Armed Forces of Essexia

Essexian Imperial Armed Forces
Flag of the Commonwealth of Essexia
Founded	8 July 2018
Service branches	Imperial Army of Essexia Imperial Essexian Navy
Headquarters	Les Paddocks, Greater Danbury
Leadership
Minister of Defence	Rt. Hon. Francis MP
Manpower
Military age	18
Conscription	No
Industry
Domestic suppliers	CAe Systems, Paddocks Boat Co
Annual exports	1 aircraft (F-3A Heron, order by Poplar Nerva)

The Imperial Armed Forces of Essexia currently consist of 2 branches: The Imperial Army of Essexia and Imperial Essexian Navy. A third branch, the Fröhlichwaffe, existed between the 8th July 2018 and 19 June 2019, but was disbanded following a defence review.

Equipment for the armed forces is primarily provided by CAe Systems and Paddocks Boat Co, although previously enlisted personnel have also brought their own equipment into exercises.

History

All branches were formed on the 8th July 2018 by Jack D, who was then the foremost Essexian expert on military matters. Overtime, they grew independently as more people joined the military and the armed forces as a whole came under more scrutiny from the Parliament of Essexia.

Since 2019, regular strategic defence reviews have been held to determine the future of the armed forces. These have seen each branch become more intertwined in order to make better use of limited resources and manpower.

The creation of a number of private companies has also seen the technology used by the armed forces become more sophisticated; the creation of Paddocks Boat Co in January 2020 saw more formalised plans for the future of the IEN's fleet, with ships of the same class being preferred over unique ones; and the creation of CAe Systems in November 2020 saw the first plans for a domestic aircraft being developed in years.

Branches

The Imperial Army of Essexia is the ground-element of the Essexian armed forces. It consists of a number of recruits and has conducted a small number of operations and exercises.

the Imperial Essexian Navy is the naval-element of the Essexian armed forces, but is often seen as less practical. It briefly operated an aircraft carrier (The IEN Jaywick) from which RC aircraft operated. At its peak, the IEN had the global-equivalent of the 93rd largest navy in the world by number of ships.

The 17th 'Scuffling Seaxes' Squadron is a part of the IEN, within which recruits who have signed up for the unit practice aerial combat in virtual simulators. It has conducted a number of simulated operations in various scenarios, and is arguably the most proficient group of pilots in the micronational community. Most members are versed in cold starting aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet and General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon/Viper.

Previous Branches

The Fröhlichwaffe was the dedicated aerial-element of the Essexian armed forces, but was disbanded on the 19th June 2019 following a strategic defence review. This was due to its lack of inventory and effectiveness. Air assets were then split between the IAE (Army Air Arm) and IEN (Fleet Air Arm), but are now entirely encompassed by the IEN.

Suppliers

There are currently two private companies who have been contracted to supply the Essexian armed forces: Paddocks Boat Co and CAe Systems. The former is responsible for managing and building all of the IEN's naval vessels, whilst the latter is responsible for specific technologies and developing air assets.

Paddocks Boat Co has also expanded into Poplar Nerva to manage their own ceremonial navy's fleet.