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Walkthrough

by Shotgunnova

                                          |�|         |�|    /���\|�����|
       __ _  ___ ___    ___ ___  _ __ ___ | |__   __ _| |_  | |�| | |���  
      / _` |/ __/ _ \  / __/ _ \| '_ ` _ \| '_ \ / _` | __| | | | |  ��\ 
     | (_| | (_|  __/ | (_| (_) | | | | | | |_) | (_| | |_  | |_| |���) )
      \__,_|\___\___|  \___\___/|_| |_| |_|_.__/ \__,_|\__|  \___/|��� /
      _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _                                  ����
     |t|h|e| |u|n|s|u|n|g| |w|a|r|  Spoiler-free FAQ/Walkthrough by Shotgunnova
      � � �   � � � � � �   � � �   Email: shotgunnova (a+) gmail (.) c0m
_______________________________________________________________________________
���������������������������������������������������������������������| INDEX |�
                                                                      �������
   I. CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CNTR
  II. TIPS N' TRICKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TPST
 III. WALKTHROUGH  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WLKT

       01) Shorebirds .................................................. WK01
       02) Open War .................................................... WK02
       03) Narrow Margin ............................................... WK03
       04) First Flight ................................................ WK04
       05) Rendezvous .................................................. WK05
       06) White Bird (Part I) ......................................... WK06
       07) Front Line .................................................. WK07
       08) Handful of Hope ............................................. WK08
       09) Lit Fuse .................................................... WK09
       10) Blind Spot .................................................. WK10
      11a) Chain Reaction .............................................. W11A
      11b) Reprisal .................................................... W11B 
      12a) Powder Keg .................................................. W12A
      12b) Four Horsemen ............................................... W12B
       13) Demons of Razgriz ........................................... WK13
       14) Ice Cage .................................................... WK14
       15) White Noise ................................................. WK15
      16a) Desert Arrow ................................................ W16A
      16b) Desert Lightning ............................................ W17B
       17) Journey Home ................................................ WK17
       18) Fortress / 8492 ............................................. WK18
       19) Final Option ................................................ WK19
       20) Ancient Walls ............................................... WK20
       21) Solitaire ................................................... WK21
       22) Closure ..................................................... WK22
       23) Ghosts of Razgriz ........................................... WK23
       24) White Bird (Part II) ........................................ WK24
       25) Heartbreak One .............................................. WK25
       26) Sea of Chaos ................................................ WK26
       27) Aces / The Unsung War ....................................... WK27

  IV. APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APND

      Enemy Aces ....................................................... NMAC
      Medals ........................................................... MDLS
      Plane Overview ................................................... PLNV
      Unlockables ...................................................... NLCK

   V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAQZ
  VI. UPDATES & CONTRIBUTIONS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UPDT
 VII. LEGALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LGLT

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
I. CONTROLS                                                              [CNTR]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������|��|��������������������������������������
                       _____         |  |         _____
      L2 BUTTON -->   /____/\        |  |        /\____\   <- R2 BUTTON
      L1 BUTTON -->  /____/\ \_______|  |_______/ /\____\  <- R1 BUTTON
                    /  _    \________|__|________/    _  \
                   / _| |_                         _ /_\ _\  <- TRIANGLE BUTTON
  DIRECTIONAL --> | |_   _|   [SELECT]   [START]  |_|   (_)| <- CIRCLE BUTTON
      PAD         |   |_|          [ANALOG]          (X)   | <- X BUTTON
                  /            ____        ____            \
                 /            /    \      /    \            \
                (            (      ) __ (      )            )
                 \         /\ \____/ /  \ \____/ /\         /
                  \       /  \______/    \______/  \       /
                   \_____/ LEFT ANALOG  RIGHT ANALOG\_____/
                              (L3)          (R3)

 Ace Combat 5 requires Dualshock-type controllers for steering purposes, and
 is by default set on 'Normal' setting. This can be switched to 'Novice' which
 will dumb down the controls for franchise newcomers. Buttons not listed have
 no function.
  ___________ _______________________________________________________________
 | BUTTON    | IN BATTLE                                                     |
 |�����������|���������������������������������������������������������������|
 | D-Pad     | Issue commands to wingmen (Attack, Cover, Disperse, Sp. Weap) |
 | Start     | Un/pause game (in-battle menu)                                |
 | Select    | Change aircraft colors (in hangar)                            |
 | Circle    | Fire current weapon                                           |
 | Square    | Zoom in/out of minimap by pressing harder/lighter             |
 | Triangle  | Camera zoom on faraway target or on last-fired missile        |
 | X-Button  | Fire plane machine-gun                                        |
 | L1 / R1   | Decelerate and Accelerate, respectively                       |
 | L2 Button | Yaw left                                                      |
 | R2 Button | Yaw right                                                     |
 | R3 Button | Changes camera POV (third-person, cockpit, or close-up HUD)   |
 | L. Analog | Steer plane                                                   |
 | R. Analog | Maneuvers camera around plane                                 |
 |___________|_______________________________________________________________|

 Autopilot is done by holding L2 & R2, which roughly maintains current speed
 but levels plane nose to keep its altitude.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
II. TIPS N' TRICKS                                                       [TPST]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 This game ain't too hard once y'get the drift, but generalized tips will be
 handy all the same.

 � For someone who hasn't played in awhile, or for a complete newcomer, it's
   always best to earn your wings on the Tutorial! Don't count it out because
   you're too cocky, now.

 � The most advantageous firing position is from behind the enemy while they
   are in a mid-turn and at similar altitude. They'll be slowing down, and
   the missiles have a higher chance of hitting because they're not working
   off some huge mismatch in height. Always try to achieve this positioning.

   The worst positioning, thus, would be about the exact opposite: enemy is
   heading towards you from an altitude extremely different than yours, and
   you're shooting from behind as you head straight up/down. Not only is
   this going to waste ammo 99% of the time due to outmaneuvering, but it's
   simply...stupid.

 � Wingmen can be commanded after the first few missions, and can be ordered
   to Attack (go for the throat), Disperse (fly in loose formation around
   Blaze), Cover (stick together and avoid fighting), and Special Weapons
   (use plane's special weapon when attacking, if applicable). They can bear
   some of the load and cannot be destroyed during battle like the player
   can, so be sure to give them orders that fit the situation!

 � Out of the two control types, the most 'difficult' is the default one,
   but it's also the best for maneuvering. I highly recommend you work with
   that one to get the ins and outs down, 'cause you won't regret it (it's
   difficulty's an overstatement, but eh...).

 � Pay attention to the briefing's count of the air/ground/naval enemies and
   match your arsenal accordingly. Some maps will have many ground targets,
   so bring an auxiliary weapon that suits the purpose, yo.

 � Always use your time wisely. Sometimes there is a mission update; other
   times there isn't. But, one thing that usually happens when there is, is
   all normal enemies quit registering as targets. If you're trying for a
   high rank, it's important to clean out zones as fast as you can, with no
   wasted ammunition. Use vulcan guns and missiles in conjunction and you'll
   be a regular ace in awhile.

 � Aces are special enemies that appear one per map, and usually require
   out-of-the-way tactics to find them, and that can hurt your chances of
   getting a good rank if it wastes time. Just remember: aces are NOT needed
   to get 'S' ranking, but they do help.

 � If you're having a hard time finding targets in dogfights, it could be two
   reasons why: you're wasting time following one target or you're going far
   too fast to get a good position. You'll have to find a balance. In maps
   with highly concentrated dogfighting, it's best to switch targets every
   15-20 seconds so you're not on a wild goose chase; it's also best to
   decelerate when turning so you can get better aiming position. Just know
   that your evasion capabilities decrease when going slower, so don't pull a
   stunt like that in front of a bunch of Gun Towers or SAMs, y'dig?

 � Try to pace yourself on difficulty first off. The walkthrough is written
   in Normal Mode so that it's a balance, but go with easy if you have to.
   When you get better, try out Expert Difficulty (beat all missions on Hard
   Mode) and Ace Difficulty (beat all missions on Expert difficulty). There's
   a certain rush to dogfighting, and crafts take more damage as the ante's
   upped. Good luck if you play on Expert/Ace, 'cause you'll be better than I
   am in a short time. :p
                                                    _________________________
___________________________________________________/ III. WALKTHROUGH [WLKT] |_
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
01) SHOREBIRDS                                                           [WK01]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 12 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-5E (default)
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all indicated targets
RANK BONUS: $2000 [S] / $---- [A] / $1250 [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 10:00
DIFFICULTY: 1/10

 The first mission in the game is relatively simple. Captain Bartless will be
 flying as the lead plane (Heartbreak One) with Edge and Chopper as wingmen;
 you guard the back end. It's impossible to issue orders with the d-pad for
 now, so simply follow close or prepare for chastising. After some gabbing,
 the target (SR-71) will appear on the map. Fly close but keep your fingers
 of the trigger; shooting it down will prematurely end the mission.

 After the SR-71 ignores radio contact, four bogeys will be inbound from the
 west. They'll try to draw first blood, so it's a free-for-all once Bartlett
 gives the orders. These MIGs are pretty weak and fly like novices, so once
 one is marked as a target, fly a bit to see if they'll turn and fire dual
 missiles to take 'em out. A 2nd wave appears if Kid gets any kills, while
 a 3rd wave appears if Kid gets all (8) kills! [Protip: firing at the enemy
 from directly behind gives potshots, while firing at oncoming enemies at
 level altitude will almost ensure they run into the missiles!]

 Getting the third wave to appear can be a difficulty, considering Kid has to
 have sunk all eight fighters leading up to then. Edge/Chopper will usually
 tag-team a target, so make sure to kill that one for 'em to salvage the KO
 record. 

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (Hawk) Gigantor: appears with the third wave of planes if the rest are downed
 in a certain amount of time. This is pretty hard to do early on, but very
 easy in 'Free Mission' mode (after beating game once), where XAAMs can be
 used to easily defeat the 2nd wave en masse.
 
S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Defeating two waves of squadrons is required to get S-rank. This may seem
 easy, but if the player dawdles around and doesn't try to get kills (etc.)
 the mission is accomplished after only the first. Remember that the ranking
 depends on the _entire squadron's_ kills!

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
02) OPEN WAR                                                             [WK02]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 16 AIR | xx GRND | 01 NAVAL | 08 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-5E (default)
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all unmanned drones (UAVs)
RANK BONUS: $1000 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 2/10

 The initial objectives are to, once again, stay close to Heartbreak One and
 gun down the unmanned drones (UAVs) trying to return to their aircraft
 carrier. They come in pairs and only take one missile to neutralized, eight
 in all. Destroying the vessel they're approaching is automatic failure, so
 avoid sinking it.

 When the skies are sanitized, four more bogeys approach from the west. Like
 the previous mission, they start unmarked and will become targets only after
 another update. They're MIG-21BIS types just like before, so they'll be
 halfway familiar by now. Four MIG-29As accompany after awhile, but their
 skills are comparable. [There is no ace for this mission.]

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Destroy all air targets. This is mandatory, so consider this a non-challenge.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
03) NARROW MARGIN                                                        [WK03]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 17 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-5 (default)
OBJECTIVES: Protect the carrier Kestrel as it escapes
RANK BONUS: $---- [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 2/10

 Port St. Hewlitt is under attack now, and it's a mini-Pearl Harbor situation
 where docked cruisers and battleships are now being turned into Swiss cheese.
 Kid will now be the ad hoc captain since no one else wants to do it, and can
 now give his subordinates (Edge, Chopper) commands: Disperse, Attack, and
 Use Special Weapons. Special weapons, of course, being the auxiliary weapon
 the airplane is carrying (UGB, unguided bombs in this case).

 Battle here will be strictly dogfighting, but give precedence to those that
 engage the Kestrel as it tries to leave port. A-6Es are the main force to
 start, and are similar to previous types in terms of maneuverability (they
 will take 2 missiles however, unlike UAVs). F-5Es -- the same plane types
 that the nuggets used in the first mission -- come towards the end. There'll
 be other ally fighters around, so if you want to conserve missiles, let them
 do some of the legwork as well. If all goes well, there should be about 20
 missiles left in reserve by the time harbor events conclude (after the last
 wave from the western bridge vicinity). [16-17 planes total.]

_____________________________________________________
��| ENEMY | 09 AIR | -- GRND | 07 NAVAL | -- TRGT |��
   ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-5 (default)
OBJECTIVES: Protect the carrier Kestrel as it escapes
RANK BONUS: $1200 [S] / $0900 [A] / $0750 [B] / $0600 [C]
TIME LIMIT: Whatever time was remaining in the harbor
DIFFICULTY: 1/10

 The final part of this mission is escorting the Kestrel towards open water.
 This level will have naval targets -- missiles work, but those unguided bombs
 are expendible -- and MIR-2000s and Nimrods in the air. As you'll see, the
 battleships and frigates take a lot of missile ammo to be defeated, so it's
 not a bad idea to use low-flying gunning to conserve ammo which, by the way,
 is whatever was left over from the harbor section. Nimrods will take three
 missiles to be destroyed and can fly rather slow (like bombers), so that's
 another situationg gunning works well in.

 Mission ends when the blockade is destroyed/dispersed enough that the allied
 fleet can safely exit. At this time, some planes will leave the battle area
 so if you're a score-o-phile, make sure to wreck 'em first to preserve max
 score.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (F-14D) Zipang: Spawns during the second leg of the mission from the eastern
 boundary, apparently after defeating all aircraft (that's what I did anyway).

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 The player will always have 3820-4080 points after finishing the harbor, with
 an extra 7000ish points possible in the open waters. Around 6000-ish is C,
 7000-8500's B, 8500-9500 is A, and 9500+ is S. Seem hard? It isn't if there
 are enough (20-30) missiles left over from the harbor portion. Destroy all
 of the planes -- Nimrods especially -- before the ships. 

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
04) FIRST FLIGHT                                                         [WK04]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 20 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 06 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-5 (default)
OBJECTIVES: Shoot down attacking aircraft and protect Grimm on the runway
RANK BONUS: $1200 [S] / $0900 [A] / $0750 [B] / $0600 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 2/10

 Sand Island is involved in a surprise blitzkreig, and it starts with Kid
 and his team trying to get off the runway. This part is optional though, and
 there will be others like it later on in the game: refueling, landing on
 carriers, etc. There's no penalty for skipping either.

 Anyway, once in the air, there's a bunch 2-missile TND-GR 1s and F-4Es, but
 the real targets are the slow-moving bombers (B-1Bs). The first wave shouldn't
 be too much to handle; just remember to set everyone to Disperse. Eventually
 Pops will take off from the runway and Kid, Nagase, and Chopper will have to
 protect Grimm (Archer) as he attempts to get airborne. F-16Cs swarm through
 the sky like gnats now, and they're a bit more maneuverable than the previous
 foes. A few more B-1Bs show up as well. Once Grimm is airborne, he'll join in
 as the 4th man to Kid's squadron and can be ordered around like the rest.

 The final section involves Ford, a pilot who's out of fuel and needs to land
 pronto. This triggers the third wave of B-1Bs who have MIG-29A escorts. Kill
 the bombers to end the skirmish automagically.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (F-4G) Mindripper: Destroy some B-1Bs and TND-GR 1s, which should make it
 spawn from the north. This is the very first part of the mission, prior to
 Pops taking off.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 The theoretical bare minimum one can get for this mission is 6200, which is
 all six bomber targets (1000/per) and the default landing bonus; however,
 allies will usually get at least two other planes at minimum, giving about
 480 extra. So, with that in mind, it's basically killing all escorts or
 most with a good landing bonus. F-5's missile capacity is pretty crappy, so 
 make sure the rest of Wardog squadron is set to 'disperse' or 'attack' so they
 can assist!

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
05) RENDEZVOUS                                                           [WK05]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 23 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-20A, or F-4E failing that
OBJECTIVES: Protect the carrier Kestrel from invading forces
RANK BONUS: $1400 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 This will be a quasi-escort mission, where the carrier Kestrel and two others
 are headed for the Eaglin Straits to lick their wounds and regroup for a
 counterattack. This will be the first time that planes can be bought from the
 main menu, but the mission's suggestion was misleading -- there are no ground
 targets here so don't bother with a balanced aircraft. [Available: A-6E, 
 MIG-21BIS, F-4E; F-20A if F-5E's killrate is maxed.] The F-20A is undoubtedly
 the best choice here, which packs more missiles and Short-range Air-to-Air
 Missile backups as well. Keep in mind that once the plane is bought, only
 one pilot can use it!

 ---

 At the start, everyone is on guard duty, heading east toward the straits.
 Around this time, the Vulture will just be entering the inland sea -- there
 will be 3-man teams of Harriers (I thought it said Warrier!) flying around.
 Like many others, these take two missiles to be sanitized. There are four
 of these groups in all, so make sure everyone's dispersed for easier access.
 Actually, Swordsman's squadron will be accompanying too so this portion is
 not much work. After the first twelve are done, another twelve appear in
 almost the same fashion: not all at once but in sizeable groups. There's a
 few F5-Cs in the mixed bag, now. Once the skies are clear "for sure," AWACS
 Thunderhead gives the all-clear about no enemies being around.

 ...but the aftermath turns out to be a false security, as both the Vulture
 and Buzzard are sunk by a mysterious fragmenting warhead, which obliterates
 any craft below 5000ft. Seem familiar? This same concept was used in Ace
 Combat 04, except the safe zone has been reversed. Hold steady at 5000+ feet
 to avoid being turned into scrap metal (there'll be a countdown beforehand).

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Destroying all the waves is mandatory, so expect to score 10880 and secure
 top rank automatically.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
06) WHITE BIRD (PART I)                                                  [WK06]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | 10 GRND | -- NAVAL | 36 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-20A (chosen aircraft from last mission carries over here)
OBJECTIVES: Protect the mass driver facility until the SSTO is launched
RANK BONUS: $---- [S] / $3000 [A] / $2500 [B] / $2000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 This mission is all about guarding an SSTO craft that is about to be shot
 into outer space to meet with a space station. Right at the start though,
 there will be transport planes who will parachute tanks down to the ground
 in an attempt to commandeer the facility. Destroying the transports (F-16Cs)
 will blow up any tanks inside, but killing all six planes is impossible, as
 far as I know. Tanks'll approach the west/central/east building clusters; if
 even a single one gets in, it's game over, man! They take a few missiles to
 be destroyed, but I suggest vulcan-gunning them at low altitudes to save
 missiles. [Protip: trees are 'intangible' so you can fly through them without
 fear of explosion. Also, shooting the tank parachutes will destroy the
 tank in a freefall.]

 When all tanks are destroyed, the mission update's patched in -- cruise
 missiles are inbound in a last-ditch attempt to destroy the launch! They'll
 come from a whole bunch of directions and only take one missile to be shot
 down, so make sure everyone's dispersed for better effect. Prioritize the
 missiles over the B-2As who are flying with them, or else... Check the minimap
 to see which are closest. The good news is the missiles attack the same spot
 on the driver -- about halfway up -- so one can use that knowledge as leeway.
 The waves seem endless, but luckily the launch will start around the 14:00
 mark of the refreshed timer, so bunker down to make sure the SSTO gets off
 safely.

 Most of the difficulty in this mission involves knowing where the tanks can
 infiltrate the facility, and secondly, having enough missiles to shoot down
 the long-range missiles fired from elsewhere.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (MIR-2000D) Zahrada: Destroy two F-16Cs and F-20As and it will appear from
 the east with no escorts.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Counting all the targets (x36+), that's 3800 points minimum, not counting any
 missiles that hit the mass driver. The carries (C-130) are 800 points a pop,
 which means they're one of the easier, earlier targets that can really help
 rack up the points. If you want to pad the score total, make sure to shoot
 down as many planes during the tank insertion portion, not the missile part;
 that's too hectic! It's very important to kill C-130s -- six is ideal, seven
 would be heavenly. Scoring 10,000+ points will push one over the edge into
 S-rank!

NEW UNLOCKABLE
��������������
 � F/A-18C, F-16C

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
07) FRONT LINE                                                           [WK07]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | -- GRND | 32 NAVAL | 26 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-18C
OBJECTIVES: Prevent the enemy fleet's eastward movement / Destroy the Scinfaxi
RANK BONUS: $2000 [S] / $1500 [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 This will be a primarily ground-target mission with plenty of targets to
 bloody the maritime waters. The F/A-18C is a great plane for this mission as
 it has a high missile capacity (64) and some long-range air-to-surface
 missiles, which will destroy any ship in one go -- goodbye destroyers! At
 least put the captain in one.

 ---

 The general mission is preventing the fleet from getting to Sand Island, 
 and the amphibious vehicles (AH-64 hovercrafts) have priority...technically.
 Frigates and Destroyers take 3-4 missiles, respectively, while missle boats
 take just one. Remember that if ships have multiple targets onboard, such as
 SAMs, just attack the main portion -- when it's destroyed, so is all other
 weaponry and the points are automatically included! AH-64 helicopters also
 take one missile, which should be obvious by now. Mission fails if anyone
 gets too far east, but this is usually a non-issue considering how slow the
 fleet moves. There'll be a fragmenting missile scare about halfway through,
 but don't bother flying higher -- the Arkbird will disintegrate the sucker!
 However, when the submarine launches multiple ones, definitely get above
 5000 feet.

 After about 8:00 total has elapsed, the Arkbird will shoot the submerged
 submarine Scinfaxi and force it so surface. It has a bunch of AA Guns and
 SAMs as fixed defense, and can launch F-35Cs. However, if you scroll through
 the targets until it just says 'Scinfaxi' and 'Launcher', these are the only
 ones necessary to be destroyed. Six missiles will do the trick for each, but
 LASMs will sink the junker faster than a whirling dervish. When both targets
 are done, there will be a hull breach that becomes the final marked that will
 need one missile to make it a mission accomplished. [NOTE: It can launch the
 fragmenting warheads during its surfacing, but not after its two initial
 targets are destroyed.]

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 The naval targets will give the most points, but the ship score maxes out on
 9999, so anything past that is essentially wasting missiles. 17,000+ gives
 the top rank, which is destroying as many naval targets as possible (using
 LASMs) and when the Scinfaxi surfaces, destroying as many planes as possible.
 Unlike destroyers, destroying the Scinfaxi does not earn the points that its
 SAMs and AA Guns have -- they have to be destroyed manually! If you need an
 extra point boost towards the end, let the sub launch planes. Underwhelmingly,
 the Scinfaxi's itself is only worth 500 points! [Not sure if "B" and "C"
 ranks are even possible.]

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � A-10A, MIG-29A, MIR-2000

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
08) HANDFUL OF HOPE                                                      [WK08]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 06 AIR | 21 GRND | -- NAVAL | 12 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-18C or F-16C
OBJECTIVES: Escort plane through AA field, then protect it afterwards
RANK BONUS: $8000 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 As the team approaches Akerson Hill, a civilian plane will have been shot by
 some AA guns and is inbound to the dense AA gun field further north, which
 stretches all across the map. Edge and Blaze will have to escort it through,
 lamely. Now, the AA gun fields appear as circles, and only one path, which
 is like a crappy maze you'd find on the back of a cereal box:

                        EXIT __________    It's simple in design, but getting
   ______________/�����|               \   the plane through can be annoying.
  |             (      |����\______     )  Fly at a slow pace for starters as
  |              \  /                  /   sharp turns are a no-no for the
  |               \/      _____/�\____/    damaged plane. Keep an eye on the
  |               /                   \    radar fields and don't be afraid to
  |              /                     \   take the longer ways with a bit more
  |_____________/      S T A R T        )  clearance, which will be safer. The
                                           plane can't take anymore AA gun hits
 before it's destroyed, so beware of the really tiny circles. The plane trails
 and mimics almost to a 't'...be careful. Flying lower can help a bit. [The
 select button can zoom in ultra-fine for close encounters, but has to
 recharge after a few times, so its usage is actually rather dangerous! Use
 the square button instead.]

 A mission update comes on the other side, which now relates to protecting the
 craft from Yuktobanian fighters. Edge and Archer regather here, so set the
 stunners, err, teammates to 'disperse'. The enemy crafts actually start far
 away, but the transport's protection is paramount, so if you do go to meet
 them, make sure to check the map in case others are pestering there. There's
 about eight pairs of planes to destroy here, and they all come from the
 north-central part of the coast.

 The final mission update will be to destroy some windmills for an emergency
 landing. There are three initially, and after a small period, two more. Be
 quick about destroying these -- hopefully you're near the target when the
 mission update starts -- because there's not a lot of wiggle room time-wise.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Destroy ~10 planes and the windmills for 4500 points. I don't believe it's
 possible to get anything less in this mission...

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
09) LIT FUSE                                                             [WK09]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | 21 GRND | -- NAVAL | 39 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-20A or F/A-18C
OBJECTIVES: Protect the ground companies (A-D) and neutralize enemy targets
RANK BONUS: $8000 [S] / $6000 [A] / $5000 [B] / $4000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 This is a mission similar to the "Operation Bunker Shot" mission from AC04,
 which is a beach invasion with air support helping the landing crafts. Since
 targets are predominantly ground types, it'll be helpful to choose a craft
 with a high capacity for normal missiles and air-to-ground weapons for the
 auxiliary weapon. F/A-18C fulfills this role nicely.

 Enemy ground targets include batteries, tents, radar dishes, watchtowers,
 SAMs, AA guns, and bunkers. Of these, all can be permanently destroyed except
 bunkers, which will turn into targets again after a set number of time. To
 permanently destroy them, the ground invaders must be assaulting there first.
 Take out the initial batteries along the coast, which will be assaulting the
 inland roads, then assist Company A & B as they take on some bunkers. Waste
 LASMs on these targets, as they take more flak than normal targets. If done
 right, there should be messages the bunkers were captured. Set everyone to
 'Attack' if you want to collect some air targets.

 If you dilly-dally, the companies will constantly ask for air support, and
 one even wants you to friendly-fire his monster of a captain (ha!). Stopping
 them is as easy as helping Company A & B right away, then staying in the area
 of the other companies and constantly destroying the bunkers when they come
 back up.

 Toward the end, there will be a small vicinity when four bunkers that needs
 urgent attention, as all companies are doing a joint assault. These ones'll
 constantly have to be terminated as the allied force takes its sweet time
 approaching, so if you want to conserve missiles for the air squadrons and
 helicopters, gun down the bunkers (they take 2 missiles/per normally). When
 it's announced two bunkers remain, they're the interior ones with a few
 howitzers guarding. Finish them up to finish the level! [Beware towards the
 end, after the mission accomplished sign is given, as all enemy crafts will
 become non-targets but can still put the player in missile locks!]

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 8000+ points are needed to reach top rank, and it can be hard on a mission
 whose main targets are ground types that give very little points (seriously,
 probably not even a third of the total needed). Instead, go after F-4X and
 TND-GR 1 planes which give high point totals, saving missiles for them while
 the ground targets get slow-flying, low-flying, vulcan-gunning goodness. [On
 the flipside, "C" rank is almost assured by only doing ground targets and
 crappy aircraft, like the AH helicopters). If you need extra points towards
 the end but are out of missiles, let the final bunkers continuously spawn
 howitzers, which are weak and give 120pts/per.

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � MIG-29A, A-10A, MIG-31, TND-GR 1, F-14A

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
10) BLIND SPOT                                                           [WK10]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 20 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 12 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all fleeing aircraft before they can exit battle zone
RANK BONUS: $1000 [S] / $0750 [A] / $0625 [B] / $0500 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 Over the mountain region of Dresdene, the fleeing squadrons are sitting
 ducks for Wardog squadron's dead-eyes...or are they? Make sure to choose a
 plane with a high missile capacity and fast manuevering on that end, such as
 the MIG-31 or F-14A, both of which are lop-sided towards air-to-air combat
 and have 68-70 missiles. You'll need 'em!
 ____________________________________________________________________________
 NOTE: What answer you give Chopper about having heard the "Face of the Coin"
 song he talks about determines the next two missions. Answering the negative
 will give probably the more intering of the two paths, in my opinion.
 ����������������������������������������������������������������������������
 The reason becomes clear as the team comes up on the tail end of the crafts:
 the lock-on sensors are jammed, which creates 'phantom' targets all around
 the planes. They appear like invisible planes, but when shot at, the only
 marks they find are empty air. There are two options to do here: (1) visually
 identify the real aircrafts inside the lock-on circle and pick them off like
 that (2) fly to 16,000ft. and destroy the jammer source, an E-767 which is
 creating the copies. Actually, you have to do both, but the order doesn't
 matter (defeating the two normal planes removes all copies, revealing the
 E-767's location).

 The planes will try to escape northward, so there's no time to dawdle around.
 Try to kill all targets in a group before moving on, because sometimes any
 stray aircraft will avoid going northward and instead go west. [Actually, if
 you want to get S-rank, this may be a helpful diversion to avoid finishing
 the mission prematurely.]

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (EA-6B) Dune: Annoyingly, destroy all (4) E-767 jammers and start destroying
 the transport targets. Eventually, check the minimap -- Dune enters the
 boundary zone from the far SE corner, which can make killing it and finishing
 the mission quite rather difficult. Make sure no enemies are westbound here,
 and with any luck, some will actually trail the wingmen back towards the
 player's position.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Minimum point total is 10800, which is all transport targets and their E-767
 jammers. About 13000 points are required for "S", which is rather easy since
 it just means killing all escorts along with the planes. Just do it quickly!

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
11a) CHAIN REACTION                                                      [W11A]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 14 AIR | 16 GRND | -- NAVAL | 06 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: Whatever was used in Mission #10 carries over here
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all indicated targets (TGTs) / Protect friendly targets
RANK BONUS: $4000 [S] / $3000 [A] / $2500 [B] / $2000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 [This mission is played if Kid answered he did hear "Flip of the Coin" in
 the previous mission. Otherwise, the player fights in the 11a mission.]

 There's a Yuktobanian air raid going on at Apito International Airport right
 now, and the squadron starts overhead. The targets are mostly F-14Bs and
 multiroles, and these are known for their speed, not durability -- they take
 2 missiles to be destroyed. Be careful not to waste a bunch, because after the
 first six planes are downed, the friendly planes on the runway split open to
 reveal...enemy tanks! A bunch of C-5 transporters will be selected as targets
 here. 

 These have no chance of taking off, but may or may not reveal tanks within if
 destroyed. Prioritize the C-5s over the tanks, of course. There are a few
 multiroles in the air that are also targets, but there's only about 8 to deal
 with. The best tip here is to not focus on one plane for too long, and switch
 to another in better range if possible -- this avoids wasting too much time
 trying to get on the enemy's six. You may want to destroy the fighters first
 as there are civilian (friendly) planes airborne as well, and they make easy
 targets. If even one dies (or the airport takes too much damage), it's game
 over, sucka!

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Complete the mission within 8:00! Basically, do everything as fast as humanly
 possible. The initial six targets usually take approximately 2:15 to do, so
 the rest of the time is just airport nonsense. LASMs help in the C-5 portion,
 but since there's no switching planes here, that may not be an option. Make
 sure everyone is switched to 'attack' and 'special weapons' fire! [13180pts
 total.] It's hard not to get a high bonus here -- for persepective's sake,
 I played for 18:23 and still got a "B".

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
11b) REPRISAL                                                            [W11b]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 08 AIR | 18 GRND | -- NAVAL | 26 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIR-2000 (mandatory)
OBJECTIVES: Neutralize the poison gas with special weapons / Pursue terrorists
RANK BONUS: $5000 [S] / $3750 [A] / $3500 [B] / $3250 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 2/10

 [This mission is played if Kid answered he didn't hear "Flip of the Coin" in
 the previous mission. Otherwise, the player fights in the 11a mission.]

 For this mission, the team has to spread an agent to counteract the poison
 gas that was let loose in the college town. There are no attack functions
 on the planes (0 missiles) but there are 50 neutralizing bombs as auxiliary
 weapons. There are no radar targets expectedly, so the team will have to
 identify the bombdrop points by the huge plumes of mustard-gasesque smoke
 plumes. If done correctly, a 'destroyed' message shows up. This isn't that
 hard, so make sure everyone else is told to disperser using their special
 weapons as well. Slow-flying will serve well in this urban environment full
 of skyscrapers and other monuments. Remember that all targets are within
 Bana, so there's no need to travel to the foothills or anythin' -- just clear
 each borough instead of skipping around.

 When all banks are cleared of gas, there will be an enemy terrorist vehicle
 marked on the map, driving on the highway. It can't be destroyed, but by
 shooting the neutralizing bombs, it counts as a 'hit'. Keep doing this as
 the patrolcars give pursuit to the perps, and eventually these guerillas'll
 be smoked after a bridge freeze-out. Just be careful flyin' through the urban
 jungle, now. [NOTE: There's no reason to fly too close to the vehicle, so
 keep above the buildings and just spectate to avoid any mishaps...]

 At this point, some AH-64 whirly birds will try to aid the trapped van, so
 it'll be time to get in some vulcan gun practice. This is pretty simple as
 they tend not to maneuver too much, and when they do, it's in wide arcs.
 Don't destroy the terrorist van! They need incarceration, not incineration.
 Next up on the city cops case: finding a missing birthday party dad. I'm
 sure this made their year!

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Destroy all 18 ground targets and all AH-64 helicopters (x8) for 6900 points.
 The trick is doing it within 10:00, which can be difficult given how much
 time the annoying car chase takes. To cut corners at the start, fly to a high
 altitude, go slow, and snipe the spots from there without any industrial
 architecture to get in your way -- it takes less than 2:00 in this fashion,
 if you're good that is. The car chase always takes apx. 5:00, for reference.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
12a) POWDER KEG                                                          [W12A]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 06 AIR | 26 GRND | 02 NAVAL | 16 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or similar craft with ground weapons (TND-GR 1, A-10A, etc.)
OBJECTIVES: Destroy all targeted tunnels
RANK BONUS: $8000 [S] / $6000 [A] / $5000 [B] / $4000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 Plane-wise, all that's needed is a dexterous craft with a high missile
 payload -- the MIG-31 is the best for now. Ground weapons are optional, but
 can help a bit.

 Anyway, the object of this mission is to destroy ammo caches that are holed
 up underground? How to destroy them? Firing a missile into targets marked as
 'Tunnels'; the catch is they have to be shot from the front so they enter
 inside, and will automatically miss if fired from the top or flank. They're
 built into mountain walls which makes this task an annoyance. What's worse,
 soldier units have shoulder-mounted SAMs and will fire up at the team if
 they come below a certain altitude.

 This is business as usual since there are few aerial targets and even fewer
 offensive ground targets, so the tips are scarce:

 � Set everyone to 'Attack' and 'Special Weapons'. They'll never get targets
   here (rookies!) but may bag a couple Harriers or 'copters that take off
   from landing pads. Since planes give an added oomph to the point totals
   here, bagging a crapload is beyond helpful.

 � There are unregistered SAMs in the jungle, and will fire upon the crafts
   if they dip too low. Evading them is easy (yaw left/right) but did you know
   they can be destroyed? It's a paltry sum of points, but for someone trying
   for a high rank, vulcan-gun these suckers and get rid of a nuisance in a
   double whammy.

 � The last tunnel is always guarded by 2-3 unregistered SAMs, and they'll
   fire in tandem as the player closes in. Be sure to evade or destroy them
   beforehand!

 Mission ends when all targets are smokin'.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 About 10,000+ points should do the trick. The best way to do this is to
 search out all targets except one, having destroyed all normal non-targets en
 route, and start picking off the unregistered SAMs in the jungle. These can't
 be locked on but the vulcan can still destroy them if fired in the general
 region. You'd be surprised how many people don't know about these extra
 points! [For reference, 10000 points is destroying almost all registered map
 dots, all planes and helicopters, and all targets. SAMs are generally extra.]
 But anyway, this is one of the lame missions to get top rank in so stick with
 it, eh?

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � F-15C

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
12b) FOUR HORSEMEN                                                       [W12B]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 12 AIR | 61 GRND | -- NAVAL | 61 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Synchronize attacks with wingmen to destroy radar installations
RANK BONUS: $5000 [S] / $3750 [A] / $3125 [B] / $2550 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 There will be a ton of weak ground targets in this level, so if you want to,
 you can get a decent craft with UGBs (unguided bombs) or LASMs, although I
 just stick to high missile capacities, highly maneuverable crafts, and some
 vulcan-gunning skills. Your call.

 Now, the object here is to remove radar sites, which if you check the main
 map, appears as a white spot on the edge of a big circle -- there are four
 of these. The dialogue sets up the team so that they'll have to destroy all
 the the installation pieces at the exact same time. You'll notice that the
 wingmen automatically disperse to the other sites that don't appear on the
 map; the player is to target the "outermost" ring, also the nearest.

 Nagase will count down the time to attack each time, and the player must
 destroy the target when she says "Now!" -- it'll take some hyperclose-range
 attack to do this, unless you have the devil's luck from afar. When one ring
 is destroyed, it's onto the next, and so forth until all four are destroyed.
 For reference, the gameclock times when the radar dishes are to be scrapped:
 first is 17:43, second is 16:50, third is 16:16, and last is 15:29. You'll
 notice the distances between the clusters shortens each time, so go slow as
 a snail towards the end. Note that the mission will end if Kid tries to fly
 past and into the remaining radar network, too.

 When all radar dishes are smoldering piles of metal, it's time to attack the
 weapons plant. The enemy will become aware once they get near and try to
 launch their transport planes (C-35s), so destroy them on the runway pronto.
 After that, all that's left is bombarding the assembly and chemical plants,
 the chimneys, and the SAMs/AA guns inside storage. The latter parts are very
 annoying since they can only be attacked from above and from the west.

 OPTIONAL: This is one of the first levels with Falken parts, a five-piece
 set that will create said plane. They're strewn throughout different levels
 of the game, and are found by destroying certain hangars; if done right, an
 AWACS message says some mysterious parts were found. If you want this, look
 near the chemical plant for a lone SAM by an unmarked hangar target. Destroy
 this (hangar) and the parts will be found and collected later. [This will be
 a target later if you put it off, however.]

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 With about 8,000 being the bare minimum score one can get here, that means
 an extra 7,000 has to be scrounged up for the 15,000 quota. To reach this,
 destroy all radar dishes, and when getting to the factory, pick around the
 targets to get the easy pickins, then turn to all the planes in the air (use
 SAAMs if you have them). [I'm not sure what the "C" rank is, since it seems
 impossible to get even with marginally restrained wingman AI.]
 
NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � F-15C

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
13) DEMONS OF RAZGRIZ                                                    [WK13]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | -- GRND | 14 NAVAL | 01 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Avoid radar detection and sink the Hrimfaxi
RANK BONUS: $20000 [S] / $15000 [A] / $12500 [B] / $10000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10 (if you have LASMs, etc.), 5/10 (no LASMs, etc.)

 Finally, the mission branches reconverge to this delightful number -- this is
 one of my favorite in the game! Set in the icy arctic circle, Wardog squadron
 is tasked with sinking the Hrimfaxi, the Scinfaxi's sister sub which has the
 same capabilities. Since all targets here are ground types, bringing a craft
 with decent flight abilities and LASMs (preferred) is a good idea.

 As the mission starts, everyone is inbound to the Hrimfaxi's position, which
 is surrounded by a submarine blockade. This is an early detection network, so
 flying within shooting range of one of the littler subs will automatically
 start a minute-long (1:00) timer until the Hrimfaxi dives. This also occurs
 if anyone flies above 1000ft altitude. LASMs help here if the timer springs,
 but generally the timer is useless as 3 missiles on the target will cue the
 next set of events. Just fly as fast as possible to do get there in time!

 Since it hasn't been refueled and has taken battle damage, it is forced to
 surface and will launch unmanned drones (UAVs) after awhile. It can still
 fire its fragmenting burst warheads -- the kind that require altitude of over
 5000 feet to evade -- but besides that, it's not that tough. Amidst the SAMs
 and AA guns is the target 'Hrimfaxi,' which is required to be destroyed for
 the mission to end. This would be a very quick mission if the sub didn't
 continuously submerge and re-emerge, though -- this function's eventually
 broken, however. That's the time is finally gets its frag warheads to work,
 though. Stay frosty, and for god's sake, take out those SAMs!

 And what's this? The team's been dubbed the Demons of Razgriz? Yeah, this'll
 be blabbed throughout the game.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 This one can take some work. Try to sink a few subs en route to the Hrimfaxi
 initially, then destroy the Supply Sub near the target when close there. The
 submarine barricade that's established a perimeter will eventually disappear
 and try to move in closer, some of which appear as targets throughout the
 battle (if you're in range on the minimap). Besides that, unmanned drones'll
 be unleashed when the Hrimfaxi surfaces, so they can provide 500pts/per. They
 quit being launched when the sub regains its burst-missile capacity though!
 The target itself is worth only 2000, so get about 4500+ points before taking
 it down to secure the "S" rank. A fat bonus is waiting...! [Using LASMs or
 UGBs will severely damage nearby parts if not outright destroy them; using
 plain missiles will make this battle take three times as long!]

 NOTE: UAVs typically get hit by the burst missiles and disappear, robbing one
 of precious points! Take out as many as possible in the first half of the
 Scinfaxi battle. Also, escort submarines disappear during the 2nd half, so
 really, if you screw yourself in the 1st half, it's impossible to get S-rank
 in the final.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
14) ICE CAGE                                                             [WK14]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 12 AIR | 18 GRND | -- NAVAL | 30 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Destroy air patrols and protect the Sea Goblins during the rescue
RANK BONUS: $8000 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 12:00
DIFFICULTY: 3/10

 This mission entails breaking some POWs out of a snowy mountain region, and
 protecting the rescue copters (callsign Sea Goblin) during the escape. But,
 before all that, one has to take down the air patrols in the area that usually
 come in small pairs and only appear when Wardog's in their vicinity (this is
 due to the snowstorm). All take two normal missiles except the TND-53s which
 require one more. The locations of the crafts are randomized, generally.

 When all planes are destroyed, the POW camp appears in the SE corner. Before
 the copters can safely take off, the defences must be destroyed. They're all
 AA guns and SAMs, so normal missiles can take care of these suckers without
 batting an eye. Make sure to clear 'em out quickly (set team to 'Attack'
 with special weapons) to avoid any friendlies being fired upon. A few more
 SAMs appear around the camp after the initial ground targets are smoldering,
 but it's a minor inconvenience at best.

 Unfortunately, Nagase gets shot down at the end...

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Score 7780 points, which is the mandatory total for all targets. 

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
15) WHITE NOISE                                                          [WK15]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | ?? GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Find and rescue Captain Nagase
RANK BONUS: $8000 [S] / $6000 [A] / $5000 [B] / $4000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 7:00
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 Nagase has crashed but is alive, although enemies are gradually encroaching
 on her position -- time to act fast! Underneath the compass is a new device
 that is used to help locate her transmitting signal. There are two things
 it measures: distance and tempo. When the former's bars are closer together,
 the player knows the general direction of the fallen pilot is; when the
 latter's tempo & pitch grow more rapid, the closer she is. Unfortunately,
 there will be an E-767 jamming craft that disrupts the search temporarily
 when Blaze gets close enough.

 Edge's downed plane's position's is randomized each time, for reference. When
 close enough to her, she'll see Blaze and a mission update comes in where the
 team has to protect the Sea Goblin crew. In this case the best defense is a
 good offense -- start sanitizing the skies while the helicopter's inbound,
 then protect it (DO THIS) from fighters when it's nearby, lest it be shot
 down pronto.

 The mission automatically ends when Sea Goblin gets to Nagase's position and
 descends, not when all enemies are done (infinite numbers, actually). Once
 again, Chopper will mention "Face of the Coin" and if it would be a good song
 for this situation. Answering "Yes" leads to Mission 16a, "No" leads to 16b.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (X-29A) Daredevil: spawns at Blaze's fore when the E-767 jammer is scrapped.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 8000 points seems like a hard task, but the player usually can get that just
 by protecting Sea Goblin. SAAMs can really help here, especially when a pack
 of enemies is far away and closing in. To even the odds a bit, make sure to
 spend some time killing enemies during the search for Nagase, then spend the
 last 3-4 minutes looking for her. There are some ground targets in this
 mission that can provide an easy pick-me-up, too.

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � JAS-39C, F-117A

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
16a) DESERT ARROW                                                        [W16A]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | 12 AIR | 40 GRND | -- NAVAL | 52 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-31 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Score at least 10000 points within time limit
RANK BONUS: $1000 [S] / $0750 [A] / $0625 [B] / $0500 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 6/10

 Probably the most boring of the two 16 missions, this one is a huge desert
 offensive. Edge is back to assist now, so pick your favorite weapons with
 a good balance. I still suggest the MIG-31 for its high missile payload and
 useful SAAMs, although a plane geared towards ground types would help also.

 The main objective for this mission is to score 10k points within fifteen
 minutes, and it's really not that hard to do on principle: save missiles for
 aerial targets and gun down anything below. Most fighters are maneuverable
 enough to trash missile shots, so this may not be as simple as previous
 missions. When each wave of enemies is destroyed, it usually opens up a few
 ground targets. Watch out for the Vulcans which take 4 normal missiles to
 destroy!

 When most of the air forces are destroyed -- and this can take about 11:00
 counting missed shots -- the field HQ appears in the north and a facility
 appears in the SW. In between the two is a hangar that contains more Falken
 parts (it's sitting by itself), so make sure to destroy that as well.

 Once the 15:00 timer is depleted, an enemy AWACs appears around the middle
 of the map and must be destroyed. One usually doesn't have any missiles left
 around this time, so make good use of that new 15:00 and set allies weapons'
 to 'Special' and 'Attack.' The four targets are E-767s and KC-10s, and both
 can eat 4 missiles before tanking -- harrowing news for someone with only a
 handful of weapons left. =/

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (MIG-31M) Cosm: Towards the end of the mission, fly amongst the KC-10s and
 E-767s and it should appear behind Blaze in pursuit.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Score about 21500 points. Destroying all the planes will give about 18500 so
 that means the field HQ and the other ground cluster have to suffice for the
 rest. The allies will probably have to assist for the final AWACS segment,
 since missile reserves are usually bone-dry. Lean on your allies and try to
 pick off any planes they've already damaged for good measure. It's a war of
 attrition, almost!
 
NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � F-35C, Typhoon

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
16b) DESERT THUNDER                                                      [W16B]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | 88 GRND | 03 NAVAL | 89 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-34 or F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Score at least 10000 points within time limit
RANK BONUS: $1000 [S] / $0750 [A] / $0625 [B] / $0500 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00 
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 The flipside of the 16th battle is still in the Jilachi Desert, with a huge
 amount of ground forces and few planes, making it undoubtedly the easier of
 the "coinflip" outcomes. There are friendly tanks and planes that help out
 here like usual, but most of the enemies are concentrated on the riverbank.
 However, one thing that doesn't change from Desert Arrow is that many points
 can be gotten on planes -- ground targets are crap on that end.

 With about 4:00 on the clock, the refinery on the riverbank (SW) is marked
 for termination. The smokestacks will give most of the points although the
 oil tankers on both sides of the water are easily shot. All in all, I'd say
 it's not too hard to get 17000+ points, prioritizing planes when they show
 up and using the vulcan for everything else.

 After the first timer is done, enemy naval reinforcements appear on the
 river (new timer is 5:00). They'll launch planes from the deck, so make sure
 to keep the ally planes at bay in order to get enough points before destroying
 the target (killing 'Battleship' destroys all guns on deck, also).

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (EA-16G) Abelcain: when the destroyer appears on the river, this appears in
 one of the waves towards the end (third?) along the western screen bounary.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 As previously said, a spry pilot who prioritizes airplanes over crappy ground
 targets should be able to get 17000+ points within the first 15:00. Keep in
 mind that some targets at the northern airport and refinery only show up as
 targets in the final minutes (4:00) of the first fifteen, and can actually be
 destroyed before then, too. When the naval reinforcements arrive, destroy the
 frigate and all the destroyer's guns, then set everyone to 'Cover' and shoot
 down the destroyer's launched planes until the S-rank is achieved; finally,
 destroy the destroyer to finish. It'll probably cut it close, so make sure
 to use all time in this mission going for targets -- gunning down ground ones
 and saving missiles for airborne. My order of progression here:

 Airport -> Riverbank Refinery -> Hilltop Fort -> Rest of Bases -> Naval Rein. 

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � F-35C, Typhoon

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
17) JOURNEY HOME                                                         [WK17]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 07 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: MIG-34 or Typhoon
OBJECTIVES: 
RANK BONUS: $2000 [S] / $1500 [A] / $1250 [B] / $1000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 3:00 > 20:00 > 3:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 Hey, war isn't all blood and guts -- this time the 'Razgriz' have been booked
 for a stadium halftime show, and are to fly overhead. Buy a good air-to-air
 plane here and -- surprise! -- the Typhoon has just openedup, and has XLAA
 missiles that are going to be the bane of many foes if used. You can still
 use the MIG-34 if it's killgauge is almost leveled-up, though.

 The first part of the mission, as said, is flying overhead of the stadium.
 Fly in a (loose) group with the rest of the wingmen to do it correctly; fly
 too far away and it's game over! November City has such a fickle audience...
 However, the real show begins soon after as some aircraft kickstard a dog-
 -fight for no apparent reason. Reinforcements won't arrive until 14:00 are
 left, sadly.

 Typhoons and SU-27s are the typical 2-shot enemies here, but there will be
 some MIG-34s flying around as well, and these take three shots. They're very
 dexterous so don't waste a bunch of missiles trying to shoot them from long-
 -range!! Oh, and don't shoot into the sun. After awhile, F-177A bombers will
 be marked targets so make sure everyone's on 'Special Weapons' and 'Attack'
 for that portion.

 When all targets are destroyed, the mission continues a bit so everyone can
 see the sad scenes. The final mission update involves intercepting the other
 enemy fighters, so continue fighting until 0'54"94 when the mission abruptly
 concludes.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (FB-22) Proteus: Appears around the SE area of the mission boundary, almost
 near where the team started the trek to the stadium.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 23000+ Points! To put it in perspective, I got 25620 points by destroying all
 waves until the bombers were targets, then 3-4 more in the aftermath; that's
 23260 with everything besides the aftermath. 'Cause it takes so much firepower
 just to do this, I suggest giving everyone a Typhoon if possible, with the
 player getting one for sure. There's not much leeway room here. 

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � SU-47, F/A-22A

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
18) FORTRESS + 4892                                                      [WK18]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | ?? GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: Typhoon or F/A-22A
OBJECTIVES: Assist ground forces and capture Cruik Fortress
RANK BONUS: $---- [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 7/10

 This is one of the more difficult missions in the game because the player's
 got to baby the grounding forces more than any other assault. Bring a craft
 that has a high missile capacity, the highest at the moment (F/A-22A) owns
 eighty-two (82). You might want to get it anyway just because it has an
 "evolution" from its killbar, and the Typhoon is probably already maxed out
 if everyone's been flyin' one.

 The mission starts with the ground force in a canyon approaching the fort,
 which has a bunch of pillboxes and bunkers near there. Make sure to take
 out all pillboxes and the control towers over the gate, then silence the
 bunkers (temporarily for now) until the team requests clearance to break in.

 Once they're in, there will be some tanks, AA guns, and SAMs that will roll
 around, sometimes taking shelter in open-ended bunkers. Like the tunnels in
 "Powder Keg," they're completely shielded until they roll out again (or a
 missile is fired laterally, which is dangerous and not recommended). Top
 priority at this point is silencing the bunkers fixed into the mountaintops,
 which will continuously fire on the tiny tank batallion. If you have time,
 shoot anything taking off on the runway. [The bunkers are destroyed after a
 few 'resurrections,' usually two.]

 If everything is going well, the team will get out of the fortress' other
 end, into a similar canyon as before, where some tanks are waiting. Take them
 and the control tower's backside out as quickly as possible, salvaing a win
 hopefully!

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (F-2A) Cypher: Appears NW of fortress after destroying all current aircraft.
 Spawning it can be a slight nuisance since the ground troops need babying,
 so the best time to do this is when they're already inside and all bunkers
 have been destroyed. Note that the runway spits out 4-5 JAS-39Cs which'll
 contribute to the total aircraft amount (in case all are destroyed and it's
 still not spawned or somethin').

_____________________________________________________
�����������������������������������������������������
18+) 8492                                      [WK18]
_____________________________________________________
��| ENEMY | ?? AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |��
   ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: Whatever was used during "Fortress"
OBJECTIVES: Escape combat zone via eastern border
RANK BONUS: $---- [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 This mission has a small addendum, which involves refueling with the 8492nd
 Squadron. Only as soon as the team approaches, they realize there isn't such
 a squadron and are attacked! The goal here is to outrun the enemy forces and
 reach the eastern end of the map, which is easier said than done! They'll
 give chase, so contour to the terrain and fly low as possible to trash their
 missile shots. The E-767s here're creating those phantom targets (as seen in
 "Blind Spot") so once that's down, it'll be a lot less hectic.

 The other option is to fight back, which can be fun in this hyperdogfight.
 XAAMs are a great option for shacking multiple targets (although most will
 miss), and the Belkan team will be capable opponent. In fact, expect to die
 if you're not careful -- luckily this mission is restarted, not Fortress as
 well. This might be the battle AC vets have been aching to play since the
 game started, actually...

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (TND-ECR) Twicedead: appears in the SW corner after only a few third-wave
 fighters are remaining.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 11000+ points, which is incredibly simple to get -- destroying the ground
 targets alone can give this amount, so it should really be easy pickins for
 someone with 80+ missiles. For "8492," 11800 points are necessary, which is
 basically destroying every one of the enemy ambushers.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
19) FINAL OPTION                                                         [WK19]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | -- AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | -- TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: Hawk (default)
OBJECTIVES: Follow Pops closely
RANK BONUS: $12000 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 10:00
DIFFICULTY: 5/10

 After the exciting scenes back at Sand Island, this has the team escaping
 with their good friend Pops, who is leading them along through a mountainous
 island region with four 8492ers on their tail. No Hawk has munitions so this
 is essentially an evasion mission, kinda like the last one but in more dire
 circumstances.

 When the objective says to follow Pops, it means it -- stray too far and it's
 automatic failure. He'll fly around 280 miles an hour and take the Razgriz on
 a rather fantasic maneuvering "course" in an attempt to evade the pursuers,
 which involves odd turns, low flying, and -- eep! -- going through caves. If
 you don't enjoy soaring through enclosed spaces, you'll hate some upcoming
 missions.

 After the second tunnel (apx. 2:40), which beams and other things to avoid,
 the tour...err, flight has an exciting finish. If you need help in this 2nd
 tunnel, there's a good tip: at the path split, take the way Pops doesn't; it
 is much more straightforward and easier.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Complete the mission. Easy? 

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � Hawk

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
20) ANCIENT WALLS                                                        [WK20]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | ?? GRND | ?? NAVAL | 07 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F-14A
OBJECTIVES: Assault castle and rescue president
RANK BONUS: $18000 [S] / $13500 [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 4-5/10

 Since this mission is based off the Kestrel, there's only a set number of
 aircraft that are available, and some of those may not even have been bought
 yet (the Rafale M doesn't even show up on the list!). The F-14A might be the
 best choice given the circumstances.

 We begin by approaching the castle with the Sea Goblin rescue heli nearby and
 Captain Snow as the new 4th ally -- he follows orders and whatnot like the
 rest, and is voiced by the great Beau Billingslea! The castle environs have
 some weak defenses, mostly AA guns, to destroy at first. The nearby dock will
 spit out a gunboat every now and then like clockwork (supposing there isn't
 one on the water already) all throughout this mission, for reference; shoot
 it occassionally as it often targets the circling heli.

 With the guns suppressed initially, the rescue operation begins. This cues
 some tanks, AA guns, and SAMs -- all in their own little groups -- to emerge
 from the surrounding area. Disperse here but save special weapons for later,
 if they're SAAMs or similar. Suppress the advances for awhile until a bunch
 of tanks go up the castle's (bottleneck) gate, then switch everyone to Attack.
 Mission ends if the invasion force or helicopter gets shot up, so destroy any
 foe on the front lawn. It'll take a balance of aerial/ground targets to ensure
 everyone's safety.

 After awhile, a new target will appear on the castle's east wall overlooking
 the sea: Wall. This needs to be destroyed for a makeshift escape route. Sea
 Goblin will eventually make the rescue and needs to be defended from the huge
 plane swarm in the skies; luckily it doesn't take too far before the mission
 automatically ends. [Watch out for missile locks after the mission finished
 message!]

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 The goal is 14k+ points here, which is not that difficult overall -- it's all
 about missile conservation, saving the heatseekers for the aerial targets and
 gunning down the constantly-emerging AA guns, SAMs, and tanks during the
 rescue operation. If you need extra time, don't break down the wall right
 after they ask; use that time to get some SAAM kills. [I've tried many times
 to get B/C ranks on this, but it just doesn't seem to gel with all the
 escort fighting that needs to be done.]
 
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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
21) SOLITAIRE                                                            [WK21]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | -- AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 03 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A
OBJECTIVES: Reach factory and use camera on targets
RANK BONUS: $24000 [S] / $18000 [A] / $15000 [B] / $12000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 This solo mission will be carried out by Blaze, as he reconnoiters a factory
 at the north end of a radar field. This is basically a mixture of the missions
 "Handful of Hope" and "Final Option," where the chosen craft is stripped of
 its weapons (it has ten RCAM cameras) and must get through radar on wit alone.
 However, since there's no one tagging along, this shouldn't be that hard...in
 theory.

 The radar fields are on the riverbanks, which means the natural path to
 proceed is straight upriver. The lower the altitude, the smaller the radar
 'bubbles' are, so let your wings hit the proverbial water if possible. The
 path is awfully straightforward -- long, but straightforward -- except at
 one point where the river has some radar overlap and Blaze must fly over a
 hill near a construction site. Watch the minimap intensely to avoid having
 to do this boring section over. Mission obviously fails if the plane is
 detected in an capacity.

 Once the radarfield's penetrated, the targets will be laid bare. Pops wants
 a picture of the mine entrance and transport plane in one frame, then both
 of the runway's planes before they take off. All the time in the world is
 given for the first, but the 2nd one has a small window so don't dally. Note
 that the pictures can be from near or far; distance doesn't matter as long
 as the correct targets are captured.

 When satisfactorily completed said planes will take off, so ditch the fuzz
 by reaching the western boundary line. Since Blaze is already detected, don't
 mind those radar nets. Remember that the trees don't damage the plane, so
 it should be easy to contour to the hillsides to avoid missiles.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Beat the mission in under 6:00. If you like to play missions like these
 defensively like me, going as slow as possible to avoid tiny radar bubbles,
 that ain't going to cut it here. Pick something with high maneuverability
 and blaze a trail through; this may be easier after going through once already
 to get the hang of it. 

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
22) CLOSURE                                                              [WK22]
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�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | ?? GRND | 08 NAVAL | 01 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A or Typhoon
OBJECTIVES: Close mine entrance
RANK BONUS: $20000 [S] / $10000 [A] / $05000 [B] / $00500 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 2/10

 This mission takes place in the same map as "Solitaire," except now the river
 is guarded by a bunch of installations and a few gunboats. Each 'station' as
 the SU-47 duo leading up to the airport, which has some SAMs and flak guns on
 its perimeter. Around this time, a 'Rock Bed' above the nuke tunnel will be
 targeted for destruction. This target soaks up a lot of damage before giving
 up the ghost, so if you want S-rank, take advantage of the long-running timer
 and shoot down some SU-47s/YF-23As which should boost that point total up
 with ease.

 If you find your point total isn't exactly where you want it to be, know that
 some clusters of ground targets around the mountain will show up on the map
 only when most others are gone (some enemies, like SAMs, may reappear in
 spots they were already destroyed, also). Make sure to conserve enough
 missiles to destroy the rockbed, as setting allies to 'Attack' and using the
 vulcan only help so much.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 17500+ points are required for this one. The general flow is gunning down the
 river targets, saving missiles for aircraft that appear later around the mine
 shaft tunnel. However, there is a _finite_ amount of Belkan aircraft to shoot
 down here, so use missed ground targets to pick up the slack. [NOTE: the
 airport hangars are never marked on the map but can be destroyed easily for
 300ish points. Good pick-me-up!]

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�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
23) GHOSTS OF RAZGRIZ                                                    [WK23]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 02 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 27 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A or Typhoon
OBJECTIVES: Neutralize canyon threats
RANK BONUS: $20000 [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 10:00 > 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 This is one of the more interesting levels, set in Payavlenia Ravine in north
 Yuktobania. It's a purely air-to-air fight so bring something that rips up
 the skies and has a high missile payload, such as the oft-used F/A-22A! It'll
 be a fun one for sure...

 Alright, the lowdown is some college students have stolen a Yuke nuke and are
 trying to dismantle it in a secret canyon facility. The enemy is searching
 high and low for them, so in the meantime, they request assistance in smoking
 the search parties. As the player will soon find out, they're made up of
 helicopters and gunboats (one-missile kills essentially) and some high-flying
 Typhoons. The downside to this seemingly easy mission is that the team can't
 fly higher than the canyon rim lest an automated missile system be triggered.
 This can make backtracking and turning a bit of an annoyance, but in essence,
 anyone who can fly through underground tunnels should be able to do this with
 little trouble overall.

 When all targets are destroyed -- yes, all! -- the Ofrir squadron comes in
 and wants to pick a fight with the "Ghosts of Razgriz". The four of them are
 aces who fly in SU-35s, so the make and model have been seen before. They'll
 fly at breakneck speeds, which can pose a problem; luckily the timer improves
 to 15:00! They fly in pairs, so any XAAMs can be helpful.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (MIG-21-93) Swordkill: appears in the eastern canyon near where the allies
 began, after destroying a little over half the helicopters/gunboats.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Destroy all canyon targets and the Ofrir fighters (total: 13540). Note that
 more points can be gained by downing the Typhoons that tail the player during
 the first part, but that's optional. 

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
24) WHITE BIRD (PART II)                                                 [WK24]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 01 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A or Typhoon
OBJECTIVES: Destroy the Arkbird
RANK BONUS: $30000 [S] / $22500 [A] / $18750 [B] / $15000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 15:00
DIFFICULTY: 7/10

 Oh man, this mission gave me so much trouble when I first played. Bring a
 craft that's fast-moving and has a high missile capacity, as both will be
 employed here like never before! XAAMs will be very, very useful here as they
 are powerful and can be double-fired!

 The lowdown is that the White Bird is now being used as a nuke mule and must
 be shot down before it destroys any cities on either side of the battle. The
 battle starts by trailing the massive machine as it slowly arcs downward to
 attack range. Of course nothing can ever be so simple! 

 After the scene, shoot the westbound Arkbird once to make it start launching
 UAVs. Ignore the UAVs themselves and focus on skeetching the two Launchers,
 using both normal missiles and XAAMs to avoid any downtime. Awhile later, the
 'Laser' becomes a target on the underside. We've seen what it's capable of
 in previous missions, and it's an instakill if it hits Blaze; however, it
 can only fire downward or laterally so above the Arkbird is safe ground. A
 purple-ish color will be seen if it's almost going to fire on the player, so
 use that for evasion purposes. [In fact, continuously move in and out of
 range, which should also trash any Vogel mission shots that will undoubtedly
 try gun for Kid.]

 Now, the important part of this battle is prioritizing! When the Laser first
 appears, ignore the Launchers and focus on that, using XAAMs to hit all three
 targets. When the two Engines appear, ignore the Laser (if it still exists)
 and focus on them. The point is to destroy the engines as quickly as possible
 since the mission automatically fails if it reaches the western boundary;
 junking the engines turns it southward.

 If you get to this point, pat yourself on the back! On its topside, another
 laser and AAMs (anti-air missiles) will appear. Once again, destroy the laser
 first and foremost before taking out the auxiliary engines. When one fails,
 it'll be at a weird slant so realign to make sure no shots are trashed. When
 both fail, it'll lose altitude until it reaches the ocean's surface. At this
 point, one final engine appears as it tries to hold itself above water in an
 slow movement... Defeat it in this sorry state to get a mission complete!
 What was manmade is now man-unmade.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 While destroying the Arkbird is a task in itself (6210 points overall), but
 it has to be defeated within 7:00, and with all the wasted time for scenes
 and dialogue, it cuts it pretty close. Prioritizing is the most important,
 so make sure to destroy its engines immediately to turn it southward. The
 engines are the linchpins to the beast, and their immediate destruction will
 help immensely. Toward the final descend toward the ocean, make sure to take
 care of any UAVs that may still be around -- no use wasting time shadowing
 the Arkbird.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
25) HEARTBREAK ONE                                                       [WK25]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | ?? AIR | 45 GRND | -- NAVAL | ?? TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A
OBJECTIVES: Escort Bartlett safely to the airport
RANK BONUS: $6000 [S] / $4500 [A] / $4000 [B] / $3500 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 This is actually a rather easy mission, as the player decides the difficulty
 via the chosen paths. Bartlett starts the mission in a car and needs Razgriz
 to pick the best routes for him to follow. The shortcuts will contain more
 resistance but are obviously quicker; the longcuts have less resistance and
 take longer to reach the airport. There are three instances the player is
 asked to pick, and they actually do come into play since there is a deadline
 to meet. M'self, I usually choose Long -> Long -> Short. Just make sure to
 ignore enemy aircraft when checkpoints appear, as Bartlett's procession can't
 stand much flak from pillboxes and the like.

 Once at the airport, destroy targets until Nikanor and Bartlett can get up in
 a plane. The Grabacr squadron last seen during "Ghosts of Razgriz" will once
 again appear to raise hell, so let 'em and their F-15S/MTDs meet their maker.
 If the wingmen aren't already set on Attack/Special Weapons, do so for this
 portion. Really, the only way this last portion should be trying is if one
 wasted a bunch of missiles during the road portion. Bartlett can't fight back
 for this portion, so it's all up to the Razgriz!

 Mission ends when the Grabacr are craters.

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (YA-10B) Distantthunder: when the Grabacr fighters appear over the airport
 towards the end, this sucker spawns in the north-central portion of the map.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Finish the mission within 15 minutes. This is, obviously, easier to do by
 taking the shortcut everytime Bartless asks for navigation advice. 

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 � MIG-1.44

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
26) SEA OF CHAOS                                                         [WK26]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 12 AIR | -- GRND | 36 NAVAL | 19 TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-18C
OBJECTIVES: Destroy the enemy fleet & aircrafts
RANK BONUS: $6000 [S] / $4500 [A] / $3750 [B] / $3000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 4/10

 Like all naval battles before this, using LASMs can either soften targets or
 destroy them outright, rather than wasting 3-4 missiles per each destroyer.
 The Kestrel only has a set number of crafts to choose from overall (F-14A,
 A-6E, F/A-18C, F-35C, RAFALE M) and only the F/A-18C has said capabilities.

 This massive sea battle starts off with a twist: some of the enemy's fleet
 defects and needs asylum (these are marked with FRND tags). The easiest way
 to protect them is to immediately start blowin' holes in carriers, which'll
 be the quick fix to stopping plane launches. Some of the destroyers have two
 targets to be destroyed, some have three; concentrating on 'Destroyer' or
 similarly named targets can often destroy the weaker 1-missile guns without
 wasting extra ammo. Halfway through the fleet's demise, another appetizer is
 served: reinforcements...in a strange way. Same types of ships as the rest.

 The last portion involves shooting down the previously launched planes and
 the mixed-bag waves that appear. Although the planes are regular types and
 commonplace by now, these b-rate planes the Kestrel has have crappy missile
 capacities so it's almost imperative to conserve by using the vulcan gun on
 the fleet. At the very least, shoot two missiles and finish off with the gun.
 Mission ends when all airborne things are underwaterborner!

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (RAFALE B) Decoder: The easiest way to make it spawn is ignoring aircraft and
 going for the naval targets; when they're all gone, it spawns in front of
 Blaze. I've had it spawn at the very end as well, which probably relates to
 doing the inverse strategy at the beginning (aircraft instead of ships).
 
S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Complete the mission in 9:00. The general strategy is to destroy the carriers
 first, then toss LASMs like they're hot potatoes. Don't be afraid to use the
 vulcan gun for low-flyin' madness, as that can often save ammo for the final
 stage: deep-sixing the annoying SU-47s & Typhoons. Set everyone to 'Attack'
 and 'Special Weapons', naturally.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
27) ACES                                                                 [WK27]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�����������������������������| ENEMY | 14 AIR | 23 GRND | -- NAVAL | xx TRGT |�
                              ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: F/A-22A
OBJECTIVES: Destroy the SOLG Core inside the underground tunnel
RANK BONUS: $20000 [S] / $15000 [A] / $12500 [B] / $10000 [C]
TIME LIMIT: 20:00
DIFFICULTY: 7/10

 Technically the final mission in the game! A high missile capacity will help
 for the first part, while speed is essential in the second half. As the start
 a whole bunch of enemy fighter squadrons will pull a fast one and join the
 ally group, inbound to a North Belkan town under nightfall. The targets here
 are normal fare: tanks, gun towers (watch out for SAMesque missiles), and
 pillboxes. This all regards the objective of gaining entrance to the SOLG
 facility's tunnel. I suppose the mission fails if the enemy ground forces
 are defeated, although for any decent pilot this is a blatant non-issue.

 When the tunnel is opened -- a hole in the north-central part of the city --
 following a notification, Blaze will have to fly solo inside. The tunnel's
 rather straightforward at the start, so take it slow; when encountering a
 larger room, yaw left/right instead of hard turning, which will help keep it
 steady. Eventually an enemy pilot will also fly inside, hot on the player's
 trail. Generally "he" will use vulcan gunning, but missiles are possible for
 the straighter parts of the course -- put the pedal to the medal en route to
 the SOLG control system, which appears as a target a little before actually
 finding it.

 Now, there's no auto lock-on for the control system, which itself is in a
 large room. Shoot two missiles at it once lock-on is achieved, and yaw right
 to the adjoining tunnel, whose door unlocks if the SOLG is trashed (if it
 isn't, Blaze just hits the locked door -- oops!). From here, it's a rush to
 the exit with "him" still pursuing. Bartlett will be in communication during
 this part, since he's flying in the opposite direction (towards) and tells
 how to avoid smashing into each other. He'll fly around middle, so I suggest
 flying as close to the floor as possible to avoid a head-on collision.

 Enemy pilots will be following Bartlett as well, so make sure to shoot them
 down from afar while avoiding them. This can be a little hard but generally
 is another non-issue if using, say, XAAMs (although not imperative). Overall,
 the trip back is a little harder due to flying upwards...but also obstacles
 in the path, namely a crane and some, uh, oversized hurdles towards the last
 room. These hurdles (x2) are the bane of many pilots, and essentially narrow
 the field of flying, so one either goes through the lower part or pulls some
 tricky flying over them (to miss the upper lip of the tunnel). There will be
 little time to get a visual on these hurdles, so don't fly too near the wall
 for good measure. If you don't know what I'm talking about, they come almost
 immediately after the 2nd wave of SU-47s (x2, or 3 with the special pilot)

 ############################################################################
 NOTE: You may have noticed through the course of the game that downed planes
 are still 'solid,' unlike helicopters which blow up entirely, and can still
 destroy a target that hits them head-on. BUT, in this mission, they are KO'd
 entirely so don't try maneuvers to avoid a front-end collision; can't occur!
 ############################################################################

 Remember that all throughout the second leg of the tunnel, doors will be
 closing, so with "him" hot on your heels, there's no time to slow dance out
 of this sucker. Flying out the tunnel's end concludes the mission -- yay!

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (SU-37) Yellow: towards the end of the tunnel portion, there's a group of two
 aircraft who approach; the ace appears in their group if enough targets were
 destroyed outside, I believe. Or maybe he's always there...and I'm insane...

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Score 15000+ points in the time limit. Ground and air targets outside results
 in a total of 12600 overall, which means Blaze will have to destroy some of
 the targets inside the SOLG tunnel -- easy peasy! XAAMs help, as previously
 stated.

_____________________________________________________
�����������������������������������������������������
27+) THE UNSUNG WAR                            [WK27]
_____________________________________________________
��| ENEMY | 12 AIR | -- GRND | -- NAVAL | 12 TRGT |��
   ������� �������� ��������� ���������� ���������
RECOMMENDS: Whatever was used in the previous mission (mandatory)
OBJECTIVES: Defeat the Grabacr squadron, then the SOLG itself
RANK BONUS: $---- [S] / $---- [A] / $---- [B] / $---- [C]
TIME LIMIT: 10:00
DIFFICULTY: 7/10

 The SOLG, a.k.a. a massive space station, is now tumbling towards the Ocean
 capital! The first portion involves a rendezvous with the projected point
 of atmospheric reentry, the NW corner of the map. About halfway there, the
 Grabacr will interfere and demand a final showdown -- time to oblige! These're
 top-shelf crafts and while they're unequivocally the best enemy pilots the
 game has to offer, they're not so great they should put up too much of a
 challenge. The 10-minute timer continuously runs here and missiles will be
 needed for the final portion as well; don't waste too many on moronic shots!
 [You can actually ignore them if the SOLG has already appeared as a target,
 mind you.]

 Anyway, when the SOLG finally appears in the NW corner, this massive creature
 has to be destroyed piecemeal. It's still in rotation which obscures some of
 the targets. First things first, start missile-ing the breakaway panels on
 the thing. Staying behind it is a lot easier for figuring trajectories, but
 remember that destroying portions actually will fling the loose panels and
 debris backwards, which instantly kills a pilot in the flightpath -- watch
 out! [NOTE: Some of the loose panels are not the real targets, so feel free
 to vulcan-gun those suckers out of the way.] Mission and game ends when the
 SOLG targets are rubble!

SPECIAL PILOT?
��������������
 (MIG-1.44) Replicator: after the Ofnir/Grabacr team is destroyed, careens
 towards the ally team from the eastern screen boundary. There must be 1:00+
 left on the SOLG's timer or it won't appear at all, though -- that gives
 a little under two minutes to defeat the dual squadron.

S-RANK PREREQS
��������������
 Defeat all targets for 44160 points.

NEWLY UNLOCKED
��������������
 Save the clear data after the scenes to unlock 'SP New Game' which carries
 all aircraft, money, and unlocked modes over from the previous cycle; and
 Free Mission' which lets the player replay any mission from the previous
 game, including path branches that weren't normally accessible.

          _________          _______    _______  _        ______   _ 
          \__   __/|\     /|(  ____ \  (  ____ \( (    /|(  __  \ ( )
             ) (   | )   ( || (    \/  | (    \/|  \  ( || (  \  )| |
             | |   | (___) || (__      | (__    |   \ | || |   ) || |
             | |   |  ___  ||  __)     |  __)   | (\ \) || |   | || |
             | |   | (   ) || (        | (      | | \   || |   ) |(_)
             | |   | )   ( || (____/\  | (____/\| )  \  || (__/  ) _ 
             )_(   |/     \|(_______/  (_______/|/    )_)(______/ (_)
                                                      _______________________
_____________________________________________________/ IV. APPENDICES [APND] |_
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
ENEMY ACES                                                               [NMAC]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 Enemy aces are pilots with special names and callsigns, which appear only
 after certain conditions are done (usually). They take more effort to bring
 down and give more points than normal planes, which is one reason to seek
 them out; another is that defeating them all gives a medal for the gallery
 and each unlocks a custom paintjob for their model. For instance, defeating
 the SU-37 Yellow unlocks the SP for that craft when it's bought.

 Planes are listed in order of appearance for convenience. Note that it's
 impossible to get the medal until beating the game once and unlocking 'Free
 Mission' mode, which allows the player to do any missed path branches.

  ___________ ________________ _____ ________________________________________
 | MODEL     | CALLSIGN       | LVL | SPAWN CONDITIONS                       |
 |�����������|����������������|�����|����������������������������������������|
 | Hawk      | Gigantor       | 01  | Appears above final wave if other two  |
 |           |                |     | were defeated quickly.                 |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | F-14      | Zipang         | 03  | Destroy all aircraft (comes from west) |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | F-4G      | Mindripper     | 04  | Appears in first portion (before Pops  |
 |           |                |     | flies) after destroying a couple F-4s  |
 |           |                |     | and B-1Bs, from the north              |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | MIR-2000D | Zahrada        | 06  | Spawns from the east after destroying  |
 |           |                |     | a few F-16Cs and F-20As (escortless)   |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | EA-6B     | Dune           | 10  | Destroy all E-767 jammers and a few of |
 |           |                |     | the other targets. Spawn: SE corner    |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | X-29A     | Daredevil      | 15  | Spawn nearby after destroying an E-767 |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | MIG-31M   | Cosm           | 16A | Amongst final wave of KC-10s & E-767s  |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | EA-6B     | Abelcain       | 16B | After destroyer's appeared, appear w/  |
 |           |                |     | the 3rd (?) wave of air escorts.       |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | FB-22     | Proteus        | 17  | Spawns alone after the "stadium crash" |
 |           |                |     | events, in the SE region of map        |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | F2-A      | Cypher         | 18  | Appears NW of fortress after all the   |
 |           |                |     | other aircraft are destroyed           |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | TND-ECR   | Twicedead      | 18+ | When only a handful of enemies remain, |
 |           |                |     | appears around SE corner               |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | MIG-21-93 | Swordkill      | 23  | Appears around eastern starting point  |
 |           |                |     | after apx. 50% helis/gunboats wrecked  |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | YA-10B    | Distantthunder | 25  | When Grabacr appear over airport, this |
 |           |                |     | spawns alone in the NW region          |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | Rafale B  | Decoder        | 26  | Appears in front of player after all   |
 |           |                |     | naval targets are destroyed            |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | SU-37     | Yellow         | 27  | In tunnel, appears with final pair of  |
 |           |                |     | SU-37s (may have to destroy many outer |
 |           |                |     | targets to force its spawn, however).  |
 |-----------+----------------+-----+----------------------------------------|
 | MIG-1.44  | Replicator     | 27+ | Appears in east if Grabacr/Ofnir squad |
 |           |                |     | is destroyed and SOLG timer is 1:00+   |
 |___________|________________|_____|________________________________________|

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
MEDALS                                                                   [MDLS]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 Medals have little purpose, but can be viewed in the 'Gallery' option of the
 main menu. Completing certain conditions in Campaign mode will give these
 little trinkets that commemorates feats of excellence.
  __________________ ________________________________________________________
 | MEDAL NAME       | METHOD OF OBTAINING                                    |
 |������������������|��������������������������������������������������������|
 | Gold Anchor      | Beat Mission 3 (Narrow Margin)                         |
 | Lightning Hammer | Beat Mission 9 (Lit Fuse) with minimal ally casualties |
 | Bronze Shooter   | Defeat 5 enemies with just the vulcan machine gun      |
 | Silver Shooter   | Defeat 15 enemies with just the vulcan machine gun     |
 | Gold Shooter     | Defeat 50 enemies with just the vulcan machine gun     |
 | Desert Eagle     | Beat Mission 16a or 16b with minimal ally casualties   |
 | Grand Falcon     | Shoot down all (16) named aircraft throughout the game |
 | Bronze Ace       | Destroy 200 enemy targets                              |
 | Silver Ace       | Destroy 500 enemy targets                              |
 | Gold Ace         | Destroy 1000 enemy targets                             |
 | Guardian         | Kill 10 foes that have missile lock on Blaze's wingmen |
 | Needle's Eye     | Do all optional refuelings, takeoffs, and landings     |
 | Bronze Wing      | Get "S" rank on all missions (Normal)                  |
 | Silver Wing      | Get "S" rank on all missions (Hard)                    |
 | Gold Wing        | Get "S" rank on all missions (Expert)                  |
 |__________________|________________________________________________________|

 For perfect refuelings and landings, Tsukikage71 theorizes that they must be
 accomplished within 40 and 20 seconds, respectively. If done spot-on, there
 will be a "Perfect, Blaze!" message.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
PLANE OVERVIEW                                                           [PLNV]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 Planes are the heart and soul of a dogfighter game, and there's a crapload to
 pick and choose from. Most are unlocked by progressing the campaign, although
 some grow only by upgrading. To upgrade, pick a plane and make sure there's
 more to its "family tree" than just itself; then, use that plane in battle to
 destroy targets. Doing this increases the plane's killbar (or killgauge) that
 will eventually let its next-best be bought from the hangar. [NOTE: Sometimes
 a player can only use certain available crafts, such as on the Kestrel.] The
 killbars can be filled in both Campaign and Free Mission mode, for reference.

 All planes have infinite machine-gun ammo and will carry normal missile
 payloads, and have only one auxiliary weapon that cannot be changed (sorry
 AC04 fans!).

LEGEND
������
 Name: Self-explanitory, I hope
 TY  : Plane nomenclature (fighter, attacker, multirole)
 SP  : Speed
 MB  : Mobility
 ST  : Stability
 DF  : Defense
 AA  : Air-to-Air capabilities
 AG  : Air-to-Ground capabilities
 *   : Denotes upgrades that become available simultaneously

WEAPON TYPES
������������
 BDSP: Bomb Dispenser
 ECMP: Electronic Countermeasures Pod
 FAEB: Fuel Air Explosion Bomb
 GPB : Guided Penetrating Bomb
 LAGM: Long-range Air-to-Ground Missile
 LASM: Long-range Air-to-Surface Missile
 NPB : Napalm Bomb
 QAAM: Quick Air-to-Air Missile
 RCL : Rocket Launcher
 SAAM: Short-range Air-to-Air Missile
 SFFS: Self-fusing Fragment Munitions
 SOD : Stand-off Dispenser
 TLS : Tactical Laser
 UGB : Unguided Bomb (Small)
 UGBL: Unguided Bomb (Large)
 XAAM: Advanced Air-to-Air Missile
 XMAA: Advanced Medium-range Air-to-Air Missile

  ___________ ______________________ _____________________________ __________
 | NAME      | TY SP MB ST DF AA AG | WEAPONS                     |  UNLOCK  |
 |�����������|����������������������|�����������������������������|����������|
 | F-5E      | Fi 62 32 60 43 22 47 | x52 Missiles, x12 UGBs      | Default  |
 | F-20A     | Fi 73 43 60 46 60 25 | x60 Missiles, x10 SAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 | X-29A     | Fi 73 71 47 49 76 40 | x60 Missiles, x10 QAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | MIG-21BIS | Fi 73 35 29 42 22 47 | x56 Missiles, x08 RCLs      | Msn. 03  |
 | MIG-21-93 | Fi 73 74 59 63 82 46 | x72 Missiles, x12 QAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-4E      | Fi 63 32 46 56 25 50 | x62 Missiles, x10 NPBs      | Msn. 03  |
 | F-4G      | Fi 63 25 55 68 17 68 | x64 Missiles, x10 LAGMs     | Upgrade  |
 | F-4X      | Fi 83 54 61 60 73 37 | x70 Missiles, x10 XMAAs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | A-6E      | At 44 25 51 68 15 61 | x60 Missiles, x10 UGBLs     | Msn. 04  |
 | EA-68     | At 49 54 60 60 50 55 | x66 Missiles, x06 ECMP      | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-16C     | Fi 73 44 46 46 30 55 | x60 Missiles, x14 UGBs      | Msn. 06  |
 | F-16C B60 | Fi 73 65 60 49 76 40 | x68 Missiles, x12 XMAAs     | Upgrade* |
 | F-16X1    | Fi 66 52 64 61 34 80 | x68 Missiles, x14 XMGMs     | Upgrade* |
 | F-2A      | Fi 63 44 70 57 40 85 | x72 Missiles, x12 LASMs     | Upgrade* | 
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F/A-18C   | Mu 68 44 53 57 27 62 | x64 Missiles, x10 LASMs     | Msn. 06  |
 | F/A-18E   | Mu 78 58 63 61 68 43 | x68 Missiles, x12 XAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 | EA-16G    | Mu 78 75 74 52 65 69 | x74 Missiles, x06 ECMPs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | MIR-2000  | Fi 86 44 31 46 59 23 | x60 Missiles, x08 SAAMs     | Msn. 07  |
 | MIR-2000D | Fi 86 54 38 59 36 60 | x64 Missiles, x14 UGBLs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | MIG-29A   | Fi 73 45 39 49 30 55 | x60 Missiles, x14 UGBs      | Msn. 07  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | A-10A     | At 39 34 65 94 17 74 | x64 Missiles, x14 XAGMs     | Msn. 07  |
 | YA-10B    | At 39 59 83 99 37 93 | x72 Missiles, x14 FAEBs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-14A     | Fi 68 46 56 59 72 26 | x68 Missiles, x10 SAAMs     | Msn. 09  |
 | F-14B     | Fi 78 54 61 60 47 61 | x70 Missiles, x12 GPBs      | Upgrade  |
 | F-14D     | Fi 87 58 64 61 81 35 | x72 Missiles, x14 XLAAs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | TND-GR 1  | At 63 40 63 90 27 73 | x68 Missiles, x10 BDSP      | Msn. 09  |
 | TND GR.4  | At 63 51 71 92 37 82 | x74 Missiles, x10 SODs      | Upgrade* |
 | TND F3    | At 73 59 60 91 74 37 | x68 Missiles, x10 XAAMs     | Upgrade* |
 | TND ECR   | At 68 67 69 80 59 63 | x70 Missiles, x05 ECMPs     | Upgrade* |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | MIG-31    | Fi 97 53 49 85 77 30 | x70 Missiles, x14 SAAMs     | Msn. 09  |
 | MIG-31M   | Fi 97 63 56 87 84 37 | x74 Missiles, x14 XLAAs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-15C     | Fi 83 54 61 60 73 37 | x70 Missiles, x10 SAAMs     | Msn. 12a |
 | F-15E     | Fi 73 55 77 75 42 87 | x76 Missiles, x14 SFFS      | Upgrade* |
 | F-15S/MTD | Fi 83 89 81 66 94 58 | x76 Missiles, x14 XMAAs     | Upgrade* |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | SU-27     | Fi 73 57 55 61 74 38 | x72 Missiles, x10 SAAMs     | Msn. 12b |
 | SU-32     | Fi 63 67 79 78 51 96 | x80 Missiles, x16 XAGMs     | Upgrade* |
 | SU-35     | Fi 86 85 73 66 93 56 | x80 Missiles, x14 XLAAs     | Upgrade* |
 | SU-37     | Fi 83 93 76 66 96 59 | x82 Missiles, x12 QAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-117A    | At 39 38 81 75 39 91 | x54 Missiles, x16 GPB       | Msn. 15  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | JAS-39C   | Mu 78 68 61 60 40 75 | x68 Missiles, x12 RCL       | Msn. 15  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | Typhoon   | Fi 86 85 69 65 91 54 | x78 Missiles, x14 XLAAS     | Msn. 16a |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F-35C     | Mu 68 87 79 66 57 91 | x756 Missiles, x14 LASMs    | Msn. 16a |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | Rafale M  | At 71 79 68 63 50 84 | x74 Missiles, x14 LASMs     | Msn. 16b |
 | Rafale B  | At 71 81 70 65 51 86 | x76 Missiles, x14 SODs      | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | YF-23A    | At 83 83 80 66 94 58 | x80 Missiles, x12 QAAMs     | Msn. 16b |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | F/A-22A   | Fi 83 88 82 66 96 59 | x82 Missiles, x16 XAAMs     | Msn. 17  |
 | FB-22     | At 73 73 89 78 54 99 | x82 Missiles, x18 SODs      | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | SU-47     | Fi 83 91 75 66 96 59 | x82 Missiles, x14 SAAMs     | Msn. 17  |
 | SU-32     | Fi 73 98 64 67 97 67 | x82 Missiles, x14 QAAMs     | Upgrade  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | MIG-1.44  | Mu 76 96 70 61 64 88 | x80 Missiles, x18 UGBLs     | Msn. 25  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | Hawk      | Fi 73 41 34 42 51 16 | x56 Missiles, x06 QAAMs     | Msn. 25  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | X-02      | Fi 78 99 90 67 94 67 | x84 Missiles, x14 XLAAs     | Special  |
 |-----------+----------------------+-----------------------------+----------|
 | Falken    | Fi 83 99 82 67 99 93 | x84 Missiles, x14 TLS       | Special  |
 |___________|______________________|_____________________________|__________|

 To unlock the X-02, buy at least one of every plane in the game, which will
 include ugprades as well. To get the Falken, unlock 'Free Mission' mode after
 beating the game and destroy the special hangars in missions: 12a, 12b, 16a,
 16b, and 27.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
UNLOCKABLES                                                              [NLCK]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 Completing certain feats in the game unlocks paint colors, planes, and modes
 to peruse. Hopefully this is self-explanitory! ["SP" stands for special paint]

 |���������������������|�����������������������������������������������������|
 | Hawk SP             | Shoot down enemy ace "Gigantor" in Mission #1       |
 | F-14 SP             | Shoot down enemy ace "Zipang" in Mission #3         |
 | F-4 SP              | Shoot down enemy ace "Mindripper" in Mission #4     |
 | MIR-2000D SP        | Shoot down enemy ace "Zahrada" in Mission #6        |
 | EA-6B SP            | Shoot down enemy ace "Dune" in Mission #10          |
 | X-29A SP            | Shoot down enemy ace "Daredevil" in Mission #15     |
 | MIG-31M SP          | Shoot down enemy ace "Cosm" in Mission #16a         |
 | EA-6B SP            | Shoot down enemy ace "Abelcain" in Mission #16b     |
 | FB-22 SP            | Shoot down enemy ace "Proteus" in Mission #17       |
 | F-2A SP             | Shoot down enemy ace "Cypher" in Mission #18        |
 | TND-ECR SP          | Shoot down enemy ace "Twicedead" in Mission #18+    |
 | MIG-21-93 SP        | Shoot down enemy ace "Swordkill" in Mission #23     |
 | YA-10B              | Shoot down enemy ace "Distantthunder" in Mission 25 |
 | Rafale B SP         | Shoot down enemy ace "Decoder" in Mission #26       |
 | SU-37 SP            | Shoot down enemy ace "Yellow" in Mission #27        |
 | MIG-1.44 SP         | Shoot down enemy ace "Replicator" in Mission #27+   |
 | F-22A SP            | Complete Arcade Mode (any branch)                   |
 | X-02 SP             | Get "S" ranks on all missions in Hard difficulty    |
 | Falken SP           | Get "S" ranks on all missions in Expert difficulty  |
 |_____________________|_____________________________________________________|
 |���������������������|�����������������������������������������������������|
 | Expert Mode         | Beat the game (any difficulty)                      |
 | Ace Mode            | Beat the game (any difficulty)                      |
 | Free Mission Mode   | Beat the game (any difficulty)                      |
 | Gallery Scene Viewr | Beat the game (any difficulty)                      |
 | X-02 Wyvern         | Buy one of all planes and their upgrades            |
 | Falken              | Wreck special hangars in missions 11a/b, 16a/b, 27  |
 | F-22A               | Complete Arcade Mode (any branch) or Mission 17     |
 | Any Plane in Arcade | Complete Arcade Mode (any branch)                   |
 |_____________________|_____________________________________________________|

 NOTE: When it comes to getting certain paintjobs, make sure to have bought
 the target craft, not just unlocked it! This can evade some glitches.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS                                            [FAQZ]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������

[Q] - How do I pick which path branch I want?
[A] - The mission right before the path branch (there are two of them), that
      joker Chopper will ask Blaze if he listened to "Face of the Coin". Pick
      the affirmative to take the "##a" path, and the negative for the "##b"
      path. Paths not chosen can be played during Free Mission mode, unlocked
      after beating the game.

[Q] - Can I fight aces in Campaign?
[A] - Yes, although some have annoying spawn conditions so it's recommended to
      fight some of them in 'Free Mission' mode.

[Q] - Why do some guides tell different things, plane names, etc.?
[A] - The PAL (overseas) and NTSC (North American) versions differ on some
      ends, such as naming the Rafale aircraft family and the F/A-22A, which
      is synonymous with the F-22A.

[Q] - How do I unlock the ________?
[A] - F-22A: complete campaign mode on any difficulty
      X-02: obtain all aircraft excluding the Falken
      Falken: destroy hangars during missions 12a, 12b, 16a, 16b, and 27

      Note that the Falken parts are hidden within hangars during said levels,
      and since they take place on path branches, it can only be assembled
      after beating the game once and unlocking 'Free Mission' mode.

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
VI. UPDATES & CONTRIBUTIONS                                              [UPDT]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
 11-20-08 ----------+ Started walkthrough
 12-07-08 ----------+ Finished walkthrough
 12-09-08 ----------+ Updated (thanks to Tsukikage71)

NOTES TO SELF
�������������
 � What's mission six's S-rank bonus? I forgot to put it in.
 � Mission #25's B & C ranks

THANKS TO...
������������
 � Sailor/Ceej, for hosting my junk all this time
 � The AC5 messageboard for chewing the fat with me
 � g_max_, for clarifying some name confusion
 � Tsukikage71, for clarifying some medal prerequisites among other things
 � The readers -- it's all for you, babies!

_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
VII. LEGALITY                                                            [LGLT]
_______________________________________________________________________________
�������������������������������������������������������������������������������
This document is intended for private home use ONLY, and may not be reproduced
through electronic or commercial means without the expressed consent of the
author (Patrick Summers). It cannot be hosted, edited, or distributed for
profit, and may not be given away as an add-in/gift to bought items. All rights
are reserved to respective parties, even those not explicitly stated herein.
Those who find thos document on sites not listed below should e-mail the
author (Shotgunnova). Thanks for reading, and thanks for respectin' FAQers.

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