ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 15: Wings of Wax & Guns-Only Guide

For Mission 15, Wings of Wax, build an interception route around the bombers' slower attack passes. A faster aircraft gives you more chances to recover after a missed pass. For guns-only, first decide whether you are also preserving an aircraft-class restriction: MiG-21/MGP advice is not a solution to every class-only campaign.

These are attributed player routes reviewed October 19, with our troubleshooting checklist. We have not flown or timed them independently. Jump to loadouts, mission phases, gun aim, or failed attempts.

Choose the run before the aircraft

• Ordinary clear: bl4ck_dot's successful Ace report uses F/A-36 with HPAA and damage parts against the engines. The author damages both bombers before finishing them close together to reduce the surviving opponent's difficult phase. This is one player's route, not a universal hit-count or S-rank guarantee.
• Guns-only without a class restriction: the October 18–19 Steam discussion includes successful MiG-21/MGP attempts with LAAM-equipped wingmen. Players report that wingman missiles and special weapons do not invalidate their own guns-only run.
• Guns-only plus attackers-only: ocorena completed an A-10C attempt, but recommends F-15E for its speed. The A-10C is a challenge choice, not our first-clear recommendation.

Check the current hangar's aircraft role, selected weapons and parts. For the campaign-wide medal, follow the restriction-run notes; isolated Free Mission practice is not proof of a completed campaign restriction. The weapon guide explains why an anti-air missile recommendation must not be copied into your own gun-only loadout.

Interception and mission phases

The A-10C author's phase account describes protecting the fleet from two fast jamming bombers, concentrating damage on one before the second attack round ends, then finishing the survivor before the third ends. Slow attack dives and the survivor's open-wing climb are damage windows. Cutting across the route worked better than chasing every turn; the first checkpoint restart gave that slow aircraft a worse starting position.

Use that account as a practice outline, then observe your own objective state:

1. Opening interception: find an approach you can repeat. Note where the target becomes reachable and how much useful firing time the pass gives you. Do not judge the route by top speed alone.
2. Both bombers active: decide between the ordinary-clear paired-damage route and the restricted-run focus route before firing. Switching plans halfway makes it hard to tell why the attempt failed.
3. One bomber remaining: expect a different rhythm. Reposition for the next opening instead of spending all your ammunition outside a useful firing window. Watch closure speed to avoid flying past the target.
4. Debrief: inspect mission success and the actual award. A single destroyed component or surviving wingman is not the mission result.

The source author's edited completion video is linked for route study. We reviewed the written account; this is not a frame-by-frame timing analysis of that recording.

Guns and wingman commands

Steam players recommend trying Gunsight B if the default sight makes tracking difficult. Compare the two with the same aircraft and approach; a sight preference does not establish extra weapon damage. Review gun damage/range parts in the hangar rather than assuming missile upgrades affect MGP.

One Steam completion used MiG-31/LAAM wingmen; another used Rafale M/LAAM. Treat those as examples of support, not mandatory purchases. Verify your wingmen's selected aircraft and permitted special weapons before launching. If they contribute little, change command timing before replacing every part.

For aim practice, isolate one variable: approach angle, closure speed, sight, or firing distance. Record whether the gun burst actually connects. Repeating a long chase without identifying the missed window teaches little about the next attempt.

Diagnose the failed attempt

• Cannot catch up: compare interception position and acceleration after turns. Try a faster eligible aircraft before stacking more restrictions.
• In range but little damage: check the selected component, sight alignment and visible hits. Save a short clip or notes for comparison; do not infer a numerical damage bug from one pass.
• Early checkpoint feels worse: compare a mission-start attempt with that checkpoint using the same setup. A convenient retry location may still be unsuitable for your route.
• Fleet lost before a kill: revisit the earliest missed damage window. A late weapon change cannot recover time already spent out of range.
• Mission clear but medal missing: check campaign continuity and your own weapon use against the exact medal. A completed mission and a completed restriction run are different records.

S rank and the next mission

This page supplies a route, not a verified Mission 15 score threshold. Mission 15 is not in our nine-row S-rank calculator reference. Do not borrow Mission 16's threshold or count MRP as rank score.

Continue to Mission 16, Singer for ship identification and UAV interception. Its campaign aircraft carry-over makes your Mission 15 choice worth considering before departure.

Can I combine guns-only with an aircraft-class campaign?+

Plan around the class shown in the game. MiG-21/MGP and an attacker-only route are different choices. Consult the campaign medal conditions before combining restrictions, and do not assume a Free Mission clear completes a campaign-wide requirement.

Is Ace guns-only impossible?+

No such conclusion follows from the reviewed discussions. Some players report failures while later Steam replies report successful runs. Those accounts are not an independent site test or a guarantee for your setup.