The best plane in Ace Combat 8 depends heavily on what you're asking it to do. The F-22A is a monster once the fight becomes almost entirely air-to-air, but I'd rather take an F-35C into a blind campaign mission because it can handle aircraft, ground targets, and carrier restrictions without forcing me to compromise nearly as much. Instead of ranking every jet from S to C, these are the aircraft I think are actually worth targeting for specific parts of the game.

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Best Plane Overall
Best Air-to-Air Fighter
Best Early Campaign Plane
Best Carrier Plane
Best Ground-Attack Plane
Best Dogfighter
Best Support Plane
Best Endgame Plane
Which Planes Should You Unlock First?

The F-35C Is My Best Overall Plane in Ace Combat 8

If I could only keep one aircraft for a campaign replay, I'd take the F-35C.

The reason isn't that it beats every specialist at its own job. It doesn't. The F-22A is the better pure fighter, and dedicated attackers can erase ground formations more efficiently. What the F-35C does better is avoid bad matchups entirely.

HCAA gives it a strong air-to-air option, LACM lets it hit important surface targets from range, and 8AGM gives it another way to handle missions with larger numbers of ground units. On top of that, it remains carrier-capable.

F-35C
• HCAA — Air-to-air
• LACM — Long-range surface attacks
• 8AGM — Multi-target ground attack
• Carrier-capable
• Best for: Campaign players who want one aircraft for almost everything

That last point matters more in Ace Combat 8 than raw stats alone. Several campaign missions restrict you to carrier-capable aircraft, so a powerful land-based jet can occasionally end up sitting in the hangar precisely when you want to use it.

The F-35C gives up some specialization in exchange for being extremely difficult to strand with the wrong aircraft for the mission.

The F-22A Is the Best Plane for Pure Air-to-Air Combat

When the mission is primarily about killing aircraft, I'd move from the F-35C to the F-22A.

The Raptor combines excellent flight performance with QAAM and 4AAM, giving it answers for both dangerous individual targets and groups of aircraft. XSDB also means you're not completely helpless if a few ground targets appear, but that's not really why you're bringing it.

Its biggest advantage is how little effort it takes to stay attached to another aircraft once you're behind it. With mobility upgrades added, the F-22A can hold extremely aggressive turns and keep pressure on targets that would force a less maneuverable aircraft to repeatedly break away and reacquire.

That makes it one of my favorite choices for enemy Aces and air-heavy late-game missions where the real objective is winning one dogfight after another rather than covering every possible target type.

The limitation is simple: it isn't carrier-capable, and its ground-attack coverage isn't nearly as attractive as the true multirole options.

The F/A-18E Is the Best Aircraft to Build Toward Early

The most important aircraft isn't always the one you eventually finish the game with. During a first playthrough, you need something you can unlock reasonably early and continue using long enough to justify the MRP.

That's where the F/A-18E Super Hornet stands out.

Its 6AAM, SOD, and QAAM loadout gives it useful options against very different target types, while carrier compatibility means you aren't investing in an aircraft that suddenly becomes unavailable whenever the campaign puts you back on a carrier.

Why the F/A-18E Is Such a Good First Investment
• Useful on both air-heavy and mixed missions
• Carrier-capable
• 6AAM for multiple aircraft
• QAAM for tougher aerial targets
• SOD gives it a useful ground-attack option
• Leads into other valuable aircraft on the same side of the tree

I wouldn't spend early MRP buying every aircraft that becomes available just because it's cheap. Getting to a dependable workhorse first makes the rest of the Aircraft Tree much easier to explore afterward.

My Ace Combat 8 tips and tricks guide goes further into early MRP spending, carrier restrictions, squadron setup, and why your first aircraft path matters.

Rafale M Is the Best Alternative Carrier Plane

If you want something different from the Super Hornet and F-35C route, the Rafale M is probably the carrier aircraft I'd look at next.

Its weapon selection is unusually clean for mixed missions. HCAA handles standard aerial combat, LAAM lets you pressure aircraft from much farther away, and LACM gives the Rafale serious reach against ground and surface targets.

That creates a different style of multirole aircraft from the F-35C. Rather than leaning on multi-target ground missiles, the Rafale M gives you excellent range on both sides of the air-to-air and air-to-ground split.

It's particularly good when you don't know exactly how a mission will develop. You can engage aircraft from range, switch to LACMs for important ground targets, and still satisfy carrier restrictions without changing airframes.

The Su-33 is another strong carrier option if you're following the Russian side of the Aircraft Tree. QAAM and HVAA give it strong fighter capability, while rockets give you a workable answer against surface targets.

The Su-34 Is the Best Dedicated Ground-Attack Plane

For missions where the map is covered in tanks, structures, and other ground targets, I'd take the Su-34 over trying to force another fighter into becoming an attacker.

Its 4AGM and UGBL give it two strong ways to attack surface targets, while HCAA keeps it capable of dealing with aircraft when something inevitably comes after you.

That's the combination I want from a dedicated attacker. I don't need it to beat an F-22 in a turning fight; I need it to delete ground targets quickly without becoming useless the moment an enemy fighter appears.

The A-10C deserves a mention here as well. Its 4AGM, UGB, and RKT setup is even more obviously focused on ground attack, and it's a fun choice when a mission really does let you commit to close air support.

The reason I prefer the Su-34 overall is flexibility. HCAA gives it a more convincing answer when a supposedly ground-heavy mission starts putting aircraft in your way.

MiG-31B Is the Best Plane for Long-Range Interception

Some aircraft become much stronger when you stop trying to fly them like conventional dogfighters.

The MiG-31B is a great example.

LAAM gives it the ability to start engagements from far outside the range where most aircraft are doing their best work. SAAM provides another ranged air-to-air option, while QAAM gives you something much more aggressive once an engagement collapses into shorter distances.

I wouldn't pick the MiG-31B for a tight turning battle against a highly maneuverable Ace. I'd pick it when the mission keeps putting bombers, interceptors, or other valuable aircraft far out in front of me and I want to start killing them before another plane would even be comfortable firing.

Su-47 Is the Best Plane for Aggressive Dogfighting

The Su-47 is one of the aircraft I'd recommend once you already understand how Ace Combat 8's heavier handling and High-G turns work.

Its mobility is the main attraction, and its SAAM and HPAA options give you very different ways to capitalize on the angles that mobility creates. UGB also gives it enough surface capability that taking it into a mixed mission isn't automatically a mistake.

What I like most about the Su-47 is that it rewards actually flying the aircraft well. If you're comfortable managing speed, High-G turns, and aggressive nose positioning, you can make the Berkut extremely difficult for another aircraft to shake.

It's also capable of Post-Stall Maneuvers, which pushes that close-range potential even further. If you haven't learned the input yet, my Ace Combat 8 PSM guide covers the speed requirement, controls, and timing.

The EA-18G Growler Is the Best Plane to Give a Wingman

Not every great aircraft needs to be the one you're personally flying.

The EA-18G Growler is the plane I'd prioritize for a squadmate because ESM and ECM add something to the formation that another conventional fighter doesn't.

Putting four similar fighters into the same squadron gives you more direct combat power, but you're mostly stacking the same role. Giving one slot to the Growler lets that wingman contribute electronic-warfare support while the rest of the formation handles the actual killing.

It still carries 2AAM, so the aircraft isn't completely removed from aerial combat either.

The earlier EA-6B Prowler can fill a similar role before you reach the Growler. I wouldn't judge either aircraft purely by whether I'd want to personally dogfight in one. Their real value is what they do for everyone else.

F-16C Is One of the Best Value Aircraft in the Game

If you don't want to rush straight toward the expensive end of the Aircraft Tree, the F-16C gives you a lot for a relatively early aircraft.

Its 2AAM, QAAM, and LAGM options cover aircraft and ground targets without forcing you into a narrow role, and the aircraft itself feels like a significant handling upgrade once you're coming out of the starter portion of the campaign.

It isn't my best overall campaign plane because carrier restrictions limit where you can bring it, but on missions where that's irrelevant, there's very little wrong with the package.

This is also the kind of aircraft I'd rather buy than three cheaper planes that each solve one small problem. A good value plane should stay useful after the next Aircraft Tree unlock appears, and the F-16C does.

The X-40 Is the Best Endgame Aircraft

The X-40 sits in a different category from the normal campaign workhorses.

Its UAVT, EMLB, and QAAM weapon package gives it tools that conventional aircraft don't really replicate, and the airframe itself is positioned as one of the highest-end unlocks in Ace Combat 8.

UAVT is especially useful because it isn't locked into only one target type, giving the X-40 a way to remain extremely dangerous across missions with both air and ground targets.

That doesn't mean I'd save every point of MRP from the beginning just to rush toward it. Endgame aircraft are most useful once you already have a hangar capable of getting you through the campaign comfortably.

The X-40 makes far more sense as the aircraft you start abusing on replays, Free Missions, and harder difficulty runs than as the only goal that matters during your first several missions.

If you're preparing for the highest difficulty specifically, my Ace Combat 8 Ace difficulty guide explains exactly what campaign clear you need before Ace becomes available.

Which Planes Should You Unlock First in Ace Combat 8?

I wouldn't build the Aircraft Tree around collecting the individually strongest aircraft in order. Build a small hangar that covers different jobs first, then start buying specialists.

My Practical Aircraft Priorities
1. F/A-18E — Early campaign workhorse
2. EA-6B or EA-18G — Electronic-warfare wingman
3. F-35C — Main multirole and carrier aircraft
4. F-22A — Dedicated air-superiority option
5. Su-34 — Ground-heavy missions
6. Su-47 or Rafale M — Alternative high-performance option
7. X-40 — Endgame and replay aircraft

That gives you a much healthier hangar than simply chasing the aircraft with the highest theoretical ceiling. The F/A-18E gets you through the campaign, the electronic-warfare aircraft improves your squadron, the F-35C covers almost anything, and then the F-22A and Su-34 let you specialize when the mission clearly favors one target type.

If you only want one answer, I'd unlock the F-35C and build around it. If you're asking which aircraft is most dangerous in a pure air fight, take the F-22A instead. Ace Combat 8 has enough mission variety that those two questions don't actually have to produce the same plane.

If you're still deciding what to equip, my Ace Combat 8 best parts guide covers the strongest BODY, ARMS, and MISC upgrades for different builds.