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I thought NATO used, for the most part, US equipment and that US equipment was vastly superior to anything the Soviets had.

Actually, it is.

1) The "short-range" missile (heat-seeking, I think) is the Sidewinder for both NATO and the US. It has a range of 10 nm, which outranges Soviet short-range missiles and guns. It can be used safely against many Soviet planes and, with some degree of risk, against the best Soviet planes.

2) The "medium-range" missile (radar guided, I think) is the Sparrow for the US (24 nm) and the Sky Flash for NATO (27 nm). It can be used safely against any real Soviet plane; the Soviet medium-range missiles have a range of 16 and 19 nm.

3) Then there's the Phoenix.

Of course, NATO is always heavily outnumbered. If the Soviets all come at once, you've got a problem. But if they come in waves so that your planes can reload their missiles, then your force is effectively larger.

ORIGINAL: VictorInThePacific

1) The "short-range" missile (heat-seeking, I think) is the Sidewinder for both NATO and the US. It has a range of 10 nm, which outranges Soviet short-range missiles and guns ...
2) The "medium-range" missile (radar guided, I think) is the Sparrow for the US (24 nm) and the Sky Flash for NATO (27 nm) ...
3) Then there's the Phoenix.

These figures are generally true for the older battlesets, but it is important to note that you should not expect it to be true for the more recent battlesets. Much of the information built into the older battlesets (with its built in database) was based on now outdated, best guess values for various weapon systems. For example, in the newer battlesets, the R-73 (NATO AA-11 Archer) is as good as, and often better, than the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

...ok, I have been playing Harpoon for a while now, and fairly comfortable with the strategy and methods etc (well, from a average point of view ) However, when playing scenarios (in particular in Westpac Battleset) where decoy fitout is available for aircraft...I am lost. How is a decoy used and what is its effect? [&:]

Hi bjlee77,
Its a budget thing. missiles with live warheads cost a lot of money and those with a dummy (decoy) don't cost so much. Throw a stack of decoys out in front of the live (expensive) ones and with luck a lot of the SAMs, point defence etc will take out the decoys and let more of the real things through to their target. Even ignoring the cost you often get more decoys in a loadout (for the same plane) than explosive warheads so if you're targeting a well defended site you will probably get more effective hits from the same number of planes.
Watch the in air speed of the different missiles so as to time the firings to try to get the effective guys closely behind the decoys at the target.
Make sense?
Don

ORIGINAL: bjlee77
... ok, I have been playing Harpoon for a while now, and fairly comfortable with the strategy and methods etc (well, from a average point of view ) However, when playing scenarios (in particular in Westpac Battleset) where decoy fitout is available for aircraft...I am lost. How is a decoy used and what is its effect? [&:]

Don nailed it. The sole purpose of the decoy is to mimic a much more expensive missile or aircraft and by its use, hope to distract or soak up enemy air defenses.

It should perhaps be noted that since there are currently unlimited reloads for aircraft weapons, there's not all that much reason to use decoys unless you're going for serious realism, or unless you have a truly ludicrous time constraint and absolutely need to kill the target(s) on the first pass.

ORIGINAL: Warhorse64
It should perhaps be noted that since there are currently unlimited reloads for aircraft weapons, there's not all that much reason to use decoys unless you're going for serious realism, or unless you have a truly ludicrous time constraint and absolutely need to kill the target(s) on the first pass.

Its true that without a logistics model you are not constrained by weapons expenditure, but players can certainly choose to play this way (I do, for one) and it should also be noted that the AI (or player side SAM/AAA, for that matter) does not differentiate between decoys and real weapons. There's nothing to prevent one from creating a scenario where the computer controlled opponent puts decoys to good use.