- "Demon Lord, what is it you hope to achieve on the battlefield?"
- ― Kupchenko to Cipher
"The Guardian"
Anton Kupchenko, was an ace fighter pilot of the Belkan Air Force. Skilled both in flight and in military engineering, he was a man of charisma.
Biography
Early life
In his early days in the Belkan military, he fought in various battlefields and wars involving his homeland, earning the nickname of "The Gold Woodpecker". As a result of his experience in the engineering field, he joined the Belkan army's weapons & technology research department in the 1970s. During this time In 1987, the Belkan Federal Law Review caused the nation's economy to collapse, thus leading to the end of Project Pendragon. However, Kupchenko remained with the Belkan Air Force.
Belkan War
- "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."
- ― Kupchenko, describing his motivation to fight
In January 1994, as the Belkan Federation planned on expanding its territory, he became the leader of the 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Gault". During the early days of the Belkan War, in March 1995, Anton and the Gault Squadron unexpectedly disappeared from the skies, leading the military to mark them all as killed in action, or KIA. It is belived that, during this time, Kupchenko founded the paramilitary group "A World With No Boundaries" alongside his wingmen.
In December 31, 1995, the military forces of Ustio and the Osean Federation planned to launch an assault on Avalon Dam, a missile facility disguised as a dam in Nord Belka, in order to stop AWWNB from launching a V2 missile, itself targeting many of the world's capitals. Early that day, the famed 66th Air Force Unit of the Ustio military launched from Valais Air Force Base in their final sortie. At 11:00 AM, they reached Airspace B7R at the southern Ustio-Belka border, only to be ambushed by Anton Kupchenko and the Gault Team. The Galm Team eventually gained the upper hand, and the entire Gault Squadron was eliminated. Five members of the team died, Gault 1 himself included.
Kupchenko's grave
Days after the B7R incident, his Berkut's wreckage and remains were found, later being transported to Belka. He was buried at the Holtz Public Cemetery. His tombstone features an epitaph, which reads: "The gate to the new world has been opened. My soul shall be the wind that enters the gate. When the sleeping king awakes, my body, too, shall surely rise."
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).
Sources
PROJECT ACES: ACZ WEBSITE - Hard Cover: Belkan Air Power
Template:Knights of the Round Table