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Ace Combat 8 Characters: Who You Play As, Joker Flight, the Endurance Crew and Voice Actors

Story Last reviewed: Oct 2, 2026

Quick answer

  • Who you play as: a silent pilot who takes over the call sign and identity of Jan "Rex" Cope, the propaganda ace known as the Wings of Theve. PlayStation Blog calls your character Rex.[1]
  • Your squadron, Joker Flight: Jan Cope (leader), Ellington Baxter (No. 2), Tasha Severskaya (No. 3) and William Coster (No. 4).[2]
  • The carrier crew: Kate Evans, Jessica Pike, David Jenkins and Adelina Santos serve on the carrier Endurance.[2]
  • Voice actors: the only confirmed pair we found is for Tasha: Emi Lo in English and Chika Anzai in Japanese, as reported by Automaton.[3] We have not found an English-language official cast list for the others.

Spoilers: this page covers only what Bandai Namco and PlayStation Blog published before launch, which is the opening setup and character bios. Nothing after the prologue is covered.

Who you play as

PlayStation Blog's Phil Hornshaw describes the opening:[1]

  1. The carrier Endurance finds you floating in a life raft after a battle.
  2. You fly as navigator for Jan "Rex" Cope. He is the Wings of Theve, a propaganda figure, and his real orders are to avoid fights.
  3. When the two of you are shot down, Cope is killed. To keep the legend alive, you take his call sign and secretly replace him.

Your character stays silent. In cutscenes you can still answer yes-or-no questions with left or right on the D-pad, and react to prompts. Your squad responds to the choices you make.[1] TechRadar's review also says you play Rex, a pilot in the navy of the Federation of Central Usea (FCU).[4]

The war itself: in 2029 a new conflict breaks out between the FCU and the Republic of Sotoa.[5]

Main characters at a glance

Ranks and roles come from Bandai Namco Europe's character pages. Callsigns come from Bandai Namco America's roster, which lists all four Joker Flight pilots and Kate Evans under the Federation of Central Usea Navy.[6] A dash means the official roster gives no callsign.

Character Group Rank and role Callsign (US roster) Notes
You ("Rex") Joker Flight Silent protagonist who replaces Cope[1] Inherits Cope's call sign[1] Found adrift by the Endurance[1]
Jan Cope Joker Flight Commander, leader of Joker Flight[7] Wings of Theve Chosen for a "manufactured ace project" for his evasive flying. Known as a gambler.[7]
Ellington Baxter Joker Flight Lieutenant Commander, No. 2[8] Professor A former university lecturer. Tasha calls him "Teach".[8]
Tasha Severskaya Joker Flight Ensign, No. 3[9] - A former star of Yuktobania's Zvezda aerobatic team. She stayed aboard after war broke out during a publicity shoot.[9] Voices: Emi Lo (EN), Chika Anzai (JP).[3]
William Coster Joker Flight Lieutenant Junior Grade, No. 4[10] Noise Can keep up with Tasha's maneuvers. A rock fan who brings a music player into the cockpit.[10]
Kate Evans Endurance crew Lieutenant Commander, leader of Queen Flight, the carrier's other flight[11] Little Bee Always wears bandages and hides the strain from her pilots[11]
Jessica Pike Endurance crew Military Captain, XO of the Endurance[12] - Runs carrier operations in place of Captain Gordon[12]
David Jenkins Endurance crew Major, chief mechanic[13] - A former Air Force maintenance officer, rescued from a lifeboat[13]
Adelina Santos Endurance crew Doctor; rank listed as Highest-Ranking Senior Private[6] - Speaks up about the wounded, even to the XO[14]

Other names you will hear

Character Side What the source says
Shadow 22 Enemy (Sotoa) Leader of the elite Sotoan Air Force Shadows unit. A Bandai Namco America staff post on PlayStation Blog says the story trailer shows Shadow 22 facing Joker Flight.[15]
D.D. Aboard the Endurance (Enso Order) A propaganda officer of the Enso Order corporation, per TechRadar's review[4]
Captain Gordon Endurance The ship's captain. Pike runs operations in his place.[12]

For the Sotoan aces you fight mission by mission, see S rank requirements. The X-40 pilot fight is on X-40 Nightmare.

Spelling and rank differences between sources

  • Tasha's surname: Bandai Namco Europe writes Severskaya.[9] Bandai Namco America's roster writes SEVERSKYA.[6] Automaton's June article uses Seversky.[3] We use the EU spelling, which TechRadar's review also uses.[4] We have not seen an official correction.
  • Tasha's rank: both official rosters say Ensign.[9][6] Automaton's June article calls her the second lieutenant of Joker Flight.[3]
  • Cope's callsign: the US roster lists his callsign as Wings of Theve.[6] PlayStation Blog calls him Jan "Rex" Cope and says you inherit his call sign.[1] Read together, "Rex" looks like his personal call sign and "Wings of Theve" his public title. That is our reading. Bandai Namco has not spelled it out.

Voice cast: what is confirmed

Character English voice Japanese voice Source
Tasha Severskaya Emi Lo Chika Anzai Automaton (Carlos Zotomayor, Jun 12, 2026)[3]
Everyone else Not confirmed Not confirmed No English-language official cast list found as of Oct 2, 2026

Automaton's report is based on Project Aces' own announcement, which we have not seen directly. We have not used fan databases to fill in the rest.

Want to see the crew in action? Joker Flight's D-pad orders are covered on tips and PSM, and the full mission order is on missions list.

Sources & References

  1. PlayStation Blog: How Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve uses first-person to tell a more personal story (Phil Hornshaw, Sep 25, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
  2. Bandai Namco Europe: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE Character Roster ↩ 1, 2
  3. Automaton West: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve follows up with new info on fan-favorite character Tasha (Carlos "Zoto" Zotomayor, Jun 12, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  4. TechRadar: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve review (Joe Chivers, Sep 25, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3
  5. Bandai Namco: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE - Walkthrough (official site) ↩
  6. Bandai Namco America: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE - Characters (official site) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  7. Bandai Namco Europe: Jan Cope ↩ 1, 2
  8. Bandai Namco Europe: Ellington Baxter ↩ 1, 2
  9. Bandai Namco Europe: Tasha Severskaya ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4
  10. Bandai Namco Europe: William Coster ↩ 1, 2
  11. Bandai Namco Europe: Kate Evans ↩ 1, 2
  12. Bandai Namco Europe: Jessica Pike ↩ 1, 2, 3
  13. Bandai Namco Europe: David Jenkins ↩ 1, 2
  14. Bandai Namco Europe: Adelina Santos ↩
  15. PlayStation Blog: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve – Annihilation Battle mode confirmed, story trailer revealed (Lauren Fu, Bandai Namco Entertainment America, Sep 14, 2026) ↩

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