Kemco Games

[Iron Giant]

I don't know its name, but the Chinese bomber is sweet. Its got a decent defence too, so it doens't just get shot down quick and die and it can drop a motherload of bombs. Its a nice surprise mixed in among the weak Chinese army.

[SemperFi2382]

[Kab the Mentat]

My favorites are probably the M1A2 Abrams, M109 Paladins, and A-10 Thunderbolts (Warthogs). I've always loved the A-10s...they're so ugly. It's like having a mutt for a dog instead of a purebread. They have personality. Also, a combo of those into your military during a game and you're almost unstoppable. Lastly, and probably most importantly, I like them before they are 100% GEN-YOO-AINE American. Can't help it, I'm a nationalist.
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"I swallow model airplane parts so I can spit fly flows." - therealone

[Iron Giant]

I played through a free play map as the British. I love those VTOL's now. They can't be hit by most of their targets so have a good life to them. They can take out ground units, helicopters and enemy jets too. And all you need to resupply is a resupply truck.

On the downside, they don't have a whole lot of ammo or fuel, so you have to coordinate a resupply point well or they drop off.... I tried to save up enough cash for the British VTOL air craft carrier, but by the time I could afford it and start sending it to the front line, the Harriers had already won the game

[VI 6]

Having just recently completed mission mode, and moved on to free mode I have to agree with Kab on the A-10s.They're tough as nails and carry alot of firepower.I even use them against enemy fighters because they really can't hurt them, and the A-10s shred them with cannon and sidewinders.

[tyrannical]

Hey! I should have copyrighted all my praise on the A-10.
I feel so violated now

The A-10 is probably the most unbalanced unit in the game. Dirt cheap for an air unit, and tough. Gains levels really fast as there is always something it can attack.

Let me also reccomend the 5 bomb mix for the A-10. You can attack ground targets at medium air height, saves fuel.
Also, you can gatling attack choppers flying at low when you are at medium height, so they can not counter attack.
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Red army much agressor!!!! They make big war on you. You blue army commander. You stop red army. You make all bases belong to you! Go Blue Army, Go for great justice!!!

[irashunal]

The A-10 is undoubtedly the toughest dang thing in the air! It can serve as an anti-armor or antiheli, heck, anit-everything!! It takes a beating and still flies home for more ammo.

The F-22? has an insane range for it's AGM - about 18 hexes!!! Holy death from way out in left field Batman!!!

On the ground... I kind of like the T-80's/Merkava tanks. With them you can stop short of the enemy line and hit them once before engaging in nose to nose fighting, you can also pull up behind one of your own units and send a support volley into the enemy before the front line goes nose to nose. There's a definate advantage in that.

Add some standard move and fire capable artillery to that setup and you have a front line eliminator group.

For the money though the M1a2, Challenger, and LeClerc tanks are tough SOBs to be sure. Get them in a hex with a good terrain defense bonus and you'll spend half of your units turns trying to bring down that one unit.

[ROBERT]

The only thing I don't lihe about A-10's is their short movement rate

[SemperFi2382]

[irashunal]

[ROBERT]

The point is: because of it´s short movement range and it´s not so big fuel capacity the A-10 don´t seem to me as the ("probably") most unbalanced unit in the game as tyrannical stated. I mean, it is actually a cheap and tough air unit with a comparatively huge ammo loadout but with a short movement range and fuel capacity, so there´s the balance.

The A-10 has worked for me in many situations, but certainly long range missions are not their strong side, the stratotanker idea is pretty good though, but it is out of question when your funds are limited. I mean, that´s the whole idea behind the A-10, the price, isn´t it?

[SemperFi2382]

[Guest]

[ElricJC]

I LOVE the A-10. Sure, it's top speed is a paltry 450mph, but in its intended mission speed is not an issue. In this game it means the A-10 usually doesn't arrive to the fight too quickly.

And actually their fuel capacity is descent. With a move of only 8 (or 9 if you load them with the 1000lb bombs instead), a fuel of 90 gives them 11 consecutive rounds of standard movement. Their ammo load gives them great versatility against land units and heli units. I can even use an A or S class Thunderbolt to strike down more primitive enemy fighters in a pinch. They are so cheap, so simple, so powerful, and so tough, it's hard to argue with them.

I'm also a big fan of the B-1. Not only does it have the 2000lbers (a load of 1, but it can also mount the AGM-89 missile (range 14, FP 6, max elev. medium, acc 75/80, load 11). It only costs 3500 and when combined in an attack group of 4, with air recon support, a Stratotanker, a fully loaded Osprey, and a defense fighter, you can usually destroy the enemy base from a distance and move in your osprey when a hole is made to unload your infantry, right into their base.

Some units are more useful in certain situations, and less in others, and a couple of units I like to use in special purpose situations are the Harrier and the F-117A Nighthawk. The harrier loads a small number of older generation guided bombs, but its VTOL ability allows it to be used in a tactic I call a "Raider Cell", a group of 4-6 harriers supported by 1-2 supply trucks that can roam around behind your main line, make quick strikes, and retreat to reload. They aren't always useful when the enemy is filling the sky with fighters since the harrier is very vulnerable.

The F-117 is also a special purpose weapon. It has no guns, only 2 bombs, but those bombs are great - acc 95/96/65 (tank, inf, ship), FP 5, making them potent and accurate weapons. They also have a stealth factor of 24, and at only 2,250 credits, they are a good bargain. They have a speed of 11 (14), making them marginally quick when compared with other attack craft, but only have a fuel load of 60, requiring a tanker and/or a nearby well-protected airport.

I have lots of other fav units (like the ATACMS, the Hong 6 Badger, the Apache), but that would take a lot more space .

[SemperFi2382]