Provisional IRA

Overview
The Provisional Irish Republican Army, having voluntarily decommissioned most of its arms around the turn of the 21st century, began rearming in the 2010s in response to the increasingly tyrannical European Union. Numerous attacks and guerrilla campaigns waged in collapsing Western Europe gained the organization the respect of the Confederate States of America, which covertly provided the PIRA with weapons and support. One hundred forty years later, the 'Provos', as they are known, have followed the UNCS into orbit, and have effectively formed a general resistance front against the regime. Their members are spread across known space, and still have the support of the Confederacy's descendant, the UCSA. The decentralized environment resulting from the simple truths of interstellar travel has created an extremely permissive climate for procurement of heavy weapons and assorted military equipment. While back on Earth a merchant ship could be tracked nearly worldwide with satellite surveillance, an FTL-capable freighter nowadays is effectively a guarantee of invulnerability against any pursuing force. Coupled with the vast number of known systems and the considerable endurance of most FTL-capable spacecraft, the PIRA has found it astonishingly simple to amass a considerable stockpile of hardware.

Cells
The basic unit of PIRA operations is loosely known as a cell, and more officially referred to as an Active Service Unit. The majority are equipped as sappers, marksmen, or light infantry, specially-trained in irregular-warfare operations, but a handful operate more formidable hardware. At least three ASUs are known to operate a handful of surplus or donated UCSA or Slavic Coalition aerospace fighters, flown off assorted merchant ships against UNCS assets.