To unlock the Ace Combat 8 X-40 in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, complete Mission 30, “Song of Wings,” own an F-22A, F-35C, or Su-57, then buy it in the Aircraft Tree for 1,000,000 MRP. Subsequent purchases cost 125,000 MRP. It is worth considering for weapon experimentation, but reports of missed drone attacks make saving your MRP the recommended choice if reliable drone kills are your main reason to buy. Whether it unconditionally outperforms other high-end aircraft in every mission is not confirmed yet.
How do you unlock and buy the X-40?
Complete the campaign
Finish Mission 30, “Song of Wings.” The X-40 becomes available in the Aircraft Tree after campaign completion. If you are still progressing through the campaign, use the Ace Combat 8 Mission 15 and Ace Combat 8 Mission 16 guides for those stages.
Own one prerequisite aircraft
Purchase an F-22A, F-35C, or Su-57. Owning any one of these satisfies the requirement; you do not need all three.
Buy the X-40 in the Aircraft Tree
Budget 1,000,000 MRP for your first purchase. If you need help funding it, see Ace Combat 8 MRP farm.
The 125,000 MRP price applies to subsequent purchases. Your first X-40 costs 1,000,000 MRP, and saving that amount does not bypass campaign completion or the prerequisite aircraft requirement.
What weapons and part slots do you get?
The X-40 is a Multirole aircraft. These are its listed ammunition counts and weapon prices:
| Weapon or countermeasure | Listed ammunition | Weapon price |
|---|---|---|
| GUN | 2400; unlimited on Rookie/Pilot/Veteran | — |
| MSL | 154 | — |
| UAVT | 16 | — |
| EMLB | 18 | 100,000 MRP |
| QAAM | 18 | 100,000 MRP |
| FLR | 3 | — |
A dash means no separate weapon price is specified here.
| Part slot category | Slots |
|---|---|
| BODY | 5 |
| ARMS | 7 |
| MISC | 3 |
Treat ammunition counts as listed inventory figures. They do not establish how many targets you can destroy or how many drone deployments a particular configuration provides.
Is the X-40 worth your MRP?
Save your MRP if you expect reliable drone kills — recommended
The Ace Combat 8 X 40 drone reports give a concrete reason to hesitate. On October 2, 2026, bell117 reported using every drone against the Sharks in Mission 4 without a single kill. On the same date, Important_Log reported that drone laser attacks could be dodged, could lose target lock, and had not successfully brought down aircraft in their attempts.
These are individual player experiences, not a controlled comparison. They support caution about buying specifically for drones; they do not establish that every player will get the same result.
Buy it if experimenting with its weapons is the goal
Choose this option if trying the X-40's weapon set is worth the 1,000,000 MRP entry cost to you. On October 2, 2026, bell117 described the EML as fun, while also reporting that cruisers sometimes took two shots even with parts equipped. That gives you a reason to try the weapon, but no guaranteed one-shot result.
Budget another 100,000 MRP if you want to purchase EMLB, or 100,000 MRP for QAAM. The available experience reports do not establish a universally best loadout, so buy for experimentation rather than an assumed advantage in every mission.