CDF fighter aircraft

Sober Thought's Community Defence Forces use CDF Air Service fighter squadrons for air defence and escort duties.

There is a single sequence of ordinally numbered Fighter Squadrons, e.g., 15th Fighter Squadron, consisting of dozens of squadrons per wave of one hundred million national population. Three letter squadron codes (e.g., ABA, AHC, CUD, FFL) are painted on the fuselage, a fourth letter after the roundel indicates the specific aircraft in the squadron.

Command and flight crew

The commanding officer of a fighter squadron is always a Chief Lieutenant, the executive officer a Lieutenant and the Squadron Sergeant a full Warrant Officer. The squadron CO and/or XO may exercise their right to supplant a pilot Vice Lieutenant if they feel they need to be flying to command properly, and if applicable the Squadron Sergeant may join them.

Land-based squadrons have 12 aircraft organized into three Flights of four fighters each, a Lieutenant as Flight commanding officer-pilot and the remainder with Vice Lieutenants as pilots. Land-based no. 1 airframe squadrons have 27 aircrew: 12 pilots, 12 air weapons/surveillance fliers and the three command staff. The F-25 Felipe has only a single flight crew member, but its squadron's ordnance section has an extra flier. When land squadrons are organised into wings, they serve strictly as airborne fighting units.

Naval squadrons, whether based on aircraft carriers or coastal bases, have only 10 aircraft but are always part of wings. Each squadron consists of three flights of three airplanes plus the CO or XO's. No. 1 airframe naval squadrons have 23 aircrew, less two pilots and air gunners from their land counterparts. No. 22 airframe squadrons, whether land or naval variants, have no weapons or surveillance NCOs and slightly fewer ordnance and maintenance personnel.

Ground crew

The land squadrons have 200 ground and air crew while naval squadrons have 165, inclusive of air crew and the senior officers and senior warrant officer. The Air Maintenance Flight, consisting of 120 and 100 ground crew respectively, is staffed by the maintenance engineering branch and is dedicated to keeping the fighters fueled, armed and aloft.

It has four officers (Flight and Detachment commanders, an XO seen as superfluous for the relatively safe job of air maintenance), regardless of flight size. A variable number of jet mechanics, artificers and ordnance specialists fill out the roster.

The Administration Flight is tasked with keeping the people going, so it includes a variety of medical, logistics, personnel and administrative staff to ensure people are paid, fed, clothed, housed and kept health. It consists of a Flight CO and XO, Lieutenant and Vice Lieutenant respectively, and either 51 or 40 non-commissioned members.

No. 1 Airframe

The 1 airframe's variable geometry wings pivot to create a delta for greatest speed and remain straight for greatest manoeuvrability. Whatever its configuration, the 1 airframe has an officer-pilot in the front and a non-commissioned flier responsible for air weapons or surveillance in the rear. It is similar in concept and execution to the real world British-German-Italian air force Panavia Tornado and the American navy F/A-18 Hornet.

The airframe is the cornerstone of CDF naval aviation, with the largest number of 1 airframes configured as the F-1 Faust. The German name alludes to both Dr. Faustus and Panzerfaust, and its namesake is used for land-based coastal defence. The FN-1 Faina (formerly Fenella), whose name is a Slavic given name, is based on aircraft carriers. Both types of naval fighters are organised into squadrons of 10 airplanes and 220 all ranks.

When used as part of CDF Army Air Corps, the airframe is most frequently configured as an FG-1 Fagan for strafing ground and surface targets. When used as part of a Strategic Air Corps, it is most frequently configured as an FB-1 Fabien for bombing the same targets. The main F-1 variant is used in both corps, but most of the air defence or air escort aircraft are F-25 Felipes. The FR-1 Frederick tactical reconnaissance variant is used by both types of corps.

No. 22 Airframe

The 22 airframe is a fixed-wing, single-jet vertical/short take off and landing airplane. It is similar in concept and execution to the real world Harrier, but is not nearly as ambitious as multi-role the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter. The single officer air crew is responsible for both piloting the aircraft and operating the weaponry.

The most common variant is the F-22 Faith, used by the CDF Naval Service. Each aircraft carrier carries two short squadrons of 10 aircraft and 220 all ranks. They are very manoeuvrable and, as V/STOLs, are well suited to landing in confined spaces.

The ground attack variant is the FG-22 Flaget, used by both CDF naval aviation and CDF Army Air Corps. A small number of Faiths and Flagets serve on cruisers and landing ships to provide air superiority, close ground support or both.

No. 25 Airframe

The F-25 Felipe, a fixed wing land-based jet, is the most common fighter airframe in the Community Defence Forces. It is similar in concept and execution to the United States Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon or Viper.

It is used exclusively by the CDF Air Service's Strategic Air Corps and its main defensive role is to intercepting incoming bombers in national airspace. When used for offensive operations, it escorts outgoing B-10 Bob heavy bombers and TX-6X transport or airborne refueling aircraft.