Home Front

"This is a dark and difficult day. But at the end, we will persevere. To the brave men and women defending us: Godspeed."

― President David Hamilton

Home Front
Mission 14 Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
Mission Order
Previous	Aftermath
Next	Hurricane
Mission Details
Focus	Air-to-air
Objectives	Air Supremacy
Character	William Bishop
Focus	Other
Objectives	Destroy Guts's canopy.
Character	William Bishop
Objectives	Shoot down Markov.

Home Front is the fourteenth mission of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

Plot

After losing control of Moscow, Ivan Stagleishov attempts to surrender using the last Trinity weapon as a bargaining chip, but Andrei Markov murders him before he can negotiate his terms. With the assistance of Sergei Illich, who reveals himself as Markov's ally, Markov gathers up the remaining NRF pilots and aircraft, as well as the final Trinity missile and embark to South America, determined to strike the United States. Warwolf Squadron is chosen to lead operations in southern Florida, rejoining the United States Air Force in the process.

The NRF remnants appear off the coast of Miami, piloting highly maneuverable Su-35 aircraft and attacking various sections of the city. During the second half of the mission, much of the gameplay elements and dialogue are taken directly from Bishop's nightmare, though the enemy pilots provide a greater challenge. Near the mission's end, Bishop and Markov face one another, just like in his nightmare, but Markov is instead piloting a PAK FA with a Trinity missile on his left wing. Markov then fires a missile at Bishop, but José Gutierrez shields Bishop with his F-22A, saving him from his "death".

As a result, Guts' plane is heavily damaged and he is unable to eject. Bishop then orders him to invert his Raptor and proceeds to shoot the canopy off with his machine gun, allowing him to bail out. Immediately afterwards, Bishop sees Markov and the two fly directly past one another, while both of them are firing missiles and machine guns. During the encounter Trinity is damaged by Bishop, making it unable to be fired at long distances. Markov then continues to fly north torward Washington, D.C. Bishop intends to pursue Markov, but he is forced to refuel before he can.

Top Rank

Earning the top Clear Rank (S Rank in Japanese, A Rank in other languages) on this mission requires a total score of 2,000 or more.

Trivia

• The sequence where Bishop and Markov fly past each other is a clear reference the finale of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War where Cipher and Pixy do the same thing.
• Guts taking the missile in defense of Bishop is also a clear reference of the finale of Ace Combat Zero, where PJ protects Cipher from Pixy's laser attack. However, PJ is killed, while Guts manages to bail out thanks to Bishop.
• This mission is more of an extension of Mission 01: Nightmare because a portion of the mission followed the same event as the first one, only this time it took place in reality. Because of this, it's possible that Bishop might have dreamed up these events.