Ace Combat 8 Aircraft Tier List: Best Jets by Role
The Ace Combat 8 roster is best read by role rather than by raw stats. The F-22A, F-35C and Su-57 are the 550,000-MRP top-tier aircraft, the X-40 Nightmare is the post-campaign ceiling at 1,000,000 MRP, and the F/A-18C Hornet is the flexible starting multirole.
Read the Roster by Job, Not by Hidden Numbers
Ace Combat 8 does not reward memorizing a single "best plane." The Aircraft Tree branches by role into Fighter, Multirole, Attacker, and Electronic Warfare, and the right choice depends on what a sortie actually asks of you. This tier list ranks where each aircraft fits in a normal campaign, based on unlock cost, role flexibility, and the special weapons players pair with it. Per-aircraft damage or range figures are not published, so none are invented here.
| Tier | Aircraft | Role | MRP | Why it lands here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | X-40 Nightmare | Multirole | 1,000,000 | The post-campaign ceiling; requires finishing the story plus owning an F-22A, F-35C, or Su-57. |
| Top | F-22A Raptor | Fighter | 550,000 | One of the three endgame fighters and a prerequisite for the X-40. |
| Top | F-35C Lightning II | Multirole | 550,000 | A flexible carrier-capable multirole near the upper end of the standard tree. |
| Top | Su-57 Felon | Multirole | 550,000 | An advanced multirole often paired with the LACM for naval and ground work. |
| Strong | FA-36 Game | Multirole | 750,000 | A post-campaign option that opens after the credits. |
| Strong | EA-36 Barricader | Electronic Warfare | 750,000 | The matching post-campaign EW support airframe. |
| Mid | F-15E Strike Eagle | Attacker | 350,000 | A strike attacker that community loadouts pair with the SFFS and XSDBs. |
| Mid | Rafale M | Multirole | 350,000 | A carrier-capable multirole in the mid-to-high tier. |
| Mid | Su-35S Flanker-E | Fighter | 350,000 | An air-superiority fighter between the starter and top tier. |
| Mid | Eurofighter Typhoon | Multirole | 350,000 | A balanced multirole fighter in the mid tier. |
| Starter | F/A-18C Hornet | Multirole | Free | The carrier-capable starting jet that carries you through the early sorties. |
The Top-Tier Cluster
The three aircraft worth planning MRP around are the F-22A, the F-35C, and the Su-57. They each cost 550,000 MRP and sit at the upper end of the standard tree, but their real importance is structural: the post-campaign X-40 Nightmare only becomes purchasable after you already own one of them. That means reaching any one of these three is the single most important progression milestone, because it unlocks the path to the X-40.
Between them, pick by job. The F-22A is the dedicated air-superiority choice, the F-35C is the safe carrier-capable multirole, and the Su-57 is the advanced multirole that community loadouts tend to fit with the LACM cruise missile for heavy surface targets. If you only care about opening the X-40, buy whichever of the three you most want to fly.
The Post-Campaign Ceiling
The X-40 Nightmare is the most expensive aircraft on the normal roster at 1,000,000 MRP. It is a post-campaign unlock, so it does not help during your first run through the 31 sorties. Think of it as your endgame purchase: once the campaign is done and you own one of the three 550,000-MRP aircraft, saving toward the X-40 is the obvious MRP sink.
Two other aircraft sit outside the normal MRP branches. The F-14A Tomcat is bonus content rather than a regular tree unlock, and the ADFX-02 Morgan -PIXY- is tied to the Premium Ace Pass. Neither changes which branch you should spend campaign MRP on.
Multiroles Carry the Campaign
For most of the run, a strong multirole is the highest-value investment. A mixed mission can swing between aircraft, ships, and ground defenses, so a flexible multirole lets you prepare for the target mix instead of forcing a dedicated Fighter or Attacker into every objective. The F/A-18C Hornet starts you in this role, and the F-35C and Su-57 are the mid-to-high-tier multiroles to grow into.
Read the Roster By Role
The roster in Ace Combat 8 is organized into four roles: Fighter, Multirole, Attacker, and Electronic Warfare. There is no single best aircraft, because the right choice depends on whether a sortie is air-to-air, surface-heavy, or built around hunting agile named aces. The F/A-18C Hornet starts you out as a flexible carrier-capable multirole, and you grow into the mid-to-high-tier options from there.
The campaign itself spans a Prologue plus 30 numbered missions, so you have a long runway to learn which role suits you before the endgame cluster opens. Because the 83 Assault Records include 31 conditional named aces that only spawn on Veteran difficulty, you will eventually want a fighter with QAAM for those hunts. Approach the tier list as a shopping order, not a power ranking, and buy the aircraft that matches the sorties you replay most.
How to Use This Tier List
Think of these tiers as a buying order, not a power ranking. The top cluster matters most because of what it unlocks: the F-22A, F-35C, and Su-57 each cost 550,000 MRP and are the gate to the 1,000,000-MRP X-40 Nightmare. If your goal is the endgame aircraft, reaching one of those three before the finale, Mission 30 "Song of Wings," is the milestone to plan around.
The starter and strong tiers exist to get you there efficiently. The F/A-18C Hornet carries the early sorties, and the post-campaign FA-36 and EA-36 open once the story is done. Across the 31 sorties of the campaign, a flexible multirole and the right special weapon matter more than any single airframe.
Special weapons matter as much as the airframe: pair a surface-heavy sortie with the LACM, and an ace-heavy sortie with QAAM. See the Special Weapons & Loadouts guide and the Aircraft Tree Unlock Route for how these purchases line up.