Red Moon (mission)

Red Moon (mission)
Mission 03 Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
Mission Order
Previous	Inferno
Next	Spooky
Mission Details
Focus	Air-to-Ground, Air-to-Air
Objectives	POW Rescue
Character	Doug Robinson

Red Moon is the third mission of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. In this mission, the player is introduced to helicopter pilot Doug "D-Ray" Robinson, and to attack helicopter mechanics.

Plot

After being shot down in the last mission, Sergei Illich is captured by SRN insurgents and taken to a rebel-controlled settlement. NATO tracks Illich down to the town and prepares a rescue operation, dispatching Nomad and Shooter Squadron with Delta Force units to the area.

Shooter arrives at the outskirts of the town, at which point Doug Robinson decides to run a flight check on his helicopter. Soon after the test, Nomad reaches their location, and the two teams depart to the town. Shooter clears the entry point of armed opposition, then provides cover for Blackhawks as they deploy the Delta troops.

The ground squads fight their way through the settlement's war-torn streets and eventually arrive to their destination, a large building in the north of the operation area. The team that enters through its roof is ambushed by rebel soldiers, prompting the others to amass in the entrance to rescue them, and escapes safely after Shooter wipes out the rebels guarding the front entrance, along with a tank. However, their search for Illich ends in failure, and they set off to find him.

A Delta unit discovers a group of rebels fleeing on foot with Illich, and Robinson kills his captors before they can escape. Shortly thereafter, Nomad 61 sees a rebel convoy preparing to leave the town in a nearby village, which attacks Shooter as they move in to investigate. Unbeknownst to them, one of the rebel trucks involved carries a Trinity warhead, which explodes.

Top Rank

Earning the top Clear Rank (S Rank in Japanese, A Rank in other languages) on this mission requires a total score of 2,100 or more.

Trivia

• As the Nomad Black Hawks insert the Delta soldiers in the area, it is possible to get a perfect glimpse of the helicopters' interior. The helicopter is poorly textured, and the M134 guns' barrels are blocky.
• After all Delta Force troops have hit the ground, the rebel barricades and targets that impede their progress will all spawn at once. Certain groups will be entirely invulnerable to all attacks until they become targetable. However. foot soldiers are exempt from said invincibility. Nevertheless, it is possible (albeit uncommon) for the rebels to attack the player in this state.
• Many vehicles in the first half of the mission will often clip through certain spots, such as sidewalks and thin walls. The Hind gunships, in particular, may clip through entire buildings.
• No matter the distance, it is impossible for one to die with the Trinity detonation, even when the final truck is destroyed with point blank fire.
• The Trinity explosion will often fling any technicals a large distance away from the blast site.