Acepedia
Register
Advertisement
Acepedia
"Markov and Warwolf One are lost from radar! It's a battle between aces!"
AWACS Magic

Akula is the last mission of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. It takes place approximately 2 hours after the events of Hurricane where Warwolf 1 arrives at Washington DC, having to protect it from the waves of attacks from the remnants of NRF.

Plot

Protecting the USS Anzio

Washington D.C. is littered with anti-air defenses, from Patriot missile batteries such as Jericho 1 to US Navy ships such as the AEGIS cruiser USS Anzio. In addition, any rebel aircraft attempting to avoid AAA from the USS Anzio as they make a decided effort to breach American defenses via Potomac River (where the AEGIS cruiser is situated) would be engaged by fighter jets. However, rebels with crippled planes start pummeling into the Anzio itself, causing heavy damage. Warwolf and Viper attempt to shoot them down before they crash into the Anzio but can't take them all. The Anzio is abandoned in a sinking state after a third ramming attack.

Protecting the White House

After the Anzio's defenses are disabled, five bombers approach Washington D.C. at high altitude. Magic informs Bishop that the bombers need to be shot down before they reach the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, else their weapons will reach the White House area. Bishop, with support from Jericho 1 and 2, shoots down all five bombers, but as Guts mentioned during Aftermath, the Russians always had a sixth bomber. Bishop engages the sixth bomber, who is flying at low altitude. He destroys it, but that last bomber ends up crashing into the Woodrow Wilson bridge, taking out in the process the fire control trailer of the Jericho 1 battery deployed on the bridge and leaving the path over the Potomac River open.

Bishop vs. Markov

With the path toward the White House along the Potomac open and empty, Markov appears with the Alexander Zakharov and the damaged Trinity (Bishop had shot out its engine back in Miami, so it can't be fired at range). Bishop and Markov then proceed to enter an intense dogfight, with one turning the table on another at short notices as they both realize that the only way Markov can accomplish his goal is to get through Bishop first. Markov then gets dangerously close to the White House at last and suddenly points the nose of his plane up, allowing Bishop to destroy his plane and him along with it.

"Trinity's still alive!"

What Bishop didn't realize is that Markov had pointed his nose upwards to lob-toss the Trinity missile, giving it enough altitude to glide its way to the White House. In desperation upon seeing the missile, Bishop nevertheless manages to inflict enough damage to cause the missile to veer into the nearby Tide Basin, where it detonates harmlessly except for some splashed water to the surrounding area. Bishop nearly loses control of his aircraft from the explosion's shockwave but recovers in the end and lands on the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Trivia

Template:Mission Nav

  • This is the second time that the player has to shoot down a Trinity missile. However, this missile is notably more agile than the one at Derbent.
  • If the player finishes this mission in Campaign mode and watches all the credits, there is a cutscene after the credits which shows Guts in the ocean. He raises his fist to a Black hawk and shouts, "Yeah!"
  •  Sometimes when the mission is played more than once in the campaign mode there is a possibility of seeing Markov eject after being shot down by Bishop.
  • A strange occurence in this game is that Markov will, in the final dogfight, shoot 4AAMs when Bishop is at his tail. These missiles has excellent manevrobillity and seems to ignore flares.
Advertisement