Organisation: ZAFT

The military forces of the PLANTs. ZAFT is a militia made up of civilian volunteers, and the organization has no formal rank structure, so its members are instead addressed by descriptive titles like "commander" and "captain." The ZAFT forces are organized into independent teams named after their commanders, and much like the modern-day U.S. Marines these teams can operate equally well on land, at sea, in air, or in outer space. Since ZAFT's membership is made up of genetically enhanced Coordinators, its forces are more than a match for the numerically superior Earth Alliance.

ZAFT was originally a political organization called the Zodiac Alliance, which was founded in C.E. 50 by Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala. The Zodiac Alliance took on its present name in C.E. 65, and three years later it was reorganized to become an explicitly military organization equipped with the revolutionary new weapons known as mobile suits. The ZAFT forces are currently subject to the authority of the PLANT Supreme Council, and report directly to the chairman of the National Defense Committee.