Organisation and Doctrine
Unlike most countries defense forces, the NZDF is not divided into services. Originally
divided into the standard three service branches (army, navy, air force) and
using a British model, it underwent a major restructuring during the early 2040s.
Since that date it has been a single service, and this change has resulted in
significant administrative savings (after an initial cost during the transition) and
greater operational efficiency.
Within this service the major units are the following;
- Four regular force infantry battalions (1 Battalion, 2/1 Battalion,
3/1 Battalion, and 3/2 Battalion) and two reserve infantry battalions (
1/2 Battalion and 2/2 Battalion). Each regular force battalion consists of
74 human officers, over 300 RATS, and various other transport, artillery, and
support cybershells.
- Three transport squadrons (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), each
consisting of 1 or 2 submarine assault carriers (and their embarked VTOLs), 1
surface troop transport, 2 attack subs, and a submarine tender.
- One patrol squadron (5th) consisting of 8 P-20 Posiden patrol aircraft
and 6 Moa class patrol boats.
- One space control squadron (8th) consisting of the
Endeavour space facility, 6 Tempest TCAVs, and various satellites.and
support spacecraft.
- An Oceanic Brigade consists of any 2 battalions and an attached transport
squadron. Up to two of these can be formed at any one time, with a third available
if the territorial forces are called up.
The NZDF is set up with Pacific operations as the primary objective. It's forces are
trained and equiped for island hopping campaigns, including amphibious assault, and
forced entry into underwater colonies. At present most of
it's efforts are spent sparring with what few forces the TSA and PRC have devoted to this
region. At least one oceanic brigade is on duty in the pacific
at any time, although they usually operate with their forces widely dispersed - typically
one company on each of the island dependencies.
The patrol squadron is primarily for the defense of the home islands, although the
P-20's easily have the range to reach the dependencies if necessary.
Amphibious Operations
A specialty of the NZDF is amphibious operations, especially forced entry missions
into hostile islands and arcologies. The 'Taipan' type RATS is particularly suited to
such missions, thanks to it's stealthy design and amphibious capability. Unlike
traditional human infantry (who were in grave danger while in the surf zone,
since they could not operate effectively) the Taipan can act with full effectiveness
in shallow water. Indeed such enviroments provide good cover - the Taipan can simply
sit mostly underwater with just it's tail exposed, observing the enemy, and even
designating targets for other units.
A typical island hopping mission would ideally be achieved using an oceanic brigade,
although smaller islands might only merit a company or battalion taskforce. Once all forces
are in position (starting some 50-200 kilometers off the target island) the SSKs
would move in and eliminate any hostile submarines, while foward observers (usually
attached SAS troops) would designate any shore batteries for the assault carriers to
eliminate. At this stage the SSKs and assault carriers would activate their deceptive
sonar jammers, and move into towards the target islands from different sides. The enemy
cannot tell which ones are assault carriers and which are decoys, and is thus forced to
either split their forces or take a chance of defending the wrong location. The main
assault is conducted by Taipan cybershells tranmsported in MCSVs, and supported by
fire from the submarines, VTOLs, and UCAVs. Once any AA batteries are
destroyed or captured the transport VTOLs can bring in heavy units, such as
artillery support.