Anton Kupchenko

"It's so ironic to meet this way, I guess that's just how fate works."

- Kupchenko to Cipher

"The Guardian"

Anton Kupchenko was a Belkan Ace and a highly decorated officer years prior to The Belkan War. Before being sent to the front again, he was head of Belka's weapons development and technology. It is said that after seeing the death and destruction that his unit brought, he wanted to stop the killing. It is also said that he formed "A World With No Boundaries".

A man of charisma and constant calmness. Speaks with the art of attracting people. He joined the Belkan Air Force in 1970. Fighting numerous battles and wars, he became a top ace of Belka. Back then, he was called the "Gold Woodpecker". Being an excellent engineer, he was stationed to the department of weapons development and technology. This was partly because of his age. He then launched on a weapons development project called "Project Pendragon" as part of the national defense strategy.

This project included a "chemical laser cannon" codenamed Excalibur, "weapon of mass retaliation" codenamed V2 and such, which declared to the world an unprecedented height of Belka's industrial might. However, due to the economic trouble that started in 1980's, the administration could no longer afford to sustain Project Pendragon. A portion of the prototype weapons were forcibly deployed, but most of them ended up in blueprints.

In January of 1994, he was sent to the battlefront as a commander as Belka tried to expand her territory. He was the Commander of the Belkan Air Force's 18th Air Division, 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Gault'. In March of 1995, he suddenly disappeared along with his squadron members. There was no way to keep track of them. The Belkan Air Force announced that he died in combat. It is now believed that this was the time he formed "A World With No Boundaries" along side Joshua Bristow and took over as the head of the organization.

Considering the scale and speed of the coup, it is estimated that the Belkan military officers were involved in the coup, and he is believed to be "Deep Throat" of the locations of weapons of mass retaliation. Along with this, communication logs from "A World With No Boundaries" aircraft which had been recovered in December of 1995, also hinted at his direct actions in forming the organization.

In December of 1995, his corpse was discovered on the edge of the airspace B7R. On December 31st 1995 in the midst of Operation Thunderbolt the 66th AFU Galm of the Ustian 6th Air Division was intercepted by the Gault Squadron in Airspace B7R. The Gault's "Golden Nest" had formed around the Galm Team and the battle which ensued was intense. When asked his reasoning for fighting he responded:

"The table is surrounded by politicians who have never placed a foot on the battlefield. It's a disgusting squabble over who gets the largest piece of the pie, and that's why it needs to end. It is for that duty we raised the King. That's why we're fighting."

Though outnumbered, the 66th AFU shot down all Gault aircraft and continued with their operation. Five members of the Gault Squadron were killed in action that day, including Kupchenko.

His body was sent to his home town, and his men at the time buried him reverently. He died at the age of 48.

Trivia

 * Among the active fighter pilots whose ages are known, Kupchenko is the oldest in Ace Combat Zero and likely, in the entire series (Wolfgang Buchner is eight years older in AC5 but he has long retired).