My Strike aircraft targeting MY ammo trucks?!?!

[PlasmaKrab]

Mike,

I know that this isn't a point worth making about pre-planned strikes, but for in-game ones, you may want to have a spotter with a direct LOS on the targetted enemy units, or at least having spotted just once fixed enemy targets (arty, SAMs, etc.).

Aircraft will behave much more rationally if they can find the target you have assignated them. Most of the aircrafts (particularly the Hogs) have poor vision to start with, and have difficulties spotting small targets all by themselves.

Depending on the opponent pairing, you human player may well be the one with the easiest units to spot on the field (like Patriot launchers when the opponent has no radar-guided AA).

[narwan]

Hi Andy,

this (see attachment) is the exact same set up I've been using in the test described above. After starting the game the pregame A-10 strikes will occur. They have been plotted already during US deployment.
I reloaded this save each time running it to see what would happen (see results above). Each time the planes followed the originally plotted entry and exit area's.

Narwan

[Marek_Tucan]

I seldom experience blue-on-blue air attacks in my phases, OTOH it happens all the time to AI;o) For example did a battle on a large map, Czechoslovakia vs. egypt 1986, and out of 8 Egyptian F-16's, three attacked own troops.

[hoplitis]

Has anybody noticed if blue on blue attacks are weapon type dependant (for example PGM vs iron bomb)?

[Mobhack]

Blue on blue is dependant on
a) own forces being in the plane's search zone
b) Then failing a pilot skill based roll to ID them as blue
or
c) The pilot attacks a nearby Red unit, and the collateral damage takes out the Blue who were close by (CBU say).

- Search zone inceases if the spotter has no LOS or fails a skill check, so friendlies outside the KM or so the plane searches arount the initial x,y can get targeted.
- Search area is much larger for ARM (but ARM will usually not target freindly frequencies)

Anyway - I seem to have found why some air attacks will "wander" way off the initial x,y and target friends too far from it.

But if you want to fully avoid blue on blue - ensure the plotted x.y is at least 20 hexes from Blue at the time of the strike or - that you can guarantee the FOO guiding the strike in has "eyes on" the target hex at that point. (no nasty smoke arrived from arty meanwhile etc). Better yet - keep air strikes 30-40 hexes from Blue forces.

Cheers
Andy

[Mustang]

JohnHale said:

Mobhack/Don: is there any way to get AAA gunners act as they do in real life, i.e. shoot at anything that flies and comes within range?

This is a good idea. How about AAA with a low experience rating (soldiers with poor aircraft recognition training) and units with low FC rating (AAA units without IFF technology) have a chance at firing on your own aircraft? This happens all the time in real life.

[Basileus]

Danger close is a bad thing...

I hadn't heard of ADA units shooting down own aircraft with much frequency, but there were plenty of blue on blue airstrikes historically, even as recently as OIF. In the Korean War during the Pusan Perimeter fight, a British brigade tragically got hammered by a dozen American F-51s when the Brits set out their air recognition panel (big green cloth, IIRC) and the North Koreans on the hill opposite them set up an identical panel on their hill, which confused the pilots. ADA fire didn't drive them off, and they didn't stop until they were out of ordnance.

An interesting anecdote involving General Fred Franks during Desert Storm: his command helo goes way off course in the middle of the fighting, and he ends up over Iraqi lines without getting shot down. Pilot, realizing his error, heads back to friendly skies...but now, they would have to cross the front lines, unescorted, and there was a very real danger that they could get shot down by their own side. Fortunately for all involved, either our troops were too busy chasing the Iraqis, or they exercised excellent ADA fire discipline, he made it without a shot fired.

One more anecdote involving US Army HAWK batteries during the Cold War: apparently they worked out rules for flight vectors, altitudes, and airspeed for friendly aircraft so they wouldn't get lit up by own ADA. Flyboys being the rambunctious sort, however, our planes rarely followed the prescribed...but across the border, East German MiGs would perfectly mimic these secret flight rules over their side. May have been the impetus to improve IFF technology...

Basileus