The game experience has shown that one cannot count for 10+ railgun/NTW rifle users or 5+ Lissile users being present and eager to focus fire Super Hinds and Condors.
So they needed a nerf and I bet it will still not be enough as their firepower and effective range is still the same.
The tracer dart is rendered useless by the flares in spite of being a radio probe that should not care about heat signatures. As long as the tracer dart does not have its old duration on the target, it is a waste of a gadget unless one wants to freak out a steath heli (after 4.2) or to tag a sniper and make them wonder why God Himself dropped a Javelin on them