Bird Hunt

"Tokyo is under attack!"

― SDF pilot at the beginning of the mission

Bird Hunt
Campaign mission 1 Ace Combat: Joint Assault
Mission Order
Previous	Steel Axe
Next	Red and Black - Alpha or Red and Black - Alpha
Mission Details
Focus	Air-to-Air
Objectives	Shoot down the Spiridus.
Character	Antares One

Bird Hunt is the second mission of Ace Combat: Joint Assault.

Plot

Flying from Midway, Rigel and Antares Squadrons of Martinez Security arrive to Tokyo in response to a distress call, and find the city is under attack by an unknown armed forces. The backbone of the attack force is a giant combat aircraft called the Spiridus, which destroys part of a dock in Tokyo Bay using its on-board railgun.

Acting under the command of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, the two squadrons work with the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stop the Spiridus from firing its railgun, disabling its anti-air systems and striking its heat vent, eventually causing the Balaur's fire control system to malfunction, and the Spiridus was forced to flee the city. With the aircraft out of commission, its escorts are shot down by Martinez and the JSDF, ending the battle.

Aces

• X-29A Katana

Trivia

• The damage of the Spiridus' attack on Tokyo Bay is inconsistent through the story. In the opening scene, the impact sites appear as gaping holes on the terrain, yet the ending movie shows the craters as being just several meters wide.