Xianren People's Naval Forces¶
The Xianren People's Naval Forces (XPNF) — Renmin Haijun — are the Federation's principal maritime service and the world's second-largest navy by displacement, active personnel, and hull count. At approximately 245,000 active personnel and ~120,000 trained reserves, the XPNF has moved over the past two decades from a coastal-defence force to a regional blue-water force with growing global reach. The Federation is now the world's largest single national producer of naval combatants by tonnage, and the XPNF fleet is undergoing continuous fleet renewal at a rate no other single nation matches.
Organisation¶
The XPNF is organised as three theatre fleets distributed along the Federation's three principal maritime frontages, plus a strategic-submarine command that reports directly to the CMC.
| Fleet | Home theatre | Principal focus |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Sea Fleet | Eastern Coastal Theatre; Sea of Xianren | Principal fleet; Hinomura-counter posture; carrier strike group flagship |
| Southern Sea Fleet | Southern Coastal Theatre; Sea of Pelawan | Southern maritime approaches; Malavanu / Sangharan / Ryukai facing |
| Northern Sea Fleet | Interior/Northern coastal-adjacency; Endorin Ocean | Commercial-shipping-lanes protection; smaller of the three fleets |
| Strategic Submarine Command | Underground bunkered basing, Interior + Eastern Coastal | The Federation's SSBN force; reports directly to the CMC |
Each theatre fleet is commanded by a three-star officer and comprises a carrier strike group (where applicable), a surface action group (multiple), a submarine flotilla, a naval aviation component, and auxiliary and sustainment forces.
The carrier force¶
The Federation operates three aircraft carriers at the Turn 3 baseline, with a fourth in advanced construction and a fifth in early construction. Federation carrier doctrine is oriented toward regional sea control rather than global power projection — the FSA's eleven-carrier fleet is materially and doctrinally out of reach, and Federation acquisition planning has been explicit that the objective is not to match the FSA but to achieve carrier-based sea control in the Sea of Xianren, the Sea of Pelawan, and the immediate Endorin approaches.
| Carrier | Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| XNS Ruiguang (CV-01) | Type-002 (ex-Soviet-derived STOBAR) | Federation's first operational carrier. In service since 2012. Home-ported Eastern Sea Fleet. |
| XNS Fenglai (CV-02) | Type-003 (domestic STOBAR) | Federation's first domestic-designed carrier. In service since 2019. Home-ported Eastern Sea Fleet — the fleet flagship. |
| XNS Zhulong (CV-03) | Type-004 (CATOBAR, nuclear) | Federation's first CATOBAR + nuclear-propulsion carrier. In service since 2026. Home-ported Southern Sea Fleet. Signature capability at Turn 3. |
| CV-04 (in construction, name TBD) | Type-004 | Under construction Fenglai Coast shipyard; expected commissioning 2029. |
| CV-05 (early construction) | Type-005 (next-generation CATOBAR) | Under construction; expected commissioning ~2033. |
Federation carrier air wings are organised around approximately 36–48 fixed-wing aircraft plus 8–12 rotary-wing and 2–4 AEW aircraft. Standard carrier air wing composition:
- J-15B multirole fighter (~24) — carrier-based multirole strike fighter, roughly Su-33 / Super Hornet class
- J-15D electronic-warfare variant (~4) — dedicated EW airframe
- J-35 stealth multirole fighter (~12, growing) — fifth-generation carrier fighter; entering fleet service 2026–2028
- Z-20J utility helicopter (~6) — general utility + SAR
- Z-8J ASW helicopter (~4) — heavy anti-submarine warfare
- KJ-600 AEW aircraft (~4) — carrier-based AEW (CATOBAR carriers only)
Type-002 (Ruiguang) does not operate the KJ-600 (no CATOBAR); it uses the smaller Z-18J AEW helicopter for AEW coverage.
Surface combatants¶
The XPNF surface fleet at Turn 3:
| Class | Type | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type-055 destroyer | Large multi-role destroyer | 12 (16 planned) | Federation's most-capable surface combatant; roughly Zumwalt-class displacement, Aegis-comparable AAW; 112 VLS cells |
| Type-052D destroyer | Multi-role destroyer | 32 | Federation's principal DDG; roughly Arleigh-Burke-class capability; 64 VLS cells |
| Type-054A frigate | Multi-role frigate | 42 | Workhorse ASW / general-purpose frigate |
| Type-054B frigate | Multi-role frigate | 8 (28 planned) | New-generation Federation frigate; entered service 2023 |
| Type-056A corvette | Coastal corvette | 60 | Coastal defence and littoral operations |
| Type-071 amphibious dock | LPD (16,000 t) | 8 | Marine Infantry principal lift platform |
| Type-075 amphibious assault | LHA (36,000 t) | 3 (5 planned) | Marine Infantry aviation-capable amphib |
| Type-901 replenishment | Fast combat support | 4 | Fleet oiler / stores ship, carrier-strike-group class |
The Federation is producing new surface combatants at approximately 8 destroyers/frigates per year — a build rate that substantially exceeds any other single national navy.
Submarine force¶
The XPNF submarine force at Turn 3 comprises:
Attack submarines (SSN)¶
- Type-093B nuclear attack submarine — approximately 10 in service, with 4 additional Type-093B under construction and the successor Type-095 in advanced design
- Type-091 nuclear attack submarine — 4 remaining in reserve service, being phased out
Diesel-electric attack submarines (SSK)¶
- Type-039C AIP diesel-electric submarine — approximately 26 in service; the Federation's principal Sea-of-Xianren coastal-defence sub. AIP propulsion; roughly equivalent to Hinomuran Kairyū-class capability
- Type-039A/B legacy — 8 remaining in reserve service; being phased out
Cruise-missile submarines (SSGN)¶
- Type-093G nuclear cruise-missile submarine — 4 in service; carries Type YJ-18B submarine-launched anti-ship missile
- Type-093G-Attack (modified) — 2 in service; carries land-attack cruise missiles
Ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN)¶
- Type-094 nuclear ballistic-missile submarine — 6 in service; carries JL-2 SLBM (submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile; 8,000+ km range; MIRV)
- Type-096 next-generation SSBN — 2 in advanced construction; will carry JL-3 SLBM (~10,000 km range)
Total Federation submarine force: approximately 60 in service, second globally to the FSA (~65) and more numerous than any other single national submarine force by a wide margin.
The Federation submarine fleet is a strategic-defence asset rather than a global-reach patrol fleet. Federation SSN operations concentrate on the Sea of Xianren and adjacent approaches; SSBN operations are conducted from bastioned patrol areas in the Sea of Xianren under Federation air and surface protection.
Naval aviation¶
The XPNF operates a substantial land-based naval aviation component in addition to carrier air wings:
- 6 fighter regiments operating J-15 carrier-adaptable and land-based variants
- 4 maritime patrol regiments operating Y-8Q maritime patrol / ASW aircraft
- 2 anti-ship strike regiments operating H-6K/J bomber variants (co-manned with Air Defense Forces bomber wings)
- 3 rotary-wing regiments operating naval helicopter variants for shore-based ASW and utility
Doctrine¶
Sea control in the near seas¶
The XPNF's principal doctrinal orientation is sea control in the near seas — the Sea of Xianren, the Sea of Pelawan, and the immediate Endorin approaches. Federation naval doctrine holds that a Federation navy that can dominate the near seas can secure Federation coastal territory, control Federation commercial-shipping lanes in the near seas, and hold at risk any external force that seeks to project into the near-seas theatre. This is regarded as sufficient for the Federation's strategic-defence requirements; blue-water global reach is treated as a longer-term aspiration rather than a current doctrinal objective.
The A2/AD system-of-systems¶
The XPNF operates within the broader Federation anti-access / area denial doctrine — see Armed Forces. Within the A2/AD system, the XPNF's principal contribution is:
- Submarine force — persistent presence in the near-coast and Central Xianren Basin; the principal weapon against external carrier strike groups approaching Federation waters
- Carrier strike groups — provide organic air cover for Federation surface forces and enable Federation power projection into the near-seas theatre
- Surface combatants — layered air-defence-and-anti-ship posture; the outer ring of the A2/AD envelope
- Coastal ASM force (operated by Rocket Force, coordinated with XPNF) — the inner ring of the A2/AD envelope
Growing blue-water aspiration¶
The Federation is investing in blue-water capability — nuclear-propulsion carriers, forward logistics infrastructure in the Magnolian southern arc, long-endurance replenishment ships — with the medium-term aspiration of a small blue-water force capable of operating in the deeper Endorin approaches and in the Sea of Xianren-adjacent international waters. The Southern Sea Fleet CV-03 Zhulong strike group is the Federation's principal blue-water experimentation vehicle.
Principal naval bases¶
- Longwan Naval Base (Eastern Coastal Theatre) — the Federation's largest naval base; Eastern Sea Fleet HQ; principal carrier home port
- Fenglai Naval Base (Eastern Coastal Theatre) — secondary Eastern Sea Fleet base; submarine flotilla home port
- Nansha Naval Base (Southern Coastal Theatre) — Southern Sea Fleet HQ; CV-03 Zhulong home port
- Hongcheng Naval Base (Northern Coastal Theatre) — Northern Sea Fleet HQ
- Undisclosed underground SSBN base (Interior + Eastern Coastal) — Strategic Submarine Command SSBN bastion facility
- Anyu Naval Support Facility (Special Administrative Zone) — Southern Sea Fleet forward-support facility
The Hinomuran counter-programme¶
Federation naval acquisition since the 2010s has been explicitly shaped by the Federation-Hinomura strategic rivalry. The core Federation-Hinomura naval competition is a submarine-versus-ASW competition:
- Hinomura fields the world's largest conventional-submarine fleet (Kairyū-class AIP) sized explicitly to threaten Federation naval operations
- The Federation fields a comparable-scale conventional-submarine fleet (Type-039C AIP) plus a nuclear-submarine fleet the Hinomurans cannot match — but has to operate them in the same Sea-of-Xianren-shallow-water environment where the Hinomurans have a home-water advantage
- Federation ASW investment (Type-054A/B frigates, Y-8Q maritime patrol, Z-18/Z-8 shipborne ASW helicopters) is directly targeted at the Kairyū threat
Federation and Hinomuran naval forces do not routinely operate in each other's near-coast environment; the Sea-of-Xianren middle-basin is the principal area of contact and mutual-signalling. Federation naval doctrine treats the Kairyū-class fleet as the single most-consequential external threat to Federation naval operations.