Airpower and helicopter question

[Mustang]

I don't know, but it might be something you are doing that is discouraging the enemy from using their airplanes. Do you usually buy tons of air defence that scares the enemy away? Or do you just move too fast for the AI to call down fire on you?

[Pazam]

I've continued playing around with the settings, and now see that the opponent does purchase aircraft and uses them around turn 4 or so. So one mystery solved!!!

Next mystery - where are enemy helicopters?

[Mobhack]

when XXX is used - then the air superiority points for the decade and nation in question are used. Israel has a high number for this an arab countries are generally rater low, so the default state is for Israel to have planes (or none), with very rare chance of Arab air ever even appearing. These are down in the third world ratings for air, and Iraq is specially fixed to have no strike air in opposition to the US allies in Gulf War X, since they were buried in sand, flown to Iran, or in itty bitty pieces etc. Ditto, folk like the VC do not have any strike air whtsocever (and the USa has the default numbers radically increased with that opponent)

AI sometimes will buy helos - attack as a %age chance die roll based on year insted of fixed air. It will only ever buy air desant if it has LOTS of air, and rarely. (bigger chance if it is doing a river crossing assault though).

So Arab opponents to Israel are hardly ever going to have enough flights available to generate an airmobile assault.

USSR/Pact vs NATO on the other hand.. I have had UK pumas raid my Russian arty park, and Russian desant try to grab an objective from my UK campaign core.

Cheers
Andy