Matrix Games Forums

I've noticed recently that the only way to set up wide area to look for enemies is with an ASuW Patrol of some sort. This has led to numerous occasions where reconnaissance aircraft attempt to attack targets despite not having any ordnance with which to do so whatsoever and may even lead to, for example, an AI American player losing a U-2 spy plane to a MANPADS. I would like to request that there be some way to tell aircraft on a patrol to only identify contacts and then move on to the next one, not to attack said contacts. Maybe some specialized AI for purpose-designed recon aircraft or just a separate patrol mission specifically for reconnaissance?

Try using a support mission.

Yes, I think a support mission is a better fit for this kind of behavior.

Is there any way for support missions to have a randomized patrol route and logic to try to identify contacts?

If you need a random-walk pattern, use a patrol. If you need "close and inspect/classify/identify" behavior, use a patrol and set WCS to "hold" (to prevent shooting).


BTW, "try to identify contacts" is what your U-2 was trying to do during its ASUW patrol when it was shot down by a MANPADS. Identifying a contact usually means getting much closer to it than necessary for merely detecting it, which usually also means getting withing range of being shot at. If you don't want this then support missions are a better choice.

Okay, so apparently, you can set the "Number of aircraft that engage hostile contacts" value to "None" to make an ASuW patrol into the recon patrol I wanted. You can even set the Attack Altitude to make sure your U-2 doesn't get too low if you want to. I seriously doubt setting the WCS to "Hold" will work especially when Land WCS is locked in most scenarios.

Feature request added.

0013743

Closing as the desired behavior is already possible.