Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/MiG-30 Flashbat

"MiG, ready to rule Encantadia's skies!"

-...

The MiG-30 Flashbat is a former Voshkod fighter aircraft that was obsolete by 1981 V.C. and sold it to their Voshkod allies, which Encantadia, one of the Voshkod's allies, uses as their main air supriority fighter.

History
After the spectacular explosion of the prototype KA-3 Tesla plane killed both Krasna Aerospace's lead aircraft designer and test pilot, the state of Voshkod fighter design was in shambles. Krasna was in disarray, and industry analysts predicted that the Voshkod would not be able to field a credible air superiority fighter for at least a decade. They could not have foreseen that two young visionary designers, Mikhail Mikevich and Artem Gurevoyan, would join forces to create one of the most successful air superiority fighters in the world.

Their first design, the MiG-30 Flashbat, was is in every way a revolutionary design in its time. Its main weapon system is as dependable and successful as any in the world, able to accurately track and destroy enemy aircraft even when confronted with the most advanced in electronic aerial countermeasures. The MiG's burst-missiles earn their "Matryosha" nickname from the Voshkod dolls-within-dolls, due to the missiles' multiple sub-warheads that cause explosive damage inside their targets. This makes the Flashbat well suited to both intercepting enemy air threats and escorting Voshkod bombers and ground attack aircraft.

Designed from the ground up as an air superiority fighter, the MiG fighter has no air-to-ground capability, making it vulnerable to anti-air fire. However, when faced with such threats, MiG pilots are taught to recall the age-old Voshkod tale of the Bear and the Dog: While the Dog barks at the oncoming snowstorm in earnest, the Bear retreats to the warmth of the cave to strike another day. Like the Bear, a talented MiG pilot will take advantage of the speed and agility of the aircraft to vacate the airspace before the storm arrives. But by 1981 V.C. the MiG-30 was replaced by the more advance MiG-29 Fulcrum series and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker series, alongside the remaining aging MiGs from MiG-17 to MiG-30, and their blueprints, sent to their allies, one of which is Encantadia, who were similary struggling to find a suitable air superiority fighter.

In spite of the difficulties and dangers of flying the MiG fighter, current Encantadian National Air Combat Division rosters are full to capacity, the result of an unexpected flood of volunteers signing up for the strenuous flight training required to fly this demanding aircraft. This is partly due to an intensive propaganda campaign, but the image of a daring fighter pilot defending the Aristocracy also seems to resonate with the Encantadian spirit. Even expatriate filmmaker Boris Denisov's documentary The Empty Chair, which castigated the Voshkod military for mismanagement and incompetency, painted a powerful portrait of a MiG fighter pilot, a selfless heroine for the people, darting between enemy aircraft and, at times, even drawing fire upon her own aircraft in order to protect the crew of a besieged Kirov Airship. His final work, The Empty Chair won Denisov a significant level of posthumous acclaim.

The aura of prestige shared by cadets in the Air Combat Division has thoroughly permeated civilian life, allowing the Encantadian military to begin recruiting candidates straight from elementary school. Political officers scour schools for boys and girls with just the right balance of daring, aggression, and patriotism--qualities that are then honed for years at the Military Affairs Bureau. Even with the rigorous selection process, less than half of the candidates will graduate; all will find a career in military services in one form or another, however.

Trivia

 * Yes, this is the MiG Fighter from Red Alert 3

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * F-15 Eagle (Aquila)
 * Stormchild (Alliance)
 * F/A-18C Hornet (ADI)
 * F-15J (Protectorate)
 * Apollo Fighter (Andora)
 * J-16 (Empire)
 * F-15SG Strike Eagle (Community)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Su-35 Flanker-E (Voshkod)
 * Su-33F Flanker-D (Brotherhood)
 * MiG-21F Fishbed (Horde)
 * MiG-29A Fulcrum (MLA)
 * Su-27P Flanker (Collective)
 * MiG-30 Flashbat (Encantadia)
 * Lightningrider (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * ... (Coalition)
 * ... (Heralds)
 * ... (Order)
 * F-86D Sabredog (Survivors)
 * ... (Syndicate)
 * Roboraptor (Conglomerate)
 * Lightning Fighter (Legion)

DLC

 * ... (Federation)
 * ... (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * ... (Skynet)
 * ... (Dominion)
 * ... (Elemental)
 * ... (Autocracy)
 * MiG-21PFM Fishbed (League)
 * Zergling (Swarm)
 * ... (Pirates)
 * Sepoy (Elona)
 * ... (Ascalia)
 * ... (Confederation)
 * Viggen (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * ... (Security)
 * ... (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * ... (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * ... (Raiders)
 * ... (Theocracy)
 * ... (ASA)
 * ... (Insurgents)
 * Tornado F3 (Bastion)
 * ... (Guardians)
 * ... (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * Su-27S Flanker (Ecumene)
 * Phantom FGR2 (Concordat)
 * Lightning F.6 (Sadida Armed Forces)
 * ... (Contingent)
 * ... (Rangers)
 * ... (Eden)
 * ... (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * F-104G Starfighter (Commune)