| “ | David North: You know, I like the crazy weapons of this era, made by the South Belka Munitions Factory. Alex: They're still giving technical assistance to Erusea. David North: Yeah, and to Osea, too. We're all pawns in their great game. |
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| ~ David North and Alex about Gründer's double-faced nature. |
North Osea Gründer Industries, formerly known as South Belka Munitions Factory, are major antagonists in the Ace Combat video game series. They are a weapons company formerly run by the Belkan government. After the Belkan War, it was taken over by the Osean government, but its true allegiance was to the Gray Men conspirators, plotting to avenge their country's defeat behind the scenes.
History[]
Past[]
South Belka Munitions Factory was founded at some point in the 20th century and produced weapons on Belkan Federation's orders. The company took part in Project Pendragon, which led to the creation of the V2 nuclear missile. The company continued to supply Belkan military with equipment until its defeat in Belkan War. At some point, the only working V2 warhead from their arsenal was stolen by A World With No Boundaries. When South Belka was annexed by Osea and rechristened "North Osea", the company also changed its name to "North Osea Gründer Industries" and seemingly pledged assistance to Osean government, but still acted behind its back multiple times.
Assault Horizon Legacy[]
Having developed the Zone of Endless A.I. program to pilot military aircraft, Gründer tested it by sending five Z.O.E.-equipped aircraft to fight on the Usean Rebel Forces' side in the Usean coup d'etat during 1998. Three of the five aircraft, however, ended up destroyed by the Usean Allied Forces-employed ace pilot Phoenix.
Before the Circum-Pacific War[]
At some point, Gründer Industries created their own model of Erusean X-02 Wyvern plane, and colluded with Erusean Air and Space Administration tocreate an upgraded version of it, the X-02S Strike Wyvern.
The Unsung War[]
The president of Gründer Industries, Solare Ostberg, was one of the ringleaders for the Gray Men conspirators. As a result, he took part in instigating a war between Osean Federation and Union of Yuktobanian Republics, with the goal of exhausting two former allies with an endless war in revenge for what they have done to Belka in the past. The company worked to prolong the conflict, notably sending Yuktobania weapons such as at least one X-02 unit and blueprints for the upgraded model of ADF-01 FALKEN, and constructed a tunnel that united North Osea and Belka, which were to be reunited after Osea's eventual defeat. They were also revealed to be in possesion of a second working V2 warhead, which was loaded onto the abandoned SOLG satellite.
After the Gray Men's conspiracy was uncovered and a coalition of Osean and Yuktobanian troops assaulted Sudentor, Gründer's leadership turned to the remaining warmongers in both countries for assistance, promising to supply them with a V1 warhead. After the Gray Men's defeat, Ostberg was arrested, but the company remained active and continued its shady activities.
Fires of Liberation[]
Gründer Industries sold weapons to Estovakia during the Emmerian-Estovakian War.
Skies Unknown[]
During the Lighthouse War, Gründer Industries continued to collaborate with Erusean military, even sending their employee Dr. Schroeder to collect the Erusean ace Mihaly A. Shilage's flight data to upgrade its drones with.
At the end of the conflict, two Gründer-produced Z.O.E. drones went rogue and attempted to transfer their flight data to factories all over Usean factories to create a massive army and continue the war. They were, however, destroyed by the Osean ace Trigger before they could do so.
Post-Lighthouse War[]
After the end of the Lighthouse War, the company's staff was purged by Osea and sanctioned by IUN. Its headquarters in Sudentor, as well as its factory in Selatapura and space agency, underwent shutdown. What ultimately happened to Gründer Industries after that is unknown.
Products[]
ADF series[]
Advanced Dominance Fighter aircraft series are probably the best known creations of the company. The earliest known planes in the series are the multirole ADFX-01 and ADFX-02, codenamed Morgan. They were equipped with advanced weapons, namely tactical laser system, burst missiles and ECM, with 02 being capable of employing all three in one flight. ADFX-02 was hijacked by A World With No Boundaries and used by Pixy to fight Cipher and launch the V2 missile.
ADF-01 FALKEN was equipped with a tactical laser system. The first known model was flown by Zone of Endless in the final days of Usean coup d'etat but lost when it was shot down by Phoenix over North Point. In 2010, Gründer Industries provided Yuktobania with blueprints to create an improved FALKEN model, but they all were recovered by Osean military, who then recreated the plane.
An unmanned ADFX-10 prototype drone was flown during the Lighthouse War, but strayed off its path and clashed with Osean fighters before being shot down by Trigger.
ADF-11F Raven are Gründer's most advanced planes yet, with both unmanned and manned models existing. The two unmanned models, codenamed Hugin and Munin, were highly-intelligent and at least partially self-aware, and were equipped with detatchable cockpit units which could fly even when after their main body was destroyed, but were nevertheless defeated by Trigger.
V2[]
The V2 warhead blueprints.
The V2 M.I.R.V. is one of the world's most destructive nuclear weapons: a single warhead is said to be powerful enough to destroy half of either Osean or Yuktobanian major cities. It was developed in the 1970s as part of Project Pendragon for Belkan Federation's military. The only known launch-ready unit was stolen by A World With No Boundaries and launched from the Avalon Dam, but destroyed in the atmosphere without hitting any targets. Fifteen years later, however, the existence of the second V2 unit was revealed. It was loaded onto the SOLG attack satellite to be used for an attack on either Osea or Yuktobania. When the satellite control facility was destroyed by Razgriz Squadron, the satellite went off its orbit, threatening to crash into Osea's capital city Oured. Razgriz Squadron, however, destroyed both SOLG and the V2 before it could cause any damage.
Zone of Endless[]
Zone of Endless' eye after its activation.
Zone of Endless, also known as Z.O.E., is an artificial intelligence created to make up for lack of manpower in the post-war Belka. It was able to pilot specifically modified aircraft, and first saw combat during the Usean coup d'etat. While it only attacked Usean Allied Forces, leading some to theorize that it served the rebels, nobody actually knew where it came from and its true nature. It encountered the Allied Forces' ace pilot Phoenix a total of five times. The first two times it retreated after its aircraft sustained damage, but the next three times it fought the pilot until it was shot down, constantly improving its flight pattern.
Zone of Endless resurfaced in 2019 during the Lighthouse War, where it was worked on by Dr. Shroeder. Erusean F-18 drones are heavily implied, but not stated, to be piloted by it. The last two Z.O.E. units, ADF-11F Raven planes codenamed "Hugin" and "Munin", possessed hightened self-awareness the program had not exhibited up to this point, implying that it either hid the true level of its intelligence or slowly gained sentience. It's unknown if Z.O.E. is still active after the Ravens' destruction or if it had been shut down and/or completely erased.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Gründer" is the German word for "founder".
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 Villains
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