Zero Missions in San Andreas: Beat the Hardest RC Quests
San Andreas Zero missions are the toughest side quests in San Fierro. Here is how to beat Air Raid, Supply Lines and New Model Army, plus the RC Shop reward.
The San Andreas Zero missions are a three-part side strand run by Zero, the twitchy electronics geek who owns the RC shop in San Fierro, and they are widely considered the hardest optional quests in the game. The set is made up of Air Raid, Supply Lines... and New Model Army, all built around tiny radio-controlled vehicles instead of CJ's usual guns and cars. This guide breaks down each one, why they earned their reputation, the control tricks that actually help, and the passive-income reward you unlock at the end.
Are Zero's RC missions required or optional?
First, the part players most often get wrong: Zero's missions are optional. They are not part of the main storyline, and you can finish the GTA San Andreas campaign without ever touching the RC Baron. They are only required for 100% completion, so completionists and trophy hunters cannot skip them.
To start the strand you need to buy Zero's shop. It sits in Garcia, San Fierro, and costs $30,000. Once you own it, the three missions unlock one after another, with each completed job opening the next. If you want a wider plan for the playthrough, our GTA San Andreas hub collects the rest of the city-by-city guides.
Air Raid: defend the transmitters
Air Raid is the first mission Zero hands CJ, and it is the gentlest of the three. Zero's rival, Berkley, sends waves of RC Baron planes (some rigged with bombs, some flown as kamikaze attackers) at a cluster of transmitters on the shop roof. Your job is to man a fixed minigun and shoot every plane down before it wrecks your signal.
Watch the signal-strength meter in the corner of the screen. It drops each time a transmitter takes damage, and if it empties, you fail. A roughly three-minute timer runs the whole sequence, so this is a survival job: hold out until the clock expires.
- Track planes on the radar first. Red blips show the incoming Barons before you can see them.
- Prioritize bombers heading straight for the dishes over planes circling wide.
- Sweep, do not chase. The minigun turns slowly, so lead your shots rather than reacting late.
The reward for Air Raid is $3,000, and clearing it unlocks Supply Lines.
Supply Lines: the hardest mission in the strand
Supply Lines... is the mission that gives this whole strand its brutal reputation, and many players rank it among the hardest in any GTA. You pilot the RC Baron, a fragile model plane with an auto-aiming machine gun, and must destroy five of Berkley's couriers scattered across San Fierro before your fuel runs dry.
The five targets are three RC Vans, one courier on a Sanchez dirt bike, and one on a BMX bicycle. Three problems stack on top of each other and make it punishing:
- Fuel is a hidden timer. The Baron's tank drains fast, and every second of throttle bleeds it.
- The plane floats and stalls. It is twitchy to keep level, especially while lining up a moving target.
- The targets move and scatter. The Sanchez and BMX riders are quick, and a bad spread can eat your fuel before you finish.
These are the Supply Lines tips that matter most:
- Feather the throttle. Tap acceleration in short bursts instead of holding it. The Baron glides, so you keep range and burn far less fuel.
- Hit the closest couriers first to avoid long, fuel-hungry crossings.
- Shoot vehicles once to force the rider out, then gun down the body on foot. A van that explodes with its driver still inside can still count, but clearing the rider is the reliable kill.
- Drop low and slow behind a moving target so the auto-aim locks before they flee.
David Cross, who voiced Zero, has joked publicly that he found this mission nearly impossible, which tells you how steep it is. Clearing Supply Lines... pays $5,000 and unlocks the finale. If you would rather take the edge off the strand entirely, our San Andreas cheats list covers the codes that can help around these missions.
New Model Army: the RC showdown
New Model Army is the last Zero RC mission and the grand duel with Berkley: the loser has to leave San Fierro for good. The fight plays out on a dedicated RC battleground. Zero drives his RC Bandit toward Berkley's base on its own, and you fly an RC Goblin helicopter to clear the path ahead of him within an eight-minute limit.
Berkley plants obstacles and parks three RC Tiger tanks whose cannons can blow up Zero's Bandit. Your Goblin can carry and drop objects, so the work is part engineering, part demolition.
- Use the Goblin to lift planks and barrels out of the Bandit's lane so Zero never stalls against a blockage.
- Take out the RC Tigers before the Bandit rolls into their firing arcs. One bomb handles a tank; drop heavy steel barrels on the other two.
- Keep moving ahead of Zero. The Bandit advances on its own, so falling behind means it eats damage you could have prevented.
Guide the Bandit safely into Berkley's compound and you win the showdown. New Model Army pays $7,000.
The RC Shop business reward
Finishing all three Zero missions turns the Garcia RC shop into an asset, one of CJ's passive-income properties. Once it is active, the shop accumulates cash you collect by returning to it, banking up to $5,000 per visit before the stash caps out. Over a full playthrough that adds up, and it is a tidy return on the $30,000 you paid to start the strand.
Beyond the money, clearing Zero's jobs ticks three entries off your 100% completion checklist, which is the real reason most players grind through Supply Lines. If you want to see how the RC chaos looks in motion, browse the San Andreas screenshots gallery.
