The current split air defense system (with radar and launcher separated) at top-tier airfields in realistic battles has three critical flaws that seriously affect gameplay and tactical depth:
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Inflexible Site Layout, Poor Survivability
The radar vehicle and missile launchers are deployed too close together, often huddled around the same revetment. A single heavy bomb or air-to-ground missile from the enemy can easily destroy both the radar and launchers simultaneously, instantly paralyzing the entire air defense network.
Suggestion: Create entirely new, dispersed missile positions. Add several pre-built, concealed radar emplacements (e.g., at the edge of tree lines, on reverse slopes) within a 3–5 km radius of the airfield. Allow the radar vehicle to deploy independently and completely separate from the launchers. Players could even select a radar position before spawning, leaving the launchers near the runway while the radar is forward-deployed to a more concealed, harder-to-kill location. This would force enemies to deal with the radar and launchers separately, dramatically improving the anti-aircraft system’s survivability. -
Excessively Long Radar Resupply Time, Creating a Deadly Vulnerability Window
Currently, when the radar vehicle is destroyed, its respawn time can be several minutes. During this period, all the missile launchers at the airfield become useless, and friendly aircraft are left completely without terminal cover, making it extremely easy for the enemy to suppress the airfield.
Suggestion: Significantly speed up missile site resupply. Reduce the default radar vehicle respawn time to 60–90 seconds. Additionally, introduce a “manual repair” mechanic: players could land at the friendly airfield, press a designated button, and spend a small amount of spawn points to instantly repair the radar. The missile launchers’ reload rate should also be increased to ensure they can keep firing as long as the radar is alive, eliminating the embarrassing situation of “having a radar but no missiles.” -
Lack of IFF, Repeated Friendly Fire Incidents with Anti-Radiation Missiles
Existing anti-radiation missiles (e.g., AGM-45 Shrike, Kh-58) have seekers that cannot distinguish friend from foe when tracking radar emissions. In the chaos of battle, anti-radiation missiles fired by teammates can easily lock onto your own airfield radar, causing the absurd scenario of “destroying your own air defense.”
Suggestion: Add IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) markers to all radar sources. Implement a hard-coded IFF check into the seeker logic of all anti-radiation missiles. Any radar emissions from friendly units – including ground radars, ship radars, and even allied aircraft with their radars on – should be automatically filtered out. The seeker would be completely unable to lock or track these sources, and when attempting to lock, the HUD should display a “Friendly” warning and refuse launch. Friendly radars should also appear with a clear blue marker on the tactical map and HUD, fundamentally preventing any chance of mistaken engagement.
These three improvements complement each other and, without overhauling the existing mechanics, would make the air defense gameplay at top tier more layered, fair, and engaging. The development team is urged to consider their implementation.