Navy

/meat/ has a rich naval tradition - it has been a country of raiders ever since its foundation, mounting numerous raids against foreign coast for fresh meat for centuries. Even following its defeat by /morig/ more than a century ago and its subsequent recline in influence in northern Holosea, /meat/ still maintains one of the larger naval presence in the region, especially towards the south beyond the rising naval power of /morig/.

The modern /meat/ navy is designed with its /morig/ counterpart in mind. To counter the artillery-heavy approach of /morig/ navy, /meat/ warships tend to be smaller in size - barring its small bomb ketch fleet known as atenamitl or drakar, most /meat/ warships are rated by its contemporaries as fifth-rate frigates. However, compared with /morig/ designs, /meat/ ships put a much heavier emphasis on bow chaser guns, swivel guns and - in newer warships - carronades.

Apart from armament, /meat/ ships, whether of military or civilian designs, are often described as galleass (natively known as acalpolli or skeid) or xebec (natively known as acalli or snekkya) due to their focus on speed, as well as mixed use of junk rig and oars for propulsion in unfavourable wind conditions. While larger /meat/ ships often has a gun deck, they are rarely armed with broadside cannons.

The unusual characteristics of /meat/ naval design is rooted in its fondness for naval boarding. As part of /meat/ religious doctrine, /meat/ naval combat tactics put a heavy emphasis on disabling and capturing enemy vessels and their crew. While advents in metallurgy and ballistics resulted in many other navies shifting their focus from naval boarding to cannon bombardment, /meat/ retained its time-honoured tactics, instead utilising newer technology to faciliate its boarding warfare. Because of that, compared with foreign ships of similar size, /meat/ warships tend to be contain more compartment for a larger military attachment at the expense of heavy naval cannons.

/meat/'s use of junk rig, lateen and oars allow their ships to obtain better mobility against ships with square rig outside downwind conditions, which is to be exploited in order to approach target warships from safer directions. Once within range, /meat/ warships will make use of both mundane ammunition like chain shots and chuubanite-enchanted smoke bombs against their target, with the intention of reducing its ability to reposition or resist. As distance draws closer, soldiers on board of /meat/ships tend to make use of slings - a standard equipment for most /meat/ fighters - to attack the target, using ammunition from the aforementioned smoke bombs, regular lead bullets, as well as whistling bullets to disable or obstruct their ability to mount a defence against the boarding.

Due to the often interchangable nature of /meat/ civilian and lesser military ships, a concrete number of /meat/ warships cannot be provided. However, the most recent survey of /meat/ navy put the number of acalli at around 150. Larger, dedicated warships are easier to discern, with their numbers estimated to be around 50, roughly divinded between acalpolli and atenamitl. In addition, /meat/ navy also maintains at least 75 "special purpose ships", semi-expendable, quick-to-build warships designed to cause significant damage against high-value or -threat targets at the cost of itself.