Planetary Defence Forces

A Planetary Defence Force (usually abbreviated to PDF) is the primary military force of an individual Imperial world. The PDF is under the control of the local planetary government rather than direct Imperial control; the raising, training, arming, leadership, etc., of such units is entirely in the hands of the world’s Planetary Governor. According to Imperial law, all Imperial planets must maintain a standing army in order to maintain the planetary government’s (and thus the Imperium’s) control over the world against any possible invasion or insurrection. The PDF, as essentially the local military of an Imperial world, has no standardisation and can take any form; some, such as the PDF of Hive Worlds, may be no more than legitimised gangs supported and armed by the local planetary government to keep down the more anarchic elements.