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About this mod
A representation of the aircraft flown by the flight leader of the USAF 65th Aggressors Squadron in the story Dragon Pilot: Red Flag. The skin was inspired by Akula from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.
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The aircraft livery of Captain Michael "Akula" Morgenstein, callsign Red One. He is an elderly USAF pilot in the year 2020 who flies as an aggressor pilot for Operation Red Flag.
Inspired by Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and real life influences, Akula is featured in the written story Dragon Pilot: Red Flag, which is a fan fiction sequel to the Netflix series, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan. This skin was made by njmksr on the Ace Combat Discord by my request and commission.
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan (Japanese: ひそねとまそたん) is a Japanese anime television series created by director Shinji Higuchi, screenwriter Mari Okada, and animation studio Bones. The anime project was revealed by the staff at the 2017 Tokyo Comic Con in December 2017. It began airing on April 13, 2018. It was licensed by Netflix for domestic and international streaming, and released internationally on September 21, 2018. Dragon Pilot: Red Flag on the other hand is an unofficial sequel where the Dragon Pilots travel to participate in an international war game famously known as Operation Red Flag, which is hosted by the United States. It turns out, they are not the only D-pilots in the world. Yet despite America having the largest military of them all, the United States does not utilize the Organic Transforming Flyer. As the D-pai help their international peers, the mystery surrounding the lost American OTFs slowly unfolds.
Although the F-22A is not used as an aggressor plane in real life, njmksr has done their best to create a livery that would match a hypothetical F-22A aggressor, plus a little extra character in the way of a shark's mouth on the nose.
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Backstory
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The skies of Vietnam were the last time that American pilots flew with dragons by their side. Michael Morgenstern wasn't even of age to join the military during the war, but was nevertheless conscripted after he was chosen by one of the USAF OTFs. Michael was a hero of the war who even participated in forgotten battles that have since been stripped from the history books due to the presence of American, Russian, and Chinese dragons fighting in the clouds above south east Asia.
Dragon riders have existed throughout the centuries, and though their numbers are few, the only thing that could defeat them was another dragon. To command one of these creatures meant having an unbeatable advantage in any battle that it participated in. That all changed on May 1st, 1960 when an OTF disguised as a U-2 spy plane was shot down by a ground-to-air missile. It was the first of any OTF to be felled in combat with a weapon made by man. It was not the last. There was a time where not just one but eight OTFs found the armies of America worthy of their presence. One by one, they were felled in battle along with many of their pilots until all that remained was Michael and his dragon.
Then during one last dreadful sortie in the final year of the Vietnam War, Michael's dragon met her fate as well. An SA-2 ground-to-air missile was fired upon them, and sensing the danger, Michael's OTF had him ejected before the impact could occur. Though Michael was spared, he watched his OTF die that day. The experience scarred him for the rest of his life.
Michael continues flying even to this day, though as a means to protest the use of dragons in combat. As one of the last surviving combat OTF pilots, Michael was consulted in the development of the YF-22 and later the F-22 Raptor. In order to provide a means of defense from enemy nations who still fly OTFs, the Raptor had to not only be capable of stealth and striking down enemy fighters from afar, it would also require the super-maneuverability that would make it a dragon slayer. Unknown to the public, it was this fact that tipped the scales for the Pentagon to choose the YF-22 over the YF-23 program. Stealth was useless against the OTFs that Russia and China still possessed. Rather than continue to fly the OTFs like her allies, the United States now sought to surpass them.
Now in the year 2020, Michael leads the 65th Aggressors Squadron, and is one of the few at Nellis Air Force Base who are aware of the existence of these dragons. To CIA Director Ixchel Kisoda at Area 51, he promised to beat the OTFs in battle time and time again during Red Flag. For Michael, it is his last chance. He is already now well past the age of mandatory retirement, and the only reason he is allowed to keep flying is because of his particular set of skills. However, to Michael, flying is not merely about proving his worth as a pilot. To surpass the OTFs at Red Flag is to prove that dragons are obsolete against the Raptor. To prove the dragons obsolete as weapons means that never again will a dragon need to die in man's wars.
The only thing standing in his way is Hisone and Masotan. As the final act of his long career, he vows to defeat them--for their own good, and for the good of all dragons who still soar the skies of this world.
Inspired by Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and real life influences, Akula is featured in the written story Dragon Pilot: Red Flag, which is a fan fiction sequel to the Netflix series, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan. This skin was made by njmksr on the Ace Combat Discord by my request and commission.
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan (Japanese: ひそねとまそたん) is a Japanese anime television series created by director Shinji Higuchi, screenwriter Mari Okada, and animation studio Bones. The anime project was revealed by the staff at the 2017 Tokyo Comic Con in December 2017. It began airing on April 13, 2018. It was licensed by Netflix for domestic and international streaming, and released internationally on September 21, 2018. Dragon Pilot: Red Flag on the other hand is an unofficial sequel where the Dragon Pilots travel to participate in an international war game famously known as Operation Red Flag, which is hosted by the United States. It turns out, they are not the only D-pilots in the world. Yet despite America having the largest military of them all, the United States does not utilize the Organic Transforming Flyer. As the D-pai help their international peers, the mystery surrounding the lost American OTFs slowly unfolds.
Although the F-22A is not used as an aggressor plane in real life, njmksr has done their best to create a livery that would match a hypothetical F-22A aggressor, plus a little extra character in the way of a shark's mouth on the nose.
---------------
Backstory
---------------
The skies of Vietnam were the last time that American pilots flew with dragons by their side. Michael Morgenstern wasn't even of age to join the military during the war, but was nevertheless conscripted after he was chosen by one of the USAF OTFs. Michael was a hero of the war who even participated in forgotten battles that have since been stripped from the history books due to the presence of American, Russian, and Chinese dragons fighting in the clouds above south east Asia.
Dragon riders have existed throughout the centuries, and though their numbers are few, the only thing that could defeat them was another dragon. To command one of these creatures meant having an unbeatable advantage in any battle that it participated in. That all changed on May 1st, 1960 when an OTF disguised as a U-2 spy plane was shot down by a ground-to-air missile. It was the first of any OTF to be felled in combat with a weapon made by man. It was not the last. There was a time where not just one but eight OTFs found the armies of America worthy of their presence. One by one, they were felled in battle along with many of their pilots until all that remained was Michael and his dragon.
Then during one last dreadful sortie in the final year of the Vietnam War, Michael's dragon met her fate as well. An SA-2 ground-to-air missile was fired upon them, and sensing the danger, Michael's OTF had him ejected before the impact could occur. Though Michael was spared, he watched his OTF die that day. The experience scarred him for the rest of his life.
Michael continues flying even to this day, though as a means to protest the use of dragons in combat. As one of the last surviving combat OTF pilots, Michael was consulted in the development of the YF-22 and later the F-22 Raptor. In order to provide a means of defense from enemy nations who still fly OTFs, the Raptor had to not only be capable of stealth and striking down enemy fighters from afar, it would also require the super-maneuverability that would make it a dragon slayer. Unknown to the public, it was this fact that tipped the scales for the Pentagon to choose the YF-22 over the YF-23 program. Stealth was useless against the OTFs that Russia and China still possessed. Rather than continue to fly the OTFs like her allies, the United States now sought to surpass them.
Now in the year 2020, Michael leads the 65th Aggressors Squadron, and is one of the few at Nellis Air Force Base who are aware of the existence of these dragons. To CIA Director Ixchel Kisoda at Area 51, he promised to beat the OTFs in battle time and time again during Red Flag. For Michael, it is his last chance. He is already now well past the age of mandatory retirement, and the only reason he is allowed to keep flying is because of his particular set of skills. However, to Michael, flying is not merely about proving his worth as a pilot. To surpass the OTFs at Red Flag is to prove that dragons are obsolete against the Raptor. To prove the dragons obsolete as weapons means that never again will a dragon need to die in man's wars.
The only thing standing in his way is Hisone and Masotan. As the final act of his long career, he vows to defeat them--for their own good, and for the good of all dragons who still soar the skies of this world.