im right there with ya man, i really hope they give the gunners flares back on the next patch, i love this game and absolutely love the helicopters and have a buddy of mine be my gunner all the time. i dont get how they allow infantry to lock on at longer distances and lower altitudes, AND take their flares away. that just doesnt seem to make any sense to me at all. the helicopters cant do anything now. and this dude saying you can use the extinguisher and flares is an idiot because you cant. its not about popping your flares too early, or late for that matter. its about never being able to counter act the missile lock ons once you popped your first round of flares, i use ecm jammer but either way theres nothing you can do. the only thing is to put something (a building or the landscape) between you and whoever is locking on to you., which is almost next to impossible when your a air asset and have the whole opposing team with stingers or iglas.. i love how the game preaches team work, which is why i dont understand why they took the teamwork out of the helicopter and ruined it. its something that makes battlefield so much more unique and superior to all other shooters that are out. Especially call of duty. im fine with ground AA being able to lock on under radar, but give us a chance to save our selves. the gunner needs flares. i truthfully hope they read this topic and atleast consider putting the flares back in there. im truly a concerned battlefield fan that love this game, and defend the **bleep** out of it when people talk bad about it.