ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals has 29 challenges tied to campaign kills, S ranks, special mission objectives and complete playthroughs. You only need any ten medals for the Meritorious Service trophy, so there’s no need to finish the hardest six campaign restrictions just to earn that achievement.
The trickier challenges include protecting every landing craft, avoiding radar detection and destroying specific enemies that aren’t always marked as mission targets. Below are all 29 requirements, with instructions for the less obvious unlocks.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: All 29 Requirements
Open Data Viewer > Campaign Data > Campaign Medals to see your earned entries. The ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals checklist contains eight cumulative combat medals, four S-rank sets, eleven individual mission challenges and six full-campaign restrictions.
| Medal type | Count |
|---|---|
| Cumulative combat | 8 |
| S-rank difficulty sets | 4 |
| Specific mission challenges | 11 |
| Full-campaign restrictions | 6 |
| Total | 29 |
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: Eight Cumulative Combat Medals
| Medal | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bronze Ace | Destroy 1,000 enemies. |
| Silver Ace | Destroy 2,000 enemies. |
| Gold Ace | Destroy 3,000 enemies. |
| Bronze Marksman | Shoot down 50 enemy aircraft with machine guns. |
| Silver Marksman | Shoot down 100 enemy aircraft with machine guns. |
| Gold Marksman | Shoot down 200 enemy aircraft with machine guns. |
| Raze the Roof | Destroy 1,500 surface targets, excluding ships. |
| Ship of Liberty | Sink 100 enemy ships. |
The Bronze, Silver and Gold Ace thresholds all use the same total enemy-kill count. Every enemy you destroy on the way to 1,000 also contributes toward 2,000 and 3,000. Ship of Liberty has its own ship counter, while Raze the Roof counts surface targets but excludes ships.
For Marksman, the machine gun must score the kill. A missile finishing an aircraft you previously damaged with gunfire will not count. These ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals build over Campaign and Free Mission replays; you don’t have to reach any of the cumulative totals in one sortie.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: Four S Rank Medals
| Medal | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Iron Wings | Earn an S rank on all missions at Pilot difficulty or higher. |
| Bronze Wings | S rank all missions at Veteran or higher. |
| Silver Wings | S rank all missions at Elite or higher. |
| Gold Wings | S rank all missions at Ace. |
The first three medals accept S ranks earned at the stated difficulty or higher. Clearing all 30 missions with an S rank on Ace therefore satisfies Iron Wings, Bronze Wings, Silver Wings and Gold Wings together.
Unlock Ace difficulty by finishing the campaign on Elite. You can then use Free Mission to replay individual sorties that still need an S rank. These ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals also overlap with Ace of Aces, so there’s no reason to grind four different difficulty sets. See our S Rank Guide for individual mission help.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: All 11 Mission-Specific Medals
| Mission | Medal | Exact requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 04 | Tunnel Specter | Fly through the tunnel during Operation Elder Hand. |
| 05 | Proud Shoulders | Evacuate four or more LCACs in Operation Long Shot. |
| 09 | Aegis Penetrator | Destroy all ten Land Aegis ships in Operation Ogre Pitfall. |
| 12 | Rapid Dragon Slayer | Destroy Rapid Dragon before it launches cruise missiles in Operation Worker Bee. |
| 14 | Skillful Escapee | Avoid radar detection during Operation Homing Pigeon. |
| 17 | Quick Weasel | Use only Joker Flight to destroy primary targets in Operation Broncobuster. |
| 21 | Intact Princess | Launch the shuttle undamaged during Operation Dawn Rising. |
| 23 | Land Piscivore | Destroy all land ships in Operation Rumbling. |
| 25 | Paint it Blue medal | Destroy all four Podarges, including two landed in the sea. |
| 27 | Rootbreaker medal | Trigger a large chain reaction through a Megafloat deck collapse. |
| 30 | Showdown medal | Intercept every threat to the escorted aircraft in Operation Showdown. |
The confirmed medal names are used where they have been documented. Several public lists identify the remaining entries by their operation rather than a verified English medal title, so those rows are labelled by the mission. The requirements still cover all eleven ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals mission challenges.
Mission 04: Tunnel Specter
Fly through the narrow tunnel on Newfield Island during Operation Elder Hand. Approach from the Anderson Port side and pass through the tunnel itself; going over it doesn’t count. On Veteran or higher, you can also trigger the named Ace Auster during the same attempt.
Mission 05: Proud Shoulders
Escort at least four LCACs all the way to safety in Operation Long Shot. Stay close to the landing craft and intercept threats before they destroy one. The medal is awarded for successfully evacuated LCACs, not for keeping four afloat halfway through the mission.
Missions 09 and 12: Aegis Penetrator and Rapid Dragon Slayer
Mission 09 requires all ten Land Aegis ships to be destroyed. Clear the vessels before advancing out of the battle. In Mission 12, focus on Rapid Dragon as soon as it is vulnerable. The medal only counts if you destroy it before the cruise missile launch.
Missions 14, 17 and 21: Stealth and Escorts
Mission 14’s radar-avoidance challenge fails if you are acquired by radar even once. In Operation Broncobuster, Mission 17, have Joker Flight alone destroy all primary targets. Mission 21’s Operation Dawn Rising requires the shuttle to launch undamaged; stay near it and destroy incoming threats immediately.
Mission 23: Land Piscivore
Destroy every enemy land ship in Operation Rumbling. Check the radar for surviving land ships before finishing the objective phase. Using strong anti-surface weapons makes this one of the more straightforward ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals challenges.
Mission 25: Destroy All Four Podarges
In Operation Paint it Blue, all four Podarges must be destroyed: two that enter the fight later and two already sitting in the water. The landed aircraft can survive after you’ve destroyed every visible gun or weapon subtarget. That’s why the medal can remain locked after a seemingly thorough clear.
Attack the landed Podarges’ main bodies around their rear cargo bays until they explode completely. Then destroy the two airborne Podarges as well. Player-tested reports and mission guides identify these four aircraft as the requirement, not the optional named Aces or land ships. This is the most important correction in the old ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals guide.
Mission 27: Collapse the Megafloat
Operation Rootbreaker requires a large number of enemies to be killed by a chain reaction when the Megafloat decks collapse. Some guides give a target of 15 enemies, but the exact number is not consistently confirmed in published trophy lists.
For the most reliable player-tested method, destroy the supporting pillars first. Avoid attacking trucks, fuel tanks and other enemies on the decks. Use standard missiles to collapse the sections, letting the falling structure destroy targets for you. Giving wingmen Cover orders can stop them clearing the enemies before the deck falls. Some players report the medal name as Titan’s Fall.
Mission 30: Intercept Every Escort Threat
Operation Showdown’s medal needs every threat against the escorted aircraft intercepted. Don’t chase enemies far away while a missile or fighter is approaching the protected target. Completing the mission does not guarantee this medal if a threat gets through.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: Six Full-Campaign Restrictions
| Campaign medal | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Attacker campaign medal | Clear every selectable campaign mission with Attacker aircraft. |
| Fighter campaign medal | Clear every selectable campaign mission with Fighter aircraft. |
| Multirole campaign medal | Clear every selectable campaign mission with Multirole aircraft. |
| Electronic Warfare campaign medal | Clear every selectable campaign mission with EW aircraft. |
| No-damage campaign medal | Complete the campaign without taking damage. |
| Machine-gun-only campaign medal | Complete the campaign using only machine guns, including MGP. |
For a Fighter, Attacker, Multirole or EW campaign medal, use the chosen class for every mission where the game lets you select an aircraft. Forced-aircraft missions, including Mission 14’s A-6E, are excluded from the class restriction. Don’t change classes between selectable sorties.
The no-damage campaign is best left for a separate run on a difficulty you can finish consistently. The gun-only campaign permits MGP as well as standard machine guns, but not missiles. These ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals require full campaign commitment, so finish normal mission clean-up before tackling them.
Our Aircraft List separates the aircraft roles, and the upgrade parts guide helps you choose equipment for a difficult restricted playthrough.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals: Easiest Ten for Meritorious Service
Begin with cumulative progress such as Bronze Ace and Silver Ace, then collect Bronze Marksman and Ship of Liberty as your kills build. For quick targeted replays, Tunnel Specter, Proud Shoulders, Aegis Penetrator, Rapid Dragon Slayer, the radar-free Mission 14 objective, Intact Princess and Land Piscivore are good options.
You only need ten ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals to unlock Meritorious Service, so choose the ones you’re closest to completing. Use the Mission List to find the correct operation, and combine missions with the Assault Records guide where the conditions overlap.
ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals Not Unlocking: Things to Check
Start in Data Viewer and check the exact medal description. Bronze Marksman needs gun kills, not gun damage. Proud Shoulders needs four safe LCAC evacuations. Mission 14 can’t register a single radar detection. Finish the entire mission before checking progress.
For the Paint it Blue medal, destroying the Podarges’ weapons alone is not enough. For Rootbreaker, try collapsing decks with the support pillars before killing any targets on them. If a full-campaign role medal is missing, check whether you switched aircraft classes on any selectable mission.
All 29 ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals are optional for the Platinum apart from the requirement to earn any ten for Meritorious Service. The Trophies and Achievements guide covers the remaining Platinum objectives.
Related Guides
The complete ACE COMBAT 8 Campaign Medals checklist lets you work through the 29 requirements without guessing at unnamed mission objectives. Check your current medals, target easy Free Mission challenges first and return for the restricted campaigns when you’re ready.
Official source: Bandai Namco’s ACE COMBAT 8 walkthrough. Medal requirements were also checked against PowerPyx and Ace Combat Wiki; Mission 25 and 27 routes are supported by player accounts.
