Ace Combat 8 Aircraft Tree: Unlock Routes & MRP Path
The Aircraft Tree branches by role into Fighter, Multirole, Attacker and Electronic Warfare. The 550,000-MRP F-22A, F-35C and Su-57 are the key endgame nodes, and owning one of them unlocks the path to the post-campaign X-40 Nightmare, which costs 1,000,000 MRP.
The Tree Is Organized by Role
The Aircraft Tree is where you spend campaign MRP on aircraft, special weapons, and upgrade parts. Rather than a single flat ladder, it separates aircraft by their job: Fighter for air-to-air, Multirole for flexible air-and-surface sorties, Attacker for ground and ships, and Electronic Warfare for jamming and squadron support. Plan your route around the role your wing needs, not around a single recommended line.
A useful mental model is to sort the roster by price tier instead of by role. The bulk of the roster sits in the mid-tier multiroles and fighters you unlock during the campaign, while a small cluster of endgame nodes carries the highest cost and the strongest unlock conditions.
Price Tiers on the Tree
The documented MRP costs fall into clear bands. The F/A-18C Hornet is free as the starting aircraft; the mid-tier attackers and multiroles such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, Rafale M, Su-35S Flanker-E, and Eurofighter Typhoon sit at 350,000 MRP; the F-22A Raptor, F-35C Lightning II, and Su-57 Felon sit at 550,000 MRP; the post-campaign FA-36 Game and EA-36 Barricader sit at 750,000 MRP each; and the X-40 Nightmare tops the tree at 1,000,000 MRP. The F-14A Tomcat and the ADFX-02 Morgan -PIXY- carry no MRP price at all, as bonus and Premium Ace Pass content.
| Price band | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | F/A-18C Hornet | Starting carrier multirole. |
| 350,000 MRP | F-15E, Rafale M, Su-35S, Typhoon | Mid-to-high tier attackers and multiroles. |
| 550,000 MRP | F-22A, F-35C, Su-57 | Endgate cluster; one is required for the X-40. |
| 750,000 MRP | FA-36 Game, EA-36 Barricader | Post-campaign unlocks after Mission 30. |
| 1,000,000 MRP | X-40 Nightmare | Post-campaign; requires F-22A/F-35C/Su-57. |
The Three 550,000-MRP Nodes
The upper end of the standard tree is anchored by three aircraft, each costing 550,000 MRP: the F-22A Raptor, the F-35C Lightning II, and the Su-57 Felon. These are the nodes that matter most for long-term planning, because they are the gate to the most expensive aircraft in the game.
You do not need to buy all three to continue the tree, and you should not assume a plane you only fly rarely is a waste. Buy the one that matches how you fight. The F-35C leaves you well positioned for the post-game X-40, so the MRP you spend reaching it keeps paying off after the credits.
The Post-Campaign Block
Three aircraft are post-campaign unlocks: the FA-36 Game, the EA-36 Barricader, and the X-40 Nightmare. The FA-36 and EA-36 each cost 750,000 MRP. The X-40 costs 1,000,000 MRP and has an extra gate beyond finishing the story: it only becomes available after you already own one of the 550,000-MRP top-tier aircraft, the F-22A, the F-35C, or the Su-57.
That condition shapes your first run. If you want the X-40, reach one of those three aircraft before the finale, Mission 30 "Song of Wings," so you are ready to buy it the moment the campaign ends. Do not try to complete the whole tree on your first pass; the paid aircraft alone total several million MRP, and special weapons and parts are scattered across the branches on top of that.
Two Aircraft That Sit Outside the Tree
Two roster entries do not behave like normal MRP purchases. The F-14A Tomcat is bonus content rather than a standard Aircraft Tree unlock, and the ADFX-02 Morgan -PIXY- is connected to the Premium Ace Pass rather than the base-game MRP branches. Keep these separate when you plan your spending, because they do not change which normal branch you should prioritize.
Practical Route Advice
The biggest mistake new players make is buying every node the moment it appears. Instead, give each purchase a purpose: it either improves your current loadout, strengthens a wingman slot, or moves you closer to an aircraft you actually want. Because an Electronic Warfare aircraft can support your squadron while you fly a preferred Fighter or Multirole, a plane you never personally pilot can still be a sensible investment.
Pace Your Spending Across the Campaign
Because the campaign runs a Prologue plus 30 numbered missions, you have a long runway to save MRP rather than needing every aircraft on your first pass. Treat the tree as a multi-session plan: reach a useful multirole early, grow into one of the three 550,000-MRP top-tier aircraft as you approach the finale, and leave the post-campaign purchases until after Mission 30 "Song of Wings."
That pacing keeps you from overspending on nodes you will outgrow. The F/A-18C Hornet carries the early sorties, the mid-tier multiroles cover most mixed objectives, and the endgame cluster is what you save toward. When you finally finish the story, the FA-36, the EA-36, and the X-40 Nightmare open up with the MRP you have set aside.
Budget the Endgame Cluster
The endgame cluster is expensive, so plan for it rather than discovering it at the end. The three top-tier aircraft each cost 550,000 MRP, the FA-36 and EA-36 each cost 750,000 MRP, and the X-40 Nightmare costs 1,000,000 MRP and only opens after the campaign once you already own an F-22A, F-35C, or Su-57. That makes reaching one of those three aircraft the single most important saving goal.
The F-14A Tomcat and the ADFX-02 Morgan -PIXY- sit outside the MRP branches entirely, as bonus content and Premium Ace Pass rewards, so they do not change this budget. Focus your farming on the routes that build toward the top tier, and you will be positioned to buy the X-40 the moment the credits roll.
For the fastest way to fund this route, see the Fast MRP Farming Guide, and for where each aircraft ranks in the roster, see the Aircraft Tier List.