North Syrian Army (21st Century Crisis)

The North Syrian Army (Arabic: جيش شمال السورية, French: Armée syrienne du Nord) or the NSA are the military forces of the Kingdom of North Syria. They consist of the North Syrian Ground Forces, the Royal Air Force, the Royal North Syrian Navy, Special Forces, and the Royal Palace Guards. The NSA is headed by Crown Prince Sadir bin Fahad.

The North Syrian Army's origins lie directly with the NATO-backed opposition militias that fought Bashar al-Assad's state in the 2011 Syrian Civil War between northern and southern forces. In a span of four years, the North Syrian Army has fought in four wars, the Syrian Civil War (2011), Levantine War (2011-2012), Operation Salma (2013) and the 2014 Nine-Day War.

The North Syrian Army is unique, in that it blends principles and doctrines from historical and existing-armies. For example, the Royal Palace Guards takes its influence from the janissary corps of the historical Ottoman Empire. The Equestrian Mounted Unit of the Palace Guards takes its influence from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's cultural tradition of mounting members on horses, only that they use camels as well. The NSA regards women as equals to men, a doctrine adopted from the Israel Defense Forces.

The NSA's equipment is supplied by the United States, United Kingdom, France and sometimes Germany. Shortly after the Kingdom was formed, the military got rid of all Soviet-era weapons and replaced all of their inventory with updated western military technology.

Because of these moves and because of its history, the North Syrian Army is regarded as one of the Middle East's most developed and well-trained armies, joining the likes of Israel and Egypt.