Setting Arma 3 takes place in the
Arma series'
fictional universe, set in the near future of the 2030s, during a
multipolar period of global instability following
Western isolationism,
economic crises, and
climate change. The main plot events are primarily set in the
Aegean island country of the
Republic of Altis and Stratis in 2034 and 2035. Other plot events occur as early as 2026 and as late as 2039 in various other locations such as the Horizon Islands Republic, Malden (returning from
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis), Livonia, and Argana. The two primary factions in
Arma 3 are the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the opposing Canton Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty (CSAT), based on the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Other factions include the Altis Armed Forces (AAF), the military of Altis and Stratis who rule the country under a
military junta; the Freedom and Independence Army (FIA), a loyalist rebel
militia led by Altis and Stratis' democratic
government in exile; the Combat Technology Research Group (CTRG), NATO's classified
black operations
special forces unit; Viper Team, a high-tech
People's Liberation Army special forces unit serving as CSAT's equivalent to the CTRG; the International Development and Aid Project (IDAP), a
humanitarian aid non-governmental organization; the Livonian Defense Force (LDF), Livonia's NATO-equipped military; the Gendarmerie, the Horizon Islands'
gendarmerie and defense force; Syndikat, a Tanoan
criminal organization that later reforms into L'Ensemble, ostensibly an
anti-imperialist insurgency but practically no different from its predecessor; and Russian Spetsnaz, covert
special forces units of the
Russian Armed Forces. Factions are sorted into three forces: BLUFOR (NATO and allies), REDFOR (CSAT and allies), and INDFOR (independent forces that are not officially part of either side). The plot of
Arma 3 takes place over a variety of campaigns, showcasing missions, and scenarios. The story is primarily told across eight campaigns:
Prologue,
The East Wind,
Remnants of War,
Apex Protocol,
Tac-Ops,
Altis Requiem,
Old Man, and
First Contact. Only
Prologue and
The East Wind are available in the base game, while the rest require their respective DLCs; additionally, the events of
First Contact are considered non-canon. Some Creator DLCs are set in real locations during certain time periods such as
Vietnam War-era
Mainland Southeast Asia,
Cold War-era
Weferlingen, and
World War II-era
Saint-Lô, and feature real factions such as
MACV-SOG, the
National People's Army, and the
French Resistance. However, all Creator DLCs are considered semi-official and non-canon to the plot of
Arma 3.
Prologue After a
coup d'état and
civil war leaves Altis and Stratis destabilized and under an AAF junta, NATO and CSAT deploy separate
peacekeeping forces to the country to quell conflict between the AAF and FIA. In May 2034, Sergeant Conway and Staff Sergeant Thomas Adams of the
United States Army are rerouted from training to assist an AAF unit, but find they have conducted a botched raid on a compound. A week later, backlash from the raid prompts the AAF to negotiate a
ceasefire with the FIA in the city of Kavala, but talks are hindered when an AAF convoy is reported missing. Conway and Adams are sent to locate it and, after a skirmish with an FIA squad, find the convoy destroyed and the soldiers killed. They are ordered back to Kavala, where the AAF has repelled an FIA attack but is using excessive force against the defeated rebels. Conway rebukes an AAF officer for allowing his men to abuse captives, but Adams and NATO command order him to stand down; after they leave, Adams reveals the officer was Colonel Georgious Akhanteros, the
de facto president of Altis. Intertitles explain that NATO–Altis relations soon deteriorated to the point that NATO peacekeepers were limited to the military-occupied island of Stratis.
The East Wind Survive In July 2035, the NATO peacekeeping operation winds down as their five-year commitment ends. As the last remaining NATO peacekeepers, including U.S. Army Corporal Ben Kerry, prepare to leave Stratis, the AAF suddenly attacks them unprovoked, killing several peacekeepers including Adams, Kerry's superior. Kerry regroups with the surviving NATO soldiers led by British
Royal Navy special forces operators Captain Scott Miller and Lieutenant James, who attempt to gather supplies and communicate with NATO. Eventually, Miller claims to have reached NATO command and the survivors attempt to secure a landing zone for NATO reinforcements but are defeated by Iranian CSAT reinforcements. The survivors attempt to flee to Altis, but their escape boats are attacked by AAF fighter jets, killing most of the survivors and knocking Kerry overboard.
Adapt Kerry regains consciousness on the shores of Altis and is contacted by James, who leads Kerry through a firefight in Kavala to his position. They link up with the northern cell of the FIA, led by former government agent Kostas Stavrou, and perform guerilla raids against the AAF and CSAT to supply themselves as their arms dealer, Nikos Panagopoulous, has gone missing. The FIA eventually rescues Nikos from an AAF camp on Stratis, where he has learned that NATO plans to invade Altis. The FIA attacks the AAF to support the invasion, but NATO mistakes the FIA for hostiles and fires on them until Kerry rescues an allied pilot and communicates with the landing force, resolving the confusion. Now back with NATO, Kerry inquires about Miller, but NATO commander Colonel David Armstrong informs Kerry that no such man exists, and that the British contingent had left the peacekeeping operation months prior.
Win Kerry rejoins NATO's ranks, but is put on tedious and unimportant assignments due to Armstrong's distrust of him. Kerry proves his loyalty by detecting and repelling a CSAT landing operation, and is eventually authorized to command NATO forces, though Armstrong orders him to cut all ties with Miller. During this time, several unusually frequent and strong earthquakes occur on the island, but NATO continues to push through Altis. Eventually, with CSAT withdrawing and the AAF cornered, Armstrong rallies NATO forces for a final offensive to defeat the AAF remnants under Akhanteros's personal command. Kerry is then contacted through a broken transmission by a mortally wounded James, who provides his location and asks for assistance. Two endings are possible, depending on whether the player chooses to respond to James's distress call: • "
Game Over": Kerry disobeys Armstrong and assists James, stealing a mysterious device from CSAT for Miller. It is revealed that Miller and James are part of CTRG Group 14, tasked with capturing the "Eastwind Device", a CSAT
tectonic weapon of mass destruction that caused the aforementioned earthquakes which, unbeknownst to Kerry, is what he stole for Miller. It is implied that the whole conflict was orchestrated by the CTRG to draw out the Eastwind Device for capture. Kerry is disavowed as a
deserter by NATO and left to fend for himself (he can escape, be killed, or commit suicide), while CSAT learns Eastwind is in NATO's possession and launches a retaliatory invasion of Altis to directly attack NATO forces, sparking
World War III. • "
Status Quo": Kerry disregards James' transmission and continues with NATO orders to spearhead the final offensive against the AAF. CSAT retreats from Altis with Eastwind, the CTRG mysteriously vanishes, and Akhanteros surrenders, ending the Altis Incident. One month later, Kerry, now promoted to Sergeant, is helping NATO stabilize the country. He meets a journalist at Altis' airport and drives him to a nearby town for an interview with Nikos, the new president-elect of the disarmed Altis Republic.
Apex Protocol In August 2035, a massive tsunami in Southeast Asia later known as the Pacific Disaster devastates the Horizon Islands. Syndikat exploits the disaster to overwhelm the Gendarmerie and claim territories in Tanoa. Suspicious of the Pacific Disaster and sudden Syndikat's rise, NATO sends the CTRG to investigate, using a wider peacekeeping operation as cover. CTRG Group 15, callsign "Raider", deploys to Tanoa and learns that CSAT member China is supplying Syndikat with military-grade equipment. During an operation to capture Syndikat leader Solomon Maru, Raider is ambushed by Viper Team and is forced to withdraw. Raider locates and rescues CTRG asset "Keystone", revealed to be Scott Miller. He reveals his true purpose on Altis, monitoring the Eastwind Device, and informs Raider that he believes China transported Eastwind to the South Pacific and deliberately caused the Pacific Disaster. Raider raids a CSAT
black site, only to find it attacked and abandoned, and learns Syndikat has double-crossed CSAT and is holding Eastwind as ransom. Raider also recovers documents concerning CSAT's "Apex Protocol", detailing how clandestine methods such as Eastwind can be used to
manufacture crises and spread CSAT influence through recovery aid. The CTRG tracks Eastwind to a port on the northern coast of Tanoa, where CSAT is attempting to negotiate with Syndikat to recover it. When Maru arms Eastwind as leverage, the CTRG assaults the port and defeats Syndikat and Viper, kills Maru, and seizes Eastwind. Following the operation, NATO quietly leaks redacted Apex Protocol documents to the press, prompting global condemnation of CSAT's expansionism and damaging the alliance.
Remnants of War Days after the end of the Altis Incident, civilian Markos Kouris returns to his ruined hometown of Oreokastro to search for his missing brother Alexis, but he is killed by a landmine. Several days later, the circumstances of his death are retold by IDAP
unexploded ordnance (UXO)
disposal expert Nathan MacDade during an interview with AAN News journalist Katherine Bishop. Nathan, who has worked in Oreokastro's IDAP camp since the Altian Civil War, traverses the abandoned town to defuse UXO, complete objectives, and access pre-war memories, while recounting to Katherine five stories that follow Oreokastro during the conflict from the perspectives of different factions. The player's actions in the stories affect how Nathan recounts the events. • "
The Peacekeeper" follows NATO Staff Sergeant Thomas Adams as he helps IDAP direct an airdrop of humanitarian supplies while defending it from the FIA with the help of his AAF retinue. Nathan will comment if the player damages the supplies by misdirecting the airdrop. • "
The Guerilla" follows FIA rebel Alexis Kouris, who is tasked with stealing vehicles and planting landmines to build a barricade against an approaching AAF force. Nathan will comment on which vehicles the player chooses to block the road. • "
The Redacted" follows a CSAT special forces team directing a
cluster bomb airstrike on Oreokastro from nearby castle ruins to clear the way for an AAF assault. Nathan will remark on the player if they decide to wait for certain characters to leave the blast radius and which building the player targets, but is regardless shocked at the negligence of bombing a civilian-occupied town. During the post-mission cutscene, Nathan mentions that NATO casings were found at the site, after which the two CSAT operators in the cutscene briefly flash to Miller and James, suggesting NATO and the CTRG were responsible for the airstrike. • "
The Survivor" follows civilian Markos Kouris, who is shot in the crossfire during a battle over the town and must limp to the IDAP-controlled church to be evacuated. Markos is technically neutral to the AAF, but certain actions—including picking up a weapon, firing at AAF soldiers, or going too close to combatants—will provoke them. These actions will prompt Nathan to muse on the nature of the attack on Oreokastro, and he will further lament the "newfound anger" of Markos if he chooses to join the fight. • "
The Major" follows AAF Lieutenant Antoniou Dimitriou, who is pushed to Oreokastro with his commander Major Gavras during the NATO invasion. They deploy a landmine dispenser to defend their position from NATO and the FIA, and successfully withstand the assault. After the player kills one of the FIA fighters, Nathan reveals that he was Alexis Kouris, and that this battle is what led Markos to investigate. After all five stories are completed, Katherine asks Nathan who he thinks is most responsible for the tragedies of Oreokastro: NATO, CSAT, the AAF, the FIA, or "everyone and no one". Nathan's response and the final draft of Katherine's article changes depending on the player's actions and answer. Nathan is then tasked with clearing all of the mines in Oreokastro. Once the player chooses to leave, Nathan bids farewell to Katherine and gets in his van to go to his next assignment.
Tac-Ops Beyond Hope In 2026, the AAF seizes power in Altis and Stratis, overthrowing the democratic government and violently suppressing opposition and dissent. The deposed government forms the Government Loyalists to fight back, sparking the Altian Civil War. With the conflict triggering a humanitarian crisis, the Loyalists and AAF soon agree to a ceasefire, but this is broken after the AAF ambushes a Loyalist squad in the village of Orino; the Loyalists respond by capturing the village. Later, when the AAF withholds IDAP aid from the town of Abdera by setting up a blockade in nearby Galati, the Loyalists, covertly supported by CTRG Group 13, clear the blockade and push the AAF out of both towns. The Civil War continues until 2030, by which point the AAF junta is recognized as the government of Altis, and the Loyalists have reformed into a new organization: the FIA.
Stepping Stone In July 2035, the
U.S. Sixth Fleet arrives at the island of Malden to secure
air superiority over the
Strait of Gibraltar and use Malden's strategic location as a "stepping stone" for the invasion of Altis. NATO's presence on Malden, which already has a substantial CSAT presence, is accepted by Chinese garrisons on the island as a sign of goodwill (and to avoid escalation), but the North African Scimitar Regiment resists. NATO forces assault Scimitar's positions, capturing most of the island south of the city of La Trinité. Though NATO holds back to avoid provoking the rest of CSAT, China officially disavows Scimitar, subtly permitting NATO to advance on La Trinité and northern Malden. The remnants of Scimitar surrender, allowing NATO to launch the invasion without interference.
Steel Pegasus In August 2035, after an assault on Altis' heavily-guarded airport fails, NATO launches Operation Steel Pegasus, wherein the U.S. Army's 21st
Brigade Combat Team is to capture the city of Chalkeia in southeast Altis to divert CSAT and AAF forces away from the airport for NATO forces to capture it. However, forces at LZ Mustang face heavy fire, and many soldiers at the LZ are either killed or captured. Corporal Louis Barklem, the sole survivor of a crashed
VTOL, rescues pilot Terry Simpson and fellow LZ Mustang survivors to reach forces from LZ Blazer, who faced less resistance and are preparing to advance. After repelling several AAF attacks and commandeering an
infantry fighting vehicle, Barklem, Simpson, and the LZ Mustang survivors link up with LZ Blazer. The unified 21st BCT captures Chalkeia and repels a counterattack, successfully diverting enemy forces from the airport and allowing its capture.
Altis Requiem In April 2035, Captain Kyros Kalogeros of the AAF's 1st Mechanized Division delivers materiel to an outpost in his AWC Nyx
light tank, but finds it deserted with its commanding officer killed. Kalogeros deduces the soldiers defected to the FIA, finds them a nearby village, and defeats the defectors and rebels. Four months later, during the NATO invasion, Kalogeros and the 1st lead a counteroffensive to defend Altis' capital city of Pyrgos and the neighboring town of Dorida. Issued CSAT T-140 Angara
main battle tanks, the 1st manage to defeat NATO armor and push them away from the towns, achieving the AAF's first victory against the invasion. However, both towns quickly fall regardless, and in less than a week the AAF is pushed back to split fronts along the eastern coast. Akhanteros orders the AAF to hold out so CSAT can withdraw and hold a better position in post-war negotiations. Using advanced T-140Ks, the 1st fend off a NATO assault on the southern front until their tanks run out of ammunition. After Akhanteros capitulates, Kalogeros destroys his T-140K to prevent its capture and surrenders as NATO troops surround him. Kalogeros is taken to a
POW camp for processing. The ending of
Altis Requiem depends on whether the player avoided collateral damage and civilian casualties: if the player had bad conduct, Kalogeros is tried as a war criminal and
executed by firing squad; but if the player had good conduct, Kalogeros is released and retires to live in peace.
Old Man In 2038, Tanoa is stricken by an
epidemic of "Atrox", a
malaria super-strain. When NATO peacekeepers proceed with their current withdrawal instead of helping, the Horizon Islands' newly-elected government asks CSAT for aid. CSAT sends doctors and researchers along with soldiers, who take control of the Gendarmerie and practically
occupy Tanoa. L'Ensemble wages
guerrilla warfare against CSAT and the government to little support from the populace, who are aware they have not changed from their predecessor, Syndikat. Santiago, a retired
French Legionnaire, investigates CSAT's activities for Scott Miller and the CTRG; they believe the Atrox epidemic has been engineered by CSAT, their most damning evidence being suspiciously-marked containers shipped by CSAT into villages that promptly suffer deadly Atrox outbreaks. Santiago's friend,
virologist Dr. Drábek of Luganville, also finds concerning discrepancies in Atrox's symptoms and biological properties. When Luganville receives the containers and suffers an outbreak, he hides his patients in the jungle and asks Santiago for help. To gather life-saving
primaquine for Drábek's patients and secure support for Miller's anti-CSAT operations, Santiago is forced to work for L'Ensemble and his high-ranking contact Samjo to gain their trust and access primaquine on the L'Ensemble-run
black market. Miller sends Santiago to investigate CSAT research camps in Ouméré and Harcourt, where their suspicions are confirmed: Atrox is a
biological agent designed to manufacture crises in target groups that only CSAT can resolve, with goals similar to the Apex Protocol, and are
testing it on Tanoans. With enough evidence against CSAT, Miller creates a plan to destroy the laboratory developing Atrox on Tuvanaka Island, which is fully evacuated by CSAT on the pretense of an outbreak. Santiago bombs the laboratory for Miller and the CTRG raid it, and they recover a
counteragent; however, Miller, Drábek, and Samjo each seek the counteragent, but there is not enough of it for everyone. The ending of
Old Man depends on who Santiago gives the counteragent to, though none are confirmed as canon: • "
Status Quo": Santiago entrusts Miller and the CTRG with the counteragent, and they leave Tanoa together. CSAT's occupation and the Atrox epidemic continue as the Western
pharmaceutical industry develops a
vaccine; when it is finally distributed after lengthy
trials, NATO exposes CSAT's complicity, fracturing the alliance and forcing them out of Tanoa. By then, however, countless Tanoans—including everyone Santiago knows—have already died of Atrox. Left alone and awash with guilt for leaving his friends to their fate, Santiago starts a new life overseas and never returns to Tanoa. • "
Man of the People": Santiago, disgusted by Miller's willingness to abandon Tanoa, kills him and his CTRG team and retrieves the counteragent. Santiago rescues Drábek from a L'Ensemble attack and learns he is wanted by CSAT for the laboratory bombing and L'Ensemble for not giving Samjo the counteragent; he gives it Drábek before fleeing Tanoa to seek refuge elsewhere. Through Drábek, the counteragent reaches the
Global Health Initiative, who quickly develop a vaccine and a cure, ending the epidemic. But without Miller's evidence against them, CSAT unabatedly continues their occupation and restarts development of Atrox, now with the goal of negating the GHI's cure. • "''Devil's Due''": Santiago, seeking payment for his work, kills Miller and his CTRG team and delivers the counteragent to L'Ensemble. Samjo pays Santiago generously for his loyalty but alerts him that both NATO and CSAT have identified him and will likely kill him if he stays, forcing Santiago to flee Tanoa. L'Ensemble sells the counteragent on the black market, and it eventually reaches the GHI—but without documentation or data to work with. Vaccine tests are ineffective and a cure is never found, allowing Atrox to spread and worsen.
First Contact In 2039, NATO and the LDF conduct a
training exercise at a Livonian factory when a
live fire drone strike inexplicably goes off target, killing several soldiers. As U.S. Army drone operator Specialist Aiden Rudwell and his squad rush to help, a root-like organism erupts from the factory, almost killing Rudwell's friend, Corporal Jack Stype. Two weeks later, the factory is quarantined by the LDF, and NATO is ordered to leave Livonia. Rudwell and Stype, suspicious of the factory quarantine, sneak in and learn the LDF is secretly monitoring the roots, of which there are now two. Suddenly, a massive "
alien flying object" appears over the factory and releases an
electromagnetic pulse that disables vehicles and electronics across the country. Rudwell and Stype retreat to Camp Kresnik, where NATO and the LDF have gathered to investigate. NATO commander Major Homewood introduces the soldiers to researchers Dr. Ian Kesson and Šimon Čapek, who inform them that the AFO arrived to gather the roots (part of a larger network), and that the roots emit unusual
electromagnetic signals which caused the drone strike to go off target. NATO and the LDF set out to investigate as paranormal phenomena occur in Livonia. Meanwhile, Kesson and Čapek attempt to communicate with the AFO. Rudwell uses an
electromagnetic spectrum device, to which the AFO responds with hallucinations of an alien world, causing Rudwell to
seize. The soldiers, believing he was attacked, open fire, but are killed by the AFO's
telekinetic powers; though Homewood orders NATO to cease fire, the LDF orders an artillery barrage on the AFO. Stype, fearing this could spark an
intergalactic war, threatens to destroy Camp Kresnik if the LDF does not stand down and kills Homewood when he tries to stop him, sparking conflict between NATO and the LDF. Rudwell, Stype, Kesson, Čapek, and NATO forces regroup to investigate the extraterrestrials, while the LDF attempts to destroy the AFO and the roots; both are hounded by looters and deserters as order breaks down in Livonia. After finding evidence of a third party's presence, the survivors are briefly captured by a group of Russians, but are freed by Stype after their departure. After a particularly vivid hallucination that implies there are more root networks on Earth, Rudwell and the survivors are invited to meet with the Russians, who are actually a Russian Spetsnaz unit tasked with monitoring the roots. They reveal a decayed root was accidentally ruptured in Russia 19 years prior, causing a massive explosion; fearing the LDF's destruction of an entire living root network could inadvertently destroy Livonia, if not all of Eastern Europe, Russia and NATO join forces to stop the LDF. Together, they repel a massive LDF assault on the uprooted root network, allowing the AFO to safely leave Earth; the Russian military arrives soon after, forcing the LDF to stand down. In the aftermath, the world grapples with the reality that they are not alone as efforts are launched to communicate with the extraterrestrials. ==Development==