Independent State Allied Forces

Independent State Allied Forces (独立国家国籍軍 Dokuritsu Kokka Kokuseki-gun acronym ISAF) is a multinational coalition of Usean nations formed to combat Erusea in the Usean Continental War of 2003-2005, in the aftermath of the 1999 Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid impact. It is based heavily on the real life NATO.

Beginnings


As an asteroid named the Ulysses 1994XF04 Asteroid approached Strangereal, several Usea nations built the Stonehenge Turret Network, a network of eight railguns designed to shoot down the asteroid when it reaches Earth's atmosphere, in the small and neutral nation of San Salvacion. On Saturday July 3 1999, when the asteroid arrived, it broke into millions of fragments, many of which survived re-entry into the atmosphere and hit the Usean continent. Erusea, seriously damaged by the impacts and almost bankrupt from financing the construction of Stonehenge, invaded San Salvacion. The Erusian military seized Stonehenge and realized its potential as an anti-aircraft weapon. With a range that covered most of the continent, Erusea was able to take over all of Usea, with the exception of the city of Saint Ark and islands off of the east coast.

Overview
The ISAF was a multinational military force consisting of the nations opposing Erusea. Without air support, ISAF was crushed by Erusian forces and forced to evacuate to the island-nation of North Point on the eastern Usean coast. ISAF provides a military force for all of the nations in ISAF, meaning that most military installations not owned by Erusea are ISAF territory and not owned by any particular Usean country.

The Continental War

 * Main Article: List of missions in Ace Combat 04



Erusea makes it a high priority to take North Point, and frequently attacks it with bombers from the nearby Rigley Air Base, formerly an ISAF Facility. The 118th Tactical Fighter Wing, Mobius Squadron, destroys the base's Tu-95 Bear bombers while they're on the ground, temporarily eliminating the threat. ISAF takes this opportunity to destroy Erusian radar sites in the northern region of the continent, allowing additional ISAF forces trapped on the mainland to retreat to North Point. ISAF then begins a campaign to destroy Erusea's "Invincible" Aegir Fleet. After cutting off supply lines, Mobius Squadron attacks the fleet while it is in Comberth Harbor. The fleet is seriously damaged. With naval control of the east coast, ISAF launches Operation: Bunker Shot, an amphibious assault on the Usean mainland with landings in Saint Ark and Caranda beach, in the southeast. The operation was a success, and ISAF forces started to retake the continent.



Soon afterwards, a group of engineers who built Stonehenge defect to ISAF. With its ground forces again coming within range of the Stonehenge Turret Network, ISAF decides to launch an airborne attack on it. Mobius Squadron's lead pilot, Mobius One, single-handedly destroyed every cannon, and shoots down one pilot from Yellow Squadron when they arrive. ISAF quickly advances towards the west coast until facing fierce Erusian resistance in the Whiskey Corridor, a mountain pass between the Amber and Lambert mountain ranges. With air support from Mobius Squadron, ISAF forces are victorious, and eventually reach the Erusian capital of Farbanti. ISAF launches a ground attack from the east and an amphibious assault from the southwest.



ISAF ground forces capture several high ranking Erusean officers and government officials who surrender after Mobius Squadron destroys all five aircraft of Yellow Squadron. After taking control of the Erusean capital, several officers retreat to the offshore facility, codenamed Megalith. They attempted to use the facility to shoot down asteroid fragments still orbiting the planet. Mobius squadron launched a full aerial assault on the facility in cooperation with a ground force unit inside the facility. While the Mobius Squadron held off the remaining Yellow Squadron fighters, the lead plane, Mobius One, destroyed cooling generators throughout the facility via a tunnel flight. The pilot then destroyed a large warhead before it could launch, detonating it and destroying the entire facility.

Post-War

 * Main article: Operation Katina

After the Continental War, ISAF occupied Erusea for several years. In 2006, Mobius Squadron's flight lead and AWACS officer "Sky Eye" were deployed to Erusea to fight the Free Erusea insurgency. The insurgents were defeated, and the threat finally removed.

Army
ISAF's Army consists of forces from its member nations. Their primary MBT is the M1 Abrams, and they use the AAV-7A1 for amphibious attacks. Infantry probably use various small arms depending on what country's army they belong to or bought from, e.g. G36 (Belka), M4/M16 series (Osean Federation), AK series (Yuktobania), etc.
 * M1A1 Abrams
 * AAV-7A1
 * High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle
 * Gepard AA gun

Air Force
ISAF's Air Force includes domestic Usean aircraft and imported aircraft.
 * A-10A Thunderbolt II
 * C-17A Globemaster III
 * C-130 Hercules
 * E-767 AWACS
 * F-2A Viper Zero
 * F-4E Phantom II
 * F-5E Tiger II
 * F-15C Eagle
 * F-15E Strike Eagle
 * F-15S/MTD
 * F-16C Fighting Falcon
 * F-117A Nighthawk
 * F-22A Raptor
 * KC-10A Extender
 * MiG-29A Fulcrum
 * Mirage 2000C
 * Su-47 Berkut
 * Su-35 Super Flanker
 * Su-37 Terminator
 * Tornado GR.1
 * EF-2000 Typhoon
 * U-2 Dragon Lady
 * X-02 Wyvern

118th TFW
ISAF's 118th Tactical Fighter Wing was formed after the evacuation of the Usean continent. Although they were initially an insignificant unit within ISAF, Mobius One distinguished the unit by destroying the Stonehenge Turret Network and shooting down an aircraft operated by Yellow Squadron. Known as "The Ribbon" and "The Grim Reaper" to Erusian Forces, Mobius One was an important factor in ISAF's victory in the Usean Continental War. After the war, the unit was renamed "Mobius Squadron", in honor of Mobius One, and to give Mobius One wingmen, they alao assisted ISAF ground forces in destroying Megalith. Mobius One later destroyed the Free Erusea insurgency's arms factory alone. Mobius Squadron was based out of North Point, but was deployed to the CV-04 Fort Grace battle group for several operations.

Navy
Many of ISAF's ships, including it's Ticonderoga class cruisers and Kitty Hawk-class carriers are former FCU ships.
 * Kitty Hawk Class CV
 * Ticonderoga Class CG
 * Hatakaze Class DDG (Called a Cruiser in the game)
 * Cassard Class FFG (Called a Destroyer in the game)

Naval Air Force

 * F-4E Phantom II
 * F-14A Tomcat
 * F/A-18C Hornet
 * Rafale M
 * X-02 Wyvern

Trivia

 * In real world, ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan.