The Aerialbots are hotshot aerial warriors, indispensible to the Autobot cause in part due to their ability to fly. The most brash Aerialbot is Slingshot, who can be friendly once you get to know him and can get past his cocky, self-satisfied attitude. The Aerialbots are held in check by their conservative leader Silverbolt, who the other Aerialbots think has "no sense of fun." Were rough and uncertain during their formative years, but have now matured into a cohesive, valuable team.
The Aerialbots were created by the Autobots in 1985 and were given life by the supercomputer Vector Sigma deep with Cybertron when the Autobot elder Alpha Trion sacrificed his life to activate the life-giving supercomputer. The Aerialbots, save their commander Silverbolt, were initially arrogant and rash warriors, especially Slingshot, who were contemptuous of the other Autobots and humans and greatly admired the powerful Decepticons. Their view was drastically changed when Megatron used a chronosphere to send the Aerialbots nine million years into the past in an attempt to trap them within the timestream forever. In the past, the Aerialbots met an Autobot worker at Cybertron's central power facility, Orion Pax, and after the latter was mortally wounded by Megatron, were instrumental in taking him to the Autobot elder Alpha Trion -- the same Alpha Trion who would one day help create the Aerialbots -- who rebuilt Orion Pax into the Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Their encounter with Megatron's true evil nature in the past was a turning point for the Aerialbots, who subsequently changed their views about their fellow Autobots.
In 2006, the Aerialbots were involved in another time-travel incident when the Quintessons attempted to remove a younger version of Alpha Trion, A3, from the past, thereby undoing the Autobot rebellion that drove them from power. The Aerialbots found themselves in the position of protecting their future past creator from Quintesson attack long enough to return him to his own time.
The Aerialbots fought with the Autobots against the Decepticons' "Final Offensive" in 2007.
Each of the Aerialbots transforms into an Earth-style jet: Air Raid an F-15, Skydive an F-16, Slingshot a Harrier Jet, Fireflight a F-4 Phantom II, and Silverbolt a supersonic transport. The Aerialbots also have the ability to unite into the gestalt Superion, an overwhelming giant who wields an arm-mounted electrostatic discharge cannon. All of the Aerialbots, as well as Superion, have the ability to fly unaided, an ability shared by few Autobots, which gives them a unique tactical advantage.
