Dominic &quot;Vulture&quot; Zubov

DOMINIC ZUBOV "Vulture"
AC0 - Schwarze One

Zubov's BAF ID Card

Personal Information:
Name: Dominic Zubov
Rank: Lieutenant
Call Sign: Vulture
Nationality: Yuktobanian
Age: 38 [as of 1995]
Date of Birth: ??/??/1957
Status: Shot Down (Survived Belkan War)

Biography:
He was the flight leader of the Schwarze Squadron. This squadron of eight was the only unit in the Belkan Air Force which took on a rear-echelon role from behind the combat airspace. They were cleared to engage their friendly craft at their own discretion if they tried to escape from battle. The other pilots fearfully and disdainfully called them "The Vultures". Dominic Zubov took part in disputes that took place in numerous areas of Yuktobania in 1980's as a mercenary. After that, he joined the Belkan Air Force on account of a great deal of salary in 1990.

Whether it is possible to mention Dominic Zubov, who was from Yuktobania, as one of the Belkan aces is a quite controversial issue. But information about him, while always fragmented and limited, claims that he is undoubtedly an ace pilot. Today, there is no official record as to when Zubov joined the Yuktobanian Air Force. It is now believed that he belonged to the 9th Air Division 112th Tactical Fighter Squadron. This squadron sustained considerable damage to turn the tide of battle in the Tyumen dispute that broke out in 1986 at the southern border area of Yuktobania, as well as in the operation to subjugate the coup forces led by the Heum Administration in the Republic of Romny in 1987. In the air battle of Dimitr, the fiercest battle in the Tyumen dispute, the squadron Zubov belonged to annihilated the opposing north-branch squadrons from the Republic of Kaluga at the cost of 80% of their planes.

Most of the pilots who survived this blood-spattered suicidal and genocidal battle soon left the military because of the mental shock. Among these men, there was only one man who remained sane. He was no other than Dominic Zubov. His career as a mercenary hired by Yuktobania was rather short in reality. After he left the Yuktobanian Air Force, he was hired by the Republic of Romny, and then by the Kingdom of Valga. In 1990 when he crossed the Ceres Ocean to join the Belkan Air Force, his odyssey finally came to an end.

The fact that there was a foreign mercenary forces unit in the Belkan purist Air Force is not well documented. The Belkan Air Force considered "efficiency" to be the most important issue. That's why the foreign mercenary unit was deployed. How to keep the troops' morale high is every military organization's problem, and Belka was no exception. The Belkan Air Force took measures to solve this and deployed a foreign mercenary unit to carry out surveillance operations from behind the combat airspace. This "surveillance” actually meant unconditional clearance to fire at fleeing aircraft.

There was strong opposition from the upper echelons of the Belkan Air Force to the Belkans being permitted to engage the Belkans, but eventually the surveillance unit was forcibly established. Hereby one can see that Belka could not keep up with the situation changing rapidly. The 13th Night Fighter Air Division was called a Special Forces unit, and carried out numerous secret missions that were never officially recorded. This was because the upper echelons of the Belkan Air Force wished to keep them from being revealed. When Zubov joined the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 13th Night Fighter Air Division, Belka was in the process of improving the Air Force, and he partly contributed to this.

Dominic Zubov is often told from the mysterious side of his career, but he is also known as a steady fighter pilot. He flew the MiG-31, and made most of its acceleration to fulfill the mission objectives mercilessly. His flight record was of no brilliance, and people called him "Vulture" for fear of him, but also with a despicable tone against him. However, there is no doubt that he would have become a top ace in the Belkan Air Force if he had not been on secret missions. After all, he had survived numerous desperate battles.

During an assignment on May 28th, 1995, the Schwarze Squadron was in pursuit of a Belkan defector. This pilot's name was Wolfgang Buchner, a top ace of the Belkan Air Force, and he was attempting to lose the Schwarze Squadron by passing through a large air battle, occurring in Air Space B7R. Within the confusion, the Schwarze Squadron lost the escaping aircraft due to the presence of the 66th AFU Galm of the Ustian 6th Air Division. The Schwarze Squadron was shot down during Operation: Battle Axe.

Zubov fled after the war so to avoid prosecution as a war criminal. His whereabouts had been unknown since then, but the OBC documentary which was broadcast in 2005 revealed that he was still alive somewhere in Osea. It's questionable if his real name is Dominic Zubov. But, he is surely alive somewhere in this world.

SOURCE:
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
Official Ace Combat Zero Website
Namco CH Ace Combat Zero Website

ACCREDITATION:
Thanks to yellow26

*Original Article by Ribbon-Blue*