Ace Combat 8 aircraft-type medals: wingmen, forced planes and Free Mission

Choose the medal before choosing the aircraft

These are four alternative restriction runs. Use the actual class label in the aircraft menu; a ground-capable special weapon does not turn a multirole aircraft into an attacker. The directory qualifies the requirement to campaign missions that allow aircraft selection.

Can the wingmen use a different class?

bushaya reports completing the type runs with nonmatching wingman aircraft and receiving the medals. This is stronger evidence than the opening reply’s qualified guess. The questioner specifically wanted attackers alongside their own EW aircraft.

For that reported route, give your own aircraft the required class and choose useful support aircraft for the squad. Wingman aircraft selection and special-weapon selection are different: use the wingman setup guide for the available post-campaign menu and its automatic-weapon limits. This report does not verify every platform or patch.

Follow the campaign restriction, including the exceptions

1. Pick one medal and note its required class before starting the run.
2. Use a campaign run. bushaya explicitly says that replaying individual Free Missions does not earn this campaign-type medal.
3. Whenever the game permits aircraft selection, check your own plane’s class before launching. Keep the same restriction across those missions.
4. When a sortie forces an aircraft, distinguish that scripted choice from a plane you selected. The published requirement excludes missions without aircraft selection.
5. Choose squad support separately, following the reported wingman exception above.
6. Finish the campaign and check the actual medal record. A mission S-rank is a different award.

The sources do not demonstrate that a mixture of difficulties, a partially completed run or replaying a missed mission will repair an invalid restriction run. Keep those questions separate from the positive full-run report.

If the campaign ends without the medal

First check whether you used Free Mission or selected a different class in any mission that offered a choice. Retain the medal name, difficulty, game version and your own aircraft history before committing to another full run. There is no verified per-mission restriction tracker or guaranteed recovery shortcut in these sources.

Do not treat an EW-only run as a guns-only run. Machine Gun Maniac has a separate weapon restriction. For the all-S award, use S-rank medal and Free Mission guidance; its replay rules should not be imported into this challenge.