Akiba Kyouske formulated a basic plan during the flight to Santa Fe and explained his role in the battle to come. As this was a flying enemy, Akiba figured his specialty had an obvious part to play, and he was pretty confident that he didn't need anyone else's input to start the fight. "I have the best control from the air, so I'll be distracting the Great Claw, or breaking their ability to fly if I can," Akiba declared when they had almost reached their destination. "If there's anything you need me to do, or direct him towards, contact me via the helmet." Akiba tapped the Rodan helmet on the seat next to him and smirked. Other than what he was saying on the plane, he didn't intend to play a big role in planning on the ground.

In fact, Akiba never reached the ground at all. As soon as he exited the plane with the Mecha-Rodan Phase I equipped, a combination jetpack and helmet, Akiba blasted off towards the Kaiju without hesitation. Distracting Kaiju and redirecting them from civilians was a common tactic to him by now, even before Mecha-Rodan was developed he had done the job in a fighter jet. As he tried to approach the Kaiju from behind, Akiba lamented that his suit did not come equipped with an audio device he could use to call the monster out. He settled for the next best thing, and tried to fly above the Great Claw and ruffle its feathers with a Maser blast directed at the back of their left wing.