Idahobeef

Due to its location and history, the Byzantine Empire has an extensive and lavishly equipped military, including a significant naval force even though it is mainly a land-locked power. The main objective for the Empires' military is to stave off an attack from the Russian Imperium, and has large-scale armies equipped with the newest tanks and artillery to pursue that mission. The Empires' land forces are primarily defensive in nature and the leaders of Byzantium have never even seriously considered offensively attacking the Imperium in a first-strike manner. Unfortunately the reverse is not true: Russia has attacked its neighbors in a first-strike manner 75% of the time it has gone to war, the Byzantines just 5%. Nearly all the Army's' planning and training has been to deter a Russian or German attack, as well as to maintain Byzantiums' vast overseas holdings. The Empire has a standing army of over 1 million soldiers, with 5 million reserve forces. Training is taken very seriously within the army and live-fire exercises are the norm. Reserve forces train once a month to stay current with new Byzantium weapons and tactics.

Undersea combat has raised its ugly head several times in the last few global and regional wars, thus the Byzantine Navy has fielded a large number of nuclear-powered combat submersibles. Technically the same size as regular "submarines"....MORE HERE SOON

The air defense of the Byzantium military is extensive and up-to-date, with 75% of its aircraft being the most modern versions. With more than 2,000 aircraft in the air, the Byzantium Air Force has a slew of warplanes to call on during any crisis, including strategic bombers, tactical fighters, short and long-range tanker aircraft, and dozens of additional types of planes. The vast majority of these craft are stationed in and around Kiev and Byzantium City. This force posture is a result of the large Russian forces to the north of the country, with Moscow fielding almost 5,000 airplanes.

Since the early 1900s, the Byzantium Air Force has built air dirigibles to support both the army and navy, and their use continues to this day. For the Navy, zeppelin resupply at sea has saved the service billions of dollars since a zeppelin supply dirigible can travel 3 times faster than a normal ocean-going supply ship. This has negated the need for most ocean-going supply vessels within the Byzantine Navy. These zeppelins also serve as radar warning stations in various locations across the Empire.

For the Byzantium Army, zeppelins can quickly field small groups of armed forces in areas that have little or no road/rail infrastructure, and they are the ideal platform for special forces insertion because of their extremely low sound profile.

Zeppelins also serve in various capacities within the Empire, from mail service and colonial resupply to mobile hospital and natural disaster evacuation support. These air dirigibles give the Empire enormous flexibility in the air, while most other militaries around the world have scrapped their zeppelins after the Third German War.

These airships also serve as light carriers for the Byzantium Air Force (twelve total, carrying 24 aircraft each) and they can also engage in anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine combat.

ICBM: 300 (3,000 warheads)

IRBM: 1,200 (3,600 warheads)

SLBM: 400 (2,000 warheads)

Bombs: 4,000

Other: 2,000

TOTAL: 13,000 warheads

The Byzantium Nuclear Triad is strong and healthy, with more than 90% of its weapons being of the most modern type. The Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF) has more than 300 multi-warhead ICBMS, the vast majority are aimed at Imperial Russia. In fact, the Empire and the Imperium have been locked in a deadly and ever-growing game of nuclear stand-off, with more and more atomic weapons being produced every year. This destabilizing arms races is alarming some of the other major powers on the planet and as a result they are now urging steps towards comprehensive arms treaties.

The more short-ranged ballistic missiles (IRBMs) are mostly based in the Ukraine, again fielded against Russia. These weapons are mainly kiloton-ranged, from 10kt to 200kt. Some are equipped with multiple warheads.

More than 400 submarine-launched ballistic missiles are afloat on Byzantium submersibles, most of which are based in the North Sea and in the Arabian Sea. Strategic analysts have confirmed that the majority of these weapons are aimed at Imperial Russia, with each missile having five nuclear warheads, all in the megaton-range. They are considered city-killing terror weapons only since they have largely inaccurate warheads.

The Byzantium Air Force fields an impressive array of nuclear bombs and cruise missiles, with the Strategic Bomber Force (SBF) having more than 200 heavy bombers that are capable of a nuclear strike and over 2,000 tactical planes with the same capability. Constant training is done, with most training missions targeting Imperial Russia.

The rest of Byzantiums' nuclear forces are mainly defensive in nature. Nuclear-tipped interceptor ABM missiles defend several critical cities, including Byzantium itself. Atomic Demolition Munitions (ADMs) can seal up vital invasion routes and nuclear depth charges can be used with deadly accuracy against enemy submersibles. 

American Union: relations between the Union and the Empire are excellent. The Union and Empire are jointly working on a space program and military-to-military contacts are extremely robust.

China: land issues between Byzantium and Peking over the Empires' control of Guangdong and the Shanghai Enclave keeps relations strained between the two powers.

French Empire: continual trade and colonial issues (mainly in Africa) keep liaisons between Paris and Byzantium at a minimum.

Great Britain Dominion: a Triple Alliance ally with Byzantium and Poland keeps interactions between these powers very strong. Dominion and Empire naval forces work together closely on the worlds oceans and seas.

Greater Germany: several world wars against their neighbors has crippled German diplomacy, with statecraft between Berlin and Byzantium being a bare minimum.

Italy: immigration issues (hordes of Italians looking for work within the Empire) and Byzantiums' long-standing occupation of Sicily has made relations between both nations very poor. However, the Empire does allow immigrants from Italy to settle within its colonies, and nearly 25 million have done so in the last 80 years.

Japanese Empire: constant corporate and naval irritation by Japan against Byzantine interests in Asia keep relations between these two nations poor, especially since the most recent war on Earth 7 was between them (Japan lost the conflict).

Kazakh Union: territorial wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Union are ongoing and have occurred on and off for generations. Byzantium has minimal contacts with the "stans".

Polish/Lithuanian Confederation: A Triple Alliance member, Byzantium works closely with Poland in regards to Russian influence and intentions. Excellent relations between the two countries allows immigration of Poles and other minority groups to Byzantiums' world-wide network of colonies.

Russia Imperium: The extremely poor interactions between Moscow and Byzantium has been going on for hundreds of years, and isn't getting any better anytime soon. Two major wars have been fought between the two powers and now a spiraling out-of-control nuclear arms race has all the other major nations of the world worried. A third major war between the Empire and the Imperium, one in which nuclear weapons could easily be used, cannot be ruled out.

Spanish Empire: Relations between Byzantium and Madrid have waned on and off for decades. With zero Byzantine interest in the regions controlled by the Spanish Empire, recent diplomatic ties have been mostly positive. Madrid strongly supports colonialism around the world, including Byzantiums imperial efforts.

Turkish Empire: for hundreds of years the Turkish Empire has waged war on and off against Byzantium, gaining much land in Asia Minor at Byzantiums' expense. Today, diplomacy between these two nations is at an all-time low, with Turkey working with Russia to supplant Byzantiums' growing power.

Bubble Steel: Developed by the Byzantine Empire, this process combines high-grade steel and graphene at high heat, creating a incredibly strong and light material known as "bubble steel". The resultant ‘foamed metal’ is then allowed to cool; it is easily cut or rolled into large sheets. Components made by this process are unusually high in compressive and tensile strengths. This metal technology has become widely applied, the only solid-cast components now being those used in electronics applications, where the crystal structure or purity of the metal is a requirement. It is nearly ten times stronger than standard steel and weighs 95% less than the same amount. Naval architects have started using it, equipping ocean going ships with this fantastically hardened metal that has been renamed "battlesteel". This metal is used especially in airships and Byzantiums' "mobile forts".