NationStates Jolt Archive

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Omzian Military Review - Thirty Years Since Victory, Dakarie Year 90 Report

The Omzian military, better known as the Omzian People's National Defence Forces or simply the Omzian Forces, is the backbone of the sovereignity and independence of the Omzian nation, and is the spine of the security of the Omzian homeland. Created originally in the Second Omzian Civil War as a paramilitary force, the Omzian Forces was offically incorporated as the armed forces of the Omzian Republic on September 3, Dakarie Year 1. Following a period of stabilization and eventually the Sniper Country invasion of the Omzian homeland - better known as the Homeland Defence War, the Omzian military under a series of progressive modernization and reformation to transform it from a disorganized group of conscript soldiers in disrepair, to an all-volunteer force of professional personnel.

Thus, to celebrate the 30th Homeland Victory Day marking the 30th year since victory in the Homeland Defence War, the Omzian military has unveiled a new report detailing the various branches of the Omzian military.

Omzian Army and National Guard (Including Honour Guards)
Strength: ~200 Divisions organized into various corps and group armies, under a total of six Army Group-equivalent commands; ~18-20 million total

The Omzian Army and the National Guard is the foundation of the Omzian ground forces, which has transformed from a weak branch to one of the strongest branches in the Omzian military. The largest of all three branches overall, and having the second largest active component the Omzian Army and National Guard enjoyed a steady growth after the barely-earned victory in the Homeland Defence War. Its operation doctrine has changed well, as its shadow as a small, infantry-centered ground force has been left behind, to procure for a new image as a large, professional, mobile and mechanized force built around the use of armoured and mechanized warfare. There are about a total of 200 divisions, organized into small Corps formations and large strategic level Group Armies, optimized for the "double defensive-offensive" doctrine.

In the future, it is expected that many things will change as well, most notably in the implementation of various new equipment standards, and the reorganization of the Group Armies into smaller but much mobile forces consisting of about two to three corps each. As well, the Army is will also continue to enjoy an equal share of budgets, and will further focus its doctrine on mobility as instead of overwhelming numerical firepower.

Mechanized Forces
Out of the two hundreds divisions, a large majority are mechanized and armour divisions of various sizes, to reflect the centralization on mobility and firepower as opposed to numerical superiority. This is also reflected in the actual personnel number of the Omzian Army, as the Omzian Army is smaller than other armies in terms of combat personnel, but has a significant backing in the logistical aspect of warfare, having a combination of division and corps-level logistical units, and independent, group army-level units as well.

The doctrine of the Omzian Army's Mechanized Forces centers around the use of mobility as an aid to its overwhelming firepower, utilizing a mobile armoured force of a medium-large size to counter enemy formations of larger numbers. As well, though the Mechanized Forces utilizes the usefulness of close air support from other branches, it is also able to operate independently in case if air force support is unavailable, with the use of large, division and corps-level integrated artillery and anti-aircraft artillery units. Each division has a total of three Combat Brigades, along with division-level artillery, air defence, army aviation, and combat support units. The three combat brigades are the key to large ground-based armour formations in the Omzian doctrine, to provide mobility and firepower while utilizing the concept of combined arms to fight in both maneuver and attrition-style warfare. Artillery and army aviation, composed of rocket and tube-based strike platforms and helicopters, would provide valuable support for these friendly forces in both defensive and offensive missions against large formations of enemy infantry and armoured forces alike. Air defence would provide cruical anti-air capability before the achievement of air superiority by the air force, while combat support units would provide the necessar support needed.

Despite all these, the Omzian Army's Mechanized Forces in its current state is still far from perfect, suffering from a combination of the diversity of equipments (most importantly the incorporation of multiple tank designs), and the lack of a significant artillery and combat support arm to support these combat forces during long-term operations. However, to combat this, the Omzian Army is moving forward as it is preparing to retire a portion of older tank and other vehicle types, while it is also moving to standardize secondary armaments and spare parts, to increase logistical simplicity. Further, there is also a growing trend in the implementation of heavier and more capable engineer units to fight in future urban warfare, while the artillery arm is moving towards the implemention of a large rocket artillery force. As well, to utilize newer technologies available to the Omzian Army, ground-level ELINT and SIGINT units will also be deployed, with several brigade-level dedicated ELINT units being expected within the year, providing invaluable support against enemy communication and sensors.

Light Forces
Currently, the Omzian Army sports a rather small number of light forces, in order to focus on firepower and mobility rather than numbers. Composed of a combination of light mechanized and light infantry forces, the Light Forces is composed of a few tens of airborne, air assault, and light infantry and mechanized infantry divisions. The light infantry divisions focuses on mobility through rapid deployment and amphibious operations capability; the airborne and airmobile forces however, are tasked to conduct large-scale airborne assaults to support both defensive and offensive operations. Though both types of forces are drastically different in their mission, they nevertheless form the rapid-deployment capable, small, and rather elite force of light infantry within the Omzian Army.

However, these are all about to change, as several important concerns has been cited. One problem is the actual firepower of the Light Mechanized Infantry Divisions, as while they do have great mobility, they simply cannot be expected to combat heavier enemy units directly, while the effectiveness of the Omzian Air Force's strategic transportation arm is also growing with the employment of larger cargo aircraft; furthermore, the need for more light infantry forces means that the light mechanized are rather becoming a liability, causing a money crunch for the Omzian forces. Thus, it is expected that within the upcoming years, these light mechanized divisions will be assigned into the Omzian Navy as naval infantry, while newer two-brigade strong light infantry divisions would be employed in greater numbers.



Air Force
[to be filled]


Navy
[to be filled]


Air Defence Command
[to be filled]


Special Operations Command
[to be filled]

[*winces* You tried to make a hybrid mech/light infantry division? Ouch, that had to have hurt. I tinker around with divisions, but it's usually with the heavier stuff where a little mix-and-match never hurts things. Glad to see you're giving a little clarity to your infantry's mission.]

[*winces* You tried to make a hybrid mech/light infantry division? Ouch, that had to have hurt. I tinker around with divisions, but it's usually with the heavier stuff where a little mix-and-match never hurts things. Glad to see you're giving a little clarity to your infantry's mission.]
OOC: Basically think of three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams combined into one, with the extra divisional-level artillery, aviation, and support. It was supposed to be the core of my rapid deployment forces as the vehicles used are light enough to be transported by many transport aircraft, but then seeing its actual firepower and the likes I've decided to transfer it to naval infantry, while improving the firepower, mobility, and anti-tank capabilities of the light infantry divisions (by lowering down the anti-tank capability to platoon level, and adding some extra rocket launchers at the squad level; anti-air capability is also increased down to the platoon level as well).

However, in wars, you'd certainly not see a whole column of 1 million soldiers marching down somewhere; instead, they operate either on the corps or the Group Army level, and are generally capable of outmaching huge 1 million-man infantry armies with greatly miscalculated armour support, with their superior organization, mobility, and firepower.

Air Defence Command

The Air Defence Command, like the Special Forces Operations Command, is not a separate branch of the Omzian forces, and is managed under a joint leadership between the Omzian Army and Air Force. However, it is indded a separate command, and though it incorporates corps and group-army level units as well, its task is to defend the Omzian aerospace and the sovereignity of the Omzian homeland against enemy airborne forces at all costs, using a combination of surface and aircraft assets. During its wartime, its purpose will remain the same, though some corps-level assets will peel off to join in direct action. At the same time, each participating airbase and air defence sites are linked through an extensive communications and control network, to achieve its mission of defending civilian, military, economical, and leadership targets against enemy attacks in the forms of bomber raids and missile attacks.

Sensors and Detection

The first line of defence in the Omzian Air Defence doctrine is always the extensive network of sensors, usually operated by independent units of the Omzian Army. Compromised of both active and passive sensors, these sensors are placed strategically around the shores and large economical and population concentrations of the Omzian nation, and are linked through a secure and hardened communications system to the two major air defence command centers of the Air Defence Command, one responsible for the defence of northern Omz, and one responsible for the defence of the south. The first layer compromises of a series of long-range radars placed on islands, shores, and mountains of the Omzian maritime regions, usually consisting of large long-range OTH-type radar arrays, and other large radar systems optimized for the detection of both aircraft and missile threats. Deeper down is a series of passive listening stations, including specialized ELINT sensors and special "television communication towers"-based systems, mostly for detecting stealthy targets and threats. This is supported by specialized airships and high altitude Helios-type UAVs, which are responsible for early warning and detection of massed aerial raids. Further down, A wide array of radars and other sensors can be found, either independently or operated as part of the massive air defence nets formed by surface-to-air missile batteries.

Aircraft-Based Defences

The second line of defence is the interceptor aircraft of the Omzian Air Force. These aircraft are tasked for the direct interception of enemy aircraft and possibly cruise missiles as well, once detected; alternatively, in many times they are also used to patrol Omzian air space that are only sparsely covered by ground assets. Usually fast and well-armed, these versatile aircraft are able to carry out a wide range of missions, including high altitude interception of aircraft and unmanned cruise missiles if necessary, utilizing both missiles and gunnery systems if necessary. The first layer of this defence is the highly capable force made up of Air Force Interceptor Wings, compromised of the OMASC F-125 interceptor, and is backed up by regular air superiority aircraft if necessary. These aircraft -- being high performance aircraft dedicated to the task of air defence -- are fully capable of countering massed enemy air attacks, and is also capable of cruise missile defence if necessary, though they have a very small ballistic missile defence capability as well (using specialized interceptor missiles). When enemy threats are also in the form of ballistic missiles, the MB-1K bombers of the Omzian Air Force would also be called up, each utilizing the imported Lancelot missile against both ballistic missiles and low-flying satellites. If enemy threats are able to penetrate the air space, the last ditch defence is the massive force of the Defence Fighter Wing. Composed of trainer-converted-to-fighter F-104 aircraft, and armed with a radar system along with medium range missiles, they are geared to medium-altitude air defence of population and industrial centers, many times assisting their high-performance counterparts as well.

Surface-Based Defences

The third line of defence is the utilization of massive networks of surface-based air defences. Though the Omzian Army never concentrated on fixed air defences with thousands or even tens of thousands of anti-aircraft batteries like many other nations due to their reliance on aircraft as a second line of defence, this third line of defence is nevertheless equally impressive, and can stand up to a wide variety of enemy threats. Organized either in group-army level or independent units, these networks of SAM batteries are backed up by the backbone formed by the imported Fire Arrow and OMASC High Arrow systems. Being extremely long range systems, these are used specifically for high altitude defence, while the latter is specifically designed for the role. In the case of ballistic missile attacks, specialized interceptors carrying "kill vehicles" are also employed, against ballistic missiles and in-fligth suborbital aircraft like the Hypersoar. This is further backed with the long range air defences, compromised of the imported Odin and Skymer designs, used to protect large population centers and military sites. The next level down are the Grendel and SAARM units, and while the Grendel would assist the longer range systems directly, the SAARM units as passive systems will be used against electronic warfare, command-and-control, and intelligence-gathering aircraft, homing on the signals that they emit.

In case the enemy utilizes low-level "penetration" raids, a massive force of Vespa medium range air defence missile systems are used for dealing with low level threats. Further for cruise missile defence against cruise missiles attacking both non-air defence and air defence targets, another set of systems and units are used, this time consisting of the OMASC SADV-7 low altitude air defence vehicle, boasting an array of cannons and short-range missiles to defeat both subsonic and supersonic missiles alike. To protect fixed sites such as air bases, large industrial facilities, and other military bases, the Omzian Army is also deploying a growing number of retired Millennium Gun naval units, with each turret placed onto the chassis of retired armoured vehicles. Additionally, towed anti-aircraft guns based on Millennium CIWS units boasting nightvision sensors and autonomous operating capability are also kept, while specialized manned turrets consisting of MANPADS missile mounts and 15.5mm AA guns are also kept as low-cost alternatives for the cruise missile defence question.

Though often overlooked, naval assets are used to conduct the air defence mission in defence of Omzian air space as well, though they will most likely consist of small contingents of dedicated vessels, holding choke points near both the northern and southern coasts of Omz. This mainly consist of the imported Anarchy II destroyers, each boasting an array of surface-to-air and specialized anti-ballistic missile missiles, mainly used - in conjunction with land and air-based air defence - against both ballistic missiles and high altitude aircraft.

Improvements to be Done

However, there are still improvements that are to be made to shape the Air Defence Command as a force that is capable of defending Omzian airspace and beyond. Though it is deemed that existing sensors are adequate, there still has been a lack of assets that are capable of detecting stealthy targets, aside from the existing passive arrays. Thus, it is determined that a new set of low frequency and bistatic radars, along with IR-based systems, would be deployed. These systems, due to their nature and performance with rather poor tracking and targeting capabilities and ECM resistance, are used as early-warning systems, allowing aircraft to scramble early and heighten the land-based defences' state of readiness to combat stealthy targets.

In regards to air-based assets, though currently the force of F-125 interceptors are nevertheless massive, while the F-104s in Defence Fighter Wings are still highly capable of conducting their missions, additional evaluations has determined that the existance of a large number of Defence Fighter Wings are more of a liability blocking the growth of the Omzian Air Force in general, straining budgets while occupying up extra air bases and other military facilities. Thus, it also has been determined that the current force of F-104Bs will be cut by about 60-70% percent, to allow the growth of other Air Force assets.

For the land-based defences consisting of surface-to-air missile systems, though currently the force in general is more than capable of meeting the requirements, when compared to other nations the force is still quite weak in comparison, despite the stronger force of aerial interceptors. Thus, the Omzian Army will embark on an air defence expansion program, consisting of the procurement of more air defence systems from foreign contractors. To combat both high-altitude threats and cruise missiles at a further level however, it is also expected that more High Arrow units will be stationed around major population centers and large concentrations of military facilities, utilizing newer rail launcher designs to allow the stowing of more missiles in underground bunkers, while increasing the launch rates of the launchers, and also increasing automation of existing targeting systems. As well, in regards to cruise missile defence, it is also expected that improved SADV-7 units, consisting of improved IR and LADAR-based targeting systems, will also be used, with some utilizing IR-guided Black Fly missiles as opposed to the longer range Slingshot missile. It is also expected that the process of fitting Millenium guns onto armoured vehicles chassis will continue, though the number of towed anti-aircraft guns and manned turrets for the cruise missile defence role will decrease.