New Feature: Infrared Countermeasure

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    • New Feature: Infrared Countermeasure

      Suggestion Time

      IRCM (Infrared Countermeasure)
      Advanced defense system that reduces the effectiveness of incoming surface-to-air missiles. Being much more costly than standard issue flares or chaff, this equipment is recommended for deep strike missions

      This is not a unit, but a status that is applied to units. Can be loaded on to Strike Fighters, Heavy Bombers, NPA, and their variants. It works by reducing the damage of the next ranged (AA Envelope) attack

      Tier 1: -20%, cost 3 Deployable gear
      Tier 2: -40%, cost 3 Deployable gear

      To use, select the aircraft while it is landed at an airbase and press the “Countermeasure” button.
      The loading will take 5 minutes and the aircraft will show a unique symbol when the countermeasure is active. During these 5 minutes you can cancel the loading and get a refund.
      When an aircraft is carrying IRCM, a ranged attack will spend the countermeasure and a new one will need to be loaded. For a stack of five aircraft, total cost is 25 DGear. Re-stacking an IRCM-equipped aircraft at an airfield will automatically disable and refund it (To prevent stacking of equipped aircraft with unequipped aircraft). Security Council offers the ability to automatically load IRCM when refueling

      Theoretical effect in a battle:
      5 SF + IRCM vs 2 SAMs + Inf, all Tier 2
      2 SAMs deal 20 damage collectively
      -As the SF approach the SAM, they will be engaged by the envelope. IRCM will active and the stack will take 12 (%60) damage
      -SF attack the stack of SAMs and infantry. This results in the total destruction of one SAM and the rest of the damage going to infantry, as well as the loss of a SF from 20 (%100) damage + Point defense of infantry
      -On the way out of the envelope, the lone SAM shoots again, dealing 10 (100%) damage
      -Ultimately, the SF still took heavy losses, but the IRCM allowed them to close in and destroy a SAM


      Realism:
      Based on my limited research, IRCM is a special countermeasure compared to standard issue flares or chaff. For this reason, it is equipped on aircraft much less often than other countermeasures. This is represented in-game by specially researching and equipping it onto a squadron rather than it being standard-issue


      How the game will improve:

      -More tactics, gameplay options

      -Direct improvement to SF, HB and NPA, inhibited by the additional investment required to research and deploy IRCM. Remember that IRCM is useless against enemy ASF

      (Strike Fighters) SAMs have an advantage over Strike Fighters, as they should. However, when comparing Strike Fighters and Attack helicopters, one quickly notices that the abilities of SAMs are so profound that any opponent intelligently using SAMs will effortlessly crush Strike Fighter stacks. As a result, any player who intends to mass produce strike fighters will risk their entire Air Force being made redundant against an opponent with enough SAMs. From my observations, many competitive players consider helicopters to be objectively better for this reason, and only use Strike Fighters occasionally. IRCM solves this problem by offering a new route: When a Strike Fighter user encounters many SAMs, instead of diverting research to helicopters or ground units, they can further develop Strike Fighters with IRCM. The SAMs will still cause heavy Strike Fighter losses, but the Strike Fighter user will at least be able to continue the use of their planes in a way that is effective

      (Heavy Bomber) These units, while potentially very powerful, also suffer from a vulnerability even greater than that of Strike Fighters. Strike Fighters can overpower and destroy enemy AA, but Heavy Bombers only really have Cruise Missiles to work with. As a result, once the enemy deploys SAMs in their homeland cities the idea of bombing them strategically becomes redundant. IRCM offers a pathway to push forward the concept of bombing the homeland while requiring precious resources and still allowing SAMs to stop the air attacks

      (NPA) Frigate are numerous and easily defeat NPA. In my opinion, a major problem with naval units is that it is difficult to counter them without more naval units. NPA can potentially beat frigates by taking advantage of their slow heal and returning to hospital, but a large number of frigates will pick apart any fixed wing stack. Again, IRCM is a potential solution: instead of having to create their own navy in the face of frigates, an NPA user can invest in IRCM to further develop the NPA and use them as a primary force against naval units. Ultimately, NPA becomes much more viable as a hard counter to Naval units, and indirectly encourages the use of a unpopular unit (Aircraft Carrier) to bring NASF


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      The post was edited 1 time, last by Colonel Waffles ().