Arab Navy
البحرية العربية Arab Navy | |
250px | |
Active | 1948–present |
Country | Arab Union |
Branch | Navy |
Role | Naval and amphibious warfare |
Size | 1,388,398 total • 605,448 active personnel • 677,115 reserve personnel • 105,835 civilian personnel 2004 operational vehicles • 908 helicopters • 880 F or F/A jets • 6 aircraft carriers • 6 amph. assault ships • 78 destroyers • 55 cruisers • 30 frigates • 10 nuclear submarines • 11 antimining ships • 20 sub. tenders |
Military age | 18–49 |
Conscription | All males upon reaching 19 years of age; obligatory service length is 30 months |
Part of | Union Defence Forces |
Garrison/HQ | Budapest Naval Station, Port Fuad, Palestine |
Colours | Green, red, navy blue |
Engagements | See those of the Arab Army |
COMMANDERS | |
Commander-in-chief | President Bashar al-Assad |
Minister of Defence | Roman Kindi |
Chief of staff | Anas Sarraf Antoun |
INSIGNIA | |
Naval jack | 225px |
The Arab Navy (Arabic: البحرية العربية al-baḥriyah al-‘arabīyah) is the naval service branch of the Union Defence Forces (the armed forces of the Arab Union). It is the second largest active service branch of the Union Defence Forces by number of personnel. It is primarily responsible for the protection of the territorial waters of the Arab Union as well as projecting power overseas at the direction of the Military Command Council and the Ministry of Defence, and is considered a blue-water navy.
The command and operational headquarters of the Arab Navy (including the General Staff) are housed at Budapest Naval Station, located in Port Fuad, Palestine at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. There are an additional 33 operational naval bases in the Arab Union, as well as a known 17 abroad (one in Cuba, one in Venezuela, two in Vietnam, three in Iran, four in Russia, and six in China). As of 2021, the Arab Navy has a total of 605,448 active duty personnel, making it one of the world's largest naval forces in terms of manpower. The General Staff also commands a reserve force of 677,115 personnel.
Organisation[edit | edit source]
Corps[edit | edit source]
The Arab Navy consists of four corps, with all fleets, divisions and elements subordinate to a particular corps. The first and largest corps is the Admiralty Corps; this corps consists of all regular elements of the navy, meaning all fleets and subordinate flotillas, divisions, task forces and elements including all relevant personnel. All naval ships are found within the hierarchy of the Admiralty Corps.
The second is the Naval Air Corps (NAC); this corps consists of all airpower available to the navy, and is to be distinguished from the Arab Air Force, the land-based (and larger) air warfare service of the Union Defence Forces. Each of the Arab Navy's six aircraft carriers belongs to a specific fleet or battle fleet of the Admiralty Corps, whereas the actual aircraft using the aircraft carrier are part of a specific wing or division of the Naval Air Corps. The majority of aircraft operated by the Naval Air Corps are capable of landing on aircraft carriers; however, the Naval Air Corps does employ large military transport jets as well, which are used for two primary purposes: as reconnaissance aircraft, and as refuelling vectors for other Naval Air Corps aircraft.
The third corps is the Amphibious Corps; this corps functions as the marines of the Arab Navy, consisting of highly-trained light infantry commando units inserted amphibiously, either directly via amphibious landing craft (which belong to the Amphibious Corps) or indirectly via airlift from Navy ships by the Naval Air Corps helicopters; the Naval Air Corps also provides close air support to the land operations of amphibious infantry units upon their deployment.
The fourth and smallest corps (by number of personnel) is the Naval Medical Corps (NMC): Like other branches of the UDF, all Navy-employed medical personnel, which includes both enlisted, commissioned and civilian support personnel, are part of the Naval Medical Corps. The NMC provides hospital services at all naval bases, basic clinic services to all medium and large naval vessels, a rapid medevac service for sailors injured aboard vessels and amphibious soldiers injured on land, which utilises 10 NAC-owned helicopters modified into advanced life-support ambulances. NMC staff are also sometimes brought to land to assist with injuries in navy-controlled areas.
There is also talk of a small "Fifth Corps"; however, the existence of such a corps has never been acknowledged by the Navy nor the Ministry of Defence, and if it indeed exists, is likely responsible for extremely classified activity warranting its classified nature.