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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice on how to automate my ASW patrols properly without micromanaging every drop.

I have several MPAs sweeping a large maritime area. My problem is that the AI automatically alternates between dropping Active and Passive sonobuoys.

I need "Passive Only": I want to remain stealthy, but the aircraft keep dropping Active "pings" mixed with the passive ones.

Missing Option: I went to the Mission Editor -> Doctrine -> ASW settings to set "Sonobuoy Usage" to "Passive Only", but the dropdown menu is completely missing from the interface in this scenario.

Depth Issue: Also, the AI automatically selects the depth (often Shallow), but I need to force them to drop at DEEP setting due to the thermal layer conditions.

My question: Since I cannot manually drop buoys (Shift+F1) for multiple aircraft covering a huge area (it's too tedious), how do you guys automate this?

Is there a Lua script or a specific method to force the AI to:

Stop dropping Active buoys (since the GUI option is gone).

Always select "Deep" depth for the passive drops?

Thanks for the help!

I think you just need to set sonar use in the ASW mission to passive.

tylerblakebrandon wrote: Sat Jan 17, 2026 4:02 pm I think you just need to set sonar use in the ASW mission to passive.

Thanks for the suggestion, Tyler.

I tried setting the EMCON Sonar to "Passive", but unfortunately, the AI still drops the active buoys (SSQ-47). It seems the game logic treats sonobuoys more like "expendable ammunition" than just sensors, so the AI deploys them during the prosecution phase regardless of the EMCON state.

Since the specific "Sonobuoy Usage" option is missing from the GUI in this scenario, the only workaround I can think of is using a Lua script to physically remove the Active Sonobuoys from the aircraft's magazine.

However, I really prefer not to do that. It feels unrealistic and "gamey" to magically delete equipment from a plane mid-flight just to force a behavior.

My question for the devs/experts is: If the "Sonobuoy Usage" doctrine line is hidden/unavailable, is there no other native way to restrict specific buoy types (like a WRA setting)? It seems like a missing feature if we cannot forbid the AI from breaking stealth with active pings without resorting to editing the loadout via Lua.

Thanks!

Indeed in the db there are sonobuoys that are weapons while others are sensors.

But I think most are both at the same time.

There's no way at the moment to select the sonobuoy type to being dropped in patrols by the AI. Sorry, you'd need to micro manage or use lua.

Thanks for answer

For those of us playing with non-US keyboards (like Spanish or other European layouts), the default hotkeys [ and ] for dropping buoys often don't work. This is because the game expects a single keypress, but our layouts usually require key combinations (like AltGr + key) to type those brackets.

The simple solution (Workaround): You don't need external software. Just use the Windows language toggle:

Make sure you have the English (US) language pack added in your Windows settings.

While in-game, press Windows Key + Space. This instantly toggles your keyboard layout to US English.

Now, the physical keys immediately to the right of the letter P (usually the accent keys on our keyboards) will function as [ and ]. You can now drop sonobuoys rapidly without using the mouse menu.

When you finish playing, press Windows Key + Space again to return to your native language.

Hope this helps anyone struggling with manual drops!