FROM THE FILES OF GENERAL HAWK:
NIGHT VULTURES are the airborne covert insertion and recon specialists of the Cobra legions. They are given no formal training, the candidates for the Night Vultures' program are dropped with their gliders from transports over shark-infested waters at least five miles from land. Whoever makes it back is awarded the Night Vulture badge and gets to keep the personal effects of the "drop-outs!"
"Every badge-wearing Night Vulture knows that he can coax at least five miles out of his glider and that he has the will to survive. This makes them extremely efficient as recon scouts since they can glide silently at extended ranges and be careful enough not to get caught. Their worth as covert insertion troops is in doubt because they might be smart enough to fly in the opposite direction of the mission is too dangerous..."
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THE Night Vulture, known as Pleistovultur, was one of the early Night Vulture Unit members. He had countless mission successes and an intimate knowledge of his glider that allowed him to push it further than any other Night Vulture. Pleistovultur took his callsign from an extinct species of vulture that ruled the skies in the late Pleistocene era. Being that he is the only Night Vulture to undergo the various procedures, he sees himself as an endangered species.
Before the collapse, and due in large part to the success of the creation of Serpentor, Cobra began experimenting with altering the DNA of troops. Starting with the VENOM Serum and going so far as cybernetic enhancements, various Viper Corps were born, including the Swamp Vipers, the Snow Wolves, and the Electric E.E.L.S. This particular Night Vulture was the only volunteer for the enhancements. First, he received the VENOM Serum, followed by numerous cybernetic augmentations. The Night Vulture that was born from these improvements bears no similarity to the original trooper.
He was assigned a state-of-the-art and one-of-a-kind rocket pack, codenamed Andean, that allows him to travel higher and for greater distances before taking to the air in his glider pack. The Andean is capable of self-sustaining gliding, flight, and retrieval of Pleistovultur with whom it has a connection via cranial implant. It is armed with dual "quad-blast" 25mm Axial firing machine guns and four "Neutralizer" Aim 44 Air-to-air missiles. Allowing Pleistovultur to rain death upon an unsuspecting target, or for the Andean to do so at his command.
