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I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. I'm such an HC noob.

I've been sending my Nimrods/P-3s/whatever on patrol near my surface/sub formations, changing the outer formation ring range out to about 24-30nm out (more for a larger formation maybe) and having the second ring about 8nm out max.

I'll just have it Join the formation group and set it's patrol in an outer ring or two along the axis of advance. Seems to do it's job just fine though I get a beep error about how it can't land in the formation group, but that shouldn't be a biggie - just detach it when it's out of sonobuoys and replace it with a fresh one (or two).

My sub and surface groups have been better protected than when I was trying to micromanage one at a time a ways out front of my formations.[8D]

Nefarious (or anybody else please!)

This sounds like a great tactic and I tried it last night, but after I had joined a Viking to the Keflavik group, and then went to the base formation editor, the added plane didn't show up in the airfield group list as as an asset that I could then turn into an ASW patrol. Does the plane have to land before it can be re-sent out as an ASW patrol?
Or, should I really have been able to make the Viking into a base-attached ASW patrol as soon as I had successfuilly joined it, and I was just doing something wrong?

I'm not sure about using the formation editor for a land base.  You may not be able to set ASW patrols in a land base's formation editor.  That's a question for the devs.

I've only used land based ASW this way by attaching them to Task Forces and assigning them in the form editor that way.

Actually, you can set ASW patrols in the bases formation editor, and it will work just like it does for a task force. However, keep in mind that the game doesn't really differentiate between water and land for those patrols, so to get the most effective use of the ASW assets, make sure you put them into full water zones.

I usually use my land based ASW assets to conduct coastal patrols, with hunter-killer ASW SAGs hunting outside those boundries.

Remember the absolute best asset for hunting an enemy submarine is a submarine of your own.

I tried placing a P3 in a surface formation and I noticed that it 'wanted' to fly at medium rather than low altitude for MAD etc. Also, does matter which ring it is placed in i.e. ASW ring?

Nefarious thanks for the reply..Shark thanks for the input too.

So, we know that putting land based ASW aircraft into a ship group's formation works (albeit with possible MAD effective altitude problems, i'll check to see if mine are the same Maromak).

Could somebody else check for me please if they can get a carrier-borne ASW plane to join an airfield, and instantly turn it into an ASW patrol attached to the base in the formation editor. I didn't seem to be able to. The plane had to land first and then be set up as a patrol. Cheers.

ive also been havin probs tryin to find subs with my asw aircraft. do aircraft have to be at v low altitude to use asw equipment?

when i select the asw planes to loiter they dont seem to drop sonobouys, but when i join the to a group they do. why is this?

tone-

I was told that when your individual asw a/c is ordered to loiter it drops only one sonobuoy.  If you have it flying off by itself, then you have to drop them manually and that is something that needs to be worked on IMO.  Perhaps being able to make a surface formation group (with rings) for aircraft (only) possible would alleviate the problem - then we could just place them in the ASW ring & let them do their stuff.

As for being in a surface group already, flying at Low Altitude, they will drop automatically.  Dipping sonar on helos only works at VLow but I *think* they'll use them anyway, if in a formation.  If not, just manually set their altitude to VLow when they're out on patrol.

so attachin a/c to formations is the easiet method then? but what if u dont want to attach them?

the thing is, when i set the a/c to loiter i didnt see a box appear like when helos hunt for subs, is this correct?

sounds like aircraft require lots of micromanagement then when not attached.

ORIGINAL: tonedog
so attachin a/c to formations is the easiet method then? but what if u dont want to attach them?

It is probably the easiest method to get them to hunt subs automatically in a certain area, e.g. around a base or a surface ship group. (With the latter, keep in mind that they won't be able to land and refuel, so keep an eye on their fuel state).

the thing is, when i set the a/c to loiter i didnt see a box appear like when helos hunt for subs, is this correct?

I expect you're referring to sonobuoys. Tap the "." key to manually drop them. Otherwise the aircraft will drop them automatically when in formation.

sounds like aircraft require lots of micromanagement then when not attached.

Yes. Getting long range ASW patrols to conduct automatic searches within a defined search pattern is something we continue to investigate as a possibility.