Earth Defense Force

Earth Defense Force (地球防衛軍, Chikyū Bōeigun), often abbreviated EDF, is the name given to the organizations to which the protagonists of the Earth Defense Force series of games belong.

Due to the series having at last count five distinct continuities, the term actually refers to multiple organizations.

History
In 2013 scientists discovered cryptic communications from deep space, which from what could be deciphered meant that the Earth would soon have visitors.

In 2015 after many failed attempts to contact the creators of the communication signals, a decision was made to form the Earth Defence Force, or EDF, as a contingency plan.

In 2017 waves of aliens, dubbed the Ravagers, swarmed and attacked Earth in an attempt to overtake it.

Fate had arrived, and the Earth Defence Force was deployed.

However the invaders returned again on July 12, 2019. Two years after the "great war" of 2017. The city was being rebuilt at an astonishing rate ironically by using the same technology used by the attackers. The EDF, having been shut down, was back in business, ready once again to preserve peace on Earth.

Background Information
The general headquarters lie in North America and remote branch offices are position strategically around the world.

The members of the EDF are known for their devout attention to duty and scarce supply of the best equipment, for their incredible willpower put into them from their training to specifically defend Earth from unpredictable diverse alien invaders, who may have powers and technology that will require quick thinking and improvising to match. Despite the overwhelming odds and despite being heavily outnumbered, the EDF continue to fight to defend the planet to this day.

Monster Attack and Global Defence Force
The Earth Defence force infantry is broken into three specialty groups. The Reconnaissance Scout Squadron who are made up of lightly armed troops that possess superior mobility and utilise stealth and confusion techniques to complete their ops.

The Ranger Squadron who is used for tactical support and heavy combat and the Storm Squadron who specialise in lightning-fast assaults and missions that require specialised skill sets.

Each branch of the EDF infantry use squads of 10 men, which are sometimes divided into smaller fire-teams for missions. Each squad is commanded by an EDF Captain who has the authority to command any of the smaller squadrons on the field' they are signified by their red helmets.

Pale Wing Special Forces is an Elite Squadron armed with aircraft and optical weaponry. They were created after the "great war", they have specialised aircraft and weaponry at their disposal and can fly in the air at incredible speeds.

Note: Pale Wing Special Forces is similar to the Jet Armor found in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon.

Earth Defense Force 2017 and Earth Defense Force 2025
During the Ravagers' 2017 invasion, the EDF's ground forces consisted entirely of standard infantry, which were split into the lightly armed stealth-oriented Scout Squadron and the heavily armed combat-ready Ranger Squadron. An elite soldier with the callsign Storm 1 was placed in charge of the Storm Squadron, which supported both Scout and Ranger teams with its specialized skillset. All-female units of soldiers equipped with flight capabilities known as Pale Wings were also part of the EDF's forces.

When the Ravagers returned in 2025, the EDF had expanded its forces drastically. Standard infantry were now known as Rangers, while the Pale Wings' flight technology was replaced by technology salvaged from the Ravagers to create a new flying soldier class known as Wing Divers. A new tactical type of soldier known as the Air Raider was introduced, and had the ability to summon battle vehicles or call for air support from the EDF's air force. Lastly, the EDF introduced a class of soldier known as the Fencer, a heavily-armed soldier equipped with a power frame which makes him akin to a living tank. Storm 1 was now placed in charge of the elite Storm Team, consisting of soldiers from all four classes.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
The EDF's infantry were equipped with a type of battle armor, of which there were four variants. The Trooper Armor was the most versatile and widely used, allowing for quick movement and use of standard infantry firearms. The Tactical Armor granted the wearer similar mobility to the Trooper but with the ability to place automated turrets in the battlefield. The Jet Armor provided the wearer with limited flight capabilities and energy-based weapons, while the Battle Armor granted the wearer impressive resistance to damage and the ability to use heavy weaponry. Strike Force Lightning, an elite EDF team operating in New Detroit and led by Lightning Alpha, had the option to wear any one of these armor types.

Earth Defense Force 5
The EDF's infantry was split into four classes. The versatile Ranger with the ability to use a variety of infantry firearms, the flying Wing Diver with an arsenal of energy weapons, the tactical Air Raider with the ability to call for air support, and the massive Fencer equipped with a power frame and heavy weaponry. The EDF's most elite units consisted of Alpha Team, a unit of mostly rangers led by a Sergeant, the elite Wing Diver team Spriggan, and the elite Fencer team Grim Reaper. Alpha Team's most valuable member proved to be a civilian recruited into the EDF as the Primers' invasion began, who would later become known as Storm 1. All three elite teams would later collectively be known as Storm Teams, and often carried out highly dangerous operations together.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
Harnessing the power of Energy Gems, the EDF developed Physical Augmentation Gear (PA Gear) for use by its infantry, granting soldiers increased strength and special abilities. PA Gear available to EDF soldiers included the Trooper, Jet Lifter, Heavy Striker, and Prowl Rider. Formed by various national governments in 2028 with the invasion of the Aggressors from outer space, the EDF fought back with everything they had while carrying out research, leading to the development of the PA-Gear and there deployment against the enemy in 2032. With this new equipment, they pushed back against the enemy, eventually leading to the attack against the alien Hivacraft in 2033 in LA. While successful with the attack, the destruction of the Hivacraft caused the lost of half of the EDF remaining strength and the new energy core technology (the Overdrive ability ingame) they had developed.

By 2040, the EDF is reduced in strength but still fighting with a number of branch locations around the Earth such as EDF Asia (HQ located in Japan), Europe, and North America (HQ located on the Verbena).