Firearm

Assault rifles are a class of firearms designed for infantry combat. They have selective firing modes and detachable magazines. As in the real world, many conflicts in the Ace Combat series feature foot soldiers utilizing assault rifles.

List of assault rifles

General Resource rifle

In the 2030s, Yoko Martha Inoue and the human Abyssal Dision were killed by a group of General Resource assassins aiming to conceal the Darkness of Enigma project. The assassins used a time bomb, but were also equipped with unknown futuristic assault rifles.

Heckler & Koch HK53

While technically a carbine instead of an assault rifle, the Heckler & Koch HK53 is a variant of the HK33 assault rifle.

HK53s are seen in use by Erusian soldiers and military police occupying San Salvacion during the Second Usean Continental War.

M16A1

The M16A1 is a standard issue assault rifle used in many worldwide armies, formerly including the United States of America. In the Ace Combat series, the A1 model seems to have been modified with A2 handguards and 40-round magazines rather than the A1's 30-round magazines.

M16A1s are assumed to be standard issue for the Osean Army; they were used during both the Belkan War and the Circum-Pacific War. In the latter case, they were used by Sand Island Air Force Base security personnel attempting to prevent Wardog Squadron from escaping the island.

AK-47

Arguably one of the most recognizable rifles in video games, the AK-47 is a Soviet-made assault rifle that sees standard use worldwide.

In one of the more popular examples of assault rifles in Ace Combat, Larry Foulke is seen holding an AK-47 throughout his interviews with Brett Thompson for his documentary, Warriors and the Belkan War.

AK-47s were utilized by the Valahia during the Valahia Crisis.

Springfield Armory M1A

The M1A is a civilian version of the M14 rifle.

The Aurelian Liberation Corps was known to utilize these rifles during the Battle of Griswall.

SIG SG 540 or Type 89

The SIG SG 540 was a Swiss-developed assault rifle that continues to see international use today. On the other hand, Howa Type 89 (89式小銃) is japan self defense force use assault rifle.

This rifle was used by various Emmerian partisans during the Emmeria-Estovakia War. One group of partisans held Melissa Herman and Ludmila Tolstaya for a short period of time using these rifles, but one partisan's rifle jammed when trying to fire, and all of the partisans were killed by passing A-10As, allowing Melissa and Ludmila to escape.

NRF hybrid rifle

During the New Russian Federation's occupation of Moscow, one NRF soldier is shown holding a rifle that seems to combine elements from the AKM, Howa Type 64, and CETME Ameli assault rifles.

Heckler & Koch G3

The G3 is a German-developed assault rifle which, although no longer being used by its country of origin, is still used by over 40 countries.

Though never seen, it is mentioned in Entry 02 of "Confession of a Soldier", a series of promotional short stories published prior to the release of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.

Trivia

• The development history of firearms in the Strangereal universe, including assault rifles, is not clear. It is assumed that all 20th-century conflicts utilized assault rifles in some fashion, since the Osean War (1905-1910) featured the first combat-capable aircraft, which would have been a natural development from the infantry-based machine gun.
  • Since Belka was the first country to develop aircraft for combat, it could be theorized that Belka had pioneered the technology of assault rifles, or at least evolved it to the point where similar-grade weapons could be used on aircraft.