Air Strike Patrol

The Air Strike Patrol is a team of Decepticon Micromasters from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Left to right: Whisper, Tailwind, Storm Cloud, Nightflight

Among the first Decepticon Micromasters, the Air Strike Patrol have much in common with their larger brethren the Seekers, the majority of the team taking after one in particular, the treacherous Starscream. Constantly fighting amongst themselves to claim credit for their successes and blame the others for their failures, the junior members actively seek to usurp team leader Whisper's leadership and are about as successful as the Decepticon Air Commander in that regard.

The Air Strike Patrol consists of:

• Whisper (leader)
• Nightflight
• Storm Cloud
• Tailwind

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

When the Race Car Patrol entered the headquarters of Thunderwing on Cybertron to rescue their captured Battle Patrol comrades and keep the Micromaster process out of Decepticon hands, they discovered the incomplete bodies of the Sports Car Patrol before running into the completed Air Strike Patrol. Roadhandler was able to trick these newest Decepticon warriors into fleeing with the aid of the deactivated bomb intended to destroy the Battle Patrol. A Small War!

We'll make 'em an offer they can't refuse.

When Roadhandler became an overnight wrestling sensation on Earth, Scorponok requested new warriors from Cybertron to counter the Autobot Micromasters' building public adulation. The Micromaster Air Strike Patrol subsequently arrived, donated by a Decepticon on Cybertron with an unknown, mysterious identity. While Storm Cloud challenged Roadhandler in the ring, the other members of the patrol swept the skies outside, keeping Roadhandler's fan club from entering. The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!

Unknown to Scorponok, the patrol's secret employer was Megatron, who then sent the team on a mission to MacDill Air Force Base, capturing the B-204 refuelling plane. When the Autobots inevitably arrived, the team contacted Scorponok to tell him that they were under attack. Back from the Dead After a brief confrontation with Optimus Prime and the arrival of Scorponok's Decepticons, the Air Strike Patrol fled, their mission completed. The Resurrection Gambit!

Whisper turned private assassin and was given an open contract on all Autobot generals, with his patrolmates giving him support. They fought the Rescue Patrol, who were hunting Whisper, in an Earthen forest; Optimus Prime called the Rescue Patrol back to prevent damage to the environment, allowing the Decepticons to escape. The Greatest Gift of All!

A news team followed them across the southern United States, where finally the group descended on an oil refinery. When they attacked, the human civilians were defended by Hector Dialonzo, a human with extraordinary powers. While on film, the Air Strike Patrol met their demise at Hector's hands. The Human Factor!

Marvel UK future timelines

In an alternate timeline where Unicron didn't find Cybertron until 2006, the Air Strike Patrol took Megatron's side in a Decepticon Civil War against factions led by Scorponok and Shockwave in the year 1991. Near the end of that war, the Patrol chased Scorponok, alone, into a human settlement. Scorponok maneuvered a team of Autobots into combatting the Patrol for him, enabling him to escape. Aspects of Evil!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

The Battle Patrol and Air Strike Patrol appeared from an air vortex that acted as a gate to another dimension, to join their fellow Decepticons on Earth. Later, they were present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York; however Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. New York — A City Sinking in Terror

Games

Transformers Legends

Dreadwind and the Air Strike Patrol conquered Garrus-9, though their triumph was short-lived as the Wreckers arrived a bit later and liberated it. The Wreckers

Toys

The Transformers

• Air Strike Patrol (Micromaster Patrol, 1988)

All four members of the Air Strike Patrol came packaged on a single card, as part of the first year of Micromasters assortments, released in the sixth year of the original The Transformers toyline.

Together with the Off Road Patrol and the Race Car Patrol, the Air Strike Patrol was released by Hasbro in late 1988 (basically, a case of "next year product" being released at the end of the old year), in packaging that differed from the "proper" 1989 The Transformers Micromasters' redesigned packaging (silver cards and boxes featuring an all-new "Transformers" logo) by retaining a variation of the faction-specific color-coded gradient background on the card and featuring a unique "Micro Transformers" title in a variation of the old, pre-1989 "Transformers" logo. This same basic packaging design was also used for Canada (albeit bilingual English/French) and parts of Europe (bilingual French/Dutch, and Italian-only packaging distributed by GiG). However, a variant of sorts featuring the later 1989 packaging design also exists, and was released (in English-only packaging) in the United Kingdom, where it was sold at Woolworth's stores.

These figures were released in Japan without changes as the Japanese Autobot Jet Patrol Team.

All four members were redecoed into the commanders of Micromaster playsets: Micromaster Station commanders Hot House and Airwave, and small Micromaster Base commanders Groundshaker and Skyhopper.

Universe (2008)

• Stormcloud (Ultra Class, 2008)

Stormcloud is a redeco of Universe Powerglide, transforming into an A-10 (though the nose looks more like that of its canceled counterpart, the Northrop YA-9, probably for licensing reasons).

In vehicle mode, pressing the prominent orange button on the jet's fuselage triggers three electronic sound effects (an engine ignition, a swooping noise and a barrage of machine-gun fire that persists for as long as you hold down the button, the same ones are used for Universe Silverbolt), accompanied by LEDs in the turbines and cockpit. During transformation to robot mode, the classic transformation sound effect is triggered as the torso is moved into place; it plays in reverse as he is transformed back to vehicle mode. In robot mode, pressing the orange button triggers the machine-gun sound effect only, with newly-exposed lights illuminating Stormcloud's eyes as well as those seen in jet mode.

In robot mode, Stormcloud features a wide range of articulation, and can wield in his hand the thermal missile launcher which mounts under his jet mode nosecone. Amusingly, Stormcloud's chestplate can flip up to reveal the raised image of a heart from the Powerglide mold. Who knew that a Decepticon like him has one?

War for Cybertron: Siege

Missing a third member is worth being able to actually hold together, right?

• Storm Cloud & Visper (Micromaster, 2019)

• Hasbro ID number: WFC-S5
• TakaraTomy ID number: SG-10
• TakaraTomy release date: March 30, 2019

Part of the first wave of Siege Micromasters, the Air Strike Patrol is a pair of new molds. Storm Cloud and Visper transform from robots to military jets and back. They can also combine with each other to form the "Circuitstream Spyblade", inspired by the Armada Dark Saber and Vorpal Saber. As a part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, their weapon mode can be attached to any toy with a 5 mm post-hole.

• Autobots vs. Decepticons (Micromaster multi-pack, 2019)

• ID number: WFC-S61

Siege Nightflight is a redeco of Visper, transforming into a vaguely-Cybertronic stealth jet. As part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, he can also form the blade of the "Dual-Edged Soundbreaker Sword" short sword when combined with his pack-in partner Slyhopper (or any other iteration of that mold). He can also go with your Decepticon Air Patrol Micromasters, if you are so inclined.

He was only available as part of a Target exclusive ten-pack of Micromasters, which includes the Autobots Ground Shaker (who uses the same mold as Nightflight), Irontread, Overair, Ricon, Road-Police, and Wheel Blaze, and the Decepticons Cratermaker, Fireline, and Slyhopper. Perhaps surprisingly, he and Overair do not share a mold.

Notes

• The Air Strike Patrol is one of two Micromaster teams to be redecoed in their entirety within the U.S. Generation 1 toyline, the other being the Constructor Squad.

Foreign names

• French: Patrouille Aérienne ("Air Patrol"), Patrouille en avion (Siege, "Air Patrol")
• Italian: Interceptors
• Portuguese: Patrulha Aérea ("Air Patrol")
• Spanish: Patrulla Aérea ("Air Patrol")