History
The United Federation of Colonies, or UFC, is a collection of planets that broke away from the Unified Earth Government in 2543. It's members cited the oppressive bureaucracy and heavy-handed recruitment tactics of the UEG and the UNSC. The UFC's territory extends throughout a portion of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. It controls the Planetary Administration Authority, Colonial Defense Force, and the United Colonial Space Force.
The United Federation of Colonies traces its origins back to the Insurrection between the 2490's and the 2530's. Originally confined to Epsilon Eridani and the Eridanus System, by 2530 it had spread to several other systems.
By 2524, the Insurrection had claimed a million lives. The various rebel groups had become extremely adept at creating improvised explosive devices difficult for the UNSC to detect, and therefore stop, and had struck many high profile targets, even in orbit above Reach itself. Opponents of the war believed the simplist solution was to simply give the rebels their autonomy - for the UNSC to pull out, and let the rebels have their independence. As casualties mounted, the UEG was forced to acquiesce. A total of 15 worlds on the edge of known space were allowed their independence. They formed the United Federation of Colonies, and have been a cold war with the UEG ever since.
When the Covenant invaded, they largely bypassed the UFC. However, the Federation did admit refugees from the UEG worlds and shared technological advancements. For this reason, most of the UFC’s military hardware is the same of that of the UNSC.