- "You're not gonna believe this, Jean-Louis! All of them have ribbon insignias!"
- ― Gene, commenting on the approaching Mobius Squadron
The 118th Tactical Fighter Wing "Mobius", also referred to as Mobius Squadron, was an elite squadron of the Independent State Allied Forces' air force during and after the Second Usean Continental War. Little is known about the squadron's pilot roster prior to September 2004; however, an ISAF ace, Mobius 1, would rise to prominence and become the flight leader of Mobius Squadron around the start of the ISAF counteroffensive.[1]
History
Second Usean Continental War (2003–2005)
Around the time of ISAF's evacuation from the Usean mainland, Mobius 1 was the sole member of Mobius Squadron; whether this was by design or the result of losing squadmates during the Erusians' initial offensive remains unknown.[1]
Beginning with the ISAF's Operation Umbrella in September 2004, Mobius 1 quickly established himself as an ace, downing six Erusian Tu-95 Bear bombers and their escort fighters over Newfield Island.[2] Over the course of the war, Mobius 1's accomplishments would inspire confidence in his allies and fear in his enemies.[1]
The full Mobius Squadron—under Mobius 1's command—was later formed by merging several other ISAF squadrons. On September 26, 2005, one week after the official armistice, ISAF dispatched the newly assembled Mobius Squadron to the Twinkle Islands to destroy Megalith, an Erusian superweapon capable of shooting down orbiting asteroid fragments. Mobius Squadron engaged and shot down the Erusians’ Megalith defense squadron before moving on to the rocket-launch facility. Through the combined efforts of Mobius Squadron and the special forces unit, ISAF was victorious once again, and Megalith was destroyed.[3]
Operation Katina (2006)
Mobius Squadron would return to active service in 2006, when Free Erusea terrorists mounted an armed insurrection against the post-war Erusian government. ISAF initiated an investigation into the extent of Mobius 1's abilities, which reached the astonishing conclusion that the combat effectiveness of Mobius 1 was equal to that of an entire ISAF squadron. As such, Mobius 1 was scrambled, along with AWACS SkyEye, to suppress the rebellion and restore stability to Erusea. It is unknown if the rest of Mobius Squadron was deployed elsewhere to deal with the uprising.[4]
Roster
- Mobius 1: F-22A (Player's choice)
- Mobius 2: F-22A
- Mobius 3: F-22A
- Mobius 4: F-22A
- Mobius 5: Rafale M
- Mobius 6: Rafale M
- Mobius 7: Rafale M
- Mobius 8: Typhoon
- Mobius 9: Typhoon
- Mobius 13: Typhoon
Mobius 1
Mobius 1 is an ISAF ace and the flight leader of Mobius Squadron. He is arguably one of the best ace pilots in Strangereal. Mobius 1's heroics almost single-handedly won the war for ISAF, and he is estimated to have the combat capabilities of an entire squadron.[4] He was the only confirmed member of Mobius Squadron until the assault on Megalith.[1]
AWACS SkyEye
AWACS SkyEye is the ISAF electronic support aircraft that worked with Mobius Squadron since its first mission over Newfield Island.[1] As an AWACS, SkyEye provided vital tactical and data analysis for ISAF aircraft during combat operations. In 2006, he and Mobius 1 were dispatched to quell the Free Erusea uprising.[4] Since then, AWACS SkyEye has continued providing ECM and radar support for ISAF operations.
Gallery
Mobius Squadron emblem patch
Mobius Squadron livery in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
F-22A -MOBIUS- DLC
Trivia
- Mobius 1 and Mobius Squadron derive their callsign from the Möbius strip, a unique geometrical shape that does not exist in nature and can only exist as a man-made thing. The unique combat record and accomplishments attributed to Mobius 1, likewise, cannot exist in nature; this lends the fitting impression that Mobius 1's prowess is beyond the natural abilities of even the best pilots in the world.
- A Möbius strip is characterized as being a looped ribbon arranged in such a way that it has no beginning, end, "inside", or "outside".
- Throughout Ace Combat 04, Mobius 1 is commonly referred to as the "Ribbon Fighter" and to a lesser extent, "The Grim Reaper" or "The Ribbon" by the Erusians.[1]
- The emblem of Mobius 1 can be unlocked in Ace Combat: Joint Assault by finishing 100 missions.
- Mobius 1 appears as an enemy ace in the "Ace of Aces" mission from Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- In Mission 14B of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, the Belkan ace Jakob Pfeiffe, callsign "Adler", pilots an F-22A with the same livery as Mobius Squadron.
- According to radio quotes extracted from the game, there are more than 13 Mobius Squadron members in Mission 18, ranging from Mobius 14 to 20.