Tips & tricks / advice needed for countering top tier jets with Fire and Forget missiles with ground-based SPAA

The Academy - Players helping Players
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Hiya,

Anyone run SPAA at top tier and have any good tricks / tips for countering CAS jets? I have Pantsir, 2S6 CS/SA5 and TOR-M1 as my best SPAA and I do relatively well against lower skill pilots who tend to fly higher and not move around, but I’m having a huge difficulty with high skill pilots who either;

Fly really really low at tree top (can get a few gun kills, my skill is improving but hit & miss forgive pun)

but the really big issue I’m having lately is the new jets with Fire and Forget (?) IR(?) missiles that they spam 5-6 at around 8 KM or more and then dive to the tree top, these missiles swarm me and my team and i can shoot down maybe 2 or 3 but one will definitely get through. The jet seems to operate here with impunity and there appears to be no effective counter. Even with SA5 and AHEAD ammo i cannot effectively lock all the missiles quick enough.

Is this a skill issue with me or am I not using the radar lock properly? Is this a case of “Find cover and hide” until he pops up again or runs out of ammo? Is countering him at this point not possible until we finish the cat & mouse game?

Anyone have any tips? thanks :3

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1 year ago you could still do something against low flying targets, but now it has too many nerfs

only guns

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When pantsir got too many nerfs?

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You’re actually doing really well that’s literally the purpose of jets at top tier, to overwhelm SPAAs with speed and missile spam. Even advanced systems like IRST or the Buk-M3 sometimes struggle against fast low-altitude missiles such as the KH-38 or similar types. If you’re intercepting 2–3 missiles, that’s already saving one or more teammates that’s a big win!

A few tips that might help:

  • Switch radar modes often. Try using TWS or search modes to reacquire targets without locking onto chaff.
  • Use optical tracking when a jet is close or spamming chaff. It’s slower but less likely to lose track in clutter.
  • Relocate after every few shots. Skilled CAS pilots will remember your position and try to pre-fire on you.
  • Don’t tunnel vision. Wait for the perfect launch window; firing too early gives the jet time to evade.
  • Stay near cover or friendly SAMs. Layered defense is key your radar plus someone else’s optics can create crossfire zones.

And hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. Even top-tier SPAA players get overwhelmed sometimes. Think of it as a chess match sometimes you just need to bait a jet into a bad angle and let him serve himself up for your missile.

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