German AI Luftwaffe almost inactive in 1941 despite large operational force (possible AI issue?)

[juv95hrn]

(Im sure this has been posted about before, sorry for spamming a new thread about it. Feel free to move it to the proper place.)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... IlQVu5LYnw

I've encountered what appears to be a recurring AI behavior during a 2026 campaign playing the Soviet Union against the German AI.

By turn 10-12, the Luftwaffe is almost absent from the campaign despite the German ground forces continuing an otherwise competent offensive. During most German turns I observe only a handful of Ground Support missions, sometimes none at all over major offensives. Air superiority missions appear very limited and I see almost no bombing of Soviet units, rail, depots or airfields. Meanwhile the Soviet Air Force, after surviving the opening weeks, is able to conduct repeated Ground Attack missions against German spearheads with very little fighter opposition.

This is not simply a matter of the Luftwaffe suffering heavy losses. According to the air reports, Germany still possesses a large number of operational aircraft and pilots. Aircraft losses do not appear catastrophic enough to explain the near disappearance of German air operations. Instead, the AI seems to be choosing not to employ the Luftwaffe.

The practical consequence is that the Soviet player can build up air superiority far earlier than expected. German spearheads receive very little air support while Soviet bombers can repeatedly attack advancing divisions with relatively modest losses. The ground campaign therefore becomes much easier than historical expectations or previous versions of the game would suggest.

A few possible explanations came to mind:

the AI may be conserving supply or freight by minimizing air operations;
the AI may be overly concerned about pilot preservation;
the AI may be assigning missions which are subsequently cancelled by weather or doctrine checks;
recent changes to AI logistics or air doctrine may have unintentionally made the AI excessively conservative.

However, these are only hypotheses. From the player's perspective the end result is simply that the Luftwaffe contributes very little to the campaign after the opening turns.

I'd be interested to hear whether other players have observed the same behavior in recent versions, particularly during the 1941 campaign against the AI. Is this intended AI behavior, a known limitation, or something that may have changed in recent patches?

If this is reproducible, I believe it deserves investigation because the German AI ground game remains respectable while the air war becomes largely one-sided, substantially reducing both challenge and historical feel.

[Joel Billings]

Looking at AI tests, I think this is 3 parts supply issue, 1 part unit placement issue. Human players can squeeze more out of the supply system than the AI. We understand that the Axis AI is not doing well with the air force. We made many attempts to improve it before and after release, but never got it to where we wanted it. We're not in a position to make any changes in the AI.