Orbital Forces Command (Barrayar)
| Orbital Forces Command | |
|---|---|
 Lesser Coat of Arms of the Imperial Military Service | |
| Active | 2901 A.D. - Present |
| Country | Barrayar |
| Branch | Orbital forces and interceptors |
| Part of | Imperial Service |
| Garrison/HQ | Imperial Service Headquarters, Vorbarr Sultana |
| Nickname |
Imperial Star-fighters Orbital Artillery |
| Engagements |
Second Cetagandan War (2876) Komarran Conquest (2896 - 2897) Escobaran War (2899) Third Cetagandan War (2903 - 2904) Hagen Hub War (2921) Polian War (2962) Aslund Crisis (2991) |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Orbital Staff | Lieutenant General Aral Byerly Phourthonous |
The Orbital Forces Command (ORBIFORCOM), also known informally as the Starfighter Command, is the command responsible for orbital deployments and interceptor (both suborbital only and capable of non differentiated flight inside ad outside orbit and atmosphere) assets of the Imperial Service. While equal in rank and position, the Chief of the Orbital Forces Staff takes precedence over the Landing Forces Command. The spacefighter fleet command is mostly dominated by non-Vor officers.
ORBIFORCOM is the descendant of both the Imperial Air Force and of some assets of the Imperial Navy. In 2901, immediately after the Vordarian Pretendership, the Imperial Air Forces was merged with the other Armed Forces to form the new Imperial Military Service. Since 2993 ORBIFORCOM's crafts are commissioned as His Majesty's Starfighter, with the initialism HMSF designating them, or His Majesty's Orbital Platform, with the initialism HMOP which identifies them. While the LANFORCOM has a naval hierarchy, the ORBIFORCOM has a ground-based ranks system, also because the now-disbanded Imperial Air Forces retained a rank system very similar to those of the Army. Form a cultural point of view, interceptors forces and units regard themselves as a sort of space cavalry, while orbital defences are closely linked with the artillery heritage.
It should be clear that ORBIFORCOM assets do not contain all starfighters or all interceptors and orbital military satellites: not only the Logistics Command handles on its own significant suborbital and orbital crafts, but the Space Forces and Ground Forces have environment-dedicated crafts on their own: the Space Forces embark SPAFORCOM shuttles and interceptors, and may embark also ORBIFORCOM assets if required; on a similar way, the GROFORCOM has several low-altitude vehicles.
The ORBIFORCOM mainly operate its Flying Wings from star bases and from the biggest vessels, but its orbital defence constitute the majority of space fixed installations. The Command is divided according functional lines; there are four Component Commands (ORBIBARCOM, ORBIKOMCOM, ORBISERCOM and EXPRESINTCOM), which group seven numbered Forces, each consisting of space interceptors (also known as starfighters) or of fixed orbital defences; Forces are deployed in combined or one-type elements according their destination.
