Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue begins with a quiet run through enemy radar coverage around Selatapura, then turns into a full escort fight at the space elevator. You’ll clear anti-aircraft sites, stop MQ-99 drones launching from containers, and defend Mother Goose One against MQ-101s. The early radar circles are the first hurdle. Fly through the gaps, preferably along the weaker southeastern coastal approach, rather than cutting straight through the middle of a detection zone.
There’s also a scripted ending that can make it look as though you’ve failed. I’ll flag that below without giving away the whole story up front, because it’s easy to waste time replaying a mission you’ve actually completed.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue: how to get through the radar network
When Trigger approaches Selatapura, the radar map shows overlapping circles. Each circle is an enemy detection area. You must navigate between them and reach the space elevator without being spotted for too long.
- Study the gaps. Zoom your radar out to see where the circular detection zones overlap. Follow the wider corridors between the circles rather than squeezing into the smallest available opening.
- Use gentle course corrections. A sharp turn made too late can carry you into another circle. Adjust your heading before you reach each narrow gap, and avoid climbing into an unexpected radar area.
- Don’t attack while sneaking in. Staying inside a radar circle too long or firing indiscriminately can blow your cover. Wait until Sky Keeper lifts radio silence before starting the ground attack.
- Head for the space elevator. When AWACS Sky Keeper lifts radio silence, the mission changes and the first anti-aircraft targets appear.
A slower, clean approach beats a restart. You can use the radar to plan the next gap without pushing the aircraft to full speed.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue: clearing anti-air defences
Once the radar infiltration is complete, SAM sites and AA guns around the space elevator are marked TGT. Destroy these required positions to clear the rescue team’s landing zone. You can use standard missiles for the ground targets, but be careful not to fixate on one gun position as you fly towards the elevator itself.
Those enormous structures are solid obstacles, and crashing into the elevator is an especially frustrating way to lose Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue. Give yourself enough space to line up each missile shot and pull away. Check the map for any required site hidden on the far side of the area.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue: stopping MQ-99 drones
Next, the Sea Goblin rescue team arrives and MQ-99 drones start launching from containers. This phase has a useful detail: you can destroy a drone before it launches by attacking a container marked TGT. Once a drone has already launched, the UAV becomes the important target instead.
Start by taking out the marked containers you can reach cleanly. That can save an awkward chase after an airborne drone later. Then track any MQ-99s that got away and shoot them down before they interfere with the rescue. Don’t keep shooting an empty container after its drone has launched, because it is no longer the target that counts.
You can save yourself a dogfight by hitting a marked container before the drone launches. Once the drone is airborne, follow its TGT marker instead. A quick look at the red TGT markers tells you which containers and aircraft still matter.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue: how to protect Mother Goose One
After the rescue craft takes off, MQ-101 drones move in to attack Mother Goose One. Stay close enough to intercept enemies pursuing the transport, and take shots at the drones when they level out or commit to an attack run. The radar warns you when UAVs fire on Mother Goose One.
Gargoyle Squadron’s attack on the elevator triggers a cutscene halfway through the escort. Keep defending the transport when control returns; you haven’t finished the stage yet. With about two and a half minutes remaining, Mother Goose One takes scripted damage.
RONIN named ace location in Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue
RONIN is an optional F-15J that appears on a replay of Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue after you have completed it once, on Normal difficulty or higher. The specific condition is to stay below 200 metres (about 650 feet) until radio silence is lifted and you reach the space elevator. RONIN appears to the northeast when the condition is met.
That is a more demanding route than a simple first-time infiltration. If you only want to finish the story, don’t worry about keeping to the optional altitude target; focus on staying out of the radar circles.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 04 Rescue: S-rank score and time
The S-rank requirement is a combined 50,240 points from your destruction score and time bonus. Completing the mission within 10 minutes 30 seconds gives the maximum time bonus of 32,440, leaving a requirement of 17,800 destruction points. Going over the time threshold reduces that bonus, so you’ll need more destruction points to compensate.
Quickly clearing the SAMs, AA guns and drone containers reduces wasted movement. Remember that the time from a checkpoint retry still counts towards the final time, so a clean start-to-finish run is preferable when chasing S rank.
Why the mission ends the way it does
Minor story spoiler: the final outcome involving Harling and Mother Goose One is scripted. Near the one-minute mark, continue firing at the MQ-101s surrounding the transport. The final cutscene is triggered during that engagement; it isn’t evidence you’ve missed a secret rescue route. No amount of shooting drones earlier unlocks a different ending.
For a successful gameplay clear, follow the radar infiltration, destroy the anti-aircraft TGTs, eliminate the required MQ-99s and keep fighting the MQ-101s as ordered. That is what the mission asks you to do.
For official game information, visit Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7 website.
