Rainer Altman

"The witness"

Known as The Cormorant, Rainier Altman was the wingman of a flight of 2 yellow Su-37 Terminators, the Belkan Gelb Squadron. The only members of this squad were Major Orbert Jager (Gelb 1) & 2nd Lieutenant Rainer Altman (Gelb 2). Despite the lack of wingmen, they were well-known for their co-operation in battle and their advanced aerial tactics, earning their nickname 'The Coupled Cormorants'. They were also known for their unrivaled agility with their aircraft and their ability to fire their missiles backwards, making them a formidable & deadly duo. Their main duty was to defend the Hydrian Line and Glatisant Fortress in Belka's Southern defense line.

History
During the Belkan War, Altman and his flight lead were being overused by Belkan Air Force, one time have 5 sorties a day without basic maintenance for their aircraft. At Operation Constantine (Diapason), their duty changed to preventing the liberation of Directus, Ustio. Upon their arrival, Directus had already been liberated, thanks to the efforts of Galm Squadron. In response, they fought the Galm Squadron, but were defeated by them. While Altman survived, his flight lead was killed in the battle. Since then, Altman has continued to live in Directus, where he is married a Ustian woman and currently has a family. He says that he has had a comfortable life after being shot down. He also currently works in an office in the main sector of Directus.

Speculation
During Ace Combat 04, during Operation: Judgment Day, one of the ground troopers inside the Megalith exclaims randomly during the battle, "Altman, use your hand grenades!", followed by gun fire and explosions. This could mean Rainer joined ISAF some time after ZERO, due to AC04's setting being only a decade after the Belkan War, though is probably a coincidence.