Lifeline

This article is about an in-game mission. For the in-universe event, see Operation Early Bird.

Lifeline
Campaign Mission 05 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
Other Names	1 Million Barrels Lifeline (100万バレルの生命線)
Mission Order
Previous	Blockade
Next	Invincible Fleet
Mission Details
Focus	Air-to-ground
Objectives	Score a certain number of points in the time limit.
Time Limit	10 minutes
Character	Mobius 1
Focus	Air-to-ground
Objectives	Return to base while avoiding Yellow Squadron
Time Limit	4 minutes
Character	Mobius 1

Lifeline is the fifth campaign mission of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.

Briefing

Comberth Harbor, home of the Aegir Fleet, is completely dependent on a single petrochemical complex for its fuel supply. The complex consists of a land based oil refinery/storage facility, and an offshore oil-drilling platform. Your mission is to go out and destroy, or at least damage, these sites. Our objective is to reduce production output of this complex to 20% or less. By cutting off the port's fuel supply, we will delay and disrupt the combat deployment of the Aegir fleet.

Objectives

Initial

In the first part of the mission, the player is tasked with attacking the oil refinery by the coast to the west and the oil platforms on the sea to the east. The mission's score requirement depends on the player's selected difficulty:

• Easy or lower: 1,600
• Normal or higher: 2,000

The player must surpass the point threshold within ten minutes to advance the mission.

Mission Update

AWACS SkyEye informs all allies that the Yellow Squadron has arrived, and orders them to disengage and return to base via the Return Line. The Yellows cannot be shot down, so the player should fly south to complete the mission.

Enemy Lists

Standard Units

Section		Unit	Points	Count	Notes
Air Units		KA-50	3	40
		F-16	60	10
		MIR-2000	60	10
		MIG-29	60	14
Oil Rig		AA GUN	20	4
		SAM	30	1
		CRANE	50	19
		TOWER	60	11
		CTRL. ROOM	60	10
		TANKER	120	2
Main Facility		AA GUN	20	1
		FUEL TANK	30	6
		GAS TANK	30	4
		FUEL TANK	40	8
		FUEL TANK	50	13
		REFINERY	60	2
		SMOKESTACK	60	2
		PUMP STN.	100	2
Mission Update		SU-37 "YELLOW"	120	5

Special Units

Main article: Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies/Aces

	Unit	Points	Count	Notes
	MiG-29 "MRKOS"	240	1

S Rank

An S rank for this mission requires 4,000 points on Normal difficulty or above (3,100 points on Easy difficulty or below).

Debriefing

The enemy lost 5 million barrels of reserves and the ability to process 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The Aegir Fleet is effectively immobilized and no longer a threat. Unfortunately, our losses were high as well. We now rely on your skills more than ever to compensate for our losses.

Gallery

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Trivia

• Following the release of Ace Combat 04, some fans reported that they were able to either hit or shoot down a Yellow during this mission, widely believed to be impossible. The game's director, Hiroyuki Ichiyanagi, expressed his surprise upon reading such claims, realizing that they hadn't made the Yellows as invincible as they had hoped.