Tactics and Tips

Blackhawks will only carry one squad of troops at a time. Wingman Blackhawks should automatically land to pick up and drop off troops at the proper locations in a mission requiring it, as long as you hover in the area around the pick up or drop off zone.

You can't shoot your own troops, so it is safe to fire weapons into a mixed crowd of friendly and enemy ground troops.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

The most important thing to remember when attacking enemy units and structures is to use the right weapon for the job. Effective use of the weapons available will cause maximum damage while conserving your limited resources.

Chainguns and Hydra Rockets should be used against soft or lightly armored targets. Examples of such targets are troop squads, transport trucks, gun emplacements, SAM radars and missile launchers, aircraft hangars, houses, most factories, wooden bridges, and comms towers. Since the range of Rockets and especially Chaingun is rather limited, it can be dangerous to use them against large concentrations of heavy air defences. Tip: If you come across enemy main battle tanks without anti-aircraft support, enough Rockets will take them out without using up valuable Hellfires.

When attacking a large group of light to medium armored targets with your Rockets, try positioning yourself fairly close to the ground, and then pitch forwards until your unguided weapons sight (a little green cross on the ground in front of you) is located at the approximate maximum range of your Rockets. As you slowly drift towards the targets, simply fire off a salvo of rockets whenever a target comes into range. This technique works especially well against targets in wooded areas, or enemies hiding amongst light structures.

Hellfires are your primary anti-armor weapon, and will home in on the target currently painted by your laser targetting system. (If it becomes destroyed, your Hellfires will no longer track.) Use them to quickly dispatch tanks, and to destroy dangerous targets at long range. Hellfires also pack the most destructive punch against structures, and are the only sensible weapon to use against bunkers, hardened aircraft shelters, and iron girder bridges. It is important to keep in mind that Hellfires are nearly useless against troop squads and aircraft, and should be used as a weapon of utter last resort.

SideWinders are the preferred weapon for use against air threats, though Rockets and Chaingun are also effective at close range. Fire when you see a red diamond surrounding the target aircraft.

SideArms are a variant on the SideWinder with a radar seeking head, intended for use against ground based radar sources. If you expect to encounter significant radar guided SAM threats, SideArms can be an invaluable assistance. While Hellfires will take out threats that are closest to you, SideArms will seek directly towards the nearest emitting radar source (signified by a green diamond) and destroy it. In a crowded target area, firing a SideArm first can quickly neutralize a large portion of the anti-aircraft defences.

ENEMIES:

You can prevent enemy radar (fixed radar at SAM sites, mobile radar guided SAM launchers, and some ZSU-23s) from detecting you by flying close enough to the ground, or by putting a building or hill between you and the radar. If the enemy's radar lock is broken, radar guided missiles in the air at that time should stop tracking. IR guided SAM launchers and missiles do not have this disadvantage, and can fire at you no matter what your altitude above ground if they aquire a lock.

If enemy Migs are bothering you, try flying very close to the ground and behind obstacles. Their high speed makes it dangerous for them to venture too close to the ground, and their high altitude makes it harder for their radar to pick you out of the ground noise. Turn around before the Mig makes its pass over you, and launch a SideWinder up its tailpipe as soon as you get a lock.

CHEATS: (Full-Version Only!)

All cheats are typed in on the Mission Briefing screen. Typing "goto" will show you a list of all the missions in the operation that you can instantly jump to, "burn" will give you unlimited weapons, ammo, and fuel, and "rock" will make you invulnerable. Note that if you cheat, you will not be allowed to put your name on the High Score table!