5360 - A guide to naval command and structure.
The Kohav (Star) is an entity of the Beiteynuese Government responsible for the overall management, oversight and tactical command of the Beiteynuese Defense Force, Beiteynu's military. The Beiteynuese Naval Command, Beiteynu's navy branch, falls under the jurisdiction of the Kohav.
OOC: This guide stems from almost 1 year of work and research on Beiteynu's navy, which you can read more on the wiki, here.
1. Recognising the types of navies
Naval command and structure are arguably one of the most important pillars of a functioning state in securing its coastal defence and its interests across Terra. In a world of massive distances, the navy is the only military branch that can traverse effectively, albeit with heightened expedition costs. Countries are usually a mix of different types, with the exception of those which do not maintain a coastline (ex. Dundorf). But they are marked largely by their most dominant type.
1. Brown-water navies concern riverine and littoral applications
2. Green-water navies are mostly limited to coastal operations and need frequent refuelling and docking stations, with most vessels unable to withstand the realities and challenges of open seas
3. Blue-water navies are those that are able to withstand open-sea operations, which each expedition costing a substantial amount of money
As an example, a nation can mostly maintain a green-water navy but may still have 1 formation that is capable of blue-water operations. That is usually the most frequent manner in which a green-water navy advances to a blue-water navy, through a gradual build-up and, of course, purpose.
2. Distinctions in the types of navies
The primary distinctions between operating around coastlines and operating at open sea across great distances are:
- Experience, is the big one. Experience is gained from a) partaking in actual operations like a coastal bombardment of a hostile nation, b) conducting exercises and c) contracting the help of more experienced navies and/or investing in naval related education.
- Expertise, comes from both experience and investment into the navy, in meaning that the more you modernise and update, the more expertise a nation gains.
- Capability, which stems from being able to have (cost), maintain and operate vessels of the navy, with larger ones (ex. destroyers) being of higher difficulty.
Above all else, time is the main pillar. It usually takes anywhere from 50 to 150 and +200 years to get to the top, and not without its massive challenges. Having said that, time is also relative to the effort and conditions when a nation builds and expands its naval forces. An actual need for expediency changes everything, which is usually fuelled by an agenda that is based on popular support (ex. fear of attack from a hostile nation, securing trade, protecting a pivotal pass).
And, of course, a shitload (excuse the Canrillaise) of money.
3. A quick intro to warships
Here is where it starts getting blurry. The definitions are quite frankly vast, and most modern combatant ships, or "warships" (incl. submarines) are usually blurred in their distinctions, considering their sheer size and firepower capability, in most cases.
1. Patrol boats, gunboats and the like are essentially self-explanatory.
2. Missile boats, these are still fast and they're most commonly associated with coastal defence, having ship-to-ship missiles. They are usually there to stop enemy vessels from reaching pivotal entries on coastlines. They are probably the most frequent vessel of green-water navies.
3. Corvettes, are bigger than missile boats and offer sea-to-air and sea-to-ground, sometimes including a hangar for an anti-submarine helicopter. They can be small or massive, looking like frigates; most frequently used by advanced green-water navies in extending that "defensive" stance.
4. Frigates, are the corvette equivalent of blue-water navies, in being able to withstand the open sea and are part of larger formations. They are usually multi-purpose, but are commonly referred to as the main anti-submarine vessels.
5. Submarines, those squishy boats under the water (OOC NOTE). The primary distinction is the "nuclear powered" submarine, which essentially means the type of submarine to traverse long-distances for ridiculous amounts of time. A spy's biggest dream.
6. Destroyers, are the main combatant ships and fortresses at sea. They are the equivalent of the now defunct battleship.
7. Cruisers, are essentially destroyers but most commonly used and referenced as "specialists" for protecting aircraft carriers.
8. Aircraft carriers, those bad boys that everyone dreams off (OOC NOTE).
There are of course logistics, support and utility ships and boats, including amphibious assault vessels and landing docks. The terms above are not entirely exclusive or strict, for that matter, as they're blurred based on the class, variant and purpose of the vessel manufactured.
Yes, helicopter carriers do exist.
4. Classes and variants
Quite simple, but hard to understand at first.
- Classes are blueprints.
- Variants are designs.
For example, the Beiteynuese blueprint of the Sa'ar line of ships is used for missile boats and corvettes alike. These are different classes of ship (4 vs 6). The Sa'ar 4 has a different variant for Beiteynu's navy and a different variant for Kundrati, since the use, climate and command are entirely different (2 different navies).
And it almost always has to do with the manufacturer.
Shameless marketing message.
Military equipment, for the greater good.
5. Recognising the types of formations
Now, here is where it gets really blurry as navies across Terra are entirely different in command and structure, meaning that the definition of formations varies from country to country, as each country has built and uses its navy differently, even if its of the same type.
Beiteynu, for example, is a defensive force that doesn't even recognise patrol boats and missile boats as "warships", since it has fused coastal guard (your traditional coast guard) and coastal defence into one. Why? Look how it looks and where it's located on the map (2/4ths are coastlines with pivotal access to the Red Bass Ocean to the left, south to Majatra, north to Artania and east to the Migrant's Pass and the rest of the world); pretty much exposed by sea. Strategically speaking, if you wanted to conquer Beiteynu, you would primarily need a naval force, since Pontesi to the east is mostly mountainous and hard to launch a ground assault (although there's an extensive flat opening to the south with Barmenistan, but it's mostly through the aridness of the Desert Bank).
Having said that, Beiteynu recognises the following types of formations:
- Fleets, consisting of carrier strike groups (we'll get to this in a bit), flotillas and squadrons
- Flotillas, composed of more than 3 and less than 20 homogenous warships and act as the primary lines of both attacking and defensive operations, made of corvettes, frigates, submarines and destroyers
- Squadrons, for groups of patrol and missile boats limited to coastal operations, specifically tasked with coastal defence as part of the fleet's overall command and structure (as a result of what we talked about before on Beiteynu's naval essence)
Now, aircraft carriers need large formations because simply put, they need protection from surrounding destroyers, submarines, frigates and utility and logistics ships. The previously popular name for these formations was Carrier Battle Group (CBG), which included many carriers. Eventually the formations went into a smaller group called a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), consisting of 1 aircraft carrier and its surrounding force of 2 - 5 destroyers, frigates and submarines.
The aircrafts and the aircraft carrier itself are usually referenced as a Carrier Air Group (ex. Shalom Carrier Air Group).
Most higher level blue-water navies choose to maintain the smaller and more robust CSGs.
6. Flagships vs Capital ships
Simply put, they are the leads of their formation. In a flotilla of 3 destroyers, 1 of them is the flagship. Capital ships are usually the biggest warships in fleets (ex. an aircraft carrier) and lead the entire fleet.
7. Size
Less capable navies maintain bigger numbers, more capable navies maintain smaller numbers.
It's all about the firepower.