Up to now,the SAM units were the only remaining units that were lacking in our military assets, so after this additions, our ground troops probably will sleep better, even if our intercepting squadrons are out on a mission.
First starting with a long range SAM unit:
Is the M983 HEMTT tractor attached to a trailer-mounted Patriot missile launcher.
The patriot Missile is a very effective AA weapon and with the HEMTT tractor it can be deployed almost everywhere, although it is very vulnerable against low flying units.
CHARACTERISTICS
Very long range target acquisition
Can Lock to targets at High altitudes
Can intercept missiles and ICBMs
The limit of close range which can lock is higher that most of the SAMs
Low rate of fire
The MIM-104C (PAC-2) is the missile of the Patriot SAM system. It is a very long range anti-aircraft/anti-missile weapon although it is not very agile thus making it very effective against bombers but not so much against fighters. But considering its high speed even the most agile fights can be shot down if they don’t evade quickly.
This version is just the Patriot launcher system without the tractor, it is being shown here, because it probably will be the most recurring version that our pilots will be facing.
Note 1: Sam Systems are normally a hierarchy system of multiple units that include Fire Control Unit, radar, transporters, launchers and missiles. So the name of these SAMs refer to the system itself and not the actually launcher unit.
Note 2: In the game the SAM launchers are considered autonomous units capable of detecting and engaging enemy targets on his own. The future addition of Fire Control Vehicles and radar units will serve as support units to boots these units’ capabilities.
Next a medium range SAM unit:
The 5P73 belongs to the S-125 SAM system and it is a fixed position unit capable of firing high mobility anti-aircraft missiles.
The S-125 is a medium altitude surface-to-air missile system and it is one of the most produced SAM systems, so expect to see these a lot in future missions.
CHARACTERISTICS
Can engage low flying targets
Effective against maneuverable targets
Cannot be used against missiles
The missile used by the S-125 SAM system:
The 5V27D (V-601D) is a ground-to-air missile designed for the S-125 Sam system is very agile capable of intercepting high mobility fighters.
Lastly a medium/close range SAM unit:
The Tan-Sam launcher is a truck with surface to air missile system, made to fill the gap between medium range missiles likeV-601D and close range like Stingers.
The Tan-SAM has the possibly of changing target after firing the missile, making it especially useful against multiple helicopters
Unfortunately, like the Patriot Launcher, the Tan-Sam needs to be deployed before firing.
CHARACTERISTICS
Fire and forget missiles
Long deploy time
While not as agile as the V-601D, the Tan-SAM-1B is more suited to be fired against close range and low flying target targets.
Something to take note, even without AA gun units, a high value target can have an almost impenetrable shield against air units if guarded by these three units at the same time.
With these latest units, all basic types of ground units are now available, including some types having more than one unit. This is an important milestone that was needed to accomplish before the alpha release. Now the more relevant milestones to be completed are the addition of rocket weapons, the ability to lock multiple targets and launching multiple missiles at once, and finally adding the skirmish mode.
Also, it has been a while since the last gameplay video, so the following report will be a mission showing the latest progress and additions.
- Added Deploy function for ground units
- Improved the lock system
Now the weapons can have a minimum slant range and also a maximum/minimum height range which they can lock. This makes it viable nap-of-the-earth techniques against SAM units. It also adds another factor to be considered as the missiles besides having different lock ranges, now also have different minimum lock ranges.
- Added M983 HEMTT
- Added M983 HEMTT + Patriot Launcher
- Added Patriot Launcher
- Added 5P73
- Added Tan-Sam Launcher
- Added MIM-104C Missile
- Added V-601D Missile
- Added Tan-SAM-1B Missile
Stay tuned, more reports will follow
Suggestion: For some mid/long range SAMs (Patriots, Hawks, S-300PS/SA-10s, etc), they should require a respective radar module, where if its destroyed, it will render the whole SAM package useless.
Something that Strike Fighters series have taught me 😉
Yes, to add more depth (and realism) some SAMs will require support units to be able to operate, destroying these units will render the AA units useless.
On other hand, the other units that don’t need support units will have increased performance when they are near support vehicles. (for example: Faster fire rate near a Fire Control Unit or increased lock range near an AWCS plane)