Air warfare techs

[ZeppoSpecs]

In recent games I've been trying to max out air power. While I have a (semi-)solid grasp of the relative importance of land war techs, I'm not sure which air techs to research first.

Fighters to establish air supremecy seems like a decent idea. Then Aerial Warfare to bump up unit build limits. Then maybe Ground Attack Weapons because de-entrenching bombers is cool? Here's where I'm lost.

Anyoner have advice about the relative importance of air warfare techs?

Thanks!

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Actually you got the sequence right. Fighter tech definitely first!

[mdsmall]

Actually, I find there are good reasons to invest in all the air warfare techs.

For example, Long Range Aircraft adds a lot of range to Maritime Bombers, making them more effective at spotting. An extra hex in strike range is very helpful for seaplane carriers. Once your front in the West has a lot of units piled up, the extra range if you have it means your aircraft do not need to occupy hexes needed by your reserves.

Airships are some of the best value for money units in the game and an extra level or two in Airship Development also greatly increased their range.

Naval Weapons is in fact an aerial tech and recon bombers with it are very effective against ships in close range when they have naval weapons loaded.

Ground Attack Weapons are a bit of two-edged sword. At level 1, recon bombers take more casualties when it is installed than if they do not have it, even if you are just using the Bombers for artillery recon. (I have recommended before that Recon Bombers be given a Recon only option, like Seaplane carriers). At level 2 though, they de-entrench at level 2 which can be nice. When a Ground Attack Bomber has level 2 Ground Attack Weapons, it does serious morale damage too.

Overall, I would start with investing in Aerial Warfare in order to increase you build capacity and then experiment with the others, including Fighter Tech.