Aircraft Tips

[Verenti]

Does anyone have any tips for air combat? I can't beat the tutorial. I can take out three enemy aircraft no problem, but attacking the surface ships result in heavy losses.

[Robinsa]

Approach them from a distance.. and keep that distance! When you get in weapon range launch everything you got and turn back. If its the tutorial I would suggest you keep an F18G with your naval strike force to jam their radar as well. That will protect your units and slow their reaction time down.

[Verenti]

Approach them from a distance.. and keep that distance! When you get in weapon range launch everything you got and turn back. If its the tutorial I would suggest you keep an F18G with your naval strike force to jam their radar as well. That will protect your units and slow their reaction time down.

I tried using a growler, but I don't think I had its jamming on? Is Jamming the communications jammer? How does one effectively use it?

[shania]

I have some problem with jamming, can anybody explain how its exactly work in this game?

[Wiz33]

Make sure the Growler launch it's HARM then turn on jamming. If you can time it right, get Harpoons from a P8 to arrives from a different direction about the same time.

[Wiz33]

I did not even use the Jammers. I had the 2 Growler launch HARM and then follow on with Harpoons from P8 once the HARM hits.

[General Baker]

Important: make sure your aircraft aren't all radiating. As in, make sure your ASuW/Superiority aircraft aren't using active radar. Rather, just use a single AWACS for radar coverage and keep it alive.

[DaveDash]

As mentioned the key is keep the active radars off, and let the AWACS find targets for you to engage via datalink. I engaged all the sensors on the AWACS and my surface ships (this may not be a good idea always, but I figured I was OK in this mission - metagaming). I kept all the active sensors on my planes off.

I launched the air superiority aircraft in pairs, assigned one to patrol around the AWACS, and the rest to patrol closish to my fleet.

I then launched three strike packages towards the enemy ships from the CVG, two growlers followed by a wing of four F-35 Naval Strike configuration, then the remaining two F-35's in naval strike configuration. At the same time I launched four P-8's from the airbase followed by two F-35 escorts.

By clicking on the AMRAAM (Fox 3) weapon system you can see it's range, and I engaged air targets by manually launching salvos of missiles in pairs (right click on the enemy contact twice). I launched the missiles at close to max range at the approaching air contacts to the south to keep them away from my fleet. With the air contacts approaching my fleet from the north east, I launched the AMRAAM's at medium range in order to having a higher pK (kill percentage).

Then once my strike packages were in range, I launched salvos from the F-18s (HARM), sub (Tomahawks), F-35's (Whatever they are) and P-8's (Harpoons) all at the same time against the enemy fleet.

Also if you go into settings and change your mission parameters to auto engage enemy cleared targets and all unidentified targets as hostile, it makes things easier (Be careful with the later setting in other missions though).

[Wiz33]

Yep, use your AWAC by going active but make sure you have CAP protecting it along the threat axis.

[moltobenny]

I enjoy reading people who know what they're doing. To pass that mission I just launched every airplane I could find right away and just clicked on the bad guys until they all exploded. I know... I know that's not how you're supposed to do it.

[DaveDash]

You could also potentially use the Tomahawks to take out the airfield, but I haven't tried that as yet.

[avee]

Has anyone figured out how to use Electronic Warfare planes? It seems there is an option to use their special ammunition but it`s not clear how it works.

[DaveDash]

I just assumed you fly them in range, not entirely sure though.

[JanH]

Has anyone figured out how to use Electronic Warfare planes? It seems there is an option to use their special ammunition but it`s not clear how it works.

Jamming is a special order. Go to the special orders panel, it will show that jammer is the active option, and right click the center of the area to be jammed. If within range, it will happen instantly, otherwise the plane will close to jam. The effect will last for a few minutes, and you can see it on the map.

Sorry about the jamming graphics; it is not very pretty.

[Letar]

Thanks for the jamming clarification Jan.

I changed the option to attack all cleared immediately upon mission start, and all of my planes used AMRAAM from range and ASM (Harpoons etc.) from maximum range. The naval strike planes fired one salvo and then turned away flying complete opposite direction with the attack order still on, is this the how it is supposed to work?

[avee]

Jamming is a special order. Go to the special orders panel, it will show that jammer is the active option, and right click the center of the area to be jammed. If within range, it will happen instantly, otherwise the plane will close to jam. The effect will last for a few minutes, and you can see it on the map.

Sorry about the jamming graphics; it is not very pretty.

Thank you. Do I understand it correctly that if I want to, for example, sneak close to enemy ships, I use jamming in the area around them and it decreases chance of my planes being detected? Is the whole jammed area protected equally well or is it stronger in the middle?

[JanH]

Thank you. Do I understand it correctly that if I want to, for example, sneak close to enemy ships, I use jamming in the area around them and it decreases chance of my planes being detected? Is the whole jammed area protected equally well or is it stronger in the middle?

You understand it correctly The way we've done it is to have the jamming being equally strong all over the affected area. If a unit is inside the jamming area, its radars are significantly less effective for that time.

[avee]

You understand it correctly The way we've done it is to have the jamming being equally strong all over the affected area. If a unit is inside the jamming area, its radars are significantly less effective for that time.

Okay. And this unit`s radar is less effective too, right?

[JanH]

Okay. And this unit`s radar is less effective too, right?

Not sure I understand the question. Your own units are unaffected; the radars of all units belonging to other players within the jamming area are much less effective.

[avee]

Not sure I understand the question. Your own units are unaffected; the radars of all units belonging to other players within the jamming area are much less effective.

Thank you, you answered my question.
Is it realistic that jamming does not affect friendly units?