Leopard

Leopard is the callsign of an Independent State Allied Forces U-2 Dragon Lady that saw action during the Usean Continental War. He is the main focus of the 13th mission of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, Safe Return.

Biography
In early May 2005, Leopard was dispatched on a reconaissance mission on Erusean territory. Problems surfaced on the way back home through Gnome Ravine-- due to unknown circumstances, Leopard was unable to climb to higher altitudes, and was thus forced to fly through the ravine. To make matters worse, a massive number of jammer airships had been deployed on the area; considering the extreme fog filling Gnome Ravine, a crash situation for the returning Dragon Lady was imminent. Hence, ace pilot Mobius One was deployed on Gnome in order to clear a safe route for Leopard through the area. Several airships were destroyed, thus creating an opening for the spy plane.

After crossing the jammer-infested ravine, enemy aircraft arrived to the airspace to intercept the esacping U-2. However, all aircraft were destroyed by Mobius One before they could intercept Leopard.

Upon returning to base, an inspection of the data collected by Leopard confirmed the existence of a second superweapon that was under construction at the time, which would serve as a replacement for the recently decomissioned Stonehenge Turret Network. This weapon proved as an even greater threat than STN, thus ISAF decided to accelerate it's war efforts in order to conclude the war before Megalith's construction could be finished.