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The only documentation I can find related to this in the manual or the manual addendum talks about the checkbox called Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area. As I understand it that allows me to set a prosecution area and when contacts show up in that area my CAP will leave the patrol zone and investigate/engage them.

I can't find anything about "within weapons range." I assumed that meant that if a contact came within a unit's weapon range it would be investigated and engaged if conditions are right (either weapons free or weapons tight but the contact is identified as hostile). However, time and time again I find that with this box checked enemy planes will fly right up to my CAP patrols, get on their six if the enemy WRA doesn't allow them to fire or fire at my units, and if I'm playing a scenario where my weapon range is much longer than the enemy those shots of course happen inside a zone where I should have been able to engage them. So what am I missing?

if it's checked it will attempt to ID and/or engage contacts that are outside of it's prosecution zone but inside it's weapon range.

works fine for me, granted i usually draw prosecution zones for everything that are pretty permissive so i guess i don't end up using it that often. upload a save if you think it's legit busted.

I'm not thinking it's busted I just wonder if I understand how it works correctly. Maybe the CAP unit has to ID the unit itself with its own sensors, even if there's AWACS in the air?

AFAIK anything in it's weapons range on a bogey will go attempt to ID it. once it's ID'ed as hostile everyone within their envelope (either weapons range or prosecution area) will go engage it.

if it's neutral or unfriendly then they will obey that specific AI behavior until something changes.

"Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area" seems to apply to anything anywhere. So for example you have a tiny patrol area somewhere with fighter planes in it on an AAW patrol, then something like an AEW plane spots a bogey way far away somewhere. The fighters will leave their tiny area and fly very far away from it potentially to identify the bogey.

I haven't really tested the "within weapons range" version but it sounds like it should do something similar but only applies to weapons range, so should result in fewer AAW patrol planes flying super far away from their patrol area to identify a bogey.

It's easy to see how bad "Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area" can get in any scenario with lots of civilian aircraft flying all over. (Which then makes me wonder, do some AEW planes not have Mode3/A interrogation capability or do they just not trust it?)

Yeah that happened to me a few times when I started playing the game so I really shy away from activating that box, especially in large scenarios where it's hard to keep track of everything that's happening.

ORIGINAL: NimrodX

"Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area" seems to apply to anything anywhere. So for example you have a tiny patrol area somewhere with fighter planes in it on an AAW patrol, then something like an AEW plane spots a bogey way far away somewhere. The fighters will leave their tiny area and fly very far away from it potentially to identify the bogey.

I haven't really tested the "within weapons range" version but it sounds like it should do something similar but only applies to weapons range, so should result in fewer AAW patrol planes flying super far away from their patrol area to identify a bogey.

It's easy to see how bad "Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area" can get in any scenario with lots of civilian aircraft flying all over. (Which then makes me wonder, do some AEW planes not have Mode3/A interrogation capability or do they just not trust it?)

"Investigate Contacts Outside Patrol Area"

This one works best with a prosecution zone. If you don't put up a prosecution zone the CAP will wander, but if you do - and adjust it to work with other CAPs etc you can really set up a decent AD network.

I have not really tested 'within weapons range' but recall that it was set up after there were some concerns about AC transiting to a patrol zone and not investigating passing contacts. Not 100% sure that was the purpose though.

B