Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy starts with eight radar vehicles scattered along the approach to an Erusean airbase. Once they’re gone, the fight shifts to MiG-21 interceptors and three C-17 transports attempting to leave the runway. The last stage brings in five MQ-99 drones. Follow the red TGT markers as each stage changes and don’t get stuck chasing optional ground targets. The easiest mistake is spending too long fighting optional enemies and leaving the real objectives untouched.
You’ll be switching between air-to-ground missiles and dogfighting more often than in the first mission. The aircraft on the runway are easy to miss if you’re still circling the radar sites, so it’s worth knowing exactly when the next group appears.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy: step-by-step walkthrough
Your initial targets sit around a forward enemy airfield in the Scofields Plateau area. Many of the most important ones are radar vehicles moving along the road network. The red TGT label is your friend: it tells you which targets actually matter to the current objective.
- Take out the roadside radar vehicles. Make a clean attack run along the roads rather than constantly turning back towards aircraft that are not marked TGT. There are eight radar vehicles in this stage.
- Finish all eight radar vehicles. The last one is at the airfield. Anti-aircraft guns, helicopters and fuel tanks are optional points, not substitutes for those eight red markers.
- Switch to the new airbase targets. After the radar vehicles, the remaining MiG-21 interceptors become TGTs. Three C-17 transports try to take off from the runway; shoot them down before they get away. One C-17 carries a Helios weapon and causes a larger explosion when destroyed, so don’t fly directly beside it.
- Prepare for the UAV launch. The control tower becomes an available target during the airbase phase. Destroy it before the drones launch if you’re attempting to spawn JESTER on a replay. Otherwise, concentrate on the remaining required enemies.
- Bring down the five MQ-99 drones. Once they launch, track the agile UAVs marked TGT and destroy them. The mission ends after the last required drone is shot down.
The airfield is full of things you could blow up, but only the current TGTs move the mission forward. Follow the sequence: radar vehicles, airbase fighters and transports, then drones.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy: do the C-17s matter?
Yes. The three C-17s are marked targets, not background aircraft. Shoot them before they escape down the runway. One carries a Helios missile, so give its explosion some space.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy: ground attack tips
You can finish the sortie in an early-game aircraft such as the F-16C. You don’t need an expensive unlock. Standard missiles will work against the radar vehicles, while an air-to-ground special weapon can make a busy section of the airfield more efficient if your current aircraft has one available.
Line up with a road, give your weapon time to lock and fire from a sensible distance. If you approach too low and fast, it’s easy to shoot past a radar vehicle before you can turn for another attempt. Keep enough altitude to see the vehicles, but stay aware that anti-aircraft guns around the base will punish repeated slow passes.
Once the radar vehicles are destroyed, be ready for the C-17s and MiG-21s rather than assuming the drone fight starts immediately. Save some missile ammunition for the five MQ-99s that arrive afterwards.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy: dealing with MQ-99 drones
The drones are much smaller and more agile than the ground targets you have just been attacking. They turn sharply, and firing every missile as soon as it locks is a quick way to waste ammunition.
Pick one MQ-99, get behind it or take advantage of a straight section of its flight path, and fire when the missile has a reasonable chance of connecting. If a drone breaks hard across your nose, don’t force the shot. Extend a little, turn back and find a cleaner angle. Check your radar after each kill, because the drones can spread out as you fight.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy is a good reminder to switch weapons when the targets change. Standard air-to-air missiles can finish the objective, so an aircraft that lacks a dedicated dogfighting special weapon is not a problem.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy: how to spawn JESTER
JESTER is an optional MiG-29 that can appear when you replay the mission after completing it once, on Normal difficulty or above. Its trigger is tied to the airbase, not to how many ordinary fighters you shoot down.
To trigger JESTER, destroy all eight radar vehicles, then destroy the TGT-marked control tower before the MQ-99 launch cutscene. After the cutscene, check the taxiway near the runway for JESTER’s MiG-29. You can attack it on the ground or intercept it after takeoff. If the UAVs have launched before the tower is destroyed, the spawn condition has been missed.
That’s a separate objective from simply clearing Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy. On your first playthrough, concentrate on finishing the mission. You can come back for the named ace once you’re familiar with where everything sits.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy S-rank tips
S rank rewards both speed and destruction score. The combined S-rank requirement is 33,050 points. A finish in six minutes or less awards the maximum 25,550-point time bonus, meaning you need at least 7,500 destruction points. After six minutes, the time bonus drops by 50 points per second, so you’ll need additional kills to make up the difference.
Attack grouped ground targets efficiently, collect extra destruction points from enemies directly in your path and avoid getting drawn into long dogfights before the UAVs appear. If your score is just short, a nearby optional aircraft or anti-aircraft site can provide the difference. But the biggest improvement usually comes from not overshooting the radar vehicles or chasing drones through repeated low-percentage missile shots.
Why Ace Combat 7 Mission 02 Charge the Enemy won’t finish
If you’re stuck after the radar vehicles, check for MiG-21s and C-17s around the airfield. The drone phase does not mean you can skip the preceding TGTs. Once the MQ-99s launch, focus on the remaining red-marked drones. Those five UAVs are the final objective.
Red TGT symbols are what count here. You don’t have to clear the entire base or shoot down every helicopter to finish the sortie.
For the official game overview, visit Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7 page.
