Yellow Squadron

The Federal Erusean Air Force 156th Tactical Fighter Wing Aquila, more popularly known as Yellow Squadron, serves as the player's antagonistic squadron throughout the storyline of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.

It was greatly feared in the ranks of the ISAF, and was notorious for its members' extraordinary combat skills; in the early stages of the Usean Continental War, all engagements with Yellow Squadron were prohibited, and immediate evacuation of the battlezone was to be ordered in case the Yellows engaged in combat. Due to their skills, they were assigned the role of defenders of the Stonehenge Turret Network, the anti-asteroid railgun system that gave the Erusians the power to conquer the Usean Continent in the first place.

History
Yellow Squadron was Erusea's best Tactical Fighter Squadron, and had been so for a while. Because of the pilots' skills, Erusian High Command appointed them with the task of guarding Stonehenge. The flight lead, known by his callsign, Yellow 13, was said to be the best pilot in all of Erusea. On October 10, 2004, it was announced he had attained a kill score of 64.

At the beginning of the war, Yellow Squadron was mostly assigned to air defense missions around Stonehenge. As the war went on, and the Independent State Allied Forces were pushed towards the Eastern Coastline, Yellow Squadron was assigned to long range missions from their runway in San Salvacion. Their second-farthest mission took them to the petrol processing facility outside of Comberth Harbor on the far East Coast, where they repelled an ISAF attack. They were too late to stop the attack, but they did manage to splash multiple ISAF aircraft.

Their longest-ranged mission took them to the Comona Islands, over the Riass Space Center. They had appeared at the very start of the battle and had remained there for most of the operation. However, with the lack of a tanker on station, as well as taking substantial battle damage, they were forced to retreat. One notable account of their battle damage was from one member, rumored to be Yellow 13, who had suffered a missile hit from Mobius One, ISAF's top ace.



The war pushed on and the ISAF continued to regain lost ground. Erusian High Command had begun cycling new pilots through Yellow Squadron, in hopes of quickly developing skilled pilots for frontline combat. Near the end of the war, as Erusea began to lose ground, Yellow Squadron had been returned to defending vital areas in the Erusian defense line.

When ISAF had ordered an offensive to finally put an end to Stonehenge, Yellow Squadron scrambled to intercept the enemy fighters. They had arrived too late, thanks to a bomb planted on their runway, as Stonehenge was gone when they arrived. They still engaged the remaining ISAF pilots. During the battle, Yellow 04, Yellow 13's key wingman, was shot down and killed by Mobius One. Her engine was crippled after the explosion on the runway, but Yellow Squadron did not want to take their chances, and retreated.

A few months later, ISAF began an assault on San Salvacion itself in an attempt to free the city from Erusian control. Yellow Squadron was active in the entire area, holding off multiple ISAF fighters. However, many were shot down by Mobius One in combat. The exact number is unknown, but Yellow 13 and the surviving members were ordered to retreat to Farbanti, the Erusian Capital, when multiple Tu-160 Blackjacks arrived - and failed - to destroy as much as San Salvacion as possible. Finally, ISAF had reached Farbanti and began their attack. Yellow Squadron was sent out once again into battle. When they arrived, their first opponent was Mobius One himself. Many witnesses from each side said that the ensuing air battle was an amazing display of air combat. However, by the end of the battle, the members of Yellow 13's flight had all been killed, including Yellow 13 himself, and Farbanti was now in ISAF's control.

However, even though the war had officially ended, a group of rebellious Erusians refused to accept the terms, and took control of the rocket launch facility, Megalith. They were prepared to restart the war. ISAF sent around a dozen pilots, now members of the Mobius Squadron, to destroy Megalith. The remaining members of Yellow Squadron were defending it, and after the intense aerial battle, all the members of Yellow Squadron had been killed. It was then officially disbanded, as no members were remaining.

Yellow 13
Main article: Yellow 13



This man, only known by his callsign, "Yellow 13," is the flight leader of Yellow Squadron. Yellow 13 is said to be the best fighter pilot in the Federal Erusian Air Force, and is later confirmed as the Erusian "Ace of Aces". He prides himself on the fact that he has never lost a squadron member in combat, and despises those who "rob our wings with cowardly sabotage," making him an honorable character of sorts. Though said to be the best pilot on the Usean Continent, he is a somewhat quiet person. During his unit's fourth engagement with Mobius One over the Erusian capital city of Farbanti, Yellow 13 was killed in action.

Yellow 4
Yellow 4 is Yellow 13's wingman, as well as the only female pilot in the squadron. She and Yellow 13 had known one another before entering the Erusian Air Force and had grown a strong bond with one another. Yellow 4, while seeming gentle, will not let any harm come near Yellow 13, not even on land. However, after the Resistance in San Salvacion set off a bomb on Yellow Squadron's runway, she had suffered shrapnel wounds, and her plane's engine was crippled. She still sortied along with the other members of Yellow 13's flight to defend Stonehenge when ISAF had begun its air raid. There, she was shot down and killed in action by the ISAF ace Mobius One.

Jean-Louis
He becomes the leader of Yellow Squadron after Yellow 13 is killed. He takes command at the final battle at Megalith. He is killed in the battle and his wingman, Gene, takes temporary command of the Squadron.

Gene
He is the second in command of the new Yellow Squadron, and takes command after Jean-Louis is shot down. He is later shot down as well.

Others
Those listed below were enlisted in the new Yellow Squad employed to defend Megalith. All were KIA.


 * Mihael
 * Kenneth
 * Risto
 * Esther
 * Kurt
 * Duane
 * Lewis

Trivia

 * In Mission 10 of Ace Combat Zero, the Belkan ace Erich Klinsmann pilots a Su-37 with colors of the Yellow Squadron. The description in the assault records says "Detailed information about this pilot is unavailable." In addition, his records state he was shot down, however not KIA or MIA.
 * A mysterious pilot under the name of "YELLOW" in Ace Combat 5 flies an Su-37 Terminator through the tunnel beneath Waldreich in pursuit of Jack Bartlett to prevent the destruction of the SOLG core control unit. His plane is colored and fashioned in the style of Yellow Squadron, and the special color unlocked by shooting him down includes a number change from 016 to 013, which suggests the pilot is a possible impersonator of Yellow 13.
 * Yellow Squadron is one of the few squadrons that can perform Pugachev's Cobra in the Ace Combat world. This can be seen in the last mission of Ace Combat 04 where the new Yellow Squadron members are protecting Megalith. When you chase one down, sometimes he will point his nose up and perform the maneuver. At this very moment, the performer is very vulnerable to all attacks.
 * During the liberation of San Salvacian, some members of Yellow Squadron instead fly Su-35s instead of Su-37s. They aren't identified by name as being Yellows, though possibly through an oversight, the messages following them being shot down will state that a Yellow was flying it. These may be extra members of the Squadron who don't belong to Yellow 13's flight.