Abstract:

PMIR 19-8182 is a formal analysis of the tactical, operational, strategic, and grand strategic goals and capabilities of the Iridian Armed Forces.

The report is based on reports from foreign observers embedded within the Iridian Armed Forces and combat experience.

Tactical:

The Iridian Armed Forces principally relies on the mass concentration of firepower and numbers to achieve objectives. This is due to their relatively large units of maneuver and the use of conscripts. Outside of the Iridian Armed Forces is the Prestigious Academy, a paramilitary unit with many differences on a tactical level.

Equipment

Iridian equipment, while comparable on paper to Paternian equipment, is often considered inferior. This was due to poor quality control, especially in shipbuilding. While quality control has improved significantly since then, Iridian equipment is still well below the quality of Paternian equipment. As a result, firepower is often massed to offset inferior quality.

Iridian equipment is often clones of existing Paternian equipment, usually earlier models. While the clones are identical in function, the copies are made with little regard to suitability with Iridian doctrine. As a result, the Iridian forces are often sent to combat with equipment of either limited quality or suitability.

Doctrine:

Iridian forces are often extremely defensive, and prefer the use of large concentrations of firepower from static bases. Maneuver is comparatively limited due to the relatively poor logistical capacity for expeditionary warfare, the consequence in the heavy investment in fortified citadels, both inland, coastal, and on natural or artificial islands.

Land Forces:

The Iridian Army is the largest of the branches, and emphasizes defensive combat with static fortifications known as "Citadels." The relatively small number of mechanized units and marginal logistics capabilities indicate an emphasis on defensive combat against Paternian offensive operations.

Counter-Insurgency/Internal Security

Both the Iridian Armed Forces and the Prestigious Academy proved less capable against insurgent groups. This is simply due to the fact that they were trained and equipped to fight a more conventional foe, namely the Paternian Republic. Such combat often occurs at relatively long ranges against uniformed opponents which prefer to dig in and fight on contact.

However, guerrilla forces fight in an almost inverse fashion; they prefer to engage at very short ranges, do not wear readily identifiable uniforms, and prefer hit and run tactics. This is to neutralize the firepower advantage government forces typically have.

As a result, during the Iridian Insurgency, the Iridian Army fared poorly. While able to drive them out of cities at the cost of high civilian casualties, they soon found the forests to be death traps for their forces. As a result, most preferred to simply remain in their defensive compounds.

Naval Forces:

The Iridian Navy is a green-water navy optimized for the defense of littoral areas and the adjacent deep ocean seas. Unusual for modern navies, the Iridian Navy maintains a Mahanian view and its strong emphasis on concentrations of large numbers of capital ships and the possession of overseas territories.

The primary doctrine of the Iridian Navy is to perform saturation attacks with anti-ship missiles in order to overwhelm defensive systems. The principal launch platforms for these missiles are either small missile boats or large capital ships. In addition, aircraft such as ground-effect vehicles and modified transports have also been employed in this role.

The anti-ship missile is held to great importance within Iridian tactical doctrine, and they have developed credible anti-ship missiles of the ballistic and cruise variety. In addition, they have invested heavily into hard-kill countermeasures, namely the Zhakta gun-missile system and the Zvesda laser weapons system.

These developments indicate that the Iridian Navy places a significant emphasis on anti-ship missiles as its primary weapon.

Gun armament on these vessels are unusually heavy, with vessels featuring multiple heavy gun mounts fitted with either conventional or electromagnetic weapons. These weapons are largely defensive, although can be pressed into an offensive role when missiles are impractical or uneconomical, much like Paternian guns.

Air Forces:

The Iridian Air Force is a tactically-oriented air force optimized for naval strike and air defense. As a result, they operate a large number of short-medium range multirole strike aircraft, but limited numbers of long-range strike aircraft, a distinct lack of logistics types, and no strategic bombers.

The primary doctrine of the Iridian Air Force is to perform saturation attacks with long-range missiles against both air and surface targets. To this end, it has successfully adapted anti-shipping missiles for use against land targets, and has a wide variety of air-ground munitions.

Many of their types are V/STOL-capable, although Iridian V/STOL flight control systems lack ease of use compared to Paternian systems.

Their employment of unmanned aerial vehicles is a stark contrast to Paternian doctrine. Iridian UAVs are designed for deep-penetration strikes and high-speed reconnaissance, and thus have greater impact on an operational and strategic basis, but limited tactical impact compared to cheaper and more versatile Paternian types.

However, the Iridian Air Force is handicapped by the lack of many multi-role types, as well as any long-range strike aircraft. This became apparent in recent conflicts as Paternian Air Force F-111 Aardvarks operating as tactical bombers could strike many Iridian targets with near-impunity and with high effectiveness against densely-concentrated Iridian forces. In contrast, the Iridian Air Force had difficulty doing the same against more dispersed Paternian forces.

Citadels

Citadels are hardened strongpoints with large quantities of long-range armaments for use against air, land, and naval units. The employment of directed-energy and electromagnetic weapons in these fortifications are extensive, and are primarily designed for use against aircraft.

The Citadels feature advanced layered defensive lines. Outer rings are equipped with relatively basic equipment suitable as a security buffer, and are meant to provide advanced warning against potential assaults and deter saboteurs or commando raids. They are also points which Iridian forces could infiltrate behind Paternian lines.

Proper lines of defense within a Citadel usually have three distinct layers; an outer defensive line, a central communications and supply line, and a final command line. If the defensive line falls, the central communications and supply line will become a hold line to either allow a counter-attack or an orderly retreat. If this line is broken, then the command line will become a temporary hold line as an orderly retreat is conducted.

Depending on the size and importance of the citadel, there are often multiple lines of defense. These lines of defense are supported from central fire support brigades, which surround the core. The core is heavily protected from both direct, indirect, and air attack, and serves as a communications and command center for the citadel.

Larger Citadels may have several sub-citadels surrounding a central citadel. These sub-citadels are in effect a significant defensive bastion which could properly support other citadels. The Iridian Army is responsible for manning most of the forces, although anti-ship defenses on coastal or island Citadels are manned by Navy personnel. Citadels equipped with medium-long range missile systems and those around or within the Capital district are manned by Prestigious Academy personnel.

Discipline:

Discipline among the Iridian Armed Forces and the Prestigious Academy is notoriously poor, albeit for different reasons. The extreme harshness of their training regimen and the military court system, dictated by a desire to produce hardened combat warriors, have a significant negative effect on morale.

Drug use is common among the conscripts, although they are severely punished if caught. When deployed elsewhere it is not uncommon for crime and vice to crop up. Due to the long time of service of conscripts, hazing is extremely common, although statistics are difficult to obtain regarding this. Due to these factors, desertion and draft-dodging is extremely common, and is punished harshly.

While the training regimen and military court system of the PA is somewhat harsher and tougher, morale is extremely high among these forces. This is due to the far more extensive indoctrination, the all-volunteer nature of the force, and greater benefits afforded to PA members.

However, the fanaticism of the PA is considerable, and this often leads to them committing to reckless actions that result in their needless destruction. Still, unit cohesion and discipline is far better within the PA than in any unit of the IAF.

Operational:

The Iridian Armed Forces operate rigidly, with a high degree of centralization and emphasis on top-down communication. The preference for massing units results in the creation of divisions with great firepower but limited flexibility. The exception to this is the Prestigious Academy; their force composition allows for a more flexible approach comparable to the general Paternian approach.

Command

Command within the Iridian Armed Forces is very top-down and centralized compared to the Paternian Armed Forces. Iridian non-commissioned officers often have very little say in tactical decisions, frequently requiring higher levels of authorization to conduct basic tactical missions.

Often, this results in delays in action which forces which emphasize adaptability take advantage of. Many Iridian regiments and even divisions have been surrounded and captured whole without much resistance simply because of breaks in communication. Without orders, the units were paralyzed and found themselves in a hopeless situation.

The inability to perform combined arms operations in offensive operations is a persistent feature of the Iridian Armed Forces. Forces on land, air, and sea, even between units of the same organization, have been largely incapable of providing meaningful coordination between them.

Units

While both Iridium and Paternia employ divisions as part of its force structure, Paternian divisions are far more loosely organized, and are for administrative purposes when coordinating actions between brigades.

Iridian divisions are rarely split up, and perform actions as a single division. Support elements found at the brigade level in Paternia are found at the division level in Iridium. The result is a greater concentration of firepower, but significantly reduced flexibility.

Iridian conscripts are of relatively low quality compared to Paternian enlisted. While they are drilled constantly and maintained at higher readiness than Paternian servicemembers, their morale is relatively poor, and their individual capabilities limited. This is especially the case in small-unit actions. When Paternian and Iridian platoons make contact, Paternian forces usually win due to the greater adaptability of Paternian forces.

Prestigious Academy

The Prestigious Academy, or PA, is an all-volunteer paramilitary force with its own separate land, sea, and air forces under its own command structure.

The PA forces are considered nearly-equal to Paternian forces in organization, flexibility, training, and morale. Due to concerns over the capabilities of the Iridian Armed Forces, the PA are employed as a check, creating an uneasy duopoly with the IAF.

Despite this, the PA and IAF do work together in military situations, with the PA often serving as a flexible, cohesive, and responsive force, with the IAF providing critical mass in operations.

Logistics:

The Iridian Armed Forces possess limited logistical capacity for expeditionary missions. Much of their airlifters are of tactical nature, while they have virtually no heavylift rotorcraft. Their sealift capacity is also limited.

This is further compounded by the large number of discrete types in use with the Iridian Armed Forces; there are at least 8 different fighter aircraft in service, with significant overlap in capability. Weapons are not much different; due to arms shortages and a heavy reliance on imported weapons, Iridian infantry squads often have at least six unique rifle and pistol cartridges for their weapons with comparable performance, with an even greater variety of magazines for the rifles. In contrast, Paternian forces generally limit the number of different cartridges to two rifle cartridges of differing characteristics, and only one pistol cartridge.

While Iridium has great manufacturing capabilities, much of it is dated and is devoted to multiple pieces of equipment with overlapping capabilities. In conflicts with Paternian forces, many Iridian units, even PA forces, capitulated or surrendered not because they ran out of ammunition and parts, but because they had incorrect ammunition and parts for their weapons and equipment.

Strategic:

The aim of the Iridian Armed Forces is to defend the sovereignty of the Iridian Federation against foreign invaders. As a result, the Iridian Armed Forces features an extremely strong defensive focus with the Citadel system, limited power projection capabilities, and the use of conscripts. Any nation which intends to invade Iridium will have to contend with an extremely tough shell. The cost to crack this shell can be quite expensive in man and material, especially to lesser powers.

The Iridian military has invested heavily into unconventional weapons of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear nature. This serves as a sure deterrent against any state capable of challenging them; anyone who wants to engage in full-scale warfare will lose more than they bargained for. If the Citadels are breached, then the end of the world will be certain.

Their principal opponent in the minds of all branches is the Paternian Republic. The development of a strong Navy to at least contest the Paternian Navy in home waters, and a strong air force to do the same with their airspace, is obvious.

Grand Strategic:

Iridian foreign policy is considered reactionary, preferring to react to foreign developments than to pursue their own. However, it is deeply anti-Paternian, as evidenced by tense encounters between Paternian and Iridian forces in international waters.

Aggression backed by significant military force is standard fare for Iridian military policy. Often uncompromising and in some cases unreasonable, it is seen as a survival tactic against a Paternian juggernaut. Compromise and cooperation is seen as a sign of weakness.