IFV Laser Paint Causes Silent Locks on Aircraft; Flares Ineffective

Platform: PS5 / PC / Xbox

Game mode: Conquest, Escalation, Large All-Vehicle Maps (likely all maps)

Description: Infantry Fighting Vehicles currently have the ability to engage and destroy air targets (helicopters and jets) with laser-guided missiles without triggering a lock-on warning tone for the target aircraft. As a result, pilots receive no alert and cannot deploy flares, making the attack unavoidable.

This appears to be an unintended mechanic or oversight in how vehicle targeting and missile lock systems interact.

Believed to be a similar issue with Javelin lock-ons and ground vehicles only hearing an incoming missile warning when it’s already in the air (often too late).

Expected Behaviour: Aircraft receives a lock warning and can use flares.

Frequency: Consistent — happens every time the interaction occurs.

Impact: This mechanic effectively removes counterplay for pilots, making IFVs disproportionately powerful against air vehicles. It breaks the intended balance between ground-to-air and air-to-ground interactions. It’s being used as an exploit by some and is making AA tanks obsolete in retrospect.

Possible Cause (Speculative): The IFV’s missile system may be using a “soft lock” or semi-active targeting mode that bypasses the aircraft’s countermeasure detection logic. If so, this could be a data flag or tag issue on the missile type.

Suggestion: Ensure IFV laser-guided missiles trigger the aircraft lock-on warning state. Confirm that countermeasure windows behave consistently across all vehicle missile systems.