Lost Butterfly

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SPOILER WARNING -- FULL ARTICLE

This entire article contains spoilers from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Proceed at your own discretion.

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SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Proceed at your own discretion.

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This article is about an in-game mission. For the in-universe event, see Operation Gambit.

Lost Butterfly
Mission 01 Ace Combat Infinity
Mission Order
Next	Great Migration
Mission Details
Focus	Air-to-air
Objectives	Destroy all UAVs.
Time Limit	20 minutes
Character	Reaper

Lost Butterfly is the first mission of Ace Combat Infinity.

Briefing

Goodfellow: All right. Time to start the briefing. We've got a new guy here today, but I'll have to cut the introductions short. My name's Goodfellow, and I'm your rep from the Arrows. As you know, Arrows is a mercenary force specializing in aerial warfare. Some people like to call us "pirates". I'd prefer they called us "privateers", at least. We are being employed by the UN Security Council, after all. Anyway, the UNSC's military staff committee just sent Arrows a request for deployment. It was originally going to be an escort mission for the UNF Pacific Fleet stationed in Tokyo Bay, but that's changed. We now have multiple unknown UAVs flying toward Area J4E... Japan's former capital of Tokyo. In other words, right here. The UAVs are likely armed. We need them downed before they reach city limits. This'll be the first sortie for the rookie here, TAC name "Reaper". Here's your emblem. Omega from the Bone-Arrow flight will be supporting you on this mission. Follow his instructions. I'll be expecting results, you hear? Dismissed.

Objectives

The player has to shoot down nine UAVs within the time limit. The game sends up two UAVs, followed by one, followed by three, followed by three more. The last five UAVs are labeled as targets. Once all UAVs are down, the mission will be completed.

S Rank

An S Rank on this mission is likely achieved by completing the mission within 3 minutes (i.e. before timer hits below 17:00:00) [confirmed]

Debriefing

Goodfellow: This is believed to be a terrorist attack carried out by armed forces from the Iyuli region. They've caused extensive damage to Tokyo. The naval fleet was also attacked, so the UNF generals are all furious right now. The UAVs they used are an upgraded version of the MQ-90 Quox, a Japanese-made UAV that's also been deployed in the Americas. It may be unmanned, but it's still a very powerful bomber. It's equipped with an aggressive aerodynamic design and a new type of semi-automatic control system. The UNSC says it's a Wernher Noah product. Apparently the control system's a top-secret design that they stole. Wernher denies everything, of course. Navigation would normally use a system that relies on improved GPS satellite tech, but this craft uses a different relay system for its operations. We also caught an unknown fighter craft flying at high altitude over the area. The UN's going to raid and inspect Wernher's facilities in Iyuli and the other special zones shortly. Wernher Noah's the biggest company in its field. Normally the UN doesn't like doing anything to make them angry. Now, though, I guess they don't have much choice.

Trivia

• The background music of the mission is the exact same as that of Sitting Duck.
• If the player does not shoot down the third wave of UAVs within 45 seconds, Camilla will be heard on the radio humming the Mappy tune, during which Omega will comment on civilian radio noise. This confirms the "unknown fighter craft" that Goodfellow mentions in the debriefing is a QFA-44 controlled by Camilla.
• If the player does not shoot down the fourth wave of UAVs within 60 seconds, Omega will comment that they "keep dodging our fire... they're like butterflies". This is a nod to the mission name, and becomes plot-important in Far Eastern Front - the MQ-90Ls protecting the QFA-44 are nicknamed "butterflies" by all of the pilots, and the QFA-44 controlled by Camilla (which has a butterfly emblem painted on it) the "Butterly Master".