The gameplay of AirForce Delta Storm is very similar to its predecessor Airforce Delta in the sense that the player controls various aircraft to engage enemies and accomplish missions. A new feature of the sequel is the 'World Map' where the player moves his aircraft across the map through various checkpoints and flies to a mission. Some of these checkpoints can be 'recaptured' by the enemy so the player must make careful account of how much 'Range' his aircraft has; 'Range' allows the player to continue across the map without having to deal with enemy forces. When the player locates the mission on-screen they fly their aircraft towards the mission icon (either a land-based structure or a ship) and select it.
There are three levels of controls, ranging from Novice, which allows the player to pick up the game and play without having to learn how to control pitch and yaw and how to do a complex roll during a corkscrewing backflip. There is Expert, where the player can control the pitch and yaw of the plane and even do rolls. Then there is Ace, in which the player can use the airbrake feature and the throttle sticks in place after they let go of the increase/decrease speed buttons.