- "Trigger, time to show the other guys that we get wet, wild, and do dirty, dirty things."
- ― Clown
Two-pronged Strategy is the third campaign mission of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. The player is introduced to the Arsenal Bird in gameplay for the first time.
Briefing
The surprise attacks carried out after the declaration of war, so the peacekeeping forces of various countries, including Osea, suffer major damage.
Objectives
Initial
After taking off, the player will enter the fray between allied Osean and enemy Erusean aircraft. There are ten Erusean aircraft, including F-4Es and F-16Cs. Allied aircraft will shoot some of the enemies down if the player fails to.
Upon shooting down all enemy aircraft, the player will suddenly get ambushed by missiles and must evade them.
Mission Update 1
The Arsenal Bird escapes a cloud and drops many of its MQ-101 UAVs, all of which will begin to engage the player and their allies. After a while, the player will be ordered to destroy the Arsenal Bird, whose propellers will become labeled as TGT. Besides the UAVs, the player must also dodge the consistent barrage of missiles fired from the Arsenal Bird's launchers.
Regardless of how much damage the player inflicts on the Arsenal Bird's propellers, the entirety of the friendly Skeleton Squadron will be shot down. After a while, the player and all friendlies will be ordered to retreat.
Mission Update 2
A group of the Arsenal Bird's MQ-101s will chase down the player and their allies. They are marked as TGT and the player must shoot them all down to help the retreat. It is presumed, but not yet confirmed, that shooting down all of the TGT-marked MQ-101s will complete the mission.