Disclaimer: Ace Combat does not belong to me. It belongs to it's respective owners, namely Bandai Namco Entertainment.
The Republic of Ustio, Osean Continent, Planet Earth.
March 26th, 1995.
One day after the invasion and the Belkan invasion of Ustio was going smoothly. The small Ustian Army was being annihilated, and the total occupation of Ustio seemed to be at hand as the Belkan 5th Army was making rapid progress towards Directus, the capital city of Ustio.
Well, it would be if they had managed to get every single one of the air bases in Ustio.
Unfortunately, some Ustian aircraft had managed to survive the slaughter on the first day, and were harassing the Belkan advance in Ustio.
Firstly, intelligence had stated that while much of the Ustian Air Force was destroyed on the ground, in the North-west of the country, along Belka's border, much of the Ustian Air Force was concentrated around the South-east of the country and had managed to escape the onslaught, by already being up in the air by the time the Belkan air strikes had reached their bases, or their air bases were concealed within the mountain ranges of Ustio, which despite Belka's best efforts to destroy them, were still operational.
Thus, the Ustian Air Force was still able to challenge the Belkans as they moved to occupy the entirety of the former Belkan province.
Ustian Mirage IIIs, J 35 Drakens, F-5 Tigers, F-20 Tigersharks, Hawker Hunters, de Havilland Venoms and A-4 Skyhawks had managed to shoot down some of Belka's aircraft during the first day, but they had taken massive losses and were losing air superiority to the Belkans.
Despite the fact that Belka was seemingly about to have complete air supremacy over Ustio, the Ustian Air Force had apparently found ways to still challenge them.
Intelligence reports were also coming in, that Ustio was utilising their Pilatus PC-7, PC-9, BAE Hawk and BAC Strikemaster training aircraft as improvised, low-level attack aircraft, that would skim the ground and fly low with no radars on, as they approached their targets, namely Belkan troops in the middle of the night, or bridges or railways.
Then, they would turn off their engines, before gliding, then release their bombs, fire unguided rockets or unleash a hail of machine gun or cannon fire, before then switching their engines on and hightailing it before the Belkan soldiers could muster a response to shoot them down.
And furthermore, intelligence was coming in, that as Ustio's government was about to flee Directus, a significant number of the Ustian Air Force, along with surviving elements of the Ustian Army, were about to make a trip to Sapin, and continue the fight from there.
However, Grün Team, from the II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 8, was not concerned with such matters, as they were now enroute to their targets, Ustian Army defensive positions around Directus.
The 5th Army was within artillery range of the suburbs of Directus, but infuriatingly, the Ustian Army forces defending the capital had actually found a little bit of courage and nerve, and thus were in good defensive positions.
The artillery wasn't doing as well as expected, so air support had to be called up, and Grün Team, comprised of four Dassault Mirage F1Es armed with two 30mm DEFA 553 cannons, 2 Vympel R-60 infrared missiles on the wingtip pylons, 2 Vympel R-27 missiles on the underwing pylons and 1 external fuel tank on the center pylon, was tasked with providing escort for the Fiat G.91R/3s from Leichte Kampfgeschwader 7.
The flight leader, Hauptmann Bernhard Schmidt, known amongst his colleagues as the 'Man with the Eyes of the Owl', or just simply as 'the Owl' by even his superiors, he had an distinctive ability to read the tide of the battle, and turn it into his favor despite numerous odds against him.
However, he did have, what his superiors called, 'disciplinary issues' for speaking his mind quite a lot, in matters where it shouldn't be prudent to do so.
Leutnant Fabian Rost, Schmidt's wingman and best friend. Even though always supportive of Schmidt, he was mindful that his wing leader did have a tendency to run his mouth, and that would get him into a lot of trouble, if he didn't restrain himself at the right time.
So Rost vowed to ensure that Schmidt did not overstep himself in regards to high ranking general officers or even the top Belkan leadership.
Leutnant Wif Scholl, a former graduate from the Belkan Air Force Academy who graduated with top marks in his class, and had been taken under the wing of Schmidt, who saw great potential in him.
Leutnant Fritz Forster, a former test pilot for the South Belkan Munitions Factory (otherwise known as Gründer Industries) who, while had no problem testing the latest aircraft for the Belkan Air Force, wanted more than simply just push an aircraft to it's limits and tell the designers of an aeroplane the aspects of it's performance, so that they would improve on it further.
He wanted to serve his country in a direct way. At the frontlines.
And even though Gründer Industries had denied him the chance to do so, many times, Forster was glad when Schmidt was able to pull some strings in order for him to join his squadron.
And thus, since the full gathering of all the four pilots in 1993, Grün Team was ready to make a name for themselves in this war, having had made themselves known in border skirmishes with Ustio and Fato.
As the formation closed in on the outskirts of Directus, Schmidt soon was contacted by the flight lead of LKG 7, "Grün 1, this is Werwolf 1. In sight of Ustian Army defensive emplacements. Commencing attack. Keep us covered".
"Werwolf Leader, this is Grün 1, roger that. We'll be on lookout for enemy fighters. Grün 1 out".
The Fiat G.91s, having overflown their targets, which were machine gun posts, mortar firing positions, anti-aircraft cannons and Scorpion light tanks, then began to bank right, in the hopes of turning back around to make their attack.
Once turned around, the 'Jabos' opened fire with their 30mm cannons and unguided rocket pods, undoubtably delivering an iron fist on the Ustian position.
Soldiers were killed by the cannons and explosions, while mortar, anti-air emplacements and vehicles were destroyed or wrecked beyond repair.
But while LKG 7 was doing their job, Grün Team was circling high above, keeping a close watch for any Ustian daring to delay the inevitable destruction of their so-called independent nation.
And soon enough, Schmidt got the call.
"Grün 1, this is Grün 2. I see six Ustian aircraft fast approaching over the east of the city, heading on an attack vector towards the Jabos".
Immediately scanning the horizon, Schmidt looked over to where Grün 2 had indicated and saw around six Hawker Hunters on fast approach to LKG 7's position, thus prompting him to get onto comms with the flight lead of the Jabos.
"Werwolf Leader, this is Grün 1. Are you finished up with your task?"
"Yes, Grun Leader. The Ustian position is demolished. We're weapons dry and returning to base".
"Well, you better hightail it now, as I have sighting of six Ustian fast movers inbound on your heading. Head back to base on your fastest speed, we'll deal with these Ustian flies".
"Roger that, Grün Leader. Werwolf 1 now returning to base".
Satisfied that the Fiats were now heading out of the combat zone, Schmidt had the rest of the flight follow his head and head towards the Hunters.
And then, when he saw that Grün Team was now in a prime position to engage the Ustian Hunters, he called out for the team to drop their external fuel tanks, "All Grün units, drop tanks!"
This prompted all pilots to flick a switch to trigger the explosive bolts, causing the external fuel tanks to fling off and drop down to the earth.
With the loss of additional drag and weight, the pilots felt that their Mirages were now slightly lighter, and were now free to engage in a head to head fight with the Ustian fighters.
Schmidt took a look at the Hunters, and started his analysis of his opponents.
They were flying in with a very fast speed and were not flying conservatively to save fuel, which meant that they had plenty of fuel to spare.
And while, he noticed that they had a full load of 2 Sidewinders, he did noticed that, all the Hunters were not closing in and pointing their noses, or even aiming their noses ahead of his wingmen's flight path.
This indicated that they had no cannon ammunition whatsoever.
Many people had asked him, over his career, how was he able to notice such things such as air currents, terrain, ammunition, flying style and fuel state in such a short space of time.
He had stated that, firstly, 'with ammunition, check to see if the pilot closes in on a certain distance and points his nose at the opposing aircraft, or aims his nose ahead of the aircraft's flight path. That way, you'll know he's got a load of cannon ammunition. Then, check the wings and see what sort of missiles he's carrying. Different type of missiles have a certain shape and size".
With fuel state, Bernhard had said that 'Pilots on low fuel fly in a particular manner, in order to conserve fuel. They don't fly as loose and reckless as pilots would if they had a full tank'.
For air currents, Bernhard had stated that the planet is full of air currents, and to ignore them, meant that 'you could risk being caught out at the most inconvenient time, which could mean your death'.
For terrain, well, 'Terrain is important to memorise as if you're flying low over places. Especially cliffs, forests or hills or mountain ranges. Take care around them. If you're not careful, you won't have time to correct your mistake in crashing as you'll be dead'.
And finally, in regards to flying style, Bernard had smiled and simply said, "Each pilot's flying style was distinct and different, unique to them and theirs alone".
Turning his attention back onto the battle at hand, he called out his analysis of the Hunters to his team.
"Those Ustians have only two Sidewinders for each craft. No cannon ammunition. But they do have fuel to spare in a one-on-one. So keep your wits about you and your heads on a swivel. Alright, once we get past the Ustians, wait for my signal. Grün 2, you stay on my wing. Grün 3, you take Grün 4 with you and engage targets at your discretion. Everyone clear?"
All responded with, "Roger that, Grün Leader".
With that, the Grün Team zoomed right pass the Hunters, who were forced to break off and separate from their formation in order to prevent a collision, before they made a hard turn back around, and charged to pick off the Ustian fighters.
"All Grün units, commence the attack!"
At this call, Grün 3 and 4 broke off from Grün 1 and 2, and proceeded to bank right to take on three separated Ustian fighters, firing a Vympel R-27 each at one fighter, and striking true, before closing in on the last Hunter and Grün 4 firing a Vympel R-60, which caused the Ustian to try and evade, only for Grün 3 to anticipate the manoeuvre and fire a R-60 of his own, ahead of his flight path.
And despite the efforts of the Ustian to evade, the infrared missile managed to strike and destroy the Hunter, sending debris scattering in the skies above Directus.
Meanwhile, Grün 1 and 2 each found the last remaining Hunters, who despite being forced to break formation, were quicker than their comrades in rejoining formation.
But it would not save them, as Grün 1 and 2 closed in, close enough for gun range.
As one Ustian Hunter broke off, Grün 2 resisted the urge to break off from his flight lead and follow the Ustian, knowing that Schmidt needed him on his tail, backing him up.
And soon enough, the leader of Grün Team aimed his gunsights ahead of the Hunter and pressed the trigger, unleashing 30mm rounds from his two cannons, and tearing the Hunter apart, causing it to trail smoke as it began descending, the pilot obviously dead, given that the cockpit's canopy was splattered with blood.
Schmidt and Rost looked around for the last Hunter, only to see it fast approaching from their four o'clock on a fast approach. But any response from both Grün 1 and 2 soon turned to be unnecessary, as Grün 4 rocketed right over their heads and fired his last remaining Vympel R-60 at the Hunter, which exploded in a ball of flame, with no sign of a pilot using his ejector seat to escape.
And as Schmidt levelled his aircraft, and Rost sticking by his tail, Grün 1 called in to see if his team was safe and intact.
"All Grün units, sound off".
"Grün 2 here".
"Grün 3 reading you".
"Grün 4 rejoining formation".
Content, that his unit was safe and sound, Schmidt then watched as all three Grün members rejoined at his side, before smiling and saying, "Grün 1 to all units, returning to base".
Wooooooooo! Finally, I managed to get this done! Man, I'm so proud of getting to finish this! I thought I was never going to get this done, but I managed to get there, in the end. This idea came about whilst I was writing up ideas for my Ace Combat stories. So, while I wanted much of the enemy ace squadrons in the game to appear, I knew I had to change some details about them as they fly aircraft that I felt Belka would not have (especially since it is 1995).
Apologies for my absence and a rather long delay on much of my other fanfics, but I'm still here!
One of them is an Ace Combat Zero fanfic, focused on Cipher's beginnings as a mercenary, which would be telling the story at how he became an mercenary flyer, as well as his participation in conflicts across the globe of the Strangereal world, which would be followed up by an actual Ace Combat Zero story on Cipher's exploits in the Belkan War.
So, with Grün Team, my favourite one, I felt that the Mirage F1 was the closest thing that could be similar to the F/A-18 Hornet flown by the Team in the game.
There'll be more squadrons of the Belkan War, as well as the Usean Continental War, the Circum-Pacific War and the Anean Continental War coming soon, so stay tuned for them!
Anyways, don't forget to leave a review whenever you can, and see you next time!