Air Crona
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Air Crona was an Arcerion-owned passenger and cargo airline established in 1956 and covertly owned and operated by the Office of Public Safety and National Security from 1957-1988. It provided support via covert and clandestine means to operations in South Crona and across Ixnay, including special activities in numerous Cronan nations such as Washakara, Istrenya,and Porlos.
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| Founded | July 14, 1956 | ||||||
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| Fleet size | 80-100+ | ||||||
| Destinations | ~12 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kurst Capital Region, Moorden Governorate, Arcerion | ||||||
| Revenue | Unknown | ||||||
| Employees | Unknown | ||||||
Early History
The airline was created shortly after the establishment of the OPSNS, although until the early 1980s no official linkage was proven. It was constructed as a method to insert and extract secret operatives and intelligence teams across Crona for the purposes of assisting the OPSNS conduct missions in support of the Confederate Parliament. It's first major operations were inserting multiple teams of special forces and intelligence agents from the Special Arcer Service Regiment and agents from the OPSNS' Operations Directorate during the 1959 Istrenyan Civil Crisis.
Towards the end of the conflict, Air Crona began to incorporate the use of helicopters and a limited amount of wide-body airliners to help smuggle weapons and aid to the Nationalist rebels fighting against the syndicalist and communist forces in Istrenya. During this time Air Crona had several incidents at small rural airstrips and smaller regional or provincial airports, as with the waning ability of the Nationalist forces to fight Air Crona was also involved with the evacuation of Arcer citizens and other Occidentals from the country.
Operations during Fourth Bush War
Smaller operations and airlifts during the Istrenyan Crisis and the outbreak of the Fourth Bush War in 1964 coincided with a massive increase in the amount of serviced airports, regions, and the overall fleet size of Air Crona. The Fourth Bush War and the sheer scale of combat along the Operation Teflon, Kiln, and Terrace areas meant that Air Crona had to move more teams from the Operations Directorate as well as the Arcerion Commando Regiment and Special Arcerion Service Regiment. Small teams inserted via light prop aircraft trained anti-communist forces in Kelekona, Telokona, and TItechaxha at the opening phases of the war, and also provided light strike and airlift capabilities clandestinely.
From 1966-1973 Air Crona would provide the primary means of infiltration and exfiltration for Arcer and some other Occidental personnel, and gave them a logistical supply line and also would deliver air drops of aid to anti-communist forces behind the lines of communist forces embattled in the Operational areas. Air Crona also would airlift volunteers to fight, as well as help shuttle refugees out. A limited photo reconnaissance mission set was undertaken between 1970-1975, where the Arcer Army would recieve mission information on the movements of the Free Telokonese People's Movement (FTPM), Telokonan Worker's Army for a Free Crona (TWAFC), Kelekonan Militia for Free Indigenous People (KMFIP), Free Indigenous Army (FIA), Movement for a Liberated Aboriginal People (MLAP), and the Riverland Tribe Worker's Party (RTWP). These intelligence photographs and visual reports by bushplane pilots recruited by Air Crona helped direct Arcer Command and Arcer Special Forces teams to the ratlines used by the rebels and insurgents and directly contributed to their interdiction.
Due to the complete breakdown of diplomatic negotiations between Arcerion, Washakara, Titechaxha, Telokona, and Kelekona, there was no formal Arcer airline or transportation. Diplomats and politicians had no means to move cross-border throughout Southern Crona. This included special negotiators for the peace talks towards the end of the Fourth Bush War, and Arcer politicians who could not formally be seen travelling to countries in a state of conflict against the Arcer government.
Post-War Period and Modern Era
After the conclusion of the Fourth Bush War, Air Crona struggled to maintain its relevancy as its profile and operations during the Fourth Bush War had given rise to a number of news articles and formal requests for information to the Arcer government. Struggling to now covertly and discreetly insert Arcer operatives, discussions began in the early 1980s to dissolve the airline. At OPSNS headquarters, it was determined that advancements in jet engine technology and the considerable rise in the commercial airline and civil air freight industry meant that the relevance of a private airline dedicated to supporting the Office was no longer necessary.
By 1986, the fleet was portioned off and sold, with the final flight taking place in 1988 to Washkara, a passenger airline service that after its conclusion, resulted in the aircraft being sold to the Washakaran government. The numerous bush plane pilots and other aircrew that worked for Air Crona either retired, found other civil employment, or were recruited secretly by the OPSNS for future missions and operations to staff the growing Operations Directorate which was taking part in the Occidental Cold War, conducting missions on behalf of the Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association as a partner of Burgundie and Urcea in Crona.