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| T A C T I C A L T R A I N I N G |
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- GSG004 -
Now, we will run through the layout of basic combat operations. This
includes mission briefing, plane selection, weapons systems, combat
maneuvers, allied/ wingman commands, ESM support and battlefield
assessment.
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|| MISSION BRIEFING ||
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Some players may find this part of the game boring and may just skip
to the battle at once, only to discover they don’t know what to do
later on. It’s a cardinal sin and a part of stupidity for pilots.
These pre-mission orientations are really important. You will know
all the separate operations to be conducted simultaneously and the
allied detachments that will participate in battle. As you have known,
most missions have several operations taking place and you have the
choice to provide support to any of them. Since you are only required
to meet the quota out of the deployed operations, you can finish the
mission even if you were not able to meet the other teams.
For example, the mission has three operations and you have a quota of
two. That means that you just need to finish two out of the three
active operations for that mission.
Furthermore, the briefing’s most important use is to provide much
needed intel about the enemy forces, the terrain and the background of
the mission. You will now the type of enemies you may encounter
including your main objective, which will also help you to decide
which plane and weapons to bring.
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|| PLANE SELECTION ||
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Selecting the proper plane for the mission is self-explanatory. Each
plane has their own strengths and weaknesses, including their SP
weapon set and payload. You wouldn’t be bringing an A-10A attacker
(unless you are seeking challenge) to mission where heavy aerial
battle and dogfighting is expected.
There are three major groups of planes. Each of them is classified
according to their performance, ordinance and the types of missions
they are best suited. Choosing what plane to bring for a mission will
determine your survival when deployed.
ATTACKERS
These aircrafts are bombing specialist and ground target killers.
They excel in flying at subsonic speeds while “hugging the deck” or
flying low. They have heavy armors that make them sturdy enough to
withstand enemy fire. Their weakness however, is their stiff
maneuverability. It will be hard to avoid enemy missiles just by
evading it. Attackers are also capable of engaging enemy ships.
Normally referred to as “bombers”, they carry enough ordinances to
destroy large groups of ground units. Newer bombers are faster, more
agile and more maneuverable.
FIGHTERS
Aircrafts built for engaging enemy fighters and air targets. They are
agile, quick and deadly. They are also deployed to escort transports
and bombers, defend bases and even protect the fleet. They are
capable of turning sharply at very high speeds as well.
The weaknesses of fighters include lesser armor to make the plane
lighter but making it more vulnerable against enemy fire and their
sensitivity when attacking the ground can make the plane wobbly and
crash.
MULTIROLE
These aircrafts are the hybrid or the cross between fighters and
attackers. Their main strength lies in their all-around attributes
and capability of being deployed on any mission. They have the
strength, speed and agility of fighters and the toughness and
stability of attackers.
Multiroles are even better the weaknesses of the other two fighter
types are covered by the other.
Another minor plane type is the Jammers. They carry electronic
equipment that interferes with the enemy communications, radar and
ETS. They are playable in the game, but some planes have ECMP as
a SP weapon instead.
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|| WEAPONS SYSTEM ||
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This section will provide you the basics of using/deploying/selecting
different weapons you have equipped in your plane. Obviously, each
plane has different sets of special weapons and their payload
determines the amount of missiles and SP weapons they can carry.
You also need to bring the SP weapon appropriate for the mission. You
wouldn’t want to bring bombs if you are expecting enemy air units in
majority.
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|| FIRING MISSILES||
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Your missiles are your basic, multi-purpose weapons. They can hit
ground, air, and naval targets. They are faster compared to some A-A
SP weapons and have average damage. Most of the time, one to two
missiles are enough to destroy enemy targets.
You will need to lock-on a target first. You should also be within
firing range before achieving a lock-on. Once you get a lock-on, don’t
fire immediately. It doesn’t mean that your missile will hit the
target immediately.
Take note of the angle, speed and turn you and your target are
currently doing. The optimum firing range is at least within 5000 ft.
At this distance, missiles can hit their target with little chance of
evasion. (Unless the target is a really agile plane such as Strigon
Team’s SU-33s).
For higher probabilities of hitting the target, pay close attention
to your hud. Once the word SHOOT appears, release your missiles. The
hit rate of firing missiles during this time can be as high as 95%
in most but not all cases.
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|| FIRING GUNS ||
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Machine guns can be equally destructive as missiles within its
effective range or even more at point blank. However, tracking or
targeting fast moving targets can be challenging since you also need
to control the speed and angle of your aircraft to keep the target in
sight (manual targeting). There are some tricks in properly executing
a machine gun attack and I will try to discuss it here.
The machine gun rounds are lethal up close and are sure to chew the
enemy armor away. First, you’ll need to be close enough for the
bullets to hit your target. You will know this if your targeting
reticule appears.
For targeting large, slow enemies such as transports, enemy AWACs,
tankers etc, just approach them slowly, get into firing range, align
your reticule and fire. Same thing can be applied for large ground
targets such as facilities, fortifications and enemy ships. For
faster targets like enemy fighters, you will need to anticipate the
enemy’s flight path. Refer to the diagram below:
The green circle is your reticule, the black line is the projected
flight path of the target and the red plane is the target.
Note that the reticule is way beyond the target. The truth is, in
high speed maneuvers, bullets don’t travel straight right to the
target.
With a bit of physics and other factors, bullets tend to “swerve”
away from the direction it is fired. In this diagram, firing bullets
at this position will allow the bullets to “fly” directly to the
target. Same thing applies for vertical approaches.
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|| FIRING SP WEAPONS ||
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SP weapons come in many shapes and sizes. Anti-air SP weapons are
normally missiles with multi-lock on capability, farther range,
enhanced tracking and greater damage. Anti-ground weapons are
composed of “dumb” (normal) bombs, precision bombs and air to ground
missiles. There is also an SP weapon that jams the enemy targeting
capability, thus reducing the effectiveness of missiles.
ANTI-AIR SP WEAPONS
XMA4, XMA6 and XLAAs are all multi-targeting SP weapons which can
fire four missiles at medium and long range. Though they have
enhanced tracking, range and damage, that doesn’t mean that they
will always hit the target. Enemies can still evade them by making
sharp turns and barrel rolls. QAAMs are a bit more reliable when
tracking faster more agile targets because of its maneuverability.
For best results, approach the targets either on their 12 or 6, and
then fire after getting a lock on. Getting in closer may increase the
probability of the missiles hitting the target but may also cause the
targets to break formation and engage you instead.
Further information about individual SP weapons will be discussed in
a separate section dedicated for that topic.
ANTI-GROUND SP WEAPONS
For precision air to ground weapons such as GPBs, XAGMs, LASM, and
SFFS, you just need into range and release the weapons once you get a
lock-on. You will always hit the targets unless they are in some kind
of cover.
For unguided bombs such as the UGBL and FAEB, you will need to
carefully aim them before releasing or they’ll land off target.
Upon selecting an unguided bomb, a different targeting crosshair
will appear. This is where the bomb will hit. You won’t know the
blast radius until impact. Usually, UGBs have decent blast radii but
compared to the FAEB (which I consider the strongest ground weapon in
the game), the destruction and range is not even close.
Use UGBs against closely packed targets such as enemy fortifications
and bunkers.
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