Settlement Defense Front

"Make no mistake, we will rip you from the history books. Every last trace of you gone! You will know loss. We will be the architects of your pain, we will build monuments to your destruction. The whole world will bear witness to this, our ascension. We will blot out your skies, we will bury you in darkness. Know this and know us. We are your enemy. We are the Settlement Defense Front."

- Caleb Thies

The Settlement Defense Front (SDF), also referred to as SetDef or simply the Front is a militaristic fascist state and paramilitary organization that seceded from the Earth's influence during the Secession Wars thirty years before the events of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. They are the main antagonistic faction and fight against the United Nations Space Alliance and its military arm, the Solar Alliance Treaty Organization.

Overview


SetDef is composed primarily of radical off-world insurgents who seek total control over the solar system. They see themselves as the true inheritors of the solar system and believe their way of life to be "stronger, more pure," than the people of Earth.

In SetDef's mind, living off-world in the harsh conditions of space has made them more worthy of ruling the solar system, while those who reside on Earth are weak "fat cats," living off the bounty of the off-world colonies. In other words, they believe in an extreme form of Social Darwinism. In contrast, the Front's name was deliberately chosen for propaganda reasons, to try to give it the appearance of being a noble underdog.

They value functionality over style, an attitude reflected in everything from their ships to their weapons and armor, which is modular, with everything designed to protect them from the harshness of space. They have re-purposed service robots into military roles, adding to their legions of troops. For SetDef, a true victory would mean the utter cessation of all influence from Earth. They are willing to kill civilians, soldiers, and anyone who gets in their way.

It seems that the Front uses English as its main language and means of communication.

SDF Territories include, but are not limited to:
 * Mars Cluster
 * Europa (Briefly)
 * Saturn Cluster (Annexed)
 * Uranus Cluster
 * Neptune Cluster (Annexed)

Origins
The origins of the Settlement Defense Front lie in the 'gold rush' period of planetary colonization when colonists first began leaving Earth, when colonists settled to mine minerals on Mars and seek the promise of a new beginning. The Front was first created as a means of enforcing martial law on off-world colonies. At some point they became radicalized and went rogue, instigating a rebellion against the Earth-led Government of Mars.

Thirty years before the events of Infinite Warfare, SetDef initiated the Secession Wars against Earth's authority, the conflict spread throughout the solar system resulting in more planets being captured by the Front, peace was later reached after the signing of the "Charon Accords" establishing the Settlement Defense Front as an independent fascist state separate from the Earth and allowing SetDef control over Mars and other territories. After losing Mars to the Front, the Earth created the United Nations Space Alliance.

Despite tensions, Mars and Earth would continue to trade, Mars needing weapons and technology and Earth needing energy. However, years of military buildup, state-sponsored piracy, human rights violations and expansionism on part of the SDF would cause several countries to implement trade sanctions on Mars. The SDF regarded this as an attack on their sovereignty and would ultimately decide to wage war against Earth, starting with an attack on the Swiss city of Geneva.

Europa Incident
18 hours before their attack on Geneva, SetDef launched an attack on a SATO weapons facility on Jupiter's moon, Europa. Although dealt heavy casualties by a SCAR "clean up crew", the mission was a success as the prototype F-SpAr cannon stored in the facility was destroyed leaving the Earth without a weapon powerful enough to destroy the SetDef fleet. They also retrieved data of Earth's planetary defense system, called AATIS, and initiated operation RIAH.

Attack on Geneva
During the annual Fleet Week Parade held in Geneva, the SDF launched their attack. A sleeper-cell agent hijacked AATIS destroying the majority of SATO's fleet in moments. This was in conjunction with a ground assault launched on the city, seeking to take out the world's leaders and other attendees. While the initial attack was repelled after chasing the SDF fleet into orbit, the Olympus Mons "dropped" into Earth's orbit, dealing significant damage to the SATO fleet, resulting in only two ships surviving, the Retribution and Tigris.

SATO and UNSA Counter-Attack
After the Geneva incident, the Retribution and the Tigris are charged with the mission to engage and sabotage SDF's military operations to buy Earth more time to rebuild the fleet. Despite high casualties in infantry regime; the death of Captain Reyes, Captain Farran, Staff Sergeant Omar, Private Kashima, Petty Officer Ethan as well as other officers, along with the destruction of both the Retribution and the Tigris, the operation was a success, with the destruction of SDF's main shipyard in Mars; SDF's main fueling station, the Olympus Mons supercarrier; at least 6 SDF carriers; multiple SDF Skelters and Destroyers; extensive loss in infantry force and armored vehicles as well as the deaths of the entire SDF command structure.

Due to the results, the SDF has been weakened to the point where they are unable to mount any further attacks on Earth.

Society and Culture
"The SDF state is the only lasting absolute in the Solar System"

- The High Council

The SDF is ruled by a totalitarian government whose influence and rule extend, but is not limited to, Mars (the capital), Saturn, Neptune, Eris, and several other Jovian moons. The High Council members are theoretically elected but this is simply a facade and Council members remain on the Council for life. Their society is deeply militaristic and heavily authoritarian and social status is based largely on individual citizens' loyalties to the regime. The SDF is also known to have a secret police organization known as Intracore. Posters warning SDF citizens that they may be monitored seem to be issued by an organisation known as Colonial Internal Defense (CID), as seen on the map Crusher and some of the corridor walls of the destroyer SDS Icarius, with the CID acronym sometimes even showing up in large letters on the ship's outer hull.

SDF society is also heavily influenced by state-run propaganda, as the state-sponsored propaganda center, the "Veritas", controls much of the spread of information within SDF territories, going so far as to block out any UNSA transmissions to SDF space. Additionally, items that originate from Earth (except for weapons) are in most cases considered contraband in SDF territories and are illegal to be possessed. SDF propaganda goes as far as to utilise an alternative calendar, marking the current year as Year 31, counted after the secession of the Front. Gun ownership is mandatory within SDF territory. The SDF also maintains forced labor camps to gather more resources to fight the UNSA. The reason for using humans as the labour rather than robots or machines (which SetDef are shown to have an abundance of) could mean that it is meant as a punishment handed down for crimes against the regime. The largest camp is rumoured to be on Titan.

The SDF worships strength and power, with the Council proclaiming that victory is ultimately superior to the truth. For the Front, the domination of Earth by Mars is the ultimate measure of right and wrong, with the conquest of Earth being viewed as the main goal the Front should aspire towards. The Front also has disdain for individual freedom, seemingly instead focusing on the collective good.

Comments by SetDef troops indicate the Front controls the reproduction of its populace, or at least access to sexual intercourse, with something known as "procreation permits". These permits may be suspended during battle operations (to the consternation of the enlisted men), though officers, Council members and High Command may be exempted. It would appear that there is a black market within the Front for these permits.

It would appear Front utilises a currency known as "credits".

Culture
Little is known about the SDF's culture. While they use English as their primary language, SDF does seem to have a fondness for Latin to a limited degree, possibly derived from traditional Latin naming of Martian geography, as demonstrated by their saying "Mars Aeternum" (Mars Eternally).

SDF culture has little in the way of embellishments, decoration or ornamentation, reflecting their utilitarian, functionality first approach to life, likely caused by having to live in the harsh environment of space. Even their preferred writing font is delivered in a consistently utilitarian style, likely to make it easy to read. However, acronyms of important organisations, such as the Front itself or the CID, are often shown in a stylised font which is harshly angular and somewhat abstract. The SDF acronym can often be found all over SDF's ships, uniforms, gear and weapons.

The Front's insignia is an irregular hexagon, composed of interlocking shapes, and can be found in either monochrome or color. The interlocking shapes symbolize individuals working together for the common good. The symbol's three colors are red, green and grey. Red represents Strength, green indicates Bounty and grey symbolizes Vigilance. Propaganda posters indicate that these are three qualities the SDF expects from every citizen. The symbol is found all over the SDF's weapons, gear, uniforms and ships.

The SDF also seem to cover their equipment in what appears to be futuristic QR codes, consisting of small triangles, which even extends to things such as their flags. Some SDF members, such as Omar Gatica, Moudy Hamo and Karl Drown even have these tattooed on their foreheads. This may be to allow rapid computer recognition, again reflecting the SDF's emphasis on functionality.

SetDef citizens have a variety of accents, though they seem to mainly be German and Russian, with some American, British and Australian accents. SetDef soldiers also have a rather unusual way of talking, often utilising quite formal speech, which can sometimes be unusually verbose, even during casual conversation. For example, rather than simply saying "I agree", they may say "confirmed" or "concurred", while also referring to UNSA cultural ideals as "cultural doctrine". Slang also tends to be lacking, aside from the use of the term "blue" to refer the the UNSA. SDF soldiers often refer to each other as "kindred".

Military
"The function of a soldier and a citizen are one."

- The High Council

The Settlement Defense Front is deeply militaristic, with its highest ranking military officers constituting the SDF High Council. The Front requires all of its male citizens to attend 15 years of military service beginning at age 12. Because of this, the Front has 900% more soldiers, per capita, than the UNSA's volunteer-based military and holds several fleets powerful enough to challenge it. Its military is commanded by the SDF High Command. In terms of technology, the SDF is a bit behind the Solar Associated Treaty Organization but nonetheless remains competitive. The construction of the Olympus Mons, with its powerful F-SpAr cannon, was part of an effort to counter SATO by putting a large amounts of resources into building a single, massive and powerful vessel.

Contrary to the UNSA, whose military is equally represented by both genders, the Front's combat forces are largely male-dominated, as women are barred from serving on the frontlines, save for auxiliary support roles. This is due to population growth programs, as the Front is grossly outnumbered population wise when compared to the UNSA. The Front sees races as equal, assuming their allegiance is to SDF. The Front uses many ranks from the Russian Navy as well as the Royal Air Force while also using Iron Cross-medals similar to the Wehrmacht, suggesting their influence. Many high-ranking officers, such as Salen Kotch himself, are of a very young age, suggesting that promotions are much faster in the SDF military.

The SDF is not above using unconventional warfare like backing pirates who steal UNSA cargo with resources bound for Earth or committing war crimes as their attack on Geneva and the Luna Gateway Port left thousands of civilians dead by mass shootings or summary executions. They also possess chemical weapons of mass destruction, as a SCAR team discovered on the SDF carrier Hellas located in Venus' atmosphere before retrieving samples of it.

SDF troops seem to refer to their military collectively as "the legions" and SDF regulars seem to be referred to as "guardsmen".

Settlement Defense Front Army
The Settlement Defense Front soldiers use energy weapons like the R3K, Volk and Type-2 assault rifles, the R.A.W. and Titan light machine guns and the DCM-8 shotgun as well as captured ballistic weapons like the NV4 and KBAR-32 Assault Rifles and the ERAD and RPR Evo submachine guns. For sidearms, SDF troops employ mostly the EMC and Oni though some soldiers also carry the Hailstorm. The SDF also has access to heavy weapons like the Eraser, the Ballista EM3 and some F-SpAr Torches.

The Front also uses various autonomous tactical drones like C6 (used as combat, security, and working drones) and C8 both deployed from drop pods as well as C12 battle tanks and small Seeker robots. The Front uses Wardens to deploy its soldiers on the battlefields.

Settlement Defense Front Navy
In total, the Settlement Defense Front's navy has approximately 60 Jump Capable warships at its disposal, leagues more than the UNSA's 21-strong navy; the SDF's navy had apparently outgunned the UNSA's for years. The Settlement Defense Front has eight different fleets in the Solar System.

The 8th Orbital Fleet is the most recently formed fleet and is led by Admiral Salen Kotch and Vice-admirals Caleb Thies and Vlad Derhachov. It is not only the largest of the Front's fleets but it also has the single most powerful warship as its flagship, the SWSC-1 Olympus Mons.

The Front's navy consists of dozens of destroyers and A-Jak cutters as support, as well as several carriers. Some of the SDF warships are powerful enough to destroy a UNSA destroyer or carrier in a single shot like the Olympus Mons and its F-SpAr cannon or the Cerberus carrier and its two rail guns.

The SDF uses the R-7 Skelter as its primary fighter jet against the UNSA's Jackal while R-16 Skelter is used by SDF aces. A prototype Skelter was stolen by Nick Reyes during Operation Phoenix.

Known Warships:

 * Carriers and Supercarrier:
 * SWSC-1 Olympus Mons (destroyed)
 * SDS Ares Vallis (destroyed)
 * SDS Hellas (destroyed)
 * SDS Cerberus (out of commission)
 * SDS Centauri (active)


 * Destroyers:
 * SDS Galaxius (active)
 * SDS Icarius (active)
 * SDS Nerio (active)
 * SDS Pavonis Mons (active)
 * SDS Iani Chaos (destroyed)
 * SDS Solis (abandoned)
 * SDS Crivitz (destroyed)
 * SDS Argas (destroyed)
 * SDS Deimos (destroyed)
 * SDS NB Quirinis (destroyed)
 * SDS Nemesis (destroyed)
 * SDS Tharsis (destroyed)
 * SDS Phobos (destroyed)
 * SDS Valiant (destroyed)
 * SDS Neredium (destroyed)
 * SDS Ascraeus (destroyed)
 * SDS Elysium (destroyed)
 * SDS Arsia (destroyed)
 * SDS Argyre (destroyed)
 * SDS Utopia (destroyed)
 * SDS Anseris (destroyed)
 * SDS Isidis (destroyed)
 * SDS Daedalia (destroyed)
 * SDS Peraea (destroyed)
 * SDS Cydonia (under construction)
 * A-Jaks
 * SDS AFB Titan Bravo (destroyed)

Post-Geneva Status
After the events of the Geneva Attacks, and the day on the conflict that followed it, the SDF took heavy losses, with a total of 1 Supercarrier, 2 Carriers, 37 Destroyers, 1 Shipyard and 13 A-Jaks destroyed by the actions of Nick Reyes and his compatriots. This however still leaves them with a navy in the range of 7 total jump-capable warships, compared to the UNSA's complete lack of any active warships, all 21 of them either destroyed or in varying states of disrepair. This leaves the SDF with a considerable advantage in the post-Geneva paradigm, making them effectively the dominant naval power of Solar System.

Their leadership situation is unlikely to have suffered much either, while the Front lost a number of officers, there still remain dozens of Admirals and Captains from the other seven fleets to take over.

Leaders

 * SDF High Council
 * SDF High Command

8th Orbital Fleet

 * Admiral
 * Salen Kotch (K.I.A.)
 * Vice-Admirals
 * Caleb Thies (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Vlad Derhachov (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Senior Operative
 * Akeel Min Riah (K.I.A.)

Battle Force

 * Captains 1st Rank
 * Oren Emin (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Khosi Siyada (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Captain 3rd Rank
 * Bradley Fillion (K.I.A.)
 * Captain Lieutenant
 * Radoslav Barkov (Alive/K.I.A.)

Scouting Force

 * Senior Lieutenant
 * Attila Zalanyi (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Lieutenant
 * Sang Yup Kim (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Junior Lieutenants
 * Cesar Magana (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Andrew Hawryluk (Alive/K.I.A.)

Outer Planet Squadron

 * Lieutenant-Colonel
 * Damien Nichols (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Wing Commander
 * Ivan Perez (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Colonel
 * Young Kim (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Major
 * Nicholas Rado (Alive/K.I.A.)

Belt Squadron

 * Captains
 * Taras Emin (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Hari Khalsa (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Rion Jones (K.I.A.)
 * Yenal Kal (Alive/K.I.A.)

Surveillance and Engagement

 * Senior Lieutenants
 * Khoa Le (K.I.A.)
 * Suresh Malakar (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Taylor Kurosaki (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Omar Gatica (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Lieutenants
 * Tom Szakolczay (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Sergio Gil (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Karl Drown (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Rulon Raymond (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Matthew Tovar (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Serozh Sarkisyan (Alive/K.I.A.)
 * Junior Lieutenants
 * Moudy Hamo (K.I.A.)
 * David Schorn (Alive/K.I.A.)

Multiplayer
The SDF appear in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare multiplayer as one of the two playable factions. They face off against the United Nations Space Alliance in every map.

Trivia

 * When designing the Settlement Defense Front, Infinity Ward took inspiration from Soviet and British designs from the 1960s. They're a "functionality first" aesthetic in terms of their design.
 * After an update on the Nuk3town multiplayer map, the Olympus Mons can be seen flying by in the cutscene a logo of the Settlement Defense Front after the "NUK3TOWN OFFLINE" message appears and Caleb Thies would read his quote out loud. This was changed back to the original end cutscene following the reveal of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
 * At the time of the events of Infinite Warfare, it is year 31 for the Settlement Defense Front, counted from the day of the Secession, when the SDF became independent.
 * In every stealth mission, SDF forces will always carry a suppressed weapon for gameplay to be much easier when picking up different weapons.