A Combat Vet & Game Designers thoughts on Aerial Vehicles: New Changes

@Snack_Weasel I see what you mean. Your correct that normally super sonic jets can lock from quite a distance away. That's where the game design portion comes into play. Unlike real war, simulated war games must incorporate a semblance of balance and sacrifice realism to a degree. That is so both sides have an equal advantage and the ultimate victory goes to those of more skill. In that sense you have to look at battlefield as a chess board. Each piece has a fundamental purpose and restrictions to how it is used.

The problem I see with using turboprop CAS aircraft instead of jets. Is that their role is close air support which has already been claimed. Adding another CAS vehicle further tips the scales. Yes the A-29 is a chopper killer of sorts, but it also has ground attack abilities. So at most I would say it would be a possible replacement for the F-35. However it does not resolve the major issue with air vehicles right now and breaks the "futuristic" feel of the game.

The huge problem right now is there is an over abundance of CAS in the air and not enough anti-air to threaten it. Choppers in this game right now are extremely durable, are hard to see, are able to engage jets head to head, and can even defeat jets completely by reaching max altitude and forcing jets to engage in the choppers killbox.

That combined with the fact that DICE decided to create two separate aircraft for US and RU. Then make the insane decision to make one extremely mobile and give the other VTOL which they miss judged as an acceptable counter. So not only do fighter jets not have the edge on their prey. But anyone playing RU in the felon has the superior advantage over the US F-35. Unfortunately it doesn't matter what planes or choppers you substitute if the balance equation remains the same you will find the same result.

The only proper fix is to separate the planes into specific roles that both restrict and define their reason for existence. Using slower planes like subsonic turboprop engines will not fix the problem. Just slow down the gameplay. Think of it like I said in the OP. The aerial vehicles need to be broken down into a "rock paper scissors" system. Where certain vehicles have the advantage over others. But leaving the flexibility for rock to beat paper if they are skilled enough. Its like a pawn vs. a rook in chess. The rook has the advantage of movement over the pawn which makes it more dangerous to the pawn. But that doesn't mean a pawn cannot defeat a rook.

Just as a Chopper Killer has the major advantage over a chopper but the chopper still has a chance at beating it. Where as Dog Fighter (the Queen of aerial pieces) the advantage over all aerial vehicles. You have to counter a Dog Fighter with another Dog Fighter. Like two Queens facing off, and the only victor is the one with superior skill or tactics.

However all these "pieces" I mentioned have to be available to both sides. Which doesn't exist right now. Battlefield right now is like playing chess game where only one side has a queen and the other does not. Until they fix that, ground troops are going to feel helpless against aerial CAS vehicles.