Okay as a pilot ill tell you how pilots feel:
Helicopters:
I get up, i kill all opponent helicopters. So next targets are ground, particulary light vehicles and infantry. After little while lockon hell starts, which means i need to fly low to be behind the covers. After small while rpg/sraw spam starts, including vehicle tows and guided munitions. So i'm locked from some areas, okay. I need to think about something new, wild soflam appears. I'm suddenly locked from 75% of the map (depends of the map). Yes i am stuck.
Jets:
Basically same problems, but i can get out of danger a little faster and stay out. But then there is wild MAA sitting at the spawn under "cram dome", means i can't deal any other damage than main cannon and meanwhile he scans me other side of map with lockons. I get almost in, quick surge on something and out. Mostly i need to cancel strafe cause i have one set of flares so i need to use - means i can't do anything to the ground.
About lockons: I tried igla, locking on can reach up to 800m. If you shoot it at close range, missile will fail. But if its far and pilot flares right after, it will relock. Also depends on angle - means if jets is close to ground, most likely missile will hit ground when flared. Overall lockons problems with lockons usage? Well imagine if most of lockons would hit, how many of anything would you see flying? None...
RPG:
What? Rpg is still accurate asf:
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reddit vid1
And i have some clips at home, just waiting for new heli to spawn, meanwhile spamming rpg and getting some aircrafts dropped.
But thats how it is, if there is good and skilled pilot, thats the reward. TO get there is a lot of sweating and training. But game still offers noobfriendly killing against skilled ones. But don't expect it to be a lockon