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Factions Squadrons and Locations

LordBlacksun edited this page Sep 9, 2026 · 1 revision

Factions, Squadrons & Locations

The two powers of the Sol War, their elite units, all 27 fighter squadrons, and the war's installations. Part of the Game Reference; data from the Starlancer Wiki (CC BY-SA 3.0). For the broad overview and Sol geography see the Game Reference hub; for the ships these units fly from, see Capital Ships.

The two powers

Western Alliance

A supranational union of Western nations (member states: USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain). The most technologically advanced power in history — it colonized much of Sol, terraformed Mars and Europa, and built the system's automated industry. A century of colonial wars left it war-weary, so it agreed to the Balma Treaty and stood its fleets down — whereupon the Coalition attacked (June 2160). The Franco-Italian fleets were destroyed at Deimos; Earth, Mars and the Jupiter moons fell; ~45% of the fleet rallied at Triton. The Alliance won Outer Sol within two years but the war became a century-long stalemate it ultimately lost at Luna (~2261), escaping Sol in five sleeper ships (the setup for Freelancer). Generally maintains honorable military conduct.

Eastern Coalition

A newly-formed union of non-Western nations, built from three blocs:

  • Eastern Republic — the former USSR and its republics; supplies most named carriers and the Black Guard.
  • Tigris Confederation — Middle Eastern states; the Saracens, Black Sun and Scorpions.
  • East Asian Federation (EAF) — the Golden Warriors; the Azan/Haidar/Karak/Salin fighters.

Left behind technologically and confined largely to Venus and Mercury, the East united to avoid permanent second-rate status and used the treaty as a ruse for a perfidious first strike. Governed by the Political Council backed by the Coalition Secret Police, and led by Admiral Vladimir Kulov. Notorious for total-war conduct — targeting hospitals, civilian convoys and colonies; a "take no prisoners" policy; torture; and prison ships like the Saladin. The Sabers are an all-volunteer/mercenary unit drawn from satellite states.

Elite units (Coalition squadrons)

Each Coalition fighter squadron is an elite unit based on a capital ship:

Unit Bloc Leader Base ship Notes
Black Guard (Чёрная Страха) Eastern Republic Ivan & Nicolai Petrov CS Pukov The most feared unit in the war; "no mercy." Flies the cloaking Basilisk. Killed Steiner & destroyed the Bremen; wiped out by the Yamato + Tigers (M23).
Black Eagles (Чёрные Орлы) Eastern Republic Pytor Lytanov CS Varyag The Black Guard's sister squadron; ambush tactics. (Lytanov never encountered in-game.)
Black Sun (شمس سوداء) Tigris Confederation Hakeem Sharif CS Kozah War criminals — destroyed the French fleet, hit medical transports, massacred Ganymede.
Golden Warriors (金勇士) East Asian Federation Red Dragon Second only to Black Sun in the EAF; fly Azans; later covert ops.
Saracens (ساراكينوس) Tigris Confederation Al-Rahan CS Rameses ~3:1 kill ratio (unconfirmed); took part in the opening Europa strike.
Scorpions (العقارب) Tigris Confederation Kariq Madiz CS Saladin Convoy protection; destroyed an Allied hospital ship and its escape pods. War criminals.
Sabers (Саблі) Eastern Republic Vladimir Kaspov CS Gegarin Honorable, respected adversaries; mostly volunteers from satellite countries.
Ravens (Вороны) Eastern Republic Katrina Illyanya CS Borodin Stealth / hit-and-run; named for the "Midnight Madness" night raid on Lunar command.

Alliance squadrons

The player's squadron is the 45th; the other 18 numbered squadrons appear as allies, casualties or background. Kill ratios are the wiki's "live" figures (beta-text figures often differ).

Designation Nation Base Leader Notes
45th Tigers (orig. 45th Volunteers) Mixed ANS Reliant → ANS Yamato Maria Enriquez The player's unit. Ex-military/convict volunteers; the only Volunteer squadron to survive. Renamed after Mission 11. Alpha wing (fighters, incl. player) + Gamma wing (bombers).
51st Volunteers (Diamondbacks) Mixed Fort Austin Ned Dundee Poor 1:3 ratio; relegated to home defense; routed late-war.
101st Hell Cats USA ANS Endeavor Matt Moreno Formed 2110; 2:1. Once destroyed all 21 enemy fighters at 3:1 odds, losing 3.
105th Cougars USA ANS Mitchell Jack Cyprien 1:2; fought back to Neptune; twice escaped Adm. Kulov.
109th Maulers USA Fort Carter Tony Nilsen 1:1; held Fort Carter against three assaults.
110th Pumas USA ANS Washington Jake Tanner Excellent 3:1, 4 aces. Helped save the Yamato and kill McGann.
205th Marauders France Fort Baxter Francois Duteux Decorated; 2:1, 5 aces. (M20)
306th Jackals Germany ANS Koenig Joerg Ehlers "Pack" tactics; in every major war since 2075; 3:2.
307th Vampires Germany ANS Bremen Klaus Steiner Top Alliance ace; 4:1, first Alliance victory of the war. Destroyed (Steiner survives) by the Black Guard, July 11 2161.
311th Jaguars Germany ANS Koenig Manfred Kogler Based around Titan; 2:1; precision tactics.
406th Blades Japan Fort Sherman Shiro Matakitsui Formed in the Lunar Conflict; 3:2.
409th Ronin Japan ANS Yamato Manzo Takamatsu Feared long-range assassination outfit. Destroyed CS Lenin; wiped out escorting Kulov (Dec 8 2161).
503rd Stingers Italy Fort Lomax Zoran Granelli 2:1, "take no prisoners." All but destroyed vs the CS Krelov convoy (Feb 2 2161).
559th Hornets Italy ANS Roma Angelo Fuser "Swarm" tactics; 2:1. Wiped out by the Black Guard (July 10 2160) protecting civilians.
604th Buccaneers Britain ANS Victorious Joe Dabo Reserve unit recalled; 1:1. (M15 & M19; loses its carrier in M18.)
605th Pirates Britain ANS Intrepid Sean Oliver Best ratio in the game (~6:1); the Coalition reputedly put a bounty on them. (M19)
606th Black Aces Britain ANS Illustrious Robert Foe "Gambling" combat style; 2:1.
705th Cobras Britain ANS Illustrious → Fort Vanguard John McGann Special-ops unit; 3:1. Went rogue (Aug 15 2160), turned pirate, wiped out by the 45th + Pumas (M13).

The Condors are an Alliance (USA) radar squadron flying Stork satellite-layers (Mission 4), distinct from the numbered fighter squadrons.

Locations

Alliance forts & installations

Name Type Significance
Base Kennedy Colony (Europa) Major colony; the intended Balma Treaty signing site. Fell to Kulov's fleet in the opening attack.
Fort Sherman Fort (off Triton) Receiving point for refugees and remnants; staging area for the counter-offensive. (M1/M10/M16)
Fort Baxter Fort (Neptune) Major traffic hub; destroyed by CS Rameses (Sep 22 2160). Base of the 205th Marauders.
Fort Carter Fort (near Uranus) Capital-ship repair/refit + logistics; receives the stolen Coalition fuel cells. Base of the 109th Maulers.
Fort Vanguard Fort Gutted early; became McGann's pirate lair (with a captured ion cannon). Cleared in M13.
Fort Bear Fort The first Alliance fort built after the war began (2161); staging area for the Saturn/Jupiter push.
Fort Rushmore Fort (off Uranus) Last line before Neptune; fell at the war's nadir (2160); retaken Jan 4 2161.
Fort Lomax Fort Base of the 503rd Stingers after fleeing central Sol.
Fort Austin Fort Base of the 51st Volunteers after fleeing central Sol.
Station LS9 Listening post (off Neptune) Trial-mission only. Gave early warning of the attack.

Coalition installations

The major Coalition installations — CS Borodin (the final-mission command station), Kronstadt (supply depot), the Stalag (warp-fuel storage), the Dark Reign (ion-cannon superweapon), and the Latov Asteroid Observation Base — are detailed with their roles and mission appearances under Capital Ships → Installations.


Source: Starlancer Wiki (CC BY-SA 3.0). Where the wiki's "live" and "beta" descriptions disagree, the live figure is used.

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