An evil twisted group of pilots called Skull Squadron has been secretly building up their forces through the use of time travel. They have been pulling some of history's best fighter pilots into the future to join them. Now, in 1998, they are powerful enough to make a bid to take over the world. When the international community discovers this, they form the Ring Raiders to fight the Skull Squadron. The Ring Raiders also recruit some of the best pilots in history. The aviators of the Ring Raiders wear special rings that can be used to summon other Raiders or to help transform their planes, saying, "The command is in my hand!"

Victor Vector is the commander and trainer of the crew. He pilots a stealth fighter. Joe Thundercloud is the keen-eyed Native American piloting the very fast Arrowhead fighter. He was brought in from the Korean War. "Cub" Jones, who finagled his way into the military at the age of 16 in 1943, is the cocky pilot of the interceptor named Sky Tiger, capable of targeting land, sea, and air targets with its specialized missiles. Other pilots were recruited from various eras from WWI through Vietnam.

The Matchbox toyline related to the series was short-lived and included tiny planes, bases (such as the Ring Raiders' air carrier Justice), and a Battle Blaster which was like a flightstick but with special sound effects.