips. In FAV service the Orel has suffered considerably lower losses than the FAV Rottkappchens, despite participating in similar missions, however repeated studies by the Academy’s Operational Analysis Branch suggest that the difference is solely due to chance. 

Ko-15 Stepnoj Orel 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Komarov 	
Type:	Multi-role fighter	
Year in Service:	2276	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	9.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	7	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	2*CP-30 Plasma Gun (Use A4)	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga	
Hardpoints:	4*150, 6*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Beryl MRAAM, 2*Garnet SRAAM, 2*Bazalt Pods, 4*Granit AVM	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	-2	
Sensor Range:	200 (+0)	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	2500 kph	
Cruising Speed:	1000 kph	
Combat Movement:	5000 m	
Endurance: 	2.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	

MK Aerospace Bakkie

The Bakkie (Pick-up) is a rugged Azanian utility design with a near-unique approach to the problem of providing multi-role capabilities in a single airframe. The Bakkie has two separate upper fuselage spine designs, one mounts tandem wings and a shrouded turbofan, the second is a canard-rotor/wing capable of VTOL operations. In addition to this the Bakkie is available with tandem (aka gunship) and side-by-side nose sections and the rear fuselage can be either an enclosed cargo carrying design or a lifting strongback with winches and other cargo attachment points. All the elements are mutually compatible and the Bakkie can be put together in whatever form the customer prefers. The FAV flies three Bakkie variants, the Bakkie-Utility tandem wing with side-by-side nose and enclosed cargo fuselage, the Bakkie-Assault canard-rotor/wing with gunship cockpit and enclosed cargo fuselage and the Bakkie-Skycrane C-R/W with side-by-side cockpit and lifting strongback. FAV Bakkies are operated solely by the GAOE in several different roles. The twenty Bakkie-Utilities keep many small Ejercito bases operational by flying in all they need to sustain them, and are also used for medium altitude parachute insertion of patrols. Three Bakkie Utilities have been lost over the past four years on operations into and out of small forward bases, but GAOE’s budget has allowed the losses to be made good with new-build aircraft straight off the Durban production line. The Bakkie-Assault provides the GAOE’s main assault lift element, the eight aircraft being capable of deploying a reinforced company in a single lift, while Bakkie-Skycranes provide further logistics support, lifting awkward loads into awkward positions in the remoter parts of Amazonas, Skycranes are almost solely responsible for the network of remote EM sensors now established on the sides of cliffs and tops of mountains throughout Amazonas.

Bakkies are in extensive Azanian service with all three terrestrial forces, in addition they are widely operated through non-French Africa and have made a small number of sales into other markets. The civilian version of the Bakkie Utility has the dual advantages of simplicity and ruggedness and may be found almost anywhere in human space.

Bakkie Utility Transport	
Nationality:	Azanian	
Manufacturer:	MK Aerospace 	
Type:	Tandem Wing Utility Aircraft	
Year in Service:	2286	
In Service with:	Azania, Others	
Crew:	Pilot*2	
Weight:	12 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Targe	
Hardpoints:	2*250, 2*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Garnet SRAAM, 2*Granit AVM Pod	
Cargo:	6t or 20 troops	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	4	
Sensor Range:	100 (+1)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	600 kph	
Cruising Speed:	450 kph	
Combat Movement:	1200 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	

Bakkie Assault	
Nationality:	Azanian	
Manufacturer:	MK Aerospace 	
Type:	CR/W Assault aircraft	
Year in Service:	2286	
In Service with:	Azania, Others	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO, 2*Loadmaster	
Weight:	14 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	L87A2 Plasma Gun (120 degree arc), 2*VR-95 Door Gun	
Point Defence:	Targe	
Hardpoints:	6*250 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Garnet SRAAM, 4*Granit AVM Pod	
Cargo:	5t or 16 troops	
Evasion:	16	
Signature:	3	
Sensor Range:	150 (+2)	
Ceiling:	5000 m	
Max Speed:	550 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	1100 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL or VTOL	
Price:	2.25 Mlv	

Bakkie Skycrane		
Nationality:	Azanian	
Manufacturer:	MK Aerospace 	
Type:	CR/W heavy lift aircraft	
Year in Service:	2287	
In Service with:	Azania, Others	
Crew:	Pilot*2, Cargomaster	
Weight:	11.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	3	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Targe	
Hardpoints:	N/A Kg	
Typical Warload:	N/A	
Cargo:	10t	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	6	
Sensor Range:	100 (+0)	
Ceiling:	5000 m	
Max Speed:	500 kph	
Cruising Speed:	350 kph	
Combat Movement:	1000 m	
Endurance: 	3 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL or VTOL	
Price:	1.85 Mlv	

Ncome River Armaments Blouvalk	

The Blouvalk (Black-shouldered Kite) is the standard tactical UAV used by Azanian second line forces. A freewing design driven by a shrouded propfan, it is capable of autonomous vertical take-off and landing from the back of any combat vehicle with sufficient deck space, or from the ground if required. Optronic sensors are austere, but adequate for second-line roles, the vehicle’s datalink can feed into any available node of the standard Azanian combat information systems network. The vehicle has a simple command interface, being able to fly either grid patterns, patrol lines or maintain continuous surveillance of a designated target (even a moving one) without operator intervention. Standard Blouvalks carry 10 small freefall anti-personnel bomblets, but the performance of these in triple canopy jungle is questionable and the FAV have traded in the weight allowance of the weapon suite to upgrade the basic infra-red sensors to a foliage-penetrating active millimetre wave radar with a moving target indicator capability. 

Blouvalk Drone		
Nationality:	Azania	
Manufacturer:	MK Aerospace 	
Type:	Tactical surveillance drone	
Year in Service:	2296	
In Service with:	Azania, Others	
Crew:	None	
Weight:	0.125 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	N/A	
Hardpoints:	None	
Typical Warload:	None	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	8	
Signature:	3	
Sensor Range:	10 km (+1), 5km (+2) Foliage Penetrating	
Ceiling:	1000 m	
Max Speed:	200 kph	
Cruising Speed:	150 kph	
Combat Movement:	400 m	
Endurance: 	20 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	 Mlv	

Neumann Ne-76 Wiesel

The Wiesel (Weasel) is a small, capable tilt-rotor gunship that was previously the standard equipment of the pre-unification Westfälische Armee and acquitted itself with honour, if not élan, during the War of German Reunification. When weighed post-war against the very capable Nord-Deutsche Bremen Br-73 Sturm the Wiesel was found wanting and large numbers were sold-off by the newly unified Heer, which inadvertently created further demand for new-build export versions once the surplus stocks were exhausted. The FAV Wiesels are ex-Westfälische Armee, but had comparatively low hours when delivered (although at least one was found to contain fragments from a French missile warhead tucked away in one of the more obscure corners of the fuselage). A larger gunship would be able to carry a more capable sensor suite for operations in Amazonas, but the Wiesels were available when needed and should prove perfectly capable should the need ever arise for them to engage Mexican armoured spearheads in north-western Venezuela.

Ne-76 Wiesel	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Neumann 	
Type:	Tiltrotor Gunship	
Year in Service:	2273	
In Service with:	Venezuela, Others (and formerly Westfälen)	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	A7 Plasma Gun, 12mm Gatling (180 degree arc)	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	4*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Luchs Pod (4*Luchs/Pod)	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	100 (+2)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	850 kph	
Cruising Speed:	600 kph	
Combat Movement:	1700 m	
Endurance: 	2.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOVL	
Price:	1.75 Mlv	

Neumann Ne-77 Marder

The Marder (Marten) is a close relative of the Wiesel, stretching the fuselage to incorporate a small troop bay aft of the cockpit. The troop bay can accommodate four troops with equipment, or six without. The FAV’s four Marders are new-build, unlike the Wiesels, and were purchased specifically to support the precision delivery of small SOF teams in urban environments, a vital role during the Guerra de las Ciudades.

Ne-77 Marder	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Neumann	
Type:	Tiltrotor Light Utility Transport	
Year in Service:	2272	
In Service with:	Venezuela, Others (and formerly Westfälen)	
Crew:	Pilot	
Weight:	6.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	A7 Plasma Gun, 12mm Gatling (180 degree arc)	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	2*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Luchs Pod (4*Luchs/Pod)	
Cargo:	4*Troops or 1t	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	100 (+2)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	650 kph	
Cruising Speed:	450 kph	
Combat Movement:	1300 m	
Endurance: 	2.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOVL	
Price:	2 Mlv	

Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-17 Trauler	

The standard Russian shipboard MPA, the Trauler (Trawler) is a jet-lift VTOL design which through careful design of the efflux paths is able to land on water and take-off vertically (although it more often uses a STOL mode). In FAV usage the Trauler is mostly land-based, although pilots are required to retain currency in shipboard operations. As with the Rheintochter, the Trauler is expected to take on its share of maritime SAR missions.

TAG-17 Trauler 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Novi Taganrog Aerospace 	
Type:	Shipborne MPA	
Year in Service:	2285	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO*3	
Weight:	14 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	CP-30 Plasma Gun (Use A4)	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	2*2000, 4*500, 2*150 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Standoff Torpedo, 4*Medium Torpedo, 2*Rubis MRAAM	
Cargo:	1*Air-droppable Liferaft	
Evasion:	8	
Signature:	8	
Sensor Range:	100(EM), 5(BGL)	
Ceiling:	7500 m	
Max Speed:	800 kph	
Cruising Speed:	450 kph	
Combat Movement:	1600 m	
Endurance: 	6 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VSTOL	
Price:	2.5 Mlv	

Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-20	Verbljud

The TAG-20 Verbljud (Camel) is the FAV’s sole medium lift asset, a role for which it competes with the operationally similar Avions Al Jaber Bled worldwide. Powered by four overwing turbofans, the TAG-20 features extensive blowing of the wings, flaps and other control surfaces, which gives it a particularly impressive STOL ability for a comparatively short-winged non-tilt-rotor/tilt-wing design. In FAV service the Verbljuds have proven admirably rugged, although it is policy to deploy them into Amazonas only if there is absolutely no alternative.

TAG-20 Verbljud	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Novi Taganrog Aerospace 	
Type:	Medium Transport	
Year in Service:	2288	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	2*Pilot, Loadmaster	
Weight:	25 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	N/A 	
Typical Warload:	N/A	
Cargo:	10t or 25 paratroops or 36 passengers	
Evasion:	8	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	75 (+1)	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	800 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	1600 m	
Endurance: 	4 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	STOL	
Price:	2 Mlv	

Novi Taganrog Aerospace TAG-27 Zhiraf

The TAG-27 Zhiraf (Giraffe) is the tanker variant of the TAG-20 Verbljud, capable of refuelling up to a dozen fighter aircraft from its onboard tanks. Even with the increasing prevalence of tanker drones it is in service with the air forces of Russia, the Ukraine and others. The FAV operates half a dozen as its sole dedicated refuelling capability.

TAG-27 Zhiraf 	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Novi Taganrog Aerospace 	
Type:	Tanker	
Year in Service:	2289	
In Service with:	Russia, others	
Crew:	Pilot*2, Refuelling Coordinator	
Weight:	30 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	4	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	4*250 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Medium Decoy	
Cargo:	Sufficient fuel for 8 fighters	
Evasion:	7	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	100	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	800 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	1600 m	
Endurance: 	8 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	CTOL	
Price:	 Mlv	

Royal Masiran Defence Systems Hurricane	

The Hurricane is a Wellon built strike UCAV in extensive use with Commonwealth and other forces. Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales has procured ground-launched Hurricanes which feature a disposable booster stage to get them into the air, a move which has been ill-received in Grupo Aérea de Attaque, which sees the purchase as an attempt by GAOE to hijack the strike mission. However for the moment the purchase is a fait accompli and the Hurricane is operational in Amazonas. In GAOE usage, modified range trucks function as launchers for single Hurricanes and are frequently airlifted between forward bases, or even just jungle clearings, in order to keep the enemy guessing as to which direction the next strike will be launched from. The Hurricane is parachute recovered at a preset location at the end of each mission and may be refurbished for re-use in approximately 12 man-hours. A longer, 300 man-hour B-Check is required after 20 flights and after 100 flights the system requires a depot refit. In practice few Hurricanes are expected to survive long enough to see more than one or two B-Checks.

Hurricane		
Nationality:	Wellon	
Manufacturer:	Royal Masiran Defence Systems 	
Type:	Attack Drone	
Year in Service:	2295	
In Service with:	UK, Wellon, Venezuela	
Crew:	N/A	
Weight:	1.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	N/A	
Hardpoints:	8*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	8*120Kg Glide Bomb	
Cargo:	N/A	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	-1	
Sensor Range:	25 (+2)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	750 kph	
Cruising Speed:	750 kph	
Combat Movement:	1500 m	
Endurance: 	0.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	ALPR or ZELLPR	
Price:	0.55 Mlv	

Semyonov Se-20 Herakles

Semyonov (always just Semyonov) are very much a VTOL specialist company and the Se-20 Herakles (Hercules) is their long-established entry into the heavy-lift market. The aircraft is a quad-tiltfan with four fans located at the ends of two pairs of shoulder-mounted short wings. The forward wings are swept slightly forward, the rear wings slightly back, the wing sweep intended more to increase the distance between the forward and aft engines than for aerodynamic reasons. Without an external load the Se-20 can tilt the engines to their maximum forward position for conventional flight and rely on the wing aerofoils providing a substantial portion of lift. With an external load the Se-20 must keep the engines pointed almost vertically down and rely on dynamic lift from the lift system. The crew consists of three: two pilots and a flight engineer/spotter. Both pilots have forward facing seats, but the command pilot also has a second, rearward facing position with extensive glazing in the underside of the fuselage, looking towards the external load attachment points. During vertical lift operations the command pilot operates the Se-20 from the rearward facing position with the second pilot monitoring the forward hemisphere for collision hazards and the flight engineer/spotter the rearward hemisphere. For its notoriously accident-prone class of aircraft the Se-20 has a good safety records and extensive sales into Siberia and other logging areas have made it a profitable design. Small numbers of Se-20s also serve with a number of armed forces, including FAV.

Sem-20 Herakles	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Semyonov 	
Type:	Heavy Lift Rotorcraft	
Year in Service:	2283	
In Service with:	Russia	
Crew:	Pilot*2	
Weight:	15 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	N/A	
Typical Warload:	N/A	
Cargo:	12.5t	
Evasion:	8	
Signature:	4	
Sensor Range:	50(+1)	
Ceiling:	5000 m	
Max Speed:	300 kph	
Cruising Speed:	150 kph	
Combat Movement:	600 m	
Endurance: 	4 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	2.3 Mlv	

Tikhonov Ti-4 Medved

The Medved (Bear) was Russia’s standard gunship during the grim years of the Central Asian War. The armoured tilt-fan proved a tough aircraft in combat, but was relatively slow in comparison to many of its contemporaries. The FAV bought a dozen based on their reputation and were well pleased with them, however the conflict in Amazonas has cost four of the initial twelve aircraft and another has been lost in a training accident, forcing the squadron to operate at barely half its authorised strength.

Ti-4 Medved	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Tikhonov 	
Type:	Tilt-fan Gunship	
Year in Service:	2283	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO	
Weight:	8 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	6	
EM Hardening:	6	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	CP-175 Plasma Gun (Use A4), KB LasMG, (Co-axial mounting, 180 degree arc of fire)	
Point Defence:	Taiga	
Hardpoints:	4*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Bazalt pod	
Cargo:	two men without equipment	
Evasion:	15	
Signature:	3	
Sensor Range:	125 (+1)	
Ceiling:	3500 m	
Max Speed:	450 kph	
Cruising Speed:	325 kph	
Combat Movement:	900 m	
Endurance: 	2.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	1.75 Mlv	

Tikhonov Ti-5 Rys

The Rys (Lynx) is a Komarov-designed vintokryl (literally screw-wing, effectively a non-tilting tilt-rotor) gunship, but because of the hostile takeover of Komarov by Vladimir Tikhonov has only ever appeared under the Tikhonov name. Using two variable bypass ratio turboshafts for power and with rotor blades formed from smart materials the Rys is able to infinitely vary the power between jet exhaust and rotor downforce, making it a particularly efficient rotary-winged vehicle, and a notably quiet one, something that is very useful in a gunship. As is common in Russian gunship designs a small bay behind the cockpit is capable of carrying the crew of a downed gunship. In FAV service this small bay has proved very useful for agent delivery and recovery.

Ti-5 Rys	
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Tikhonov 	
Type:	Vintokryl Gunship	
Year in Service:	2292	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO	
Weight:	6 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	8	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	CP-30 Plasma Gun (Use A4), KB LasMG, (Co-axial mounting, 130 degree arc of fire)	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	6*125, 2*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Granit, 2*Bazalt-M Pod, 2*Garnet SRAAM	
Cargo:	two men without equipment	
Evasion:	12	
Signature:	1	
Sensor Range:	75 (+4)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	650 kph	
Cruising Speed:	400 kph	
Combat Movement:	1300 m	
Endurance: 	3.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	0.75 Mlv	

Tikhonov Ti-6 Bars 

The Bars (Snow Leopard) is a close cousin of the Rys, but stretches the fuselage to incorporate an eight-man troop bay giving it a useful troop-lift capability. Engine capacity has been slightly increased to cater for the additional weight and drag, allowing the Bars to match the Rys in performance. The FAV biased its buy in favour of the Bars over the Rys and has been well pleased with the result, the Bars is perfectly sized for the insertion of small SF teams on long-range patrol missions and as able to support them as the Rys would be.

Ti-6 Bars		
Nationality:	Russian	
Manufacturer:	Tikhonov 	
Type:	Vintokryl Assault Transport	
Year in Service:	2292	
In Service with:	Russia, Venezuela, others	
Crew:	Pilot, WSO, 2*Loadmaster	
Weight:	9.5 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	8	
EM Hardening:	8	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	CP-30 Plasma Gun (Use A4), KB LasMG, (Co-axial mounting, 130 degree arc of fire), 2*KB doorguns	
Point Defence:	Taiga-M	
Hardpoints:	6*125, 2*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	4*Granit, 2*Bazalt-M Pod, 2*Garnet SRAAM	
Cargo:	8  troops	
Evasion:	11	
Signature:	1	
Sensor Range:	75 (+4)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	600 kph	
Cruising Speed:	350 kph	
Combat Movement:	1200 m	
Endurance: 	3.5 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	1.05 Mlv	

Vickers-Foss Atlas R.6 

The Atlas is a somewhat-aging British airlifter and FAV’s recent purchase of two airframes for GAOE drew much speculation in both the local and trade press that was finally spiked when it was revealed that the two aircraft had been refitted to provide airborne command posts for major operations. What has so far not emerged publicly is that in addition to the command facilities the two Atlases have also been fitted with the very capable ELINT/SIGINT/MASINT suite of the Artemis R.2. While their size keeps them tied to the large fixed runways at Base Aérea ‘El Libertador’, away from the other aircraft of GAOE, both the GAOE commander and his Ejercito counterparts are convinced of their utility in the ongoing fight.

Atlas R.6	
Nationality:	British	
Manufacturer:	Vickers-Foss 	
Type:	ELINT and SIGINT	
Year in Service:	2301	
In Service with:	Venezuela	
Crew:	Pilot*2, 8*Systems Operators, 4* Battle Management Personnel	
Weight:	50 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	1	
EM Hardening:	10	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	N/A	
Point Defence:	Targe	
Hardpoints:	N/A	
Typical Warload:	N/A	
Cargo:	None	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	6	
Sensor Range:	400 (+3), Detection range for active sensors doubled, 25 (+4) Foliage Penetrating	
Ceiling:	15000 m	
Max Speed:	900 kph	
Cruising Speed:	800 kph	
Combat Movement:	1800 m	
Endurance: 	10 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	CTOL	
Price:	5 Mlv	

Wolniak Wo-170 Fledermaus

The Munich-built Fledermaus X-Wing is the standard German medium transport VTOL, just as it was for the pre-Unification Bavarian Fliegertruppe. The Fledermaus can carry up to sixty combat infantrymen and took a major part of the early conflict in Amazonas but has proved to be rather too large for the tactical requirements, which more often need twenty men put on target than sixty. The Fledermausen have therefore been withdrawn from day to day Amazonas operations and redeployed to Barquismeto in the north.

Wo-170 Fledermaus 		
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Wolniak	
Type:	X-Wing Tactical Transport Aircraft	
Year in Service:	2285	
In Service with:	Germany, Freihafen, Heidelsheimat, Venezuela, Others	
Crew:	Pilot, Co-Pilot, Load Master, 2*Door Gunner	
Weight:	13 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	7	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	3*MG-82 5.5mm gatling MGs (2500 rpg)	
Point Defence:	1*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	4*125 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Spatz SRAAM, 2*Luchs Pod (4*Luchs/Pod)	
Cargo:	60 combat-loaded infantrymen, or 14,000 kg cargo internally, or 18,000 kg external sling-loaded cargo)	
Evasion:	14	
Signature:	2	
Sensor Range:	75 (+2)	
Ceiling:	10000 m	
Max Speed:	500 kph (275 in rotor-borne mode)	
Cruising Speed:	450 kph (225 in rotor-borne mode)	
Combat Movement:	1000 m (550 in rotor-borne mode)	
Endurance: 	6 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	3.25 Mlv	

Wolniak Wo-171 Vampir

The Vampir is the special operations version of the Fledermaus and for logistical reasons has also been redeployed to Barquismeto even though there is a continuing role for it in the south. In practise the Vampirs still see regular use in Amazonas, but must redeploy before every mission.

Wo-171 Vampir 	
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Wolniak	
Type:	X-Wing Special Operations Penetrator	
Year in Service:	2287	
In Service with:	Germany, Freihafen, Venezuela, Others	
Crew:	Pilot, Co-Pilot, Defensive/Sensor Systems Officer, Load Master, 3*Door Gunner	
Weight:	14 Tonnes	
Armour (All faces): 	2	
EM Hardening:	9	
Fixed Weapons:	N/A	
Flex Weapons:	3*MG-82 5.5mm gatling MGs (2500 rpg)	
Point Defence:	2*LRA-07	
Hardpoints:	2*125, 2*500 Kg	
Typical Warload:	2*Spatz SRAAM, 2*500 Ltr Tanks (+2 hours endurance)	
Cargo:	30 combat-loaded infantrymen plus 6 Kz-VII combat walkers (alternately may be configured to carry up to 45 passengers, or 14,000 kg cargo internally, or 18,000 kg external sling-loaded cargo).	
Evasion:	20	
Signature:	0	
Sensor Range:	100 (+3)	
Ceiling:	11000 m	
Max Speed:	550 kph (275 in rotor-borne mode) 	
Cruising Speed:	475 kph (225 in rotor-borne mode)	
Combat Movement:	1100m (550m in rotor borne mode)	
Endurance: 	6 hours	
Take-off and Landing mode:	VTOL	
Price:	5 Mlv	

Ordnance

In the years before the War of German Reunification FAV ordnance buys were bound up with their aircraft purchases. Russian aircraft flew with Russian ordnance, Bavarian with Bavarian. However, since the WoGR has put German at odds with France, and as Venezuela is perceived by the Germans to be part of the French camp, the ability to resupply with German ordnance in an emergency is now widely regarded as badly compromised. FAV’s response has been threefold. Firstly, Russian ordnance has been qualified for release from the German parts of the fleet (as a consequence of Franco-Russo-Bavarian technical cooperation during the CAW this effort primarily consisted of bringing operations manuals up to date). Secondly, FAV has negotiated licence production rights for certain German ordnance, primarily the highly regarded Bär series cruise missiles, and has second-sourced component supply for these independent of German suppliers. As a third step the FAV has increasingly been supplied with French ordnance flown into FAV bases from Guyana on unmarked transports.

Air-to-Air Ordnance

Kristal LRAAM, 
Russia’s Kristal LRAAM is an unexceptional missile comparable to many of the other LRAAMs on the market. Beyond long-range engagements it shares the common LRAAM secondary tasking of intercepting trans-orbital strike vehicles. As suitable targets for LRAAMs are few and far between, FAV Grads rarely carry the eight Kristals they were designed for, substituting them for other ordnance, decoys or reconnaissance sensors. The BoRT-23 Shkval is also capable of carrying the Kristal, but rarely does so.

Kristal (Кристалл)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	LRAAM	
Year in Service:	2277	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	220 Kg	
Range:	500 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	23	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	15	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+3	
Speed:	7,500	
Time to Max Range	240s	
Combat Move:	15000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A 	
Missile Price:	25,000 Lv	

Rubis MRAAM

The Rubis (Ruby) MRAAM is Russia’s current first-line MRAAM. After the Russian AF’s experience in the CAW the Rubis was expected to counter any performance shortfall that Russian fighters might experience against the Felix and is therefore a high-end system (a capability which means that it comes with a price penalty). The unexpected capability of the BoRT-23 means that the Russian AF, and BoRT’s export customers, have one of the most capable aircraft-AAM combinations in service. 

Rubis (Рубин)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	MRAAM	
Year in Service:	2294	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	150 Kg	
Range:	200 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	21	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	12	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+3	
Speed:	5,750	
Time to Max Range	125.217391304348s	
Combat Move:	11500 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	25,000 Lv	

Oniks SRAAM 

The Oniks (Onyx) SRAAM is the short-range counterpart of the Rubis, and again the Russian AF paid for a missile to make-up for the perceived shortcomings of the CAW-era Russian fighters. The Oniks shares major design elements with the Rubis, but is optimised for absolute agility at the expense of range. Like other Russian SRAAMs the Oniks is longer ranged than many of its competitors and approaches the weight of an MRAAM, but the Oniks shifts the balance further towards agility over range than has traditionally been the case.

Oniks (Оникс)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	SRAAM	
Year in Service:	2292	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	145 Kg	
Range:	45 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	28	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	8	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	12	
Signature:	+3	
Speed:	3,000	
Time to Max Range	54s	
Combat Move:	6000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	15,000 Lv	

Garnet SRAAM

Russia’s CAW-era SRAAM, the Garnet was capable in its day, but is now considerably behind the performance curve of a first-line weapon. Given an unlimited budget the FAV would prefer to retire its Garnet inventory and replace them with the Oniks, but no air force has an unlimited budget and the Garnet will probably remain in service for the foreseeable future.

Garnet (гранат)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	SRAAM	
Year in Service:	2280	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	130 Kg	
Range:	60 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	20	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	15	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+4	
Speed:	3,500	
Time to Max Range	62s	
Combat Move:	7000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	12,000 Lv	

Falke MRAAM

Confusingly Germany operates both Medium Range AAMs and MANPAD SAMs known as the Falke (Falcon). This came about through re-unification, the Falke MRAAM being a Bavarian design, the Falke MANPADs originally a Nord-Deutsch design. The Falke MRAAM is a run of the mill MRAAM, still capable, but now heading into the twilight of its career and replaced in frontline German service by the Adler.

Falke	
Nationality:	German 	
Manufacturer:	Andersson Industrie	
Type:	MRAAM	
Year in Service:	2284	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	175 Kg	
Range:	250 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto following lock	
Homing:	21	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	15	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	12	
Signature:	+1	
Speed:	6,000	
Time to Max Range	150s	
Combat Move:	12000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	18,750 Lv	

Spatz SRAAM

The Spatz (Sparrow) was Bavaria’s standard SRAAM during the CAW, but the arrival of the Spatz II has pushed it down from first choice for first-line fighters to self-defence for elderly strike aircraft. Venezuelan Rottkappchens still fly with the Spatz, but there are barely enough missiles in inventory to equip every aircraft with its full loadout. Garnets from the armaments package supplied with the Orel have been qualified on the Rottkappchen and would supplement the Spatz in wartime usage, however the Garnet is less capable than the Spatz.

Spatz	
Nationality:	German 	
Manufacturer:	Nord-Deutsche Raketewerk	
Type:	SRAAM	
Year in Service:	2273	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	100 Kg	
Range:	40 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto following Lock	
Homing:	23	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	8	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	10	
Signature:	+1	
Speed:	4,500	
Time to Max Range	32s	
Combat Move:	9000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	8,500 Lv	

Air-to-Surface Ordnance

Bär Cruise Missile

The Bär (Bear) is a conventional cruise-missile, originally of Nord-Deutsch origin, but widely used by all of the German states before the WoGR. Popular on the export markets, the Bär has been the subject of a series of upgrade programmes producing such variants as the Eisbär electronic attack missile and the Brummbär hard-target penetrator. Multiple warhead options are also available. Venezuela has initiated license production through 
Sistemas Venezolanos Del Armamento, the government owned munitions company, but Bärs are primarily regarded as overkill against Insurrecto targets and are held in reserve against a conventional warfare scenario.

Bär	
Nationality:	German 	
Manufacturer:	Nord-Deutsche Raketewerk	
Type:	Heavy ASM	
Year in Service:	2289	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	2500 Kg	
Range:	500 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Inertial+Terminal Matching	
Homing:	22	
Warhead Type:	Cargo	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	1000	
Fragmentation DPV:	6	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	3	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	12	
Signature:	+2	
Speed:	1500	
Time to Max Range	1200s	
Combat Move:	3000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	50,000 Lv	

Brummbär	
Nationality:	German 	
Manufacturer:	Nord-Deutsche Raketewerk	
Type:	Heavy ASM	
Year in Service:	2289	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	2500 Kg	
Range:	500 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Inertial+Terminal Matching	
Homing:	22	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	200	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	3	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	12	
Signature:	+2	
Speed:	1500	
Time to Max Range	1200s	
Combat Move:	3000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	50,000 Lv	

Eisbär	
Nationality:	German 	
Manufacturer:	Nord-Deutsche Raketewerk	
Type:	Heavy ASM	
Year in Service:	2292	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	2200 Kg	
Range:	500 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Inertial+Terminal Matching	
Homing:	22	
Warhead Type:	Electronic	
Attack Angle:	N/A	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	50 ElecP (Once Only)	
Armour:	3	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	12	
Signature:	+2	
Speed:	1500	
Time to Max Range	1200s	
Combat Move:	3000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	75,000 Lv	

Bazalt-M AVM pod

The pod-launched Bazalt-M is the FAV’s preferred AVM. Its full capabilities are rarely deployed against the Insurrectos, but the ability to engage multiple vehicular targets in a single pass is cherished for its potential use against Mexican armoured spearheads, just as the Russians developed it for use against Manchurian spearheads.

Bazalt-B (базальт-б)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Beresovski Military Industries	
Type:	AVM	
Year in Service:	2295	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	75 (10 Rnd Pod), 8 (gripstock)	
Msl Weight:	8 Kg	
Range:	4.5 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	12	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	25	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	10	
Signature:	+1	
Speed:	1,200	
Time to Max Range	13.5s	
Combat Move:	2400 m	
Launcher Price:	8,000 (Pod), 850 (Gripstock) Lv	
Missile Price:	4,000 Lv	

Granit AVM 

The Granit AVM was designed by the Russians and the unitary warhead version is used by the FAV against targets too large or heavily armoured for the Bazalt-M, or where increased stand-off distances are needed. The cargo variant is used with both submunition and scatterable mine payloads.

Granit (гранит)	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	AVM	
Year in Service:	2287	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	35 (3 rnd Pylon)	
Msl Weight:	45 Kg	
Range:	10 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	14	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Selectable	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	50	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+4	
Speed:	750	
Time to Max Range	48s	
Combat Move:	1500 m	
Launcher Price:	1,500 Lv	
Missile Price:	7,500 Lv	

Granit-K1	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	WASP Missile	
Year in Service:	2288	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	35 (3 rnd Pylon)	
Msl Weight:	50 Kg	
Range:	10 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	14	
Warhead Type:	Cargo	
Attack Angle:	Top	
Warhead Burst Radius:	200	
Fragmentation DPV:	8	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+4	
Speed:	750	
Time to Max Range	48s	
Combat Move:	1500 m	
Launcher Price:	1,500 Lv	
Missile Price:	7,500 Lv	

Granit-K2		
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Moskva Central Dynamics Institute	
Type:	Area Denial Missile	
Year in Service:	2288	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	35 (3 rnd Pylon)	
Msl Weight:	50 Kg	
Range:	10 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Auto Following Lock	
Homing:	14	
Warhead Type:	Cargo	
Attack Angle:	Direct	
Warhead Burst Radius:	200	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	6*4EP Minelets	
Armour:	1	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	8	
Signature:	+4	
Speed:	750	
Time to Max Range	48s	
Combat Move:	1500 m	
Launcher Price:	1,500 Lv	
Missile Price:	7,500 Lv	

Diamant ALCM

The Diamant ALCM was developed by the Russians as a long-range penetrating cruise-missile. The weapon is a two-stage system, with a turbofan engine powering the subsonic, body-lift supported vehicle through its cruise phase and a rocket-propelled, supersonic second-stage using a deployable slew-wing. Both stages are terrain-following. The Russian AF deploys a nuclear-armed variant of the Diamant, but the FAV is equipped only with the conventionally armed variant in both hard-target unitary warhead form and cargo forms.

Diamant (Алмаз) 1st Stage	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Beresovski Military Industries	
Type:	Conventional ALCM	
Year in Service:	2285	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	1750 Kg	
Range:	3250 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Inertial	
Homing:	N/A	
Warhead Type:	Cargo	
Attack Angle:	N/A	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	2	
Evasion:	6	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	15	
Signature:	-1	
Speed:	900	
Time to Max Range	13000s	
Combat Move:	1800 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	175,000 Lv	

Diamant (Алмаз) 2nd Stage	
Nationality:	Russia	
Manufacturer:	Beresovski Military Industries	
Type:	Conventional ALCM	
Year in Service:	2285	
In Service with:	Russia, CAR, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	750 Kg	
Range:	250 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Inertial+Terminal Matching	
Homing:	15	
Warhead Type:	Tamped	
Attack Angle:	Selectable	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	150	
Cargo:	N/A	
Armour:	6	
Evasion:	8	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	20	
Signature:	0	
Speed:	2000	
Time to Max Range	450s	
Combat Move:	4000 m	
Launcher Price:	N/A	
Missile Price:	N/A	

Kugelblitz Electronic Attack Pod

The Kugelblitz (Ball-Lightning) electronic attack pod is a derivative of the warhead from the Eisbär electronic attack missile modified so that it can be powered from an aircraft’s systems and with the systems beefed-up for repeat use. The larger volume allows the pod-mounted system both a wider field of fire (up to 135 degrees off-boresight) and a narrower beam in comparison to the missile warhead (which corresponds to a higher power pulse). The Kugelblitz is compatible with both the Roggenhund and the Rottkappchen.

Kugelblitz		
Nationality:	German	
Manufacturer:	Geist in der Maschine Werk	
Type:	Electronic Attack Pod	
Year in Service:	2290	
In Service with:	Germany, Venezuela, Others	
Launcher Weight:	N/A	
Msl Weight:	200 Kg	
Range:	5 Km	
Guidance Modes:	Direct Fire	
Homing:	N/A	
Warhead Type:	Electronic	
Attack Angle:	N/A	
Warhead Burst Radius:	N/A	
Fragmentation DPV:	N/A	
Warhead EP:	N/A	
Cargo:	50 ElecP (RoF 1)	
Armour:	2	
Evasion:	10	
Point Defence:	N/A	
EM Hardening:	N/A	
Signature:	N/A	
Speed:	N/A	
Time to Max Range	N/As	
Combat Move:	N/A m	
Launcher Price:	15,000 Lv	
Missile Price:	125,000 Lv	

Ground Forces Equipment

Grupo de Defensa troops and 4e Escuadron of GAOE are equipped as for Ejército Cazadores Paracaidista units. Grupo de Defensa battalions and those of 4e Escuadron comprise three line companies each with a twenty man command element and four forty man infantry platoons equipped with vz 94 assault rifles, vz 97 laser rifles, and VR-95 light machineguns and two Modelo 95 rocket launchers per platoon. Each battalion also includes a single light armour company of 13 Tirat-S security vehicles and one or more heavy weapons companies operating both deployable anti-armour missiles (tripod and range-truck mounted Bazalt pods), emplaced launch silos for air defence missiles (the ground-launched variant of the Rubis MRAAM) and point defence lasers.

Cazadores Aérea platoons operate in 20 man multiples comprising a four man command team equipped with two FAM-90S assault rifles, an L-92A1 plasma Gun and a VR-95 SAW in SBGL format and four assault teams with two FAM-90S, an A-7 Sturmgewehr plasma gun and a VR-95 SBGL. FM P300S suppressed pistols are the standard sidearm and the Modelo 95 rocket launcher is liberally issued. Sniper rifles are available, but see little use due to typically short sight-lines which make the FAM-90S a perfectly functional marksmans weapon. All teams are trained and equipped for target designation.

Enlistment

The FAV is a primarily professional force, supplemented from the Ejército’s conscript cohorts. To the considerable annoyance of the Ejército, the FAV are allowed to select from the pick of the conscripts to man the units of Grupo de Defensa. In addition, conscripts who volunteer for an additional twelve months on their service obligation are able to transfer to the FAV’s technician training programmes. The conscripts provide around 30% of the FAV’s personnel, the remainder are professionals on five year (enlisted personnel) or eight year (officer) contracts. Around 25% of conscripts choose to convert their enlistment into professional contracts, which provides access into some of the trades with the greater long-term employment prospects. 

Most FAV personnel training takes place at Base Aérea 'Teniente Luis de Valle Garcia’ in Barcelona, though advanced inter-service courses are based at the National Military Academy outside Caracas. The training facilities at Barcelona range all the way from firing ranges and assault causes to advanced simulators for all FAV aircraft. Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales conducts much of its specialist training in Amazonas at Base Aérea 'Teniente Celestine Rivera'. Conscripts from Grupo de Defensa transferring to the 4e Escuadron of GAOE are strongly encouraged to convert their service obligations to professional contracts and only long service professionals may be recruited to the Cazadores Aérea special forces.

The Future

While combat attrition is an immediate threat to FAV aircraft numbers, it cannot allow itself to become focussed solely on the short term and long term replacement of existing types is therefore an essential aim. The most immediate concern for the FAV Chief of Staff must be the impending bloc obsolescence of the entire strength of Grupo de Attaque. The Rottkappchen fleet has suffered extensive attrition losses and the continued availability of spare parts from Germany must become a concern as French involvement in Venezuelan defence issues becomes clearer. At the same time the Orel fleet is not getting any younger and the Uragans are becoming a high-maintenance load on their support staff even if they remain combat effective. The most suitable replacement for the Uragan may be the Indonesia Garuda, given Venezuelan-Indonesian cooperation in other areas of defence, although in the event of an overt association with France the Simoom-F would become the obvious candidate. For the Orels and the Rottkappchens, the Indonesian Kris is a possibility, but the Tikhonov Ti-3 Grach is a more likely choice. In Grupo de Caza the Smerch and Grads will need replacing in the next decade and the likeliest solution would be a further purchase of Shkvals, a move which might force a reduction in Grupo strength to two squadrons. The transport and utility fleet is still relatively modern and it is likely that any re-equipment would be via a further purchase of Bakkies, which have gained a positive reputation for go-anywhere ruggedness. In Grupo de Caballeria Aérea the Ti-4 Medveds are popular, but numbers are low, in the event of a replacement buy there would probably be factions within FAV backing both the Ne-76 Wiesel and the Ti-6 Bars.

Personalities

Coronel Hector Tamoguchi

Hector Tamoguchi is the commanding officer of Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales and perhaps the single most controversial figure in FAV service. His father, Coronel Xavier Tamoguchi, was the commanding officer of the Peruvian Army’s 5to Brigada De la Aviación Del Ataque, which fought a doomed struggle against the Incan uprising, ultimately crossing the border into Brazil with its colours intact rather than admit defeat. To this day the Quinta Brigada remains one of the more active resistance groups engaged in cross-border operations in the Brazilian Amazon. The Tamoguchis, however, relocated to Venezuela, where they, including the 15-year-old Hector, became citizens in 2280. 

As Incan revivalism proceeded to ever more extreme levels the Japanese and Chinese ethnic groups amongst the former Peruvian population, collectively labelled Hapun-runa by the Incans, found themselves subjected to both covert and overt discrimination and many chose to relocate to Bolivia, Columbia or Venezuela (those who relocated to Columbia have since had the opportunity to regret the decision and many have moved on to Venezuela). So eager was the Incan regime to be rid of people with no obvious Incan heritage that it actually paid them a bounty to relocate. These exiled Hapun-runa form a distinct sub-culture in Venezuela and their other destinations, one bitterly opposed to the Incan regime and largely aligned with the active resistance groups. It was little surprise when Xavier Tamoguchi emerged as a community leader for the Venezuelan Hapun-runa, it was an open secret that Tamoguchi was a paymaster/fund-raiser for the Quinta Brigada and his assassination in 2288 can be regarded as one of the first signs that the ‘liberation struggle’ along the Venezuelan-Incan border was moving into a more active phase.

By this time Hector Tamoguchi had enlisted in the FAV, and was following in his father’s footsteps as a gunship pilot. As the struggle in Amazonas erupted Hector was at the core of it as part of the Grupo de Caballeria Aérea, but he soon came to see that the hot-war focussed gunship squadrons were ill-suited to COIN. He therefore started to press for a specialist COIN unit to be formed, and thanks to several powerful patrons within the FAV hierarchy was eventually allowed to form a composite unit of gunships, troop transports and recon UAVs. Thanks to clever coordination with like-minded friends on the staff of IV División de Infantería de Selva the composite squadron was able to engineer several high-profile engagements in its first months of operations and its expansion into a full Grupo was soon authorized. 

Over the next few years Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales expanded to become the largest single Grupo in FAV and Hector Tamoguchi the single most powerful coronel in FAV, perhaps even the single most powerful officer in the Venezuelan forces in terms of personal influence. He became a frequent advisor to both the General Staff and the President on the prosecution of the war and was an outspoken advocate of cross-border operations in the media. It was inevitable that he would draw the attention of the Incan sponsored terrorists and on July 23rd, 2299 they struck back at him in particularly vicious fashion when a car bomb was detonated in the car carrying his wife and seven year old son, to twist the knife further the terrorists detonated the bomb moments after he had exited the vehicle and as he stood watching.

With his family gone Tamoguchi has become absolutely focussed on the struggle against the Insurrecto groups. His rules of operations already allowed hot-pursuit operations into Incan territory without recourse to higher authority, but members of Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales have begun to joke that hot-pursuit is a dish best served cold. At the same time Coronel Tamaguchi has become a visible and vocal supporter of the Quinta Brigada, somewhat to the embarrassment of his patrons, who sympathize with the aims of the Brigada and the Peruvian exiles, but can’t quite ignore that it is essentially a terrorist group.

Both the FAV Inspector General and Venezuelan intelligence have started to quietly monitor the actions of Coronel Tamoguchi, afraid that his personal aims may no longer precisely match with the needs of Venezuela.

Teniente Maria Sanchez, CV

Maria Sanchez never set out to be a hero, she joined the FAV straight out of high school purely because it was a job she could get without going to the effort of searching for vacancies or deciding what she really wanted to do with her life. Even with the ongoing insurrection in Amazonas she assumed she would spend her military life stuck in a hangar fixing aircraft, which was okay with her, but things started to go awry when Grupo Aérea de Instruccion streamed her into the Loadmaster course straight out of Basic and even further off-base when she had to do the SERE course mandated for all flying personnel, jungles being something the city girl from Caracas had never been interested in spending time in. Then she was assigned to the transport squadron flying the Fledermaus just as Venezuela went on the offensive in Amazonas with the deployment of the Ejército’s IV División de Infantería de Selva. 

Combat wasn’t what Maria had signed up for, particularly not insertions into hot LZs in an aircraft that was really too large for the job, but throwing troops out of the door and hosing treelines turned out to be something that she could do. When the bullets started flying she seemed to stop thinking and start doing, which got the job done and got her by.

Then came the cross-border mission aimed at a terrorist transit camp. The actual assault went well, but on the way back to Venezuelan airspace Palo-21 overflew a previously unknown Insurrecto camp and ate a Type 6 manpack SAM. The aircraft augered into a river canyon from low level and burst into flames. By the time CSAR support was on site there were Insurrectos all over what was left of the wreckage after the impact, fire and the river had had their way. Less than half the bodies of the crew of Palo-21 and the SF team were eventually recovered.

Like nearly thirty other Venezuelan families Maria’s parents received the official letter that their child was Missing, Believed KIA. Twenty-five more received the grimmer, but ultimately more certain news that their son or daughter was coming home in a coffin. Palo-21 became a symbol of the cost to Venezuela of the anti-Insurrecto campaign. Three weeks later the National Day of Mourning and the memorial service in Caracas Metropolitan Cathedral were starting to fade into the nation’s collective memory when Maria Sanchez staggered out of the jungle into an Ejercito outpost. She had been thrown clear in the impact and swept downstream by the river, losing her CSAR beacon somewhere along the way. With no more survival equipment than what was in her pockets, and only the vaguest idea of where she was, she had spent three weeks walking towards the east on the assumption that she had to reach Venezuelan territory before she got to the coast. She had a dislocated shoulder, a multitude of cuts and bruises from three weeks in the jungle and some mild scorching from the crash, but was in remarkably good condition for a woman whose memorial service had happened the week before.

Venezuela went crazy, but FAV protected Maria from the uproar until she had had a few days to recover. When she did make it onto the media circuit it was as a well-groomed naturally self-confident woman with the Cruz Venezolano on her new lieutenant’s uniform. The contrast with the shots of her staggering out of the jungle that had been taken by a fortunately positioned Ejercito combat cameraman couldn’t have been more marked. Maria became a positive symbol for the abilities of the FAV, transforming Palo-21 into an iconic turning-point in the battle against the Insurrectos (it didn’t hurt that the proto-Grupo Aérea de Operaciones Especiales was simultaneously stage-managing several showpiece operations). FAV exploited Maria for all the propaganda value it could get, rushing a ghost-written book on her escape into print that went straight into the best-seller lists in Venezuela and several other Hispanophone countries. A film followed, funded by the Brazilian media powerhouses of Belem. Released in both Spanish and Portuguese it was a significant success in both Venezuela and Brazil. Foreign dubs were less marked successes, but the money that poured into Maria’s bank accounts was very welcome.

After three months Maria’s value as an immediate PR asset had faded and FAV promised her a quiet assignment that would let her get on with her life. Maria was hoping for a nice staff job in Caracas, what she got was a position as an instructor at SERE School. Her protests that she was anything but a survival expert were ignored. She must, it was pointed out, have been doing something right during her time in the jungle. Maria was never a natural SERE instructor, skinning snakes and hunting edible bugs were skills the other instructors got across better, but Maria Sanchez, and that Cruz Venezolano ribbon on her uniform, were useful as a symbol that survival and evasion were possible even in the worst of crashes.

Over the course of several years Maria eventually came to the conclusion that there were worse jobs in the FAV than SERE instructor, just as GAOE raided SERE School for the cadre for the Cazadores Aérea. Maria found herself back in Amazonas, being run through the Ejercito’s SF Battle School and taught to kill with pretty much any weapon imaginable by instructors who made the most jungle-happy SERE instructor seem like a model of sanity. When the Cazadores Aérea structure finally settled, Maria found herself deputy commander of 1e Peloton. Her new posting has her working harder than she has ever had to in any previous post and the mission planning aspects of her job don’t come naturally to her, but when she is on a mission and thinking gives way to doing, Maria does what she has always done best: survive.
 
Maria has become an anomaly, a serving SF officer whose face is known throughout Venezuela. It still stares out of every FAV recruiting poster, although the dress blues and medal ceremony of the immediate post-Palo-21 campaign have given way to jungle fatigues, camo face-paint and a VR-95. Both Maria and the FAV hierarchy recognise the security risks that this exposure creates and Maria’s family was given back-channel financial support to relocate to Provinco do Brasil as a condition of her participation in the latest campaign. Maria herself has begun to take all leave abroad, usually in Europe or Africa, and always carries at least a holdout pistol somewhere on her person. Her eight year enlistment with FAV ends in 2304 and she is giving some thought to a post-FAV career. Her media contacts and exposure would probably let her break into a media career, but the security needs of anything Venezuelan-based might be impossible. One possibility that has attracted her is the possibility of becoming a foreign correspondent for a Venezuelan news channel, but she has made no firm decisions as yet. Her public exposure means that she has no trouble attracting male companionship, but she has yet to find one she feels is worth keeping.