Total Air War Strategy Guide
Verison 2.0
Copyright 2005 Steven Liu ([email protected])
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Table of Content
Section A: Introduction
A.1: Notice About the Guide
A.2: What is Total Air War?
A.3: Before You Start
Section B: Avionics and Views
B.1: Right View for the Right Situation
B.2: Stealth
B.3: Emission Control
B.4: Heads Up Display
B.5: Multi-Functional Displays
B.6: The LANTIRN System
Section C: Flight and Combat Maneuvers
C.1: The Auto-Pilot System
C.2: The Speech System
C.3: Flight Maneuvers
C.3.1: Take-Off
C.3.2: Landing
C.3.3: Refueling
C.4: Combat Maneuvers
C.4.1: Avoiding Missile
C.4.2: Bombing Run
C.4.3: Close Range Gun Fight
C.4.4: Wingmen Command
C.4.5: Damage
Section D: Weapon Information and Tactic
D.1: Air to Air Weapons
D.1.1: Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AIM-120C and AIM-120R)
D.1.2: Sidewinder Infrared Short Range Air to Air Missile (AIM-9X)
D.1.3: M61A2 20 mm Rotating 6 Barrel Gattling Gun
D.2: Air to Surface Weapons
D.2.1: Maverick TV/Infrared Guided Air to Surface Missile (AGM65G)
D.2.2: HARM Anti-Radiation Missile (AGM88)
D.2.3: Harpoon Anti-ship cruise missile (AGM84A)
D.2.4: Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)
D.2.5: Laser Guided Bomb (GBU24)
D.2.6: Rocket Pod (LA68)
D.2.7: Free Fall High Explosive and Cluster Bomb (MK82F/MK83F, MK82R, MK20)
Section E: Enemy Info and Strategy
E.1: Light support fighters
E.2: Front line fighters
E.3: Attackers
E.4: Surface to Air Missiles/Self Propel Anti-Air Guns (SAMs/SPAAGs)
E.6: High Value Aircraft
E.7: Helicopters, Drones, and Recon aircraft
E.8: Ground Vehicles, Ships and Buildings
Section F: Campaign Strategy
F.1: The Dynamic Campaign Engine
F.2: The AWACS
F.3: Missions
F.4: Tips and Strategies
F.4.1: Always Attack
F.4.2: Mission Selection/Planning
F.4.3: AWACS Command
F.4.4: Targets of Opportunity
F.4.5: Protect Your Vulnerabilities
F.4.6: Promotions
F.5: The Red Sea Theatre
Section H: Credits, Copyrights and Feedback
Section I: Version History
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Section A Introduction
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===========================
A.1 Notice About the Guide
===========================
This guide is purely created as the author's hobby, and in no ways
affiliate with the creators or the publishers of this game.
This guide is intended to help new players to cope with the scope of this
game and it is not intended for commercial activities.
The author of this guide is a causal player, and thus by no means claims to
be an expert in this game.
The author has no extensive knowledge in the area of simulation games and
real world military before. Thus this guide is based solely on the experience
and the observation of the author alone, with the help of the game manual for
clarifications, explanations and names.
Due to the unpredictable nature of the gameplay, player experiences may
vary from the descriptions of this guide.
The guide is based on the medium difficulties of the game, and the game
difficulty level will only affect the hit points and the weapon accuracy of the
friendly, enemy and player aircraft.
===========================
A.2 What is Total Air War?
===========================
Total Air War was released during the Christmas season of 1998, and it is
basically an upgraded version of the F-22 Air Dominance Fighter released just a
few month earlier. This game was developed by the Digital Image Design based in
England, the same team that also created the Euro Fighter 2000 and the Euro
Fighter Typhoon, some of the best military simulations on the market, and the
Total Air War is no exception. Despite its age, the Total Air War still
contains some of the best gameplay I have seen, and still rival newer
simulation games in terms of quality and playability. It has a unique bland of
strategy game and simulation game elements by offering a revolutionary AWACS
command interface in conjunction with flying the F-22 aircraft. Its
non-scripted dynamic campaign engine offers almost unlimited replayability.
What set this game apart from all the other sims is the fact it manages to
offers a newbie friendly environment, without sacrificing the depths and the
feel of realism. Although no longer available through retail stores, Internet
sites like Ebay or Amazon still sells this game at a low price, so it's worth
to check it out.
=====================
A.3 Before You Start
=====================
Both the manual and the online help that come with the game disk contains
all the basic information on how to fly the F-22 aircraft, use the avionics,
fire the weapons, plus the basic concept on how to fight the campaigns. I
assume that you have read the manual or the online help when reading this
guide. The content of this guide is only on how to effectively utilize all the
information provided by the manual and online help, or any information that the
game manual or the online help had missed.
If you couldn't find the manual on the game disk, there are Internet sites
where you can find it. The site I used is the 214th Annihilators Online
Squadron's site at "www.islandgamers.com/atrs/F22TAWpage.cfm".
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Section B Avionics and Views
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=======================================
B.1 Right View for the Right Situation
=======================================
When your first start the game, the default view of the F-22 aircraft is
the narrow view of the virtual cockpit, but you can change the viewing option
of your aircraft by using the Function key 1 to 10. The viewing option provided
by the function key from function 1-3 are the most important one during any
flight or combat, while the rest of the options are mostly for viewing
pleasures, which you can experiment on your own.
The F1 key provides the viewing option you will be using most of the time,
and that is the virtual cockpit view or the full frontal view. Pressing the F1
key will set your sight forward in the cockpit, while pressing multiple times
will switch between full frontal and the virtual cockpit view. Generally, when
you play the game, full frontal view is recommended because the virtual cockpit
view does not provide a clear picture of the radar screen. But if you need to
look at another direction other than the front, switch to virtual cockpit view
and press the 7 or 9 key on the number pad will rotate your head clockwise or
counter clockwise respectively. This option can be used to seek out an opponent
in a close range dogfight, but its limited by not having a look up function.
The F2 key will center your view on your selected target in respect to your
cockpit/aircraft. Press it once will center your view to the target in your
cockpit, press it multiple time will switch the view between internal (in your
cockpit) or external (outside the plane). Once you lock on to a target by using
the shoot list, this view is will become very important in dogfight situations.
First, it activated the helmet-mounted sight for the Sidewinder missile.
Second, this view will never letting the enemy out of your sight, which is very
helpful in keeping track of enemy position.
The F3 key will center your view on your current threat, which is mainly
composed of hostile radar signals you haven't entered in you shoot list, or any
missiles that has been launched at you. This view will help you in determine
the location of the threats and thus enable you to do something about it. In a
chaotic air battle, sometime this is the only option to determine the direction
of the missiles that are launched at you because the radar screen will not
distinguish between the missiles that are launched at you or at the others. In
some circumstances, the radar will not plot any missile locations at all.
============
B.2 Stealth
============
F-22 is a stealth fighter, but only if you are only carrying your weapons
inside the weapons bay, careful with your posture, not using radar, and try not
to fly deep into the detection range of early warning radar and AWACS. But one
thing to keep in mind, stealth doesn't mean invisible, the enemy can still find
you, but they just have to get petty close in order to have you on their radar
screen.
Your weapon packages will be THE most important factor in determining if
you are stealthy or not. In this game, a single external add-on will change
your status from stealthy to non-stealthy. Extended gear, air-break and weapon
bay door acts the same way to a lesser extent. The choice you have to face is
either you want firepower or stealth.
Your aircraft's posture will also affects your stealth capability. There are
two general rules. Rule number 1, if you expose your aircraft's belly or top
toward an enemy aircraft, they will generate more radar signals because the top
and the belly of the aircraft are flat as oppose to the front or the back. Rule
number 2, engage afterburner will also make you easier to detect due the extra
infrared signal generated by the additional heat and air frictions.
Also, if you engage your radar to track enemy aircraft, although the enemy
does not have you on their radar, the radar warning receiver carried on all
combat aircraft will give away your bearing to the enemies you are tracking.
Once the enemy detects your radar signals, they will be coming towards you and
try to seek you out.
The ground warning station and the AWACS aircraft is capable of detecting
you even if your are miles away from them, as long as you stay inside their
radar coverage. This usually will not generate much trouble because they either
just give you a warning message or just vector 1 or 2 aircraft towards you.
However, when you flying near airfields with early warning radar, they will
send a pair of jets to intercept you. This is a rather dangerous situation
considering that if you fail to destroy them on take-off, the intercepting
flights will be at close range when they are ready to fight, which will render
you stealth advantage useless and gives out your position to other enemies.
Those airfields are sometimes clustered together, which will result more than
one flight send up against you. Your radar-warning receiver also will not plot
their radar coverage on your radar displays, which is one more inconvenience in
dealing with them.
The only time you should planning to use stealth is when you are doing
dangerous deep strike missions, like shooting down an AWACS flying at the enemy
rear with layers of fighters protecting it. But stealth can also be useful in a
bind if you need to escape from enemies that are far away from you. Just
jettison or fire off all external stores and turn emission control level to 1,
and you can disappear from enemy radar (you will see that when you
saw the enemy radar range is suddenly decreased on your radar screen).
=====================
B.3 Emission Control
=====================
The emission control in the game is set to auto adjust as default. Although
the auto adjusted EMCOM mode is very useful and does not need to be adjusted
frequently, it also has it share of flaws that need to be corrected by manual
adjustments.
First, the radar coverage is changing with the auto adjusted emission
control to keep track of the most dangerous threat you face. The problem is
that in chaotic battles with enemies both near and afar, you can only see the
enemies that are close to you because the computer classifies the threats by
distance, not by the actual situation. This can be problematic when you have a
bunch those knockout enemies that are very close to you while the real threats
are miles away and firing missies at you. The only solution to this problem is
to quickly access one of the radar screens and increase or decrease the radar
range manually.
Another version of this problem can occur during air-to-ground missions,
particularly with the Harpoon anti-ship missile. The auto-adjust EMCOM level
won't reach 5 unless you are near your target/threat. EMCOM level 5 is required
to launch any radar guided air-to-ground missile (A.K.A the Harpoon). So the
problem arises when you have to get much closer to your target than your
weapon's range, and that will expose you to a lot of fire. In situations like
this, just override the EMCOM level to 5 to resolve the problem.
You may also need to manually override the EMCOM level above 1 when doing
radio communication. In any case, don't forget to reset the EMCOM level to auto
(6) after you are done with it.
=====================
B.4 Heads Up Display
=====================
The manual and the online help covered this section pretty clearly, but
there is one detail missing from it, which can put you at a disadvantage during
a dogfight.
When you switch to the AA HUD mode, every time when an aircraft next in
your shoot list entered your radar coverage but just out of your view, a
diamond shaped icon will show up and point you to the direction of the target,
much like the cone in the Microsoft Combat Simulator. This will help you keep
track of enemy that has escaped from your sight temporarily.
The rest of the HUD symbols and its definition can be found at the manual
and the online help.
==============================
B.5 Multi-Functional Displays
==============================
I'm going to describe each of the MFD and what it's best used for.
The IRST camera MFD, which can be view by press 5 on the number pad, is
good for taking a close-up look at the enemy you have lock on to, to see if it
has been damaged or what is its current action. It can also be used to identify
all ground or sea targets visually, since the HUD will not provide the identity
of any ground or sea target.
The Combined Communications & Warnings MFD can be view by pressing 4 on the
number pad, and it is useful when you get hit and damaged. Every time when your
aircraft has been damaged in anyway, this MFD will generate a brief system
report to and warn you of any major damage and malfunctions occurred on your
aircraft.
Horizon MFD, toggled by pressing 6 on the number pad, is basically another
colorful version of the pitch ladder that is shown on the HUD, I don't think
you will be using this often, since there already is a pitch ladder on your
HUD.
Defense, Situation and Attack MFD are basically three specialized radar
screens, and press 1, 2 and 3 on the number pad can access them respectively.
Defense MFD can be the general all-purpose radar screen that shows all targets
and their status around you. Situation MFD is mainly used for navigation
because it shows your mission waypoint and maps of the surrounding area. Attack
MFD is used to display the weapons and the target's information, plus it can
generate shoot lists. The LANTIRN system can only be accessed through the
attack MFD.
Finally the System MFD, which is activated by pressing 0 on the number pad,
is used to show your and your wingmen's aircraft system's status. The autopilot
functions can be accessed through this MFD.
=======================
B.6 The LANTIRN System
=======================
The LANTIRN system is used to target the Maverick TV guided missile and the
GBU24 Laser Guided Bomb.
The LANTIRN system is activated when you switch the attack display into
LANTIRN camera view on the attack MFD. The key thing to remember is that when
aiming, you have to change the LANTIRN mode into free mode, move the crosshair
onto your desire target (zoom if you need), and press the LANTIRN lock button
to paint the target with laser. The process is easier to say than be done,
given that most target area is usually full of hostile fire, not counting the
planes on your tail. To make your shots count, you need to set the plane to
autopilot for the plane to follow a straight path, paint the laser somewhere
near the target to stop the camera from moving with the plane, and then slowly
move the cross hair over the desired target. By this time you probably have
flown over your target, so after you had a lock, turn back and release your
weapon. Do not do loops after you have painted a target because it will reset
the LANTIRN system.
Another alternative for those who really can't manage all those steps, or
there are just too much enemy gunners/SAM operators/pilots want to see you
dead, pause the game before you paint your target, since pause function does
not affect you ability to use the LANTIRN system. This will generate a more
accurate shot and expose you to less fire, but it will take the thrill out of
it. Use this trick if you feel you really have to.
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Section C Flight and Combat Maneuvers
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=========================
C.1 The Autopilot System
=========================
The autopilot system is very sophisticated and it can take over almost all
maneuvers that are required in the game. It can be a great tool on teaching you
how to perform some of the trickiest maneuvers in the game, particularly the
taxiing procedure and the refueling maneuver. Watch how the computer does its
moves before you make your own.
======================
C.2 The Speech System
======================
Flight maneuvers and maneuvers with wingmen will involve the use of the
radio speech system. The speech system composed of 4 radio channels. Channel 1
is used to communicate with the airfield. Channel 2 is the broadcast channel
that can be used to talk with the AWACS, to call for help and to send out
warning messages. Channel 3 is secured channel to communicate with AWACS
aircraft. Channel 4 is the communication channel with refueler aircraft. You
can communicate with your wingman on all four channels. The speech system uses
series of menu to select the option you choose to say over the radio, which can
be activated by press the radio channel you wanted to use. The EMCOM level must
at least level 2 in order for the radio function to be enabled.
When you choose to talk to AWACS, there are three options.
a. Request divert airbase - asks the direction of the nearest airfield, the
AWACS will reply with the bearing of the airfield corresponding to your
compass, and the distance.
b. Where is the tanker - same as the last command, except this time it's
for locating the nearest refueler. If there were no refuelers in the
air, the direction would be to the nearest airfield.
c. Clearance to base - permission to land in an airfield of your choice.
When you choose to talk to a Refueler, there are two options
a. Where is the tanker - same as the AWACS option.
b. Refuel permission - ask for a refuel. If it's not possible, it will tell
you to "skip it". If it's possible, consult the section on refuel
maneuver.
When you choose to call for help, there are two options (only available for
missions with escort or wild weasel flight available)
a. Bandits hot - call for the escort flight on your mission to engage any
enemy combat aircraft you have encountered.
b. Threat hot - call for the anti-SAM flight (A.K.A Wild Weasel flight) on
your mission to take out any SAMs or SPAAGs you have encountered.
When you choose to broadcast a warning to non-allied aircraft
a. Leave immediately - send this message to the targeted aircraft.
b. Leave or be shoot down - send this message to the target aircraft.
You can also acknowledge or deny some computer-generated messages by
pressing Y or N key. If you did not understand the last computer message, you
can press R key for a repeat.
The wingmen and airfield options will be explained in Take-Off, Landing, and
the Wingmen Command sections.
=====================
C.3 Flight Maneuvers
=====================
Flight maneuvers are some of the trickiest maneuver to perform because it
involves not only great handling of the aircraft, but also you have to follow
strict procedures. You have to use your radio constantly and follow a strict
path to perform the maneuvers successfully. Flight maneuvers includes
taxi/take-off, landing and refueling. But to make up for this, Also for
take-off and landing, if you start any of the two maneuvers, all the steps can
be easily skipped by using the time skip function, provided that there is no
threats near you.
====================
C.3.1 Taxi/Take-Off
====================
The hard part with this maneuver is to avoid collision on the ground. Sounds
easy, but consider that you are in a busy airbase, under hostile bombardments,
with around 6 to 12 airplanes swarming you in a tiny taxi-way, and all of them
want to be the first to get off the ground! So the real tricks in taxiing and
taking off is to be careful, look around you often, and follow the procedure by
the book.
This maneuver automatically starts when you start a normal campaign mission
(scramble and AWACS mission not included). After you activated your engine,
change your EMCOM level to 5 and your radio channel to 1 to communicate with
the airfield. Tell your wingmen to do the same by selecting channel 1, select
wingmen option, then the radio frequency, and select change radio frequency 1.
Ask the airfield when to start moving if you want by tune in channel 1, select
the airfield option, then choose say my take-off time option. This isn't
required other than to let you know an APPROXIMATED time. When the tower has
determined the right time has come, they will notify you by saying that you
have to move to a designated taxiway. Acknowledge the tower by pressing Y key,
and then start to move according to the arrow on your compass. Increase your
throttle, and keep your throttle around 55% when you start moving, using the
rudder to steer and the airbrake for break. If you do the procedure right, your
wingmen will follow you automatically as you stroll past them.
Eventually, you will arrive at one end of the runway. Stop just before you
step on the runway (air break on and throttle to 50%), you will automatically
say that you are on the hold (if that doesn't happen you are doing something
wrong). The tower will tell you to line up when there are no activities on the
runway, and you should start to lead your flight on the runway. Go to the
forward right position of you formation. When you are ready press Y key to
notify the tower you are ready, the tower will tell you the you are clear for
take-off. Increase the throttle to 100% (140% if you have someone behind you),
pull up, reset EMCOM level to auto, select radio frequency 2 and you are done
with this maneuver. Any of the tower message missing during your take-off means
you did something wrong, and your wingmen will not follow you as result.
If you didn't do this right, you will basically act alone and will not get
any help on your mission. Also there is a bug in this game, which it will
result the taxi system will not work at the latter stage of a campaign. A new
patch can solve this problem.
==============
C.3.2 Landing
==============
The Total Air War contains one of the easiest systems for landing, but
there are still a few things you need to follow.
There are three landing modes, straight, circular or teardrop approach. All
three landing modes can be initiated by requests using the airfield
communication options. They really don't make a difference on how you should
land, although your wingmen may follow the standard procedure.
When you want to land, fly near a friendly airfield of your choice, tune in
radio frequency 1 and choose a landing mode by using the airfield speech
options to start the landing maneuver. The airfield will usually tell you that
you are clear for [insert your landing mode] at the runway with the glide slope
activated (a series of box indicated on your ILS HUD). Flying down to around
2000 to 1000 feet, and reduce your speed within 200 to 300 knots, and maintain
your throttle in the 65% to 55% range depends on your speed. When you decide to
approach the glide slope, select the airfield communication options and selects
the option "finals". The airfield will either tell you that you are clear to
land or go around the base. If you been told to go around, make sure the runway
is clear of traffic and then select the option again. If you are clear to land,
follow the indicator on you ILS HUD and going through the gliding slope. The
HUD will tell you if you are too fast, to slow, too high or too low. Extend the
gear for touch down. When you are on the ground, use the air break for a
complete stop and then taxi your aircraft to your parking spot by following the
arrow on the compass to finish the maneuver.
Sometime during campaign, Allied airfield may get destroyed due to enemy
air assault. If you requested a landing in an airfield like this, you will get
a message that the base is "black". In situations like this, you may need to
look for a new airfield to land in (you could land there by yourself, but your
wingmen will just circle around the base until they crash). Also, although you
don't need to do the landing by the book, you wingmen will, so sometime it is
wise to chose the right landing mode for the right situation to avoid
unnecessary casualties. Call for straight approach if you or any of your
wingmen is damaged, because your wingmen don't need to move around the base in
this landing mode and putting strains on their aircraft. Call for teardrop
approach if your flight is under heavy fire, because teardrop approach involves
tight turns at low attitude that will make enemy shooting at your wingmen more
difficult.
================
C.3.3 Refueling
================
Refueling is THE trickiest maneuver I found in this game. You just have to
be in that prefect position, and the hole for the hose is just too small for
mistakes. First you have to fly near a refueler (within a range of 15 miles),
then select radio channel 4, enter the refueler options menu, and chose refuel
permission. If it's possible, the refueler will tell you to confirm "weapon and
nose cold", confirm it by press the Y key and start the refueling maneuver.
You can start fly toward the refueler, when you are near, reduce your speed
around 300 knots and start approaching it from behind at an altitude 10 feet
below the refueler (the REF HUD will tell you if you are too high or too low).
When you are within around 100 feet with the refueler at this position, the
refueler will say that you are clear for contact. Go under the refueler at the
correct altitude, and use the light under the refueler to carefully maneuver
yourself into the right position. The light on the left side indicate height (D
means too high, U means too low), on the right side indicate distance (F mean
to move forward, A means move back). When both lights are green, you will
receive the refueling broom (you will hear the radio message "stabilize").
When your tank is full, decrease the throttle to disconnect from the
refueler, and change your frequency back to channel 2 to finish this maneuver.
Unlike the other two maneuvers, the time skip function cannot skip this
maneuver.
=====================
C.4 Combat Maneuvers
=====================
Combat maneuvers, on the other hand, does not require you to follow a strict
guide lines, you can just use your imagination and experiences to figure out
how to do most of the actions on your own, as long as you can keep yourself
alive. But know some basic is better than no nothing, so I'm gonna talk about
how I'm dealing with those combat situations. Combat situations that will
showed up includes avoiding missile, dropping bombs, close range gunfight,
wingmen controls and damage control.
=======================
C.4.1 Avoiding Missile
=======================
The missile is fast, usually at the speed of Mach 2 or higher, so it's
useless trying to out run it. But with its high-speed came its weakness, the
missile cannot turn as good as you do, provided you know how to handle your
aircraft.
Your goal in avoiding missile is to out turn the missile. Every time when
you received a warning that a missile is launched at you, first determine the
position of the missile by using the F3 key or looking at the radar. Put the
missile first at the 3'o clock or the 9'o clock position of your aircraft and
keep it there if it's far away. When the missile is very close (or launched at
a close range), which the EMCOM will automatically adjusted to level 5, put the
missile at 2'o clock or 10'o clock position and start ejecting counter measures
by pressing the Delete key. With any luck, the missile will get confused and
leave you alone. Just remember that since you can't get out of its range, might
as well get out of its way.
As for the type of counter measures, there are two kinds, one is chaff, and
the other one is flare. The chaff is ejected by using the ";" key, and is used
to confuse radar guided missiles. The flare is ejected by using the "'" key,
and is used to confuse infrared missiles. If you really can't manage all the
keys, the "Delete" key will let you eject counter measure that is
automatically selected by your plane to counter your current threat. To
identify which type of missiles has locked onto your, on the bottom of your HUD
there will be a line that show "missile(*)" flashing. If the (*) is R, it
means radar guided missile, and if the (*) is I then it's an infrared missile.
If you hear a extermely low beeping sound, it means a missile has launched
at you.
==================
C.4.2 Bombing Run
==================
The bombs and missiles are very accurate in this game, the same go with the
dumb bombs in the game, thanks to a computerized bombsight. Just a few tips
here, Before starting your attack runs, deploy air break first so that you
don't accelerate when pointing your nose to the ground. if you are launching an
air-to-ground missile, its best to put the target in your frontal view before
launch the missile to make sure that the missile will not do much maneuvering
before it set its sight on the target. For smart bombs, you need to launch them
at a rather high altitude (500 feet high at least) in order to give themselves
enough room to maneuver over its target. Another tip for dropping smart bombs
is that at a high altitude, when you find your target hiding under the cockpit
floor, a dive-bombing will less likely to miss as oppose dropping it on a level
flight. The reason for that is the bombs cannot maneuver backward, and
dive-bombing saves the trouble by letting it to go straight down.
===========================
C.4.3 Close Range Gunfight
===========================
Sometimes you either running out of missile to launch or an enemy has
getting so close that even the Sidewinder missile is ineffective against him.
To protect yourself WITHOUT the option to run away or call for help, the only
option to survive is to fight back using your gun. Although the gun is a
powerful weapon, it takes the necessary maneuver to make it effective. There
are three situations that you shouldn't use the guns. First, DO NOT do gunfight
when outnumbered (the odd should be no more than 1 vs. 2 or it's suicide).
Second, DO NOT use the gun against enemy that are far away AND has missile in
his inventory. Third, DO NOT use the gun when you have the option to run away
or call for help (in other word, DO NOT BE RECKLESS). The strategy here is for
a 1 vs. 1 cannon fight versus another fighter aircraft.
There are usually three situations when a gunfight has started with your
opponent:
a. You and your opponent are either back to back or face to face, and/or
far away (not within EMCOM level 5 range).
b. You are behind your opponent and are very close (you can see the enemy's
shape).
c. Your opponent is behind you and is very close (EMCOM level is at 5).
If situation b or c applies to you, start with Turning Fight section. For
the first situation start with the Merge section. However, no matter
how you fight an enemy, keeping track of his position is the most important
thing, so frequently tap F2 key to keep track of the enemy when doing a
gunfight. Also, experience is better than just reading the guide, so make sure
practice under the dogfight of the training section in order to make the most
out of the tips below.
#########
# Merge #
#########
The goal of the Merge is to give the advantage to one side before
both start circling and making the actual kill. The first thing that you should
do is closing the distance if you are very far away, since gun in this game is
only effective at an almost point-blank range. If the enemy notices you, it
will charge in your general direction, if not, you can just sneak up on it and
shoot him down before it can react. If it charges towards you, build up your
speed by set your throttle to 140%, and get to a range that you can see the
enemy on your screen without the aid of radar. Doing a head-on cannon pass if
you want, but the computer always has a better aim than most people, so I
advise just fly pass it. When you and the enemy just flown pass each other,
start doing a half loop. At the top of the loop, start to put the enemy in your
frontal view and try to drop onto it if you can. Some enemies are very agile
and you may need to do a few corkscrews to put him in your frontal view. If you
manage to keep the enemy in your frontal view without its nose pointing back at
you, you will eventually pin him down into turning at low attitude with you
have the most advantage. If the enemy is at your back with its nose towards
you, it's better to start turning and to shake the enemy off your tail.
#################
# Turning Fight #
#################
If you enter this stage with an enemy pin down, you will win this fight as
long as the enemy can't shake you off by doing sharp turns. If you enter this
stage with an enemy on your back, you have to perform the sharpest turn you can
manage before the enemy starts to fire onto you. If the enemy does fire, you
are pretty much dead (somehow, the computer NEVER miss with their gun).
But whatever your position is, the F-22 aircraft is the most agile fighter
in this game next to the Joint Strike Fighter. Just reduce your speed around
200~300 knot and keep it there, you will be fine.
For those that are on someone's tail with your opponent franticly trying to
shake you off, first reduce your speed within the 200~300 knot range, then
close the distance so that you can see the enemy's shape if you haven't done
so. Keep him in your sight and start drag your gun piper onto the shape of your
enemy. If you are close enough, the piper trail will be around 1 inch or
shorter, which is the best time to fire. Keep the gun sight right on target and
closing to the right distance, few bursts of 20~60 rounds usually will bring
your target down if you are at the right distance. At least 4~6 direct hits are
required to bring the enemy down, 8 if it's a heavyweight dual engine fighter,
10 or more if you plan to shoot down a jumbo jet. When the enemy (or you) gets
hit, your screen will shake. Tap the thrust vectoring key if your gun sight is
just short by a few notches, but do not hold on to it since it can reduce your
speed rather rapidly. Try to shoot down your opponent rather than blow it up in
the sky, since the debris from the explosion are far more damaging than a
direct missile hit.
If you have an enemy on your back and tries to shred you like a newspaper,
the only way you can escape is by making a sharp turn, provided it that it
hasn't start to fire. Start by reduce your speed within the 200~300 knot range
by all means necessary, brakes, gears, etc. Thrust vectoring is useful, but
only when your are around 400 knot at least, and it can easily bleed your speed
to less than 200 knot, which it will renders you into a sitting duck. Start
heading into the direction that your enemy's nose is trying to pointing at and
start turning. With a little luck, you will out turn your opponent and start
putting yourself on the enemy's behind with guns blazing. The computer will use
the same tactic if you are on its behind, so never let the computer get out of
your frontal view for long during this stage of the gunfight. If it does get
out of your sight for more than a second or so, it will try to climb up and
drop onto you, which you will have to repeat the merge again to pin your
opponent down.
======================
C.4.4 Wingmen Command
======================
Although most of the times you can manage to outsmart a single opponent
face to face, but in this game you will be dealing with hordes of enemies
coming from multiple directions instead. Covering your back will be the job of
your wingmen - if you know how to use them.
The wingmen has a competent AI in this game, they know their aircraft, they
know how to shoot, and they do everything by the book. All they need is the
correct order to turn them into killing machines, and you can do so by
accessing the wingman communication menu. I will explain each command options
one by one and how to use it.
Engage - give your wingmen the permission to engage the target they have found.
If you chose the air to air HUD mode, you will give your wingmen the permission
to engage any air target they have found. If you chose the air to ground HUD
mode, you give your wingmen the permission to engage any ground or sea based
threat they have encountered. Only used when your wingmen has find something on
their radar and report it to you.
Formation - This is the command menu that tells your flight to establish the
formations you requested with you in the lead. There are 6 formations each with
its usage on the battlefield. The formations are:
a. Card formation - the default formation you start with, which your flight
is in a box formation. You will be in the top left position and rest of the
planes occupy the bottom left, top right and bottom right position of the
flight. Good for general situations which you want to keep watch on all
sides.
b. Deuce - used in anti-SAM situation, which you will be the bait for the
SAM to fire up its radar with your wingmen have their weapon ready at your
back. The tight and loose option means how far back do you want you wingmen
be at this formation.
c. Sweep - when your flight is facing dangers head on, sweep formation will
have your flight lining up in a row and concentrating its fire. The enemy
will have a harder time to take on your flight because it's facing multiple
targets simultaneously. Tight and loose option commands how far apart each
plane has to be with each other.
d. Strike - good for bombing run as the name indicates, tells your wingmen
to line up behind you in single file as you approach the target zone, each
drop its own payload when their turn has come. Tight and loose option
commands how far apart each plane has to be with each other.
e. Fingertips - Tells your flight to form a half arrow with you at the tip,
left and right option command either the pattern will be the left part or
the right part of an arrow. I never find its usefulness other than that the
computer uses them often.
f. Vic - Tells your flight to form a V shaped formation like in air shows.
Nothing useful about it other than the game developer included it just for
fun.
Combat - This menu includes all the combat command for your wingmen. The
command options are:
a. Engage my target - send your current shoot list to your wingmen and
order them to attack targets according to your shoot list. Useful if you
need help in taking down a specific target, just select a target on your
HUD and send the order. The shortcut key for this command is M key.
b. Engage bandit - like the engage command, except its' more specific.
c. Engage hostile - like the engage command, except it's more specific.
d. Drag left - useful in dogfight, which tells your wingmen to put someone
on its behind and bait it to the left. You have to be quick to shoot down
the catch or your wingmen is history.
e. Drag right - same as above except it's baiting towards right.
f. Bracket left - Good for distracting the enemy during the beyond visual
range combat. Tells half of your flight to move to a different position on
your left side before starting to attack the enemy.
g. Bracket Right - Same as above, except this time tells half of your
flight move to a different position on your right side before starting to
attack.
Maneuver - This menu include the command for your wingmen to avoid certain
danger by breaking left, right, high or low. Useful during running away when
directing your wingmen to dodge out of enemy attacks right on its 6'o clock.
Just be careful with "breaking high" command, because your wingmen could turn
into a sitting duck by climbing and reduce its speed.
Abort mission - This command tells all aircraft involved in your current
mission to abort and returning to home base. Useful if you messed up a strike
missions.
Radio - Tells your wingmen to tune in the radio channel you desire. It's
nothing special other than in a procedure of the taxiing process. The say again
command makes the computer to repeat the last message it has sent it to you,
but there is a shortcut key for it (R key).
Disengage - Tells your wingmen to break-off all engagement and regroup with
you. You have to give out one of the engage command for them to start fighting
again.
==========================
C.4.5 Dealing With Damage
==========================
You will get hurt in this game no matter what, so lets start to learn how
to deal with them. The usual symptoms of getting hit by enemy fire or foreign
objects are the following - uncontrollable movements, decrease in engine power,
fuel leak, sluggish movements, Radar/targeting system damage, electric system
shut off, and gear/air break malfunction. But one thing you have to keep in
mind is that do not continue to fight an opponent unless you don't have the
option to escape, and if you have to stand to fight, let your wingmen do most
of the action. You number one goal after getting damaged is to return to home
in one piece. The autopilot system will not function if you have received
damages. As a side note, sometime cannon hit you received will not
automatically generate into damage, because the shell will just lodge into you.
About half of the time those lodged in shells will explode unpredictably at a
later time.
a. Uncontrollable movements - if you get hit and you just can't stop rolling,
it a matter of time before you hit the ground, so eject or quit the mission is
the only option available.
b. Decrease in engine power - most of the time when you get hit, your engine
will get damaged. It will result the loss of speed and energy for your
aircraft. You can still continue your mission if it's not too much of a
problem, just don't enter a cannon fight under this condition. If the problem
is severe (engine total is under 85%), then it's best to abort your mission and
find a place to land. If it has been totally shut off (50% or less), eject or
quit the game immediately.
c. Fuel leak - if you have this problem, pray that either you are near a
friendly airbase or a refueler is not far from you. If you are carrying
internal fuel only, it will be a matter of seconds before you are out of fuel.
To deal with this problem, abort mission immediately and start heading to the
nearest friendly airbase. Do not use afterburner because it will eat up your
fuel twice as fast without much help on the speed. If your shortest route is
more than 30 seconds away and there is no refueler on the way, you have to take
the risk of running out of fuel before you can land. If you are out of fuel in
enemy territory, eject or quit the mission is the only option available.
d. Sluggish movements - If you feel that the control is bit unresponsive than
normal or the movement is sluggish, run away from battles and start heading
home. You are in no condition to enter any battle without getting killed. You
have to be extra careful when performing landing, straight approach is
preferred.
e. Radar/targeting system damage - If your radar screen is flashing as
oppose to operate normally, you are suffering from this problem. For starters,
you cannot use the LANTIRN system anymore, so you can't use the laser guided
bomb or the Maverick missile on buildings. Your radar guided air-to-air missile
also has a greater chance to miss their targets. How to deal this problem
depends on your situation, but there is no point to continue in your strike
mission if you only carry Maverick missile or the laser guided bomb as your
main weapon to attack buildings.
f. Electric system shut off - One of the rarest, but dangerous situation none
the less. You will know the problem by the disappearance of your HUD. The most
dangerous thing about it is that you can't get a system report, and all
avionics systems are offline other than the vocal and the missile warning
system. You can't use weapons, so stop trying, and besides, only planes that
already took quite a beating will have their electrical system off-line. Start
heading to the nearest friendly airfield and use the Del key on the number pad
to get yourself oriented. You don't have much warning system, so scan around
you often in the cockpit view. Be careful of everything that you feel abnormal
because since you can't generate a system report, there is no guarantee that
nothing else is wrong with your aircraft.
g. Gear/air break malfunction - Sometimes during combat, the enemy may blow
those parts off or breach the hydraulic system that operates them.
Nevertheless, they are crucial parts of your plane's operation, and you have to
compensate for that. If your air break is malfunctioning, the way to compensate
for that is by using movements (turns and climbs) with throttles to bleed the
energy away. If your gear is malfunctioning when landing, jettison all stores
by using the jettison menu and start performing a belly landing. Belly landing
takes a lot of luck, so don't be surprised if you explode when sliding on the
runway.
##############################################################################
Section D Weapon Information and Tactic
##############################################################################
=======================
D.1 Air to Air Weapons
=======================
All air to air weapon operates on the same principle, except that missiles
are guided to compensate for enemy evasive maneuvers. Their difference in speed
and targeting method are the main factors in determine their effective range,
but it's generally a good idea to lead the target before firing to give the
target less chance to get out the way. This can be done by either aim the
missile at the missile steering dot or use the gun piper.
=======================================================================
D.1.1 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AIM-120C and AIM-120R)
=======================================================================
This is the air weapon of choice when the enemy is far away from you
(beyond visual range). It's a fire-and-forgot weapon, but can only be launched
when EMCOM level is 3 or greater. After you have generated a shoot list, wait
for the shoot cue and start releasing your weapons. The circle on your HUD
determines the probability of you hitting your target, and the larger the
circle the better the chance for a hit. If the circle is turning smaller, it's
either because they are getting too far or too close. Don't waste your missile
on a close range target because they can easily dodge out of the way. Aiming at
the missile steering dot is not important with this weapon due to the enemy has
the time to change direction, but it is best to put your target front and
center when launching it. Although it's a fire-and-forgot weapon, the missile
needs your radar to update on the location of its intend target during the
first half of missile's flight, so it's best to point your nose towards the
missile's target to improve the accuracy of the weapon. A knocked out enemy
aircraft usually has their radar turned off, so don't waste your missiles on
targets like this.
==================================================================
D.1.2 Sidewinder Infrared Short Range Air to Air Missile (AIM-9X)
==================================================================
Use this when the enemy is closing in on you, it's intended for close range
combat due to its high maneuverability. It's an infrared guided weapon, so
radar is not require to launch the weapon. This is also the weapon of choice
for a sneak attack, which you just fly behind someone who hasn't detected you
and fire. First generate a shoot list and wait for the circle to appear, then
press F2 key to activate the helmet mounted sight (or you could wait for the
search box to settle on the target, but it will lose track if you move your
plane). Let the search box settle onto the target, aim your nose for the
missile steering dot (you need to lead the target to guarantee a hit) and fire
away. You have to press the fire key for the last two Sidewinders in your
inventory in order for the search box to appear, then press fire key second
time to launch it.
=================================================
D.1.3 M61A2 20 mm Rotating 6 Barrel Gattling Gun
=================================================
The air to air combat tip with this weapon has already explained under the
combat maneuver section. The gun came with 1760 rounds, and is only good at an
almost point blank range since the shell travels slower than your missile. You
select your gun in the AA HUD mode, a line with a circle on the end will
appear. The line (cannon snake/piper trail) is the predicted path for the
cannon shell to travel on your screen and the circle (piper) predicts where the
shell will pass through if it has traveled the same distance that is between
you and your target. The more area of the piper that is covering your target,
the higher the probability that the shell will hit. Do not trust your gun sight
100%, since no matter how you aim, least there will be a 3 out 4 chance that
you will miss (in most cases it's only 1 in 20 chance for you to get a hit).
Use your gun sight only as an estimation tool for aiming your gun, and your
experiences in most cases are more correct than the gun sight.
If you select the gun in AG HUD mode, it will just show a circle for your
gun sight. In air to ground situations, the gun can destroy light armor targets
(for examples, HUMMWVs, trucks, missile launchers) with 1 or 2 hits. But you
still have to see the target visually in order to score a hit, which is
dangerous due to the possibility of ground collision (0 to 60 feet!) and enemy
ground fire (AA guns can kill you before you even can get that low). Whatever
happens, the gun is only a last resort weapon that should only be used when
there are no other options available (running away and calling wingmen for help
are viable options in this game). Also if you chose to use the gun, spraying
shells will not increase your hit probability (the gun eats ammo fast if you
are not careful), only precise aiming and correct maneuvering can guarantee a
hit.
===========================
D.2 Air to Surface Weapons
===========================
Air to surface weapons on the other hand, are very different from each
other. The difference is accounted for the different situations you will face
in destroying different targets. Below is a description on what the weapons are
for and its most effective delivering method.
==================================================================
D.2.1 Maverick TV/Infrared Guided Air to Surface Missile (AGM65G)
==================================================================
This is the general all-purpose weapon that is used to attack any ground
target that is available in this game, but the trade-off is that this weapon
has a weak punch and a short range. As its name suggests, it can find its
target by either tracking the target's IR signature (for ships and vehicles,
and this mode is fire and forgot) and by matching TV images (for buildings). To
track a target by IR signature, set the LANTIRN mode to slave, then generate a
shoot list and put your target next on the shoot list. When the shoot cue
appears, just fire away. To track a target by TV image, use the LANTIRN system
and lock on to a target of your choice (don't forget to set the LANTIRN mode to
free). When you feel you are close enough (shoot cue may or may not appear, so
use your instinct), fire the weapon (a salvo of 2 to be safe). For some
targets, like ships, concrete bunkers and harden hangers two shots are required
to put it down for good. It should be your air to ground weapon of choice for
three obvious reasons - you can carry tons of them in a mission to create
maximum mayhem, you can carry them in the weapon bay for stealth, and you can
protect yourself from emergency situations like getting attacked by SAMs.
==========================================
D.2.2 HARM Anti-Radiation Missile (AGM88)
==========================================
This one is a specialized anti-SAM missile. It shares the same range as the
Maverick missile, which is short compare to the range of most of the SAMs
deployed in the game. You can't carry them internally, which is another
drawback with this weapon, and you can't carry more than four of them, which is
too little in the opening stage of the game. All in all, it's basically are
bigger version of the Maverick missile, but without the versatility and the
number that makes it useful. To use the weapon, just put your target next in
your shoot list, and fire away when the shoot cue appears, one is enough for
its target. There are some reports that it can be targeted at ships that are
using SAMs, but even if it can, you still can't survive that far to get into
its effective range due to strong enemy fire.
================================================
D.2.3 Harpoon Anti-ship cruise missile (AGM84A)
================================================
This cruise missile is a fire and forgot weapon, and it has no substitute
due to its whopping 75-mile range. When attacking heavily armed ships like
specialized air-defense cruisers or aircraft carriers, use this weapon or it's
suicide. To fire this weapon, first turn your EMCOM to level 5, then put you
target next in your shoot list. When shoot cue appears, launch your weapon and
run away (the SAM will get you if you don't). One missile is usually enough for
a target.
==========================================
D.2.4 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)
==========================================
This weapon is used for dangerous deep strike mission that you just want
to drop your weapon and run away. The target for the weapon are already
programmed inside the bomb, so you can't fire on targets other than the one
assigned to you at the mission briefing. Carry more bombs than the two slots in
your weapon bay are a complete waste, and this bomb is for buildings only. To
use this weapon, just fly toward your target and make sure you are at an
altitude above 600 feet at least. The maximum effective range of your weapon
depends on your altitude and speed - the higher or faster you are, the farther
you can release the weapon. When the shoot cue appears, release your weapons (a
salvo of two works best, some targets are just too small to be destroyed in one
hit) and it will automatically maneuver onto its target (provided that it has
enough energy and room to maneuver). Your wingmen are likely to miss when using
this weapon, but I believe that set the planned attack altitude higher than
normal might solve this problem.
================================
D.2.5 Laser Guided Bomb (GBU24)
================================
This is the most powerful weapon in the game with its 2000 pounds of high
explosives. It's best use for attacking heavily armored buildings. Especially
useful in airfield denial strike, since most of the buildings are heavily
armored. The weapon shares the same principle with JDAM, except this time you
have to target it with LANTIRN system before firing. Basically stay above 600
feet, change the LANTIRN mode to free and lock on to a target. Release your
weapon when you are facing toward your target and the shoot cue has appeared.
Due to its high explosive nature, its always one shot one kill if it drops
right onto its intended target, but if you stay too low (100 feet or less), it
can take you out as a collateral damage. You can't carry it internally and you
can't carry more than four due to its massive size, so you have to watch out
for that.
========================
D.2.6 Rocket Pod (LA68)
========================
This World War II era weapon still didn't change much after 60 years. After
selecting it in AG HUD, just point and shoot like the gun (aiming sights are
the same, but you sacrifice ammo capacity for more explosive power). Your have
to be close to score a hit, which could be dangerous if the opposing force has
anti-air protections (AA guns especially). Although it is been included as an
anti-mobile weapon, I find it more effective against buildings than vehicles
due to its slow speed. This weapon is old and I don't find it to be useful in
this game (this is the 21st century after all). If you want fireworks, use this
at your own risk. Each rocket pod came with 10 rockets, and each external hard
point can carry 3 rocket pods.
==============================================================================
D.2.7 Free Fall High Explosive and Cluster Bombs (MK82F / MK83F, MK82R, MK20)
==============================================================================
When you want to create maximum damage and want to watch destruction up
close, those weapons are good choices. Those unguided bombs are powerful
with its up to 1000 pounds of high explosive. When you select those weapons, a
computerized bombsight will pop up, with a long vertical line to show the path
of the bomb, and a small horizontal line moving on the vertical line to show
where the bomb will land. When the horizontal line is over your intended
target, release your weapon. The bombsight is pretty accurate for hitting
targets that are buildings sized, provided that you either drop your bombs
leveled at a low altitude (5000 feet or lower) or do dive-bombing. The warning
that applies to LGB is also applying here - don't drop below 100 feet. The
regular dumb bomb is used to attack heavily armored buildings while the cluster
bomb is used to take out a group of ground vehicles. Watch out for AA guns,
because they are the biggest ground threat you will face when using those
bombs. You can carry up to 12 bombs, which means you have the potential to
create up to 3 times the damage as a full load of LGB, provided that you drop
it right on top of your target.
##############################################################################
Section E Enemy Info and Strategy
##############################################################################
In this game, almost all aircraft in this game are multi-role in some
degree, and all combat aircraft has been assigned weapon packages that are used
to deal with all situations they may face in this game. There are no rules on
how each aircraft can be used in this game to the computer, but AI do have
preference on what each type of aircraft should do. Below are descriptions on
what each aircraft are specialized in when you face them.
===========================
E.1 Light support fighters
===========================
The fighter aircraft that come under this category are MIG-21, Mirage,
Hawk, and Harrier. All of them are small, light and nimble and good at making
you waste your missile. They have limited firepower, but can become deadly if
you let them get close enough for dogfight. They usually are nuisance, but will
become a threat if they are in large numbers or group together with fighters of
other categories. Fight them at the BVR combat stage and avoid close contact
will be the best strategy to take them out. They usually not assign to attack
role due to its inability to carry heavy weaponry. The AI uses them as
distraction, harassment, and short-range defense (Mirage is an exception).
=================
E.2 Interceptors
=================
The interceptors in the game are the F-14, MIG-31, MIG-27, and Tornado.
Their specialty is their powerful BVR armaments, but they are not agile enough
for dogfights (F-14 don't even have Sidewinder missile in its inventory). You
usually find them at a defensive role. You can fight them by releasing your
missile in BVR stage before they could react, and rapidly closing the distance
when they are dodging your missile. If you catch one of them in close range,
you can even shoot them down using your cannon if you feel like conserving your
Sidewinder missile. They also have a secondary ability to act as long-range
strike aircraft. The AI mainly uses them for interception of inbound enemy
threats.
========================
E.3 Front line fighters
========================
Most of fighter aircraft can be categorized as front line fighters. They
can perform numerous roles beyond its air-superiority capability. If not on
strike mission, expect them to have at least 10 powerful air to air missile in
its inventory. They will be deadly in both BVR combat and dogfight. The only
way to fight them without getting killed is to release your missiles at the
first opportunity and destroys most of them while they are running away from
you. If you get to release your missile first, you will gain the initiative. If
they out number you in a 4 to 1 odd or greater, expect a tough fight and do
consider the option of run away. Ambush from behind is the best way to take on
a large number of them. The AI can assign them to any role in this game.
==============
E.4 Attackers
==============
Attackers are aircraft that only to get assigned in attack or strike role.
They include F-117A, B-2, A-10, Su-34 and Su-25. They are only armed with
short-range IR missiles, and when they are en route to their targets, they will
not fight you even if they are under attack (they just dodge out of your
attacks). But with the exception of F-117A and B-2, attack aircraft will fight
back after their mission is finished and you happen to block their escape
route. Other than the B-2, they are all very agile, and A-10, Su-34 and Su-25
are very competent at dogfights. At campaign mode when encounter them during
their mission, its best to destroy them as many as possible before their escort
could notice you. Although their escorts are the one that can kill you, they
are the one that will make you lose the war. When fighting them face to face
(B-2 are excluded) do expect that you will miss a couple of times because they
are good at dodging your missiles. For combating A-10, Su-34 and Su-25, lead
them when firing your missile and try to destroy them at the BVR stage where
they can't fight back. This is the only way for not getting killed (they come
in large groups).
=========================================================================
E.5 Surface to Air Missiles/Self Propel Anti-Aircraft Guns (SAMs/SPAAGs)
=========================================================================
They both are stationary, but they each have a way to make up for their
weakness. Most SAMs you will face are the long-range variant that is designed
to destroy aircraft at high altitude and long range. It has a longer and higher
reach than your air to ground weapons with its faster than usual missiles, but
cannot fire back if you are too close. The SPAAGs and some short range SAMs are
the exact opposite. They are designed to destroy aircraft that are flying at
low-level, and its deadly accuracy can kill you in a matter of seconds if you
have to fly into its radar zone at an altitude under 5000 feet. But what makes
AA units in the game even more dangerous is that they are usually mixed
together in battery formations so that you can't exploit their weakness. To
fight obstacles like this, arm yourself only with HARM or Maverick missile,
first fly high up around 10000 feet to detect their locations, then drop down
to 3000 feet or less so the SAMs can't easily detect you. Hope that you didn't
get detected when you have them in range, if you do, you got to dodge a few
SAMs before attacking them. Release your weapon onto them when in range and run
away, wingmen cooperation can help out a lot. The find-them-high-hit-them-low
method is the only safe method I can manage so far. Although the computer is
actively using anti-SAM kits that uses the rocket pod as the main weapon, never
give that kit to you or the computer if you can help it. The reason for it is
that the AA guns and the short range SAMs will kill the attackers even before
they can see their targets, and the AI always misses to give the AA units a
second chance to fight back. Computer AI isn't always competent in fighting
SAMs even with the right weapon, so you sometimes have to look out for
yourself.
Warships also act as SAMs/SPAAGs. Small attack craft are only armed with AA
guns while frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers are 2 in 1
packages. Harpoon is the weapon of choice for large warships while Maverick
missiles can be used against small attack crafts.
========================
E.6 High Value Aircraft
========================
They include your E-3/A-50 AWACS, KC-135/IL-78R refueler, and your E-8
JSTAR aircraft. Although they cannot fight, their presence on the battlefield
will directly affect the combat performance of both the enemy and your allies
(AWACS will provide enemy air unit movement info and coordinate air operations,
JSTAR aircraft will provide SAM locations and direct SEAD missions, etc.). In
another word, keep your high value aircraft alive and destroy the enemy's will
have more impact than destroying or losing, say, 100 fighter aircraft. You may
need two or more missiles to put down a HVA aircraft due to its immense size.
============================================
E.7 Helicopters, Drones, and Recon aircraft
============================================
Drones and Recon aircraft are unarmed, but they usually are very fast and
flying at an extremely high altitude so that you can't reach them. When
shooting them down, you gonna have to pull your nose up and almost flying
vertical to fire your missile, thrust vectoring can help out a lot during this
process but be careful with your speed. Forget about shooting them down with
cannon unless you have too much time on your hand, which I don't think you will
during a campaign. It generally a good idea to shoot them down if you are not
occupied with other duties, because you don't want military secrets to leak out
to the enemy (their main mission is looking for new targets for the enemy to
destroy).
Helicopters are usually sitting ducks in this game, so you can kill them
anyway you want. But attack helicopters are armed with infrared short-range air
to air missile, so watch out for that when you getting close to them.
For some weird reason, 747, 767 and Lear Jet are included as drone in this
game. They are just civilian aircraft that will not interfere with you during
campaign. They only show up in neutral airspace and are belonging to neutral
countries.
=========================================
E.8 Ground Vehicles, Ships and Buildings
=========================================
They can't fight back (warships and AA vehicles are an exception, but they
are listed under SAMs/SPAAGs), and that will make you life easier. Any AG
weapons - even cannons, can destroy them (HARM is an exception since it can
only lock onto AA radar signals). For a clean solution, full load of Maverick
missiles work best, but if they have a thick skin, a dose of JDAM or LGB
(Harpoon if for ship) will put them down for good. You can use rocket pods or
dumb bombs or even cannons for firework if there are no anti-air units
protecting your targets.
##############################################################################
Section F Campaign Strategy
##############################################################################
================================
F.1 The Dynamic Campaign Engine
================================
The manual and the on-line help explain the campaign pretty well, so I will
just cover stuffs that they didn't clarify.
The campaigns in this game are not scripted, thus the game will never
repeats itself no matter how long you have played it. Your opponent is
constantly measuring losses and inflicted damages, and changes its objectives
and strategies accordingly. Sometimes triggers are included to bring neutral
nations into conflict by measuring damage each side has received or amount of
time has passed. Your objective (or Allied objective, since you don't have to
directly participate) is to successfully fulfill all the campaign objectives in
order to win the campaign. The campaign objectives for your side are the only
constant factor in the campaign, and they are listed in the strategy section of
the war room. Campaign objectives are usually involved in inflicting a certain
percentage damage to targets belonging to the same class within fixed time
limits. If a neutral nation has brought into the conflict, the damage received
on the side of which the neutral nation has joined will be recalculated to a
lower percentage - something to watch out for during campaign.
All nations in this game have top-the-line weaponry in the world, and will
not hesitate to use them against you side. Both your and the enemy's airfields
will constantly spawn aircraft of all type on the battlefield, but the HVA
aircraft spawning time will be very long (sometimes never), so do not let them
die if you can help it. Long range SAMs, buildings and certain ships in this
game will not respawn. The spawning patterns for fighter planes on defensive
roles are series of small wave composed of 2 or 4 randomly selected aircraft,
usually at intervals of 1 or 2 hour and 1 spawning per most airfields that are
functioning. Offensive flights composed of 8 to 16 randomly selected aircraft
will take 2 or more hours to spawn at the randomly selected airfields. The
spawning mechanism means that the enemy and your presence in air are building
up gradually and serious losses will take a long time to recover. The only
exception to the wave pattern of spawning is the scramble flights, which its
creation can only be triggered by Allied or enemy aircraft that is within radar
range of the opposing force's airfields. The only way you can stop the enemy
from spawning aircraft is by destroy all of their airfields, but you almost
never get enough time to do so.
As for the fighter plane selection during spawning, high-tech and powerful
aircraft like the Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 has a fairly low
probability of being selected and send into air. So the lesson here is do not
recklessly send your hi-tech aircraft (including the F-22 you are piloting)
into heavy combat without any support, since you will not get replacements
anytime soon.
==============
F.2 The AWACS
==============
If you get tired of flying the F-22 aircraft, or want to inflict damage on
the whole battlefield rather than to pick off some unknown targets one by one,
then the AWACS mode is the alternative to play the campaign. The AWACS
interface cannot be ignored when playing campaigns, since you cannot mount an
organized offense or defense without it. It's drag and drop interface make
issuing orders easy. AWACS can only issue commands to aircraft that are
airborne in the battlefield and its detection range and the map on your screen
is directly affected by the amount of damage sustained by your detection
network. You can indirectly pilot your own AWACS by give out orders on the
command map. As long as the AWACS is in the air, you can stay in the AWACS mode
as long as you wish.
The list of orders you can issue and its usage can be find in the manual
and the online-help, but there are still few things that they didn't cover.
First, the strike mission flights can receive orders. For Wild Weasel flights,
the strike command is available and you can use that to attack any ground
targets you desire, although for attacking SAMs, you will need a E-8 JSTAR
aircraft in the air. The escort flights will also have the intercept command
option like the CAP flights. Second, for refuel command, do not wait for the
planes to make requests for refuel because the computer will wait when only
they have enough fuel for no more than few second, and then they can't reach
the refueler without running out of fuel. Monitor frequently and make the
refuel command early is that correct way to use this command. Third, during
time-warp mode, you can't issue any orders, so there may be instances where you
are caught off guard by the fast actions. Finally, fighter planes that are
under threats cannot receive any command, so keep that in mind when fighting
over enemy territory.
=============
F.3 Missions
=============
The missions are the roles you will be taking during this whole conflict.
During conflicts, Allied airforce will conduct both offensive and defensive
operations, and you can play a role in those operations. In offensive
operations, you can take on the role of escort flight, wild weasel flight or
strike flight. In defensive operations, you can take on the role as combat air
patrol flights, scramble flight or escort flight for more vulnerable aircraft
operating in friendly territory. But the first thing that you should remember
is that in addition to complete your goal according to your roles, the mission
can only be 100% completed if you are alive and make it to the pre assigned
landing airfield. Points will be awarded for a 100% completed operations
mission. If you survived and make it to the pre assigned landing airfield, but
failed to complete your goal, the mission is only 50% complete, no points will
be awarded but no penalties either. The same goes with emergency landing at
another base with goals achieved. But if you fail to make a landing during any
stage of the mission for reason that you bail out, quit the game or killed in
action, you will receive penalties and points will be deducted.
In offensive operations, the job of the escort flight is to fight off enemy
aircraft interfering with your operation, while for wild weasel flights the job
is to engage any ground threats that the strike flight might encounter. But
their mission goals are the same, escorts and wild weasels must ensure that the
strike flight must have at least one aircraft survive from take-off to landing
and passed over their target area. For strike role, your mission goal is to
destroy the target that is assigned to you in mission briefing.
For defensive operations, the mission goal for combat air patrol role (CAP)
is just fly over the patrol area, but it's a good idea to stay longer and
intercept enemy aircraft for bonus point beside the completion point. The
scramble role requires you to destroy specific groups of aircraft for
completion of your mission goal. For escort role, your mission goal would be to
protect a specific aircraft and to make sure it has either arrived on its
destination (for transport aircraft) or its patrol area (for refueler, AWACS
and JSTAR), and they have to be alive as long as you are airborne. Finally, you
can take on the role of AWACS commander and organize Allied air activities.
Missions are varied by difficulties, which is measured by a scale of 1 to 5
stars. You can only access 1 star missions at first, but you can gain access to
difficult missions by successfully completing missions and earn points. Each
difficulty level requires a specific amount of point to unlock it, and your
pilot log will tell you the amount of point you require for the next level. The
more difficult the mission, the more reward/penalty you will receive. Keep in
mind that most offensive operations require you to achieve 3 star level at
least to access.
Below are descriptions of operations you can take part in during the
campaign and what you should expect. The offensive operations you can take part
in are:
BAI operation - the general strike operations that attack targets that are not
listed below. Usually 3 to 4 star rated operation according to the distance.
Attacks against urban areas are more likely to generate more resistance than
other isolated locations.
SEAD operation - Strike against radar sites and C4 nodes, 3 to 4 star rated
operation according to distance. Radar sites have the ability to direct enemy
aircraft to fight you off, so keep track around you when attacking them.
HVAA Kill operation - Attack against AWACS aircraft of the opposing side,
available only at a 5 star level. The high rating is due to the strong enemy
protection and the extremely long distance that you have to travel in enemy
territory.
Airfield Denial operations - Attack against enemy airfield, 3 to 4 star rated
operation according to distance. But be more careful than the BAI or SEAD
operation since airfields are usually crawling with AA units. Also be wary of
enemy scramble missions and reinforcements send out against you.
Mobile Strike operation - Attack against a group of vehicle or a single
important target like bridges. Least 2 star to access it, but difficulties are
varied greatly due to distance. For important targets like bridges and missile
launchers, AA guns or short ranges SAMs are usually around the corner to
protect your targets.
All offensive operations usually contain an escort role, a wild weasel
role, and a strike role (HVAA kill operation sometime doesn't have wild weasel
role). Although extremely rare, aircraft shortage could make an offensive
operation to forgo the escort and the wild weasel. On the other hand, the
defensive operations are designed for specific roles, and the defensive
operations that are available in the campaigns are:
CAP operation - For CAP role only. Just fly around your patrol area and shoot
down enemy aircraft you encounter. AWACS will sometime tell you to engage a
certain target by giving you a bearing number according to your compass. When
you do chose to follow the instruction, acknowledge the AWACS and remember that
when AWACS tells you to "skip it", it means to ignore its last instruction and
go back to your regular duty. 1 star level is for areas that are away from
front line, 2 star is for front line CAP. Sometime you will get a second CAP
flight to accompany you that can act as your escort if you request help by
using your radio. This mission can be 2 to 4 hours long if you decide to hang
around for bonus points.
Scramble operation - For scramble role only, just take off and engage your
target by following your waypoint. Just be careful because the enemy is already
very close to you when the mission starts. The Difficulties are greatly varied
due to the amount of targets you have to destroy.
Refueler/JSTAR/AWACS escort operation - Escort role only, just protect them on
their way to their patrol area. It is a good idea to protect them all the way
to their landing because they are attractive targets for the enemy, and enemy
aircraft will take shots at them if they get the chance regardless of their
missions. 1 star level is for areas that are away from front line, 2 star is
for front line patrol. AWACS escort requires a 5 star level due to its
importance on the battlefield. This will also take a long time if you want to
escort them all the way because it can last up to 6 to 8 hours in campaign
time.
Supply Escort operation - same as above, except you have to follow a transport
aircraft to another airfield, 1 star usually. Helicopter escort missions are
available at earlier version of the game, but the new patch has removed it from
the game due to its inconvenience (you have to be at around 100 knots in order
not to lose track of the helicopter).
AWACS Command operation - For AWACS commanders and only available when an AWACS
aircraft is airborne. There is no goal for AWACS command operation (not that I
know of). Do whatever you like as long as your AWACS aircraft doesn't get shot
down. Points are reward by the amount of enemy aircraft you destroy, while HVAA
aircraft you have destroyed will get you a slight bonus. You will also receive
penalties for friendly losses, especially HVAA losses.
========================
F.4 Tips and Strategies
========================
Since the campaigns use non-scripted engine to create real time conflict,
no two campaigns will ever play the same, although computer do follow certain
logic in planning offense and defense. Walkthroughs cannot be applied to
campaigns, only strategies on how to get around computer logic and exploit its
weakness can be applied to increase chance of success.
====================
F.4.1 Always Attack
====================
To quote the manual, although defeat can be avoided through good defense,
no war is ever won by it. In another word, The first thing you should do to win
is to keep pressure on your enemy at all times. The higher the number of
sorties (operation conducted) your side can keep on the battlefield, the
greater the chance that you can win. To achieve high sorties, always fly
offensive missions when you get the chance. If no offensive mission available,
use the AWACS to direct Allied war efforts against the enemy, or to fly CAP
mission to attack the enemy if you can. If you are worried about defense,
enable scramble mission option and fly the CAP and AWACS only to continue press
on your offensives. The bottom line is that the last thing you want to do is
just sit there and waste your time, and that will get you to nowhere.
=================================
F.4.2 Mission Selection/Planning
=================================
You should be select your missions according to this order:
1st: Wild Weasel Mission or Strike Mission
2nd: AWACS Command Mission or CAP Missions
3rd: other missions
Wild Weasel Mission and Strike Mission can directly deal damage to the
enemy nation, with target zone plotted and everything. For Wild Weasel Mission,
a load of 12 Maverick missiles on the wing is the recommended load, since you
can use it against both the AA units you encounter and attack buildings over
the target zone. AWACS can be used to attack the enemy indirectly in an
organized way, but computer AI does not have the efficiency that human players
usually possess, thus it deals less damage. Although CAP mission are defined as
defensive mission, but your ability to pick weapons of your choice and do
whatever you want make it useful on offensive. Attack on enemy HVA aircraft and
SAM sites will be the best way to make use of the CAP mission due to the fact
that they can be easily located. As for other operations, they are mainly
defensive in nature, thus not as important as the operation recommended above.
On mission planning, the most important aspect of offensive mission
planning is the mission route. When planning an offensive operation, the
attacking route you plotted must create surprise to the enemy in order to
achieve maximum effectiveness. This is best achieved by plotting the waypoint
over friendly and neutral airspace and only enters enemy territory when you are
close to your target zone. If you can't plot away from enemy territory because
the distance is too long, try to plot away from radar and AA sites during the
attack. As for returning route, choose the shortest route as possible for a
speedily escape. No planning is required for AWACS Command and CAP Mission.
When attacking, your aim should be on creating as much damage as possible
over your target zone. If you are on offensive operations, try to destroy all
buildings and structure in your target zone during your attack if the
circumstances permit. Also during your offense, take out any AA units and HVA
aircraft you encountered if you can, since it will make future friendly
operations easier.
====================
F.4.3 AWACS Command
====================
Although AWACS is mainly used to keep friendly airspace free from the
enemy, offensive can still be achieved if you take the fight over enemy
territory. One way is to direct Allied defensive aircraft to attack enemy HVA
aircraft near the border to limit the effectiveness of their airforce.
Concentrate a large number of your CAP flight at a point with no enemy SAM
cover and attack the enemy defense is another way to keep the pressure. It will
overwhelm the enemy air defense at the point of attack and force them to send
all of their available defensive flights in piece meal to fill the hole you
created. This is an effective way to neutralize enemy air defense and it will
keep the sky clean for 30 minutes at least, and it will also keep enemy
offensive operation at the bay.
=============================
F.4.4 Targets of Opportunity
=============================
There are usually two kinds of target that you should take out as much as
you can, and they are long range SAMs and HVA aircraft. Why you should always
attack HVA aircraft I already explained, so I will move on to SAMs.
The long range SAMs is the most annoying threat you will face in this game,
and there are three reasons for that - it always disrupt your offensives, it's
not detectable until you are close to it and the AI is not competent to attack
those SAMs. The main purpose of the SAMs is to disorganize and distract your
flights while the enemy CAP or Scramble is making the kill. The SAMs are also
served as the last line of defense against your strike flights, and it is
deadly due to the vulnerable position attack aircraft has to keep in order to
fire accurately. They can also create nasty surprises because you can't detect
them from far away. Whichever the case, they always the one that spoil the
attacks and the AI never list them as serious threats despite that the serious
consequences. The AI will also fly very low and very close before they attack,
exposing both themselves and the flights they are escorting to danger. Punching
holes in enemy SAM network early in the game can decisively affect the outcome
of your campaigns.
===================================
F.4.5 Protect Your Vulnerabilities
===================================
Though out history, the defeats of any airforces are always caused by a
combination of those two factors - lack of a competent air defense and the
destruction of its facilities/airfields. The same goes with this game - protect
your radar sites and airfields at all time if you want stern the tide of enemy
onslaught. Destruction of your radar site will make everything on your radar
screen to be labeled unidentified, and enemy can pop up from anywhere for a
devastating sneak attack. On the other hand, destruction of your airfield will
significantly reduce the amount of aircraft available in theatre and reduce the
maximum range your froward patrol can reach. Unfortunately in most cases, radar
sites or airfields are your opponent's first target of choice. Computer's aim
is to remove Allied airforce's presence on the battlefield in order to make
their ultimate objectives more easy to accomplish. For that end the computer
will invest heavily on their attacks. Whether or not if your can stern the
first tides of onslaught will affect the outcome of your campaign, and if you
fail to stern the attacks, at later stage of the campaign you can only watch
your territory being bombarded to bits. Solid defense, although is not hard to
mount, is not desirable because you cannot gain the initiative and accomplish
your objectives, and the trick in successfully completing most of your campaign
is to effectively protect your own assets while at the same time mount a strong
offensive.
The only way to accomplish that is by active defense, and by that I mean
take the defense to enemy territory. The effectiveness of this strategy depends
on how fast you can make it work, and thus if you are starting from level one
difficulties, it will not as effective if you start at level three, four or
five difficulties. The first thing you want to do is to take down as much SAMs
that are near your border as quick as possible, this will let your CAP flights
to operate in enemy territories with even odds. To do this you should fly a lot
of Wild Weasels or front line CAPs in the early stage of the game. Although you
may run a few suicide missions, those early failures are the foundations to
your success. Although the mission rooster does not automatically give you Wild
Weasel roles to play, refresh the fly menu by jumping in and out of the fly
menu will generate the role for you. After you have taken out the SAMs, you can
drop by into AWACS command mode at your leisure to monitor enemy movements. If
you find a large flock of enemy aircraft gathering near the border, concentrate
your CAP flights to penetrate their defense at a point in order to sweep the
sky clean. This will keep enemy offensive sortie low, while at the same time
pave the way for your offensives. Turn the scramble flight option on at all
time to avoid nasty surprises. If you lose the campaign but with a good record,
you will automatically be granted 5000 points and a level four ranking if you
start a new campaign.
The same vulnerability applies to the enemy. Try to inflict as much damage
to the enemy when you get the mission to do so. The enemy can spawn aircraft,
but not airfields. Destroy their airfields will destroy the source of the
spawning aircraft, thus will greatly affect the enemy operations in the area.
=================
F.4.6 Promotions
=================
If you start from scratch, Scramble mission is the best way to gain
promotions, but you still can't fly a lot of those missions due to the
difficulty levels. The bottom line to promotion is that the more work you do
and the more enemy you destroy, the more points you will receive. Try to do
more than your mission goal will always be rewarding, and shooting down hoards
of enemy aircraft will give you medals to accompany your extra bonus points. As
for those that failed their mission goal, do not quit the game right away, but
rather land at your pre-assigned landing field for a 50% completion (no
penalties). Just remember that if you do more than what you should do, stay
alive and land where you are suppose to, your score will only go up and never
go down. Promotion will come faster if the damages you deal to the enemy are
better and faster, so use every second of your airborne time efficiently will
be an important skill in this game.
========================
F.5 The Red Sea Theatre
========================
This game is revolved around the Red Sea Theatre, and I will provide a
little background info on the location of the game.
The background behind the Red Sea Theatre is that at first there are only
three powers in the region, which are the Egypt, the Saudi Arabia and the Yemen
with their strong military, with rest of the Red Sea nations plagued with
poverty and civil unrest. But then a series of discoveries changed all that -
oil and gold deposits made Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia
members of OPEC and major players in global economy. Those new resources wiped
out poverty and civil wars through out the region but also had side effects as
well. After those new rich nations have solved their own domestic problems,
they begin to move up to protect their own economic gains and challenge the
supremacy of the three powers over the control of the Red Sea region. A massive
military build up followed as result, and old territorial disputes flare up
again after decades of government neglect and civil unrest. The old distrust
between different cultures and religions, which has always been a predominating
factor in the region's societies, fuelled the growing nationalism through out
the region. The industrialized nations of the world, seeing the potential in
new energy source and the brewing conflict, seek to interfere in the region and
fight for the right to influences the entire area. This new development on the
international scene further complicates the already dangerous situation at the
Red Sea region.
The nations in the Red Sea Theatres are powerful and cannot to be under-
estimated. Below are the summaries of their weaponry and capabilities.
Egypt - Mix of weaponry come from France and United States, supplemented with
limited Chinese/Soviet armament. Mirage and Falcon serve side by side in the
sky with Mig-21 and other old Soviet systems supplement them. Air defense
system mainly composed of French Crotale and Russian SA-6/SA-11 SAMs to cover
the whole Egyptian airspace, with a mix of American Vulcan and Soviet ZSU-23-4
AA guns for close engagements.
Sudan - Predominately composed of Cold War era Soviet weaponry. Expect Su-27,
Mig-21 Mig-27 and Su-25 be your main opponent. Soviet AA systems composed of
SA-6, SA-11, SA-17 and ZSU-23-4 mixed together with limited number French
Crotale and American Chapparal to cover most of Sudanese air space.
Saudi Arabia - Mainly European and American Weaponry, composed of Mirage,
Tornado, Falcon and F-15C Eagle. SAMs are American and French systems composed
of Patriot, Jernals, Roland, Chapparal and Crotale missiles and its been
complemented by the Vulcan AA guns. Air defense is concentrated at specific
points to protect isolated airbases rather than the whole Saudi air space,
which made it vulnerable against concentrated attacks. That will be more of a
problem than benefit to you since Saudi Arabia always has US support during any
conflict.
Yemen - High tech modern Russian weapons composed of aircraft from the Flanker
family, expect Su-27, Su-30, Su-35, Su-37 and Mig-29M are you main threats and
Su-34 be their main attacking force. SAMs sites formed by Russian missiles also
densely populate the ground of Yemen. The AA systems are mainly SA-6, SA-11 and
SA-17 SAMs with ZSU-23-4 AA guns.
Eritrea and Ethiopia - Their weaponry are composed of almost everything that
were created during the Cold War era with a mix of French, American and Russian
weapons. Falcon and Mirage are significant part of the air force while Su-27,
Su-25, Mig-31, Mig-29M, Mig-27 and Mig-21 also play an important role. The same
goes with their AA systems with a mix of French Crotale, American Chapparal and
Vulcan, Russian SA-6, SA-11, and ZSU-23-4. Their SAM coverage is covering most
of their air space.
Djibouti - Predominately western weaponry, with a mix of French and American
armaments. Falcon and Mirage are the main force, with French Crotale missiles,
American Patriot missile, Chapparal missiles and Vulcan AA guns taking over the
air defense. Despite the short range of most AA systems, the small size of
Djibouti made this problem insignificant. Djibouti always allies itself with
United States.
Somalia - Its forces are same with Sudan, Cold War era Russian weaponry only.
Su-27 and Mig-21 are the backbone of their airforce, with Su-25 and Mig-27 to
supplement attacks and defense. Russian SAM covers all area of the country and
it is composed of SA-6, SA-11 and SA-17 with ZSU-23-4 AA guns as back up.
All Red Sea nations have their own AWACS and refuelers. With the exception
of Saudi Arabia and Djibouti that uses American AWACS and Refueler, Other
nations use A-50 AWACS and IL-76R refueler instead.
External nations will participate in the Red Sea Theatre, and their
participation means that their airforce will play an active part in the
conflict they involved in. Those external nations are:
United States - Their fighters composed of F-14, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, F-16U,
F/A-18, F-22 and JSF. Attack aircraft composed of A-10, B-2, and F-117A. They
are the only nation that provide their own complete set of HVA aircraft, which
are E-3 AWACS, E-8 JSTAR, and KC-135R refueler.
United Kingdom - British airforce is mainly composed of the EF-2000 and the
Harrier. British always operate closely with USAF.
France - French airforce is heavily dependent on the Dassult Rafale and the
Mirage. They rely on its allies for AWACS or Refueler aircraft.
Russia and China - Russian and Chinese airforce are mainly composed of the
Flanker family, which are the SU-27, Su-30, Su-34, Su-35 and the SU-37. Chinese
airforce also has Mig-21 for patrol and defense while Russia has Mig-31 and
Mig-29M. They also provide IL-76R refuelers to other countries they sided with.
Just in case you are wondering, Chinese J-10 and JH-7 are not included in this
game because those programs appeared to have no prospect and received no
attention during mid 90's. I believe most experts the development team has
consulted with expect China will replace its domestic programs with more
powerful Flankers during the turn of the century. Judging from radio chatters,
Russia and China also provide their own A-50 AWACS. But that knowledge is
largely unnecessary since all Red Sea nations have the same kind of AWACS
aircraft, and Western nations don't need E-3 and A-50 operating together.
##############################################################################
Section H Credits, Copyrights and Feedback
##############################################################################
Although I wrote this guide alone, there is still credits I have to give:
Digital Image Design - Thanks for creating such fun game that I still play
after 3 years. Also thanks for the detail manual the team has manage to create,
it help me a lot with the game and the guide. Although the team no longer
officially exists, I hope their tradition of high quality game still live on...
...And to whomever else I might forget that help me write the guide.
As for copyright, this intellectual property is solely belong to me, Steven
Liu. If anyone want to post my guide, you must obtain my permission by
contacting me at my email address, plus the guide must not be used for
commercial activities and its content must not be modified in anyway. If anyone
wants to use my guide for other published works, you must give me full credit
no matter how much you use.
If you got suggestions about the guide or questions about the game, contact
me via email at [email protected]. I cannot guarantee a reply but I
will try to answer the emails I receive. When contacting me, put key word like
TAW, total air war or F22 on the subject line, otherwise it will be sorted as
junk mail and will be deleted.
##############################################################################
Section I Version History
##############################################################################
Version 1.0, Aug 2005 - It's an on and off project that I been work on for
months, and I finally decided to finish this thing. Grammar still is a major
problem, but I think I will just leave that for now.
Version 1.0a, Aug 2005 - A small update to fix typo and reduce confusions. Add
little in Avoiding Missile sections and a little clarification for Enemy Info.
Version 1.1 Aug 2005 - Add a section on the Red Sea Theatre, the nations
involved in this game and their weaponary.
Version 2.0, Jan 2008 - A recent request from SimHQ made me to look back at
this guide after 3 years...the formatting is a pain in the butt and I just
have to redo it.
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