ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, Song of Wings, is the final campaign operation and one of the easiest places to lose track of what you’re actually supposed to shoot. Operation Showdown begins with you defending the Endurance from missiles launched by the Triumphant submarine. Later, the submarine surfaces and the objectives change from interception to disabling its weapons, attacking its launch tube and finally destroying its hull before it rams your carrier.
Major ending spoilers follow. This walkthrough explains the target order, the missile and marker drone waves, the final HULL phase and how the version 1.01.002 fix affects a previously broken mission. It also covers Perfect Guardian and the hidden ace Tegimen for completionist runs.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30: Song of Wings complete mission walkthrough
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30: Best weapons for the final submarine battle
For ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, you’ll need two different kinds of firepower. Standard missiles and the machine gun are excellent for intercepting incoming cruise missiles, drones and missile dispensers. Anti-surface special weapons such as LACM, LASM or suitable AGMs make short work of exposed submarine weapons once Triumphant surfaces. Don’t use your strongest ship-damaging weapons on every tiny missile target at the start; save them for the armaments that need heavier hits.
1. Protect Endurance from cruise missiles
At the opening of ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, submarine-launched cruise missiles are already headed towards Endurance. Accelerate towards the nearest incoming SLCM markers and shoot them down with standard missiles or gunfire. Keep checking the radar for the next wave instead of following the first destroyed missile all the way towards the submarine. The missiles closest to reaching the carrier matter most.
The submarine continues firing while you are busy. Don’t make the mistake of pursuing a distant target while a new missile is approaching the Endurance from another angle. Cover the approach lanes and give your wingmen useful orders when there are several threats at once.
2. Shoot down the Marker UAVs
In ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, Triumphant sends Marker UAVs towards your carrier. These drones are dangerous because they can guide a Tonitrus Spear strike against Endurance, so intercept them promptly. They can move quickly, and letting them pass behind you makes the chase much harder. When they appear, take a direct route towards the drones before returning to the incoming cruise missiles.
3. Destroy missile dispensers before they release
During ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, the submarine also launches missile dispensers that travel for a while before releasing multiple tracking missiles. Shoot the dispenser itself before the payload splits whenever possible. This removes the entire cluster of incoming weapons and is also the key to the Tegimen hidden ace trigger on a replay. If you miss a dispenser, focus on surviving and clearing the next direct threat rather than abandoning the carrier defence to chase it indefinitely.
4. Enter the correct airship password
During the defence, D.D. attempts to gain control of an Enso airship so it can guide the Tonitrus Spear onto the submarine. The correct password is Hortus Regis Alti. Reject the earlier suggestions and select Yes when that phrase comes up. Confirming the wrong answer, or rejecting the correct one after exhausting the options, can stop you progressing.
While D.D. is working through the password choices, keep intercepting the SLCMs. Do not attack the airship itself. Once the targeting sequence starts, another group of Marker UAVs appears, with a five-minute deadline to destroy them. Hit those drones quickly while also stopping cruise missiles already heading for Endurance. The Spear then strikes Triumphant and forces it to surface.
5. Disarm Triumphant after it surfaces
After the story attack in ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30 forces Triumphant to the surface, the mission changes. You can now damage the submarine’s weapons, including its anti-air guns, launch systems and other marked armaments. Use your anti-surface special weapons on the tougher targets. The submarine can submerge and reappear, with further missile and drone launches while the battle continues.
Watch the current objective markers closely. As the weapon systems are eliminated, the remaining launch tube becomes a required target. Stop wasting shots on parts you’ve already destroyed and aim at the newly highlighted tube. You still need to protect the Endurance from launched missiles during this stage: destroying a launcher does not make weapons already airborne disappear.
6. Destroy the HULL before the ramming attack
The final phase of ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30 is a timed attempt to stop Triumphant from ramming the carrier. The game begins marking sections of the submarine’s HULL as targets. They do not necessarily become available all at once. Move behind the submarine and make controlled gun and missile passes on each exposed marker as it appears. Keep pressing the attack until the remaining hull sections have been destroyed and the submarine is stopped.
Don’t assume the mission is stuck if one HULL marker isn’t immediately visible from your current angle. Change position, look for the next active target and keep attacking. If repeated direct hits visibly register but the target will not break at all, check the installed game version before trying the same approach over and over.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30: HULL not taking damage after patch 1.01.002
Bandai Namco confirmed a genuine progression bug in older builds: the HULL target could remain indestructible even after repeated hits. Version 1.01.002 includes a fix for that problem and began rolling out on 2 November 2026, after the originally planned October release was delayed. If you encounter the old behaviour, install the update and retry. That is different from the normal final sequence, where the correct hull targets appear in stages during the ramming attempt.
How to get the Perfect Guardian medal
In ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, Perfect Guardian requires you to intercept all the Triumphant’s anti-ship missiles during Operation Showdown. That means the early SLCM defence is not just something to survive: for the medal, you need to make a clean sweep of the missiles that threaten Endurance. The Marker UAVs remain urgent because they enable a separate attack, but don’t become so distracted by them that an anti-ship missile gets through.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30: How to spawn Tegimen in the finale
The optional ace in ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30 is Tegimen, an F-22A, available after you finish the campaign and replay on Veteran difficulty or higher. To trigger it, destroy three submarine-launched missile dispensers before they release their swarm payloads. The ace appears from the southeast after Triumphant surfaces. Keep enough anti-air ammunition to engage it, but never let the optional fight distract you from an SLCM approaching Endurance.
Why the final mission keeps failing
If Endurance is being hit early, your target priority is wrong: intercept incoming cruise missiles first and Marker UAVs as they appear. If you cannot advance after Triumphant surfaces, check for a surviving launch tube or another marked weapon system. If the final countdown runs out, focus on the HULL parts currently highlighted instead of flying around the bow firing at unmarked metal.
For ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 30, keep the order clear: intercept cruise missiles and Marker UAVs, destroy dispensers before they release, confirm the airship password, then hit Triumphant’s exposed weapons, the launch tube and finally the HULL during the ramming phase. Follow the objective changes and the final battle becomes a series of manageable jobs rather than one frantic fight against everything on the radar.
Official patch details: Bandai Namco Entertainment’s version 1.01.002 release notes.
