Yellow Squadron

"Engage as a formation. No single-ship attacks."

- Yellow 13

The 156th Tactical Fighter Wing "Aquila", more popularly known and referred to as "Yellow Squadron", was an elite unit under the Federal Erusian Air Force. The squadron's primary role was the defense of the Stonehenge Turret Network.

In the years leading up to and during the Second Usean Continental War, Yellow Squadron became notorious among the Independent State Allied Forces for the members' extraordinary combat skills. During the first half of the war, ISAF engagements with Yellow Squadron were strictly prohibited. Mobius 1, ISAF's ace during the war, engaged the Yellows over Stonehenge and Farbanti, leading to the squadron's disbanding after all of its members were killed over Farbanti.

History
Yellow Squadron is believed to have existed prior to the continental war, but no records of any prior engagements are known. At some point, Yellow 13 rose to the position of leader, with Yellow 4 as his wingman and the remaining positions swapping out between the squadron's other members.

Early defense of Stonehenge
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the X-02 Wyvern project was in full development swing. Upon Erusea's capture of Stonehenge in 2003, the Erusian government ordered the production of several X-02 units for the defense of Stonehenge. This was followed by heavy opposition from certain groups, claiming that more conventional aircraft would be better suited to the task rather than an experimental one. The X-02s were never delivered, and Yellow Squadron became the protectors of the network utilizing Su-37 Terminators with a custom livery.

At some point in early 2004, during their retreat across the continent, ISAF attempted an assault on Stonehenge utilizing 24 of their best pilots at the time. Before any of the ISAF aircraft could get into the operational zone, five of Yellow Squadron's aircraft engaged and shot down all of them. ISAF declared the mission an absolute failure and was forced to continue their retreat.

Long-range assignments
Following Erusea's successful takeover of the continent, Yellow Squadron was mostly assigned to long-range missions from their newly-acquired runway and base in San Salvacion. One such mission was attempting to halt an ISAF attack against the Aegir Fleet's refueling facilities outside of Comberth Harbor; they failed to prevent the attack, but they did manage to splash multiple ISAF aircraft, forcing them to retreat from the combat zone.

Another such mission involved a massive aerial engagement over the Comona Islands where ISAF was attempting to launch a satellite. Yellow Squadron was among the Erusian forces attempting to halt the launch; however, they were forced to retreat after one of their units suffered damage from Mobius 1.

Death of Yellow 4
As the war continued, ISAF began a counterattack to regain land across the continent and eventually ordered an offensive against Stonehenge. A member of the San Salvacion resistance planted a bomb on Yellow Squadron's runway; its resulting explosion caused Yellow 4 to suffer light shrapnel wounds, as well as damaging her engine and delaying the squadron's response to defend Stonehenge.

Similar to Comberth Harbor, the squadron failed to arrive in time to keep Stonehenge from being destroyed, but they attempted to engage the ISAF pilots regardless. However, Mobius 1 directly engaged them and managed to shoot down Yellow 4. After confirming she had failed to eject, Yellow Squadron retreated from the airspace.

End of the war
Following Yellow 4's death, the Erusian government began to cycle new pilots through Yellow Squadron in hopes of bolstering their ranks and strengthening the squadron in preparation for ISAF's continued push through the continent. Eventually, ISAF arrived at San Salvacion and began an operation to release the city from Erusian control. Yellow Squadron was deployed throughout the city's sectors, but the battle eventually fell in ISAF's favor and Erusea was forced to call a retreat.

By fall of 2005, ISAF forces cut through Whiskey Corridor and arrived at Farbanti. The ensuing battle ended with ISAF ground troops taking control of the Erusian General Headquarters while Erusian military leaders attempted to escape the area by helicopters. The remaining members of Yellow Squadron, including Yellow 13, deployed to defend the helicopters and shoot down ISAF's ace, Mobius 1. In the resulting dogfight, Mobius 1 shot down and killed all five pilots. At this point, it is believed that the squadron was disbanded as part of the following treaty and peace agreements.

Megalith defense squadron
Even though the war had officially ended, a group of Erusian officers refused to accept the cease-fire terms and took control of Megalith, a rocket launch facility capable of turning asteroid fragments into weapons of mass destruction. ISAF quickly formed a new Mobius Squadron comprised of Mobius 1 and the remaining ISAF pilots, and performed an offensive with Mobius Squadron and their remaining ground troops to destroy the facility. In response, the rebels formed a new squadron to defend the facility, led by Jean-Louis Flaubert and his second-in-command, Gene. The squadron was comprised of 15 pilots, all flying Su-37 Terminators in the same livery as Yellow Squadron out of respect for the squadron. However, all of the pilots were shot down in the resulting dogfight, and the facility was destroyed. This marked the end of Yellow Squadron's legacy.

Yellow 13


Yellow 13 was the flight leader of Yellow Squadron throughout its known tenure. He was considered to be the best fighter pilot in the Air Force, but his pride came from his record of never losing a squadron member in combat. He held contempt for those who would sabotage pilots while on the ground. While he remained timid about the details of his shooting down other pilots, he was otherwise quite outgoing and friendly and would support civilians such as the Storyteller Boy. However, he became more serious about his operations and his squadron following the death of Yellow 4 and the end of his record. Like the majority of the squadron, he was killed in action over the skies of Farbanti by Mobius 1.

Yellow 4
Yellow 4 was Yellow 13's wingman, as well as the only known female pilot in the squadron. She and Yellow 13 had known one another before entering the Air Force and had grown a strong bond with one another. Yellow 4, while seemingly gentle, would not let any harm come near Yellow 13 whether in the air or on land. She remained at his side at all times to protect him. She was injured and her plane damaged by a bomb set off by the San Salvacion resistance on their runway, but she sortied regardless to defend Stonehenge, where she was shot down by Mobius 1.

Trivia

 * The squadron's paint scheme is the most recurring paint scheme in the series. It appears in 9 games in total (counting AC4 and not counting Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy +)


 * The squadron's name and the bottom design on its emblem are derived from the, which translates to "eagle" in Latin.
 * The Yellow Squadron was conceived by cutscene director Sunao Katabuchi. He cited his conception of the squadron as what led to the conception of Mobius 1 as the player ace and the Yellows' rival.
 * Early drafts of the unit's signature camouflage were conceived by Kazutoki Kono, who originally depicted them as using bearing a livery inspired by the Su-27PD technology demonstrator, whose paint scheme has been available as an unlockable color for members of the Flanker family in several games from Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies onward.
 * According to Kazutoki Kono, the American staff had plans to change the squadron's name to "Gold Squadron", because they said Yellow sounds "weak". However, the development team insisted to keep "Yellow Squadron", and the name pressed through to the game's release.
 * Erich Klinsmann, an ace from the Belkan Air Force, flew an Su-37 Terminator with the same livery later used on Yellow Squadron's Terminators. No detailed information on Klinsmann is available, leading some fans to believe that he and Yellow 13 are the same pilot.
 * An unknown pilot under the callsign "YELLOW" was shot down during the Circum-Pacific War inside the tunnel in Sudentor. His aircraft was in the same livery as Yellow Squadron's, and the number featured on his nose was the same as Yellow 13's, but no other information is known. This had led to some theories that Yellow 13 could have survived the battle at Farbanti and later joined the Belkan Air Force.
 * Yellow Squadron is one of the few squadrons featured in Strangereal that can regularly perform.
 * Following the release of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, some fans reported that they were able to successfully shoot down Yellow Squadron during Lifeline, which is widely believed to be impossible. A developer later admitted in an interview that the squadron was not invincible; their health and maneuverability were simply raised.
 * Despite the fact that the artwork of the Yellow Squadron's Su-37 depicts the aircraft as armed with XMAAs, the plane is never armed with them in the game, whether flown by opponents or by the player.
 * The Usean Rebel Forces operate Su-37s with the same design as Yellow Squadron but with different colors