Control view
Hold [Triangle] to zoom. Use the Right Analog-stick
to pan around.
Aces
The following is a list of where each Ace can be found
and shot down. Shooting them down will unlock an alternate color
scheme for that plane. Ace's can only be shot down under the normal
or higher difficulty setting. Each Ace is worth 240 points and
will have the name of the pilot flying it:
Mission 1: F-5, North of Allied air base.
Mission 2: A-10, North of enemy air base.
Mission 3: F-16, South of second radar station.
Mission 4: Mirage 2000, Northwest of the westernmost radar jamming
plane.
Mission 5: Mig-29, Sout of the far western pumping station on
map.
Mission 6: F-14, North of northern-most group of enemies on map.
Mission 7: TND, North of solar tower.
Mission 8: F-18, After refueling during the mission, it will appear
east of the sub-station.
Mission 9: F-15C, North of the center beach combat area.
Mission 10: RF-01 Multi Role, Far upper northwest corner of map,
northwest of sub-station.
Mission 11: SU-35, Will appear with 90 seconds remainingin the
mission.
Mission 12: F-2, North of Stonehenge.
Mission 13: F-15E, After balloons are destroyed, fighters will
appear; head northeast.
Mission 14: F-22, Northeast of map .
Mission 15: EF-2000, Center of map when mission starts.
Mission 16: F-117 Attacker, Northwest of western-most combat area.
Mission 17: F-15 Active, Far northwestern corner of map.
Mission 18: S-37, North of Megalith.
Aircraft list
The following is a complete aircraft list (in order):
F-4E (fighter)
Blue
Camo
Tiger Stripes
F-5E (fighter)
Sky Camo
Gray Camo
Sea-Green (Wang) level 1
F-16C (fighter)
Gray
Camo
White w/ Blue Stripes (Tempel) level 3
A-10A (attacker)
Camo
Desert Camo
Silver (Ciffred) level 2
MIR-2000 (fighter)
Sky Camo
Gray Camo
White w/ Blue Stripes (Rigaux) level 4
F-14A (fighter)
Gray
Sky Camo
Black (LEVY) level 6
TND-ID5 (attacker)
Camo
Green
Yellow Stripes (De Vico) level 7
F/A-18C (multirole)
Gray
Desert Camo
Yellow (Vrisala) level 8
F-15C (fighter)
Gray
Green-Gray
Blue-Silver (Tuttle) level 9
MIG-29A (fighter)
Gray Camo
Camo
Red (Mrkos) level 5
F-117A (attacker)
Black
Gray
Winter Camo (Kwee) level 16
EF-2000 (fighter)
Gray
Brown
White with red stripes (Olmstead) level 15
R-M01 (multirole)
Black
Gray Camo
White with blue stripes (Faye) level 10
F-15E (multirole)
Black
Camo
Blue Tiger Stripes (Gunn) level 13
F-2A (attacker)
Blue-Gray
Camo
White with red stripes (Urata) level 12
SU-35 (fighter)
Sky Camo
Gray Camo
White with blue and red stripes (Neujmin) level 11
F-22A (fighter)
Sky Camo
Gray
Gray (Abell) level 14
SU-37 (fighter)
Camo
Gray
Gray Camo with yellow wing tips (Yellow Squadron)
F-15ACTIVE (fighter)
Black
Gray Camo
White with blue andred stripes (Halley) level 17
S-37A (fighter)
Black
Gray Camo
Silver Camo (Smirnova) level 18
X-02 (multirole) (last aircraft)
Gray Camo
Silver
Broken Arrows: See northern lights
Look up in the night sky and you can see the northern
lights.
Breaking Arrows: XB-70
There is an XB-70 at the top left at about 30,000 ft.
The enemy XB-70 can be shot down to earn extra points. The plane
can be found all the way at the back of the combat area at high
altitude. The plane is visible on radar to the left on the first
target.
Safe Return: Easy completion
There are about eleven balloons ahead of you, up and
down and to the side slightly. Then, turn right and go until you
cross a mountain, four to six balloons later. Then, turn right
again. Blast balloons until time runs out. It is possible to get
an "S" rank under the ace difficulty setting using this
method, with just balloons, not counting the planes.
When you start the mission, your radar will have blinking dots
all around. The dots are actually the blimps and not the noise.
This will help find the blimps' location and hopefully increase
your score.
Shattered Skies: Shoot down SR-71
In the "Shattered Skies" mission, the fast
moving plane you are locked onto when the mission first starts
is an SR-71. You can shoot it down by heading towards the back
of the combat area and climbing to about 30,000 ft. Head it off
and you should be able to shoot it down.
Quickly tap the [Analog-stick Down] as the mission starts.
If done correctly, the SR-71 (which is the orange triangle) should
still be blinking. This is the chance to get the Sr-71. Using
the X-02 is recommended, due to its powerful speed.
Shattered Skies: Yellows leave early
Hitting a Yellow early will not kill them, but may
make him and other Yellows leave the area early, after he gripes
about being hit.
Shattered Skies: Radio transmission
Do not bother going after the Yellow Squadron fighters.
They are nearly impossible to hit. If you do manage to get enough
hits on one to qualify as a kill, it will not go down. Instead,
a red radio transmission will appear as follows. Note: You do
not get any points from it.
<Yellow>: Who was that who shot me?
<Yellow>: It was a Ribbon fighter!
Shattered Skies: Early giveaway
During the mission you will hear one of the fighters
say the following line:
<Sanitize the area before the bombers arrive.>
They are referring to the B-2 bombers that appear after the mission
update.
Shattered Skies: Easy completion
You will start the level with your enemy. You can blow
a plane out of the sky if you do not move the plane at all. Use
your afterburners to get close to them. When you can see recticles
and the planes is on radar. shoot two missiles. The missiles should
hit the plane that is directly on top of your plane.
At about 15,000 feet, fly towards where the B2 bombers come from
and you will see an E-676 worth 150 points. Then, fly towards
the back of the level at about 36,000 feet to shoot down the SR-71,
which is worth 200 points. Then, fly back to base shooting down
planes along the way. After restocking, fly to the right and you
will see a single plane if you are under the normal or higher
difficulty setting. Shoot it down and you should have about 800
to 1,000 points. Afterwards, shoot down all the B2s and the rest
of the planes to get an "S" rank. This will result in
about 250,000 more credits.
Whisky Corridor: Second SR-71
There is a second SR-71 Blackbird on this mission.
At any time during the mission, fly to the southwest corner of
the map at about 15,000 feet, just north of the RTB line.
Fly Erusian planes
After you have shot down an ace on a level, highlight
the plane that he was flying in the hangar. Press [Down]
after you have acquired or purchased the color. If it is the correct
paint job, you will see the letters IF.I.A.IF. somewhere on the
plane. The SU-37 has Yellow 13's paint job, the X-02 is white,
since there is not an Erusian version. Also, the F-14 does not
have the letters F.E.A.F., but has the Erusian symbol (an orange
triangle with a white circle inside).
Missile dodging
Under some difficulty settings, you can only be hit
with a missile two or three times. This is different for the higher
difficulty settings. In Ace mode, you will be shot down by one
missile. Immediately when someone locks onto you and fires a missile,
look at your radar. The moment when the missile is about to hit
you, barrel roll. This is a difficult feat to perform but is quite
impressive. This move only happens very rarely. If one of the
planes lock on and manages to fire a missile and it is on your
tail, you can blow a plane right out of the sky with the enemy's
missle. Rush towards an enemy that is coming at you. In the split
second it is about there, try your best to dodge it. if done correctly,
the enemy missile will hit the enemy. Another way of missile dodging
happens when you have a missile on your tail. Dive down, come
to about six to seven thousand feet, then rise up. The missile
should deflect and hit the ground. This is also successful when
you have ground targets. You can save your own missiles. Note:
The X-02 stealth plane us recommended.
Easier X-02s
There is an easier way to get the three X-02s rather
than going through the entire game. After the game is completed,
the "Free Mission" option will be unlocked. Select this
option and choose a difficulty setting (normal for the gray X-02,
hard for the black X-02, or expert for the silver X-02). Select
any mission to play on that difficulty setting. If you get an
"S" rank on all the missions, the X-02 becomes available.
This allows you to skip all of the missions you got an "S"
on when you went through the full game. For example, if you got
an "S" on all but three missions, you only have to play
those missions instead of the entire game.
Easier ground battle
The best way to destroy multiple ground targets is
to fly the F-15 Active using the FREB (fuel - air explosive bomb).
This will destroy about six to ten targets if they are close together.
Easy kills
The best way to kill is to get in the cockpit view
and go to work. When done correctly the kill will happen much
faster and you will save missiles. If done in the HUD view or
where you can see the entire plane, then chances are you will
waste several missiles trying to kill enemies. Also use your bullets
wisely to cut off paths of escape; this will assist you further.
When on a mission and are "dog-fighting" in air-to-air
combat, press [Circle](2 ). When you do this, you will fire
two missiles at the same time. This destroys your target immediately
with two shots, rather than hitting it only once and still having
the risk of it shooting you and your allies.
While dogfighting in air-to-air combat, switch to the cockpit
view. Lock on to your nearest enemy and fire a missile. Immediately
after you fire the missile, shoot your guns. However, instead
of hitting the enemy fighter, aim for the air in front and around
it. The enemy fighter will try to dodge the bullets, thus steering
into the missile's path.
Easy "Yellow" kills
Use the following trick to kill the Yellows during
the final missions. First, acquire the SU-37. Then, go into battle
with the QAAM (the SU-37's default weapon) equipped. When you
engage a Yellow, immediately lock-on and fire a QAAM at him. This
weapon will travel to the ends of the earth to hunt down its target.
Even if it takes five minutes, the missile is 99% likely to hit
the Yellow. With an average of five Yellows a mission (except
the last one), they will be easy. This trick also works with other
airborne targets.
Note: You may not always hear the Yellows say that they have been
shot down. Sometimes you will hear AWACS or a friendly say "A
Yellows hit and trailing smoke. Whose kill was that?"
Defeating Megalith
Use the following trick to defeat Megalith with an
"S" rank. First, destroy all Yellow aircraft possible.
Next, fly past Megalith until you see an red-orange triangle.
Shoot that aircraft down and return to Megalith. Go through the
right tunnel and shoot the generator. Continue to destroy the
next generator in the left tunnel. Now, go to the side of Megalith
and destroy the last generator. After all generators are gone,
destroy the two missiles that appear just ahead. Turn around as
fast as possible, as the next two missiles will only remain for
a minute after the generators are destroyed. Next, destroy the
big missile in the center and do not forget to pull up.
Dogfighting
When in a dogfight, there are some things you can do
to help. First, do not go after the Yellows. Also, choose a plane
that does well in air to air attacks. Use the machine gun if the
target is close. Do not waste your missiles, as there may be a
surprise during the mission (as in the Shattered Skies level).
In this level, after the time is up and you have enough points,
six B2 bombers appear. Finally, Do not stay too low.
You must to learn how to control every aspect of your fighter.
One thing you must do is learn how to use your airbrakes. Mastering
the use of this will help you swing the tail end of your jet around
and get behind your enemy faster. Also, learn how to do is maneuver
at high speeds, close to the ground. This not only helps evade
missiles (which will crash harmlessly into the ground), but in
multi-player mode when your playing someone who is not proficient
at flying low. Even in close range, if you have a straight lock,
use it. If you definitely know that the enemy will not move in
time, taking them down with a missile is faster and more efficient
than using guns. Besides, you can reload at any point in the mission.
Finally, use your radar to its full advantage, watching for enemies
not only behind you, but on your left and right as well. If you
know they are coming, then the attacks they send can be easily
avoided and have no effect on your fighting. Mastering these things
are the main ways to become a top ace at dogfighting.
Destroying SAMs
Fly straight towards the SAM. Pitch the plane up and
down when the SAM fires a missile. Once you get a lock on the
SAM. fire a missile and continue doing the up and down maneuvers
until the its missile loses track.
Evading SAMs
In order to successfully evade a SAM, fly directly
at it at full speed. If you feel the engagement is not good, then
break off. However, do not break off until you have tried at least
once. If it works, you will pass over it and any missile fired
will miss you. When you pass over the SAM, hit the brakes, turn
sharply, and head at it again, but this time fire. Pass the SAM
at about 100 feet.
Evading AA gunfire
Barrel roll and you will only get hit with one or two
bullets maximum. Note: This trick is especially useful in Ace
mode, when a good round of bullets can get you killed.
Losing tough enemies
Use the following tricks when you have a group of enemies
on you, or just one that will not give up. Find a very mountainous
area and try to lose your enemy in there at full speed. Zigzag
in and out until the enemy cannot find you. They will not follow
you into this mountain area. If dealing with multiple enemies,
disengage, climb to 40,000 feet at full throttle, take a breather,
then re-engage and destroy the enemy. Use this technique against
the Yellow Squadron in the second part of the Siege Of Farbanti
mission.
Watch missile or bomb when fired
While flying any jet, lock on to a target (ground or
air) and hold [Circle]. This will allow you to watch your
missile or bomb from the time it leaves the jet until it hits
the target. Note: You have to be careful or your jet may crash.
Fly with missile
Play in free flight mode with a fast jet. Flip on the
afterburners and fly up at a 45 degree angle. Get up to about
47,000 ft. When you get up to 1120 mph, do a vertical nose dive
with the afterburners still on. Continue in the dive until you
get down to 15,000 feet and level off. If you got your speed up
to at least 1375 mph, switch the view to behind the plane and
fire a missile. If you are flying fast enough, you should see
the missile flying along side your plane.
Fly at Mach 1
It is possible to fly at Mach 1. Get any aircraft and
accelerate to 760 mph, which is Mach 1.
Nose dive recovery
If you are in a nose dive and your speed is over 700
mph, do not drop below 2,000 feet. There is a small chance that
your plane will pull up again because gravity will pull it down
into the ground. If you are, lucky you will escape with 98% damage.
Eliminating ground targets
Ground targets such as SAMs have the same lock-on range
as you do. If you are targeting a SAM, as soon as you get a lock-on,
so does the SAM. Similarly, AA guns have the same firing range
as your gun. If you can hit them, they can hit you. The best way
to take on SAMs is to play chicken and fly into them head on.
Do not bother using your guns or secondary weapons, even if they
are for ground targets. Most ground-based secondary weapons are
for multiple targets. As soon as you get a lock-on, fire one missile
then bank to avoid the SAMs missile. One missile is enough to
destroy targets such as SAMs, AA guns, tanks, launchers, howitzers,
watchtowers, and most ships. Ground targets such as pillboxes
and batteries take two missiles under the harder difficulty settings.
Returning to base
If you are in a mission and you run out of ammunition
or sustain more than 70% damage , there is nothing more you can
do since you can no longer attack. Immediately fly south toward
the dotted line on your map at full throttle. If you cross this
line, you will return to base to refuel and refit your plane as
well as repair all the damage you have taken. When you cross the
dotted line, you will get a message stating you are returning
to base. You will see a sequence where your plane drops its landing
gear, preparing to land. You can try to land the plane yourself
or press [Start] to skip the landing and go directly to sitting
on the runway. Either way, you will have a chance to change your
secondary weapon. This is useful when you get a mission update
and go from taking on ground targets to dog fighting in the middle
of a mission.
Shorter time in chases or returning
to base
Players can travel a long distance when going into
battle or when returning to base in all the missions. Long distances
are quickly covered by flying below 300 feet with afterburners.
Over oceans, the altimeter is safe to trust however be careful
when flying where battle missions are at high altitude, such as
at mountain elevations. If you are not sure, skim the battlefield
and read the ground elevation mark. Whiskey Trench or Broken Arrows
are both high altitudes in the desert or Arctic. Use the altimeter
instead of judging by sight. The sea is filled with icebergs,
but there is a path to fly below 300 feet to quickly reach its
most northern targets. Generally the lower you fly, the farther
you will cover. Watch your altimeter and look for canyon floors,
low valleys, or the sea if nearby to get the chance to do some
low fast flying.
Recommended aircraft
The best aircraft (non-X02) for each level are as follows.
Note: Every plane except the F-14 and F15 ACTIVE should use secondary
weapons.
Level 1: F-14
Level 2: F-15 ACTIVE
Level 3: SU-37A
Level 4 :F-4, F-16
Level 5: F-16
Level 6: F-16
Level 7: F-14
Level 8: SU-37A, F-14
Level 9: F-18
Level 10: F-18
Level 11: F-14
Level 12: SU-37A
Level 13: F-22
Level 14: F-14
Level 15: F-15 ACTIVE
Level 16: F-22, F-18, SU37A
Level 17: SU-37A
Level 18: SU-37A
Glitch: Impossible speed
This trick only works with jets that have high speed
and can go over 40,000 feet in altitude (X-02, S-37, Su-37) .Press
[R2] to go way up holding down over 40,000 feet (near space).
Keep going in a circle while [R2] is held. Go up and down
slightly until the speed reaches 1665, then dive. If done correctly,
when you dive the impossible speed should be about 1788 (if fast
enough). Actually it will be about 1725. Note: Try practicing
this trick in free flight mode.