Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R
Natural plateau, desolate plains
Also known as	Airspace B7R, The Round Table
Location	Osea-Ustio border
Coordinates	24°N 235°E
Games	Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
Important events	Operation: Choker One Operation: Battle-Axe Operation: Thunderbolt
[Source]

Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R, commonly known as The Round Table, is an arid plain located along the border of Osea and Ustio. This was one of the most famous and important battlegrounds of the Belkan War, with several aces being "born" here.

It comes by its name from the mountain range that runs through the area creating a circle; it makes a reference to the Arthurian legend where, as its name suggests, it has no head, which implies that everyone who sits there has equal status. In this case, the equal status is the fighting terms in which the pilots endure, for there is no distinct advantage for anyone and those who achieve victory do so only through skill. No one had support from ground-based emplacements.

Because the B7R area is a semi-arid climate with scarce hydrographic resources, there were few land battles there because the logistical problems for land campaigns would make it hazardous for either side. Hence, it is well known for air battles.

CharacteristicsEdit

The geography of the 'Round Table' is very unique to the region (north latitude 24° east longitude 235°). The mountain range that runs through this area creates a circle, that starts near Hoffnung and branches off to form the Waldreich Mountain range in Belka. The area has a semi-arid climate, but it has rich deposits of minerals. The exact concentration of these minerals are unknown until a detailed geological survey of the area can be organized. In the distant geological past, water might have flowed through this area creating 'ripples' in the ground. The extremely weathered surfaces of the mountains also reinforce that this area periodically receives heavy rain storms. This particular airspace is one of the main battle zones of the Belkan War. Aces who distinguish themselves in this area are known as "Knights of the Round Table", save for Cipher who was nicknamed "Demon Lord of the Round Table" for defeating many aces in the area.

HistoryEdit

The history of the Round Table in a long one that goes back even before the creation of airplanes or the use of natural resources. The area has always been contested because is also serves as a crossroads to many nations. Dating of fighting can be traced back to Medieval times; Dimitri Heinreich, one of the Knights of the Round Table during the Belkan War, even has an inherent family bloodline that goes back to such a time.

Before and during the Belkan War, B7R was a border shared between Osea, Ustio, and Belka. After the Allies invaded southern Belka, particularly after Operation: Battle-Axe, Belka lost their control over B7R; it was then made official in the peace treaty signed at Lumen signifying the war's end, where the land was entrusted to Osea. Today, it is now a border shared between just Osea and Ustio.

Operation: Choker OneEdit

Main article: Operation: Choker One

As the Osean Federation and other nations of the newly formed Allied Forces prepared to launch Offensive Campaign No. 4101, a distraction was needed to keep the Belkan Military off guard and away from their naval forces. They decided to call upon the mercenaries of the 6th Air Division's 66th Air Force Unit "Galm" to fly a sortie over the Round Table. With their primary focus on the Round Table, the Belkan Military quickly directed their attention to B7R, sending many of their air units there. As the Galm Team engaged Belkan fighters in B7R, the Belkan Air Force redirected a top Ace Squadron to handle the two mercenaries. The Ace Squadron was also shot down, much to each side's surprise. Operation: Choker One was successful, and Offensive Campaign No. 4101 began as planned.

Operation: Battle-AxeEdit

Main article: Operation: Battle-Axe

On May 28, in front of a special meeting of the Assembly of Nations, Osea announced it was permanently withdrawing from the non-aggression treaty. At the same time, Osea had launched an all-out attack on Airspace B7R. Aiming to take the Round Table once and for all, the large Allied Air Force and Belkan Air Force clashed in what became the largest air battle of the entire Belkan War. Though the Osean forces did catch the Belkan forces off guard, the hardened Belkan "Round Table" fighters were quick to counter-attack. By the time Allied reinforcements arrived, 40% of the Allied fighters in the Round Table had been shot down. It was then that the two mercenaries from Galm had returned to the Round Table. Fresh from destroying the Excalibur laser weapon, the Galm Team began to engage the Belkan fighters. Soon, the battle turned in the Allies' favor and was all but won. Cipher, because of his achievements in the past battles and here in B7R, gained the name of "The Demon Lord." Belkan reinforcements finally arrived in the form of an elite Belkan Ace Squadron, but even with seasoned ace pilots on their side, the Belkan military was soon defeated over B7R a second time.

Operation: ThunderboltEdit

Main article: Operation: Thunderbolt

As part of the Allied Forces' campaign against the newly-revealed terrorist organization A World With No Boundaries, the Galm Team had to return to B7R one last time, as it was the quickest shortcut to Avalon Dam, where a V2 was being stored. Over B7R, Galm encountered yet another Ace Squadron, this time one from AWWNB and not Belka. However, Cipher himself showed superior skills once more as the Demon Lord, and shot down all aircraft, keeping his heading for Avalon.

TriviaEdit

• The player is able to see the events that transpired to bring Peter N. Beagle and Jack Bartlett together, as seen in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, by playing Mayhem on Ace difficulty as a Mercenary. Bartlett, callsign HRTBKONE, is one of the Allied planes fighting over B7R during the entire operation. When Schwarze Squadron shows up, it turns out that they are chasing and attempting to shoot down Pops, callsign HUCKEBEIN. Huckebein shows up on IFF as an enemy, but if the player leaves him and shoots down Nachtigall, Ashley Bernitz will show up as "GRABACR" and shoot down both Bartlett and Pops. They bailed out over B7R, befriended each other, and escaped to the Allied front lines, where they managed to convince the Allies that Pops was Bartlett's squadron leader. Pops began a new life in the Osean military from here.