Air Military Mini-Con Team

Like a vast, predatory bird...

The Air Military Mini-Con Team specializes in supporting ground-based units with precision bombing and lightning-fast strategic strikes, rarely leaving anything more than burning craters and wrecked metal in their wake.

An alternate-dimension incarnation of the Air Military Mini-Con Team was trapped in the void between worlds with their master Ramjet. These Mini-Cons were little more than mindless slaves to Ramjet's will (and ultimately to the will of Unicron), though, lacking the developed personalities and souls of their other counterparts.

The Air Military Mini-Con Team is composed of...

• Gunbarrel the cargo plane.
• Terradive the "Blackbird"-style stealth jet.
• Thunderwing the "flying wing" stealth bomber.

Fiction

Armada cartoon

It WAS a good idea to store your Mini-Cons in an unguarded exterior closet...

The Air Military Team were hidden away in storage on the moon, apparently trapped there for a million years unlike their fellow Mini-Cons who had been scattered over the Earth. They were found and recruited by Thrust to the Decepticon cause, and incorporated into his battle strategies. Alongside the Air Defense Mini-Con Team, the Decepticons now possessed a rather large air force for vanquishing the Autobots. After Thrust lured the Autobots into a tight ravine with a false Mini-Con signal, the trio joined with Starscream in strafing the trapped Autobots. They were eventually overcome when Hot Shot fired on the jets, bringing them down. Tactician

The Air Military Team and Air Defense Team were used in Thrust's next offensive as well. Gunbarrel and the others used the Autobots' prohibition against firing on Mini-Cons against them, keeping Jetfire distracted and surrounded in mid-air, cut off from his landbound fellow Autobots and unable to fire back at his attackers. Linkup The Air Military Team were assembled again to do battle with Jet Optimus alongside Megatron and his Dark Fleet armor. Desperate

On the moon, Gunbarrel and Thunderwing were among the Mini-Cons put to work by Megatron constructing a new space cruiser. When the Autobots lay siege to the Decepticon base, Perceptor sought out the Mini-Cons and tried to get them to accompany him to freedom. Their servility programming was too strong to overcome at first. After Gunbarrel and Thunderwing saw Perceptor valiantly risking his life against Megatron, however, the Mini-Cons shrugged off the chains of their oppression, and fled to the warp gate chamber where the Autobots transported them to safety on Earth. Rescue

Cybertron comic

The Air Military Team serving Ramjet arrived with their master, Thunderclash, and Nemesis Prime to the Cybertron of Aurex 405.0 Epsilon. The Unicron Singularity Crisis had forced the near-complete desertion of the local Cybertron, leaving it ripe for the evil Heralds' plan to resurrect Unicron. Balancing Act The Team faithfully assisted as their master fought Vector Prime as Nemesis Prime proceeded to Primus's spark chamber in order to use the Dead Matrix, Balancing Act, Part 3 Balancing Act, Part 4 Balancing Act, Pt 5 only for Vector Prime to emerge victorious as he blasted Ramjet through a dimension gate into the nothingness in between worlds, the Mini-Cons going with their master. Revelations Part 1

Toys

Armada

"You know, we get repainted into girls later on."
"Really?"
"Yeah, expensive girls, too."

• Air Military Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MM-11

Terradive transforms into a SR-71 "Blackbird" spy plane, and can also form a three-bladed melee weapon. Thunderwing transforms into a combination of a Northrop B2 "Spirit" stealth bomber with the cockpit of an F-117 "Nighthawk" stealth fighter, and can also turn into a rotating saw or throwing star. Gunbarrel turns into a cargo/transport plane of made-up origin, and can also transform into a six-barrel Gatling gun.

The three aircraft were available only as a set of three at the Basic price point.

These molds were also used to make the Sonic Assault Team, Sky Scorcher Mini-Con Team, Sky Attack Mini-Con Team, and Caliber Mini-Con Team.

• Thrust and Thunder with Air Military Micron
  • Japanese ID number: MS-06

In Japan, the Air Military Team were also available with Thrust. There were no differences between the two releases.

• Air Military Micron Exdimensions (Basic, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MM-12

Part of the Exdimensions series, the entire Team was redecoed in primarily transparent black and matte black plastics, making them a little more fragile than the regular release. This release was normal retail, but produced in more limited numbers than the normal deco. This release of the Air Military Mini-Con Team was repurposed as the Nocturnal Assault Mini-Con Team.

• Unicron with Dead End (Bonus pack, 2003)

Late in the U.S. line, Walmart stores received exclusive Unicron toys that came with the Air Military Team in a bubble attached to the top of the box. This set was sold for the normal retail price of Unicron... hey, free Mini-Cons!

Universe (2003)

• Ramjet w/ Thunderclash, Gunbarrel, Thunderwing, & Terradive

Part of the Toys 'R' Us exclusive "Spring Value Pack", the Air Military Team was slightly redecoed for inclusion with Ramjet. The box-back shows a significantly different coloration for the team; why these colors were not used is unknown.

• Autobot Whirl with Makeshift & Gunbarrel (Ultra, 2004)

• Fireflight with Firebot and Thunderwing (Deluxe, 2004)

• Stockade & Magna Stampede with Prowl & Terradive (Ultra, 2004)

The Air Military Team (along with the Emergency Mini-Con Team) were split up among three different Autobot multi-packs for normal retail release.

Notes

Foreign names

• Japanese: Air Military Micron (エアミリタリーマイクロン Ea Miritarī Maikuron)
• French: L'équipe de Forces Aérienne des Minimodus ("Air Force Mini-Con Team")
• Korean: Air Military (에어밀리터리 Eeo Milliteori)
• Spanish: Los Minimodus - Equipo de las Fuerzas Aéreas ("The Mini-Cons - Air Force Team")