Battle Bird Armada

The Battle Bird Armada is a Mobian army consisting entirely of birds led by the Battle Lord Battlekukku XV. Their primary goals are being the sole command of the skies, rediscovering their long lost homeland, and to learn the secrets of their ancestors. They employ the use of heavy-ordinance based weaponry and are highly aggressive as well as biased towards birds being the only ones with any right to fly. Speedy, one of their most prominent members and the Sixteenth Battlekukku, emphasized this belief with a passion as he would seek to eliminate any non-avian beings who would dare take to the sky. In 3237, they operated from a hidden location near Cocoa Island and attacked some vacationing Freedom Fighters whom they believed were aware of the Armada's activities due to some talkative deserters.

Lost Legacy
Described by Battlekukku XV as an "ancient order of avians aspiring to command the skies, find our fabled homeland, and unlock the mysteries of our forebears," the Battle Bird Armada suffered setbacks in their efforts due to the loss of several deserters, including the Babylon Rogues. Whatever it was that the Rouges contributed to the Armada's enterprises was apparently crucial to the organization, as the Battle Lord made it a top priority to locate and reign them in after they fled. (SU: #18, #20)

Cocoa Island Conflict
Having set up a training area on Cocoa Island and established themselves in a headquarters designed as an island neighboring the main island, the Battle Bird Armada were surprised when the trio of Miles "Tails" Prower, Bunnie "Rabbot" D'Coolette, and Antoine D'Coolette landed on the beach. Apparently unaware that Tails had previously established a workshop on the main island, the group observed the trio for some time. On Speedy's orders, they landed armed troops on the island at night to ambush the trio, eventually subduing the D'Coolette's while Speedy personally went after Tails. Tails managed to escape, while Bunnie was taken before the Battle Lord, who mistook her for a member of the Dark Egg Legion. Going along with the mistake, Bunnie learned that the Armada had loose ties with the Eggman Empire, an arrangement that left them rather behind on current events. She also learned of the Rogues' status as former Armada members before being alerted that Antoine had escaped from his cell. Elsewhere, Armada troopers set to guard the Sea Fox were neutralized by Tails using knockout gas, allowing the Fox to deduce their base was the third "sister island" near Cocoa Island. He was then engaged in battle by Armada submersibles, making brief compliments to their technology before defeating them, but not before they managed to damage the Sea Fox, forcing it to surface. Meanwhile, Speedy and Bunnie, both going after Antoine, clashed over who had greater authority, only for the coyote to leap from an escape hatch at the top of the headquarters after being supposedly convinced that Bunnie was a traitor. (SU: #17, #18)

Defeat and Retreat
Later, Tails and Antoine infiltrated the base and as they they dispatched the guards, Bunnie (who was undercover as a Dark Egg Legion agent) showed up to assist them with the remaining forces. The heroes then confronted Dr. Fukurokov in the storage bay, who then sent his Mole Mech against the trio, which was destroyed by Tails himself. After rescuing Speedy from the wreckage of the Mole Mech, the trio escaped from the damaged fortress as it rose from the ocean and headed away from the island. After their retreat, Battlekukku XV yelled at Speedy for not telling him that Bunnie was a Freedom Fighter and told Dr. Fukurokov that he would have to repair the fortress by himself. XV then decided to renew their efforts to find those who left the Armada--including the Babylon Rogues-- so they could return to their full strength & defeat the Eggman Empire, conquer Mobius, and get their revenge on Tails, while seemingly oblivious that the Rogues themselves were following them for a confrontation. (SU: #19, #20)

Technology
The Battlebird Armada has very advanced surveillance equipment hidden throughout Cocoa Island that not even trained and experienced Freedom Fighters can spot. In terms of combat technology, they have laser pistols, robotic walkers with laser cannons and flamethrowers, flying pods similar in design to the walkers equipped with the same weapons and one very large, heavy-armored battle robot called the "Mole Mech" that shoots lasers and has a segmented arm held together using electrical currents which is able to overpower personal energy shields. Another piece of their technology is Extreme Gear- hoverboards that can travel at incredible velocities comparable to Sonic the Hedgehog. They also command armed submersibles equipped with technology that allowed them to escape detection by Tails' Sea Fox, though their torpedo weaponry proved inferior. The cabins of these subs are apparently reinforced enough to allow them to survive even when the frame that provides motion and weaponry is destroyed. Overall their technology seems roughly on par with that of the Republic of Acorn: Bunnie's cybernetics proved superior to their walkers and lasers, but were ill-suited to match their most powerful combat machine, while the sensors on Tails' Sea Fox proved unequal to the cloaking/dampening technology used in Armada subs.

Armed Forces & Military Structure
At the top is the Battle Lord, uncontested supreme commander and leader, though leaving most day-to-day operations to subordinates.

Underneath the Battle Lord is the heir apparent, Speedy, acting field leader and second-in command with a more hands on approach in the armada's workings.

Head of the R&D department (and possibly sole member) is Doctor Fukurokov, chief of science and advisor, responsible for most of the armada's gear and equipment.

The bulk of the armada's warriors is made up of blue-armored avians, either armed with a rifle or piloting submarines, BattleWalkers or aircrafts at the armada's disposal.

Background Information

 * Based on dialogue from StH issues #163, #173, and #187, it is implied that Predator Hawk, Bean the Dynamite, and the Babylon Rogues are deserters from the Battle Bird Armada, and that the Armada developed Extreme Gear technology. The Sonic Universe Blog later revealed that they have previously been in the Armada and that the Battle Bird Armada's story had been planned for over four years.


 * While not initially stated so in the actual comic, it is believed the "homeland" that the Battle Bird Armada seeks is actually known as the Babylon Garden as stated in the Sonic Universe comic blog.
 * The Batte Bird Armada is a nod to the enemies and events in Game Gear game, [|Tails Adventure] (in the game they are called the Battle Kuku Army).
 * Cocoa Island is direct reference to the island that players explore in the Game Gear game [|Tails Adventure].