This strategy has been written not based solely on theory, but practice. It has evolved with changing rule sets and modifications to the base game. Some strategies have changed over time due to slight changes in game mechanics but for the most part, this strategy has remained unchanged. At the time of writing this guide, regular players in the community now have considerably higher skill levels than in 2023 and 2024.

Notable commanders at the time of writing this document also include players such as pointcleariusgaming, cylindricalbobcat, and turbo566. In writing this document, I do not claim to be the best commander. In fact I have lost more games than I have won. But for every loss, I learned new strategies, I learned what works, and what is a bad idea. Even today, I challenge myself to beat other teams while fighting from a disadvantage to advance my learning. Now, I share my lessons with you, the reader.

Delta Fleet’s battle doctrine is based on the rapid acquisition and employment of air power to achieve its goals. Although land and sea-based units offer niche abilities and in some cases can turn the tide of battle, air power is the most mobile and fastest responding asset on the battlefield. In most cases, the first team to acquire airframe production wins the game.

On a strategic level, this means at the start of every game, a Delta Fleet commander should be analyzing the map to discover the best way to acquire an airframe island as quickly and as safely as possible. This is because airframe production is necessary to establish air dominance against enemy teams. Airframe production permits high risk operations where aircraft attrition is a serious risk including recon and strike missions. Even when capturing an airframe island puts the carrier at risk, the primary goal should still be to capture an airframe island.

Once an airframe island is captured, then the commander is obliged to make more creative strategic decisions concerning the allocation of resources towards the rapid production of more airframes, or the capture of more islands to produce a greater variety of resources. Commanders should be aware that the capture of more islands and the rapid production of more airframes are complementary goals. Capturing more islands and destroying more enemy assets builds income which can be used to produce more aircraft. The production of aircraft should however be limited according to the team’s capacity to transport supplies to an aircraft carrier via barges, and the defense of the airframe island should be weighed against the distant separation of the carrier during the capture of more islands further away. Failing to capture an airframe island, or losing possession of an airframe island to an enemy team in almost all cases will lead to defeat.

On an operational level, commanders should ideally drive their aircraft carrier directly towards the nearest airframe island (or depending on ocean current, the fastest travel-time) and immediately do everything in their power to capture the island as quickly as possible while risking the destruction of as few friendly assets as possible. Typically this is done using the following steps in order:

1. Destroy all enemy player assets
2. Destroy all enemy naval assets which pose a direct threat to the capture of the island command center
3. Destroy all enemy aircraft assets which pose a direct threat to the capture of the island command center
4. Destroy all enemy land assets which pose a direct threat to the capture of the island command center

Note how the above strategy does not specify that all enemy units be destroyed. It is in fact advantageous to leave enemy units alive on friendly islands. Live enemy units on friendly islands can help protect the island from being captured by enemy player teams. This is however very difficult since naval artillery units can shell friendly ground units before they can capture the command center, but the best way to accomplish this difficult feat is to only destroy units near the command center, or use a friendly unit to draw enemy fire away from the unit capturing the command center. Once the command center is captured, a Delta Fleet commander should ensure that the airframe island is protected by some means. This can be as simple as placing a single 30mm turret beside the command center, or as complex as flying aircraft on patrol near the island and building an integrated air defense network around the island. Choices on what level of defense must be committed to the airframe island should be balanced with the production of aircraft. If for any reason the airframe island is close to being captured by an enemy team, the commander must make sure to clear the production queue to prevent aircraft and credits from falling into enemy hands.

While it is true that the capture of an airframe island is a Delta Fleet commander’s top priority, the commander may choose to capture other islands while in transit to the airframe island as long as doing so does not hinder the capture of the airframe island. For example, if a level 1 island is between the carrier and the nearest airframe island, it is advisable to capture that island without halting the carrier. This drive-by island capture strategy is described in more detail in the Delta Fleet Official Special Operations Manual.

While most commanders may imagine that as a match continues, the carrier should also continue to travel to and capture more islands, Delta Fleet doctrine recommends limiting the capture of islands to only those which are necessary to win the game as quickly as possible. Unlimited expansion of territory causes supply lines to be stretched too thin and leaves important islands too far away from the aircraft carrier to be effectively defended from enemy attack. Ceasing expansion at a certain point also allows resources to be diverted from island capture operations towards strikes operations against enemy player teams. When aircraft and weapon production capacity is reached, additional resources may also be diverted to building strong defenses and even the launching of expensive unconventional special operations.

The ideal Delta Fleet commander follows a model of servant leadership and delegates specific missions to their crew. A servant leader is someone who provides the team with everything they need to successfully accomplish the mission. An example of this would be a commander who orders a crew member to capture an island while also giving them enough resources and information to successfully complete the mission. If a commander orders a crew member to protect an airspace from enemy player aircraft, a servant leader would have provided that crew member with appropriate weapons, airframes, and communication regarding enemy positions. This style of leadership inherently discourages micromanagement. An example of micromanagement is a commander personally taking control of a vehicle to accomplish a mission. Doing this robs a crew member of the experience gained from attempting a mission as well as their enjoyment of the game. In a full match, the commander should primarily be watching the map screen for signs of enemy activity, conducting logistical operations, and devising a game-winning strategy. The commander should only occupy a vehicle as a last resort if ever. Over time, this strategy of delegating missions to less experienced players will help them build skill and one day lead their own crew successfully into a battle which in most cases is a player’s eventual goal.

A commander should never cause panic, anger, or hopelessness among the crew. No matter how dire the circumstances, the commander should do everything in their power to boost crew morale, openly vocalize plans to win the game, and avoid angry outbursts when a crew member inevitably makes a costly mistake.

Note from the author: I personally allow relatively informal communications among team members as opposed to strict communications discipline for two reasons. First, inexperienced players may misunderstand professional military lingo. Second, allowing relaxed communications can keep morale high. As long as informal communications do not hinder the effectiveness of operations, I personally value the informality over strict communications because strict communications can raise stress in the crew and even lead to costly mistakes borne out of misunderstandings. There are other highly successful teams which use extremely strict communications discipline, but these teams are often composed of the same small groups of players in every game. When an inexperienced player joins one of these strict crews, they often feel excluded or like a burden to their team and their chances of returning for another game are drastically reduced.

While on the surface this game’s primary objective may be to destroy an enemy team, the true objective for every player is to have fun. If you as a commander notice one of your crew mates is showing signs of boredom or is clearly not having fun, it is your duty as a servant leader to find ways to make their experience more fun. This can be as simple as asking them to drive a barge to deliver supplies while underway or spot for distant enemy aircraft strobe lights using the carrier viewing scope.

Present-day player-versus-player games most commonly use the following mods:

Revolution 1.4 by Bredroll
Tactical Operations Centre by Bredroll
2x Vehicle Water Speed by Mr. Scoot
Gentle Missile Speed Buff by Cylindrical Bobcat
Turbo Barges by Blobfish

The most distinct difference between the base game and the inclusion of these mods is the placement of the Radar (AWACS) on the albatross instead of the manta. This gives strategic importance to the albatross in later stages of matches. Additionally, with this set of mods, the weapon hardpoints on the manta are limited to encourage more air to air combat. This limits the manta’s ability to deliver deadly strikes against aircraft carriers. Players who are new to this mod-set will be overjoyed at the impact of the turbo barges mod but simultaneously enraged by the gentle missile speed buff which makes AA missiles extremely deadly unless the pilot has hundreds of hours playing with this mod. The revolution mod also grays out portions of the map which are not roughly within 15km of an allied unit. This places a greater importance on reconnaissance when fighting against human players. All of these mods together form a more concentrated and challenging Carrier Command 2 experience.

The core doctrine of Delta Fleet naval warfare lies with aircraft, but simply having aircraft is not enough to win. A commander must know how to skillfully employ their aircraft to limit risk while maximizing progress towards the ultimate objective of sinking an enemy carrier. Due to the volume of aircraft which may be airborne at any given time, the captain of a ship is expected to spend most of their time in the holomap setting aircraft waypoints to avoid being shot down by AI units such as swordfish, and watching for signs of enemy player activity. The first step in gaining air dominance is establishing your initial defense perimeter around your aircraft carrier.

In the beginning of a match, it is wise to set an AWACS albatross with an extended fuel tank and a combination of AA and TV missiles on an orbiting patrol at least 40 kilometers from the aircraft carrier along the most likely enemy path of advance. This 40 kilometers is intended to be a defense in depth. If a player-controlled enemy aircraft pushes into the carrier’s airspace, the captain must make a decision to either engage or withdraw from the enemy aircraft. This decision should be based on the crew’s ability to successfully win the air to air engagement without loss. This encounter also gives the carrier enough advance warning to begin running “dark”. When a commander wants to hide his carrier from the enemy, the first step is to remove themselves from all barges, aircraft, and ground vehicles. This is because barges are the most visible, recognizable, and brightest asset in the entire game with its unique green and red colored lights. Aircraft and ground vehicles also produce lights so they must be sent away. If the carrier cannot leave lighted assets or an aircraft within the carrier is taxiing, which emits a distinct, slow, bright flashing white light, then the commander must utilize their resources to either shoot down the intruder or stand their ground and fight. Intruders can be intercepted by launching more aircraft upon first contact at 40+ kilometers by any aircraft with an appropriate air to air combat loadout. Until airframe production is established and a supply line is secured with the carrier, the commander must take care not to lose their limited airframes.

Once aircraft manufacturing is safely established, the next step in air dominance is to expand the defended airspace around the carrier as far as resources allow. This can eventually grow to encompass the entire perimeter of the map. Doing this grants the team the ability to monitor the entire map at all times and potentially even monitor enemy player movements and activities in real time. Ture air superiority happens when this airspace becomes populated with weaponized aircraft on missions to destroy enemy assets instead of tracking them. At this stage in the game, strike aircraft can interrupt enemy island captures, interdict barges, and eventually destroy the enemy aircraft carrier. The skill in executing this strategy is constantly determining where to allocate limited resources to both defend and attack at the same time. A skilled commander will keep pressure on their opponents without granting them opportunities to destroy their airframes, all while quickly securing airframe production sooner than the opponent. An unskilled commander will not launch any scouting aircraft and focus solely on island capture operations while remaining oblivious to the overall strategic situation of the rest of the map.

With the recent rise in average player skill level in PVP tournaments, the second most important island to capture has become the heavy munitions island. This is because the TV missile has now become the most reliable weapon for winning air to air engagements. Although difficult, more and more players have found success in destroying enemy aircraft in mid-air with the TV missile. TV missiles have been used to great effect in recent games in destroying entire waves of strike aircraft which would have destroyed an aircraft carrier if they had not been intercepted along their flight path and destroyed by players working together to wipe out the aircraft using TV missiles. In most cases, TV missiles are more effective than their faster AA missile counterparts since more players have learned how to skillfully dodge AA missiles in albatrosses, and they have learned to deploy flares manually in mantas and razorbills to decoy the missile before it impacts its intended target.

The ideal air dominance scenario is one where surveillance is immediately established of the enemy aircraft carrier from the beginning of the game. Its movements and activities are tracked in real time. If the scout aircraft is challenged by enemy aircraft, the scout takes the initiative in the fight and shoots down all opposing aircraft. If the enemy team is on the verge of capturing an airframe production island, the scout intervenes by destroying the enemy virus bots before the capture is complete. This pattern continues until friendly airframe production and supply lines are established. The scout is then reinforced with mantas until all opposing aircraft are destroyed and the enemy aircraft carrier is destroyed.

The ultimate goal of the air dominance strategy is to deny the use of aircraft to the enemy. If this is successful, the enemy can only rely on ground vehicles which can be easily targeted and destroyed by friendly aircraft, and they will be forced to move their aircraft carrier into a vulnerable position where it can be easily destroyed.

At the time of writing this, there are 3 primary competitive PVP teams and 1 general purpose discord server which serves as a community center for the Carrier Command 2 player base.

Grim Reapers Naval Ops (GRNO)

The first of the three major teams, this team started in the early days of official PVP tournaments winning most matches fought between 2021 and 2023, its core members are highly skilled modders for the community and active event planners for the community. This team is extremely dangerous in PVP and pride themselves on their professionalism, camaraderie, and intellect.

Delta Fleet (DF)

The second of the three major teams, this team started in the middle of 2023 and went on to win half of the official matches fought in 2024. This team has the most active players and often outnumber its opponents in games with multiple teams leading statistically to more victories. This team is relatively more relaxed than the other two major teams and is focused on introducing new players to the competitive side of Carrier Command 2. Delta Fleet is often cited as the archrival to GRNO. Its reputation from 2024 has granted it a reputation equal to GRNO in terms of danger to its opponents.

Team 4 (Te4m)

The third of the three major teams, this team started in late 2024 with a few highly skilled players. This team hosts their own public PVP tournaments and conducts many exercises. This unique dedication to practicing the game has resulted in an extremely high win rate. When assembled with their best players, this team is extremely dangerous to its opponents at a level equal to or greater than GRNO or DF.

Informal Agreements

Over time, certain strategies have been used in public games to the disapproval of many players:

• Using a barge to scout the location of enemy aircraft carriers or other assets
  
• Straying more than 30 kilometers away from the edge of the map
  
• Forming alliances with enemy teams in games where more than 2 opposing teams are present
  
• Intentionally exploiting a glitch where destroying a rotary-wing aircraft as it is released from the aircraft carrier lift causing the lift to no longer function for the rest of the match (This glitch is claimed to have been patched in v1.5.7)
  
• Launching from the starting island dock before an agreed-upon time
  
• Using surviving island turrets when all aircraft carriers on your team are destroyed or building more turrets on islands after all aircraft carriers on your team are destroyed.

While there is no official enforcement of these rules, the consequences of violating these rules could be exclusion from future community events.

Especially in the increasingly competitive player versus player environment, most, if not all, commanders find the most difficult task in a competitive game is leading new players. I have spent the past year putting myself in this position and I have developed a standard operating procedure with new players.

Step 1: Learn Your Crew’s Skills

Without knowing what your crew is capable of, you invite unpleasant situations where either a crew member is given a task well beyond their skill level leading to an embarrassing and humiliating loss of valuable assets, or you risk alienating crew who are new, leaving them without orders to simply stand in the background of the aircraft carrier bridge watching while everyone else has fun. This is a situation that must be avoided in order to retain new players in your crew, your community, and the game as a whole.

Step 2: Delegate Tasks According to Individual Skill Level

Now that you have understood the skills each crew member has to offer, it is your responsibility to spread the workload of the ship’s tasks according to what each individual crew member can effectively handle. For example, if a crew member claims to be able to easily destroy all targets on a level 2 island with a single razorbill and 2 20mm autocannons, delegate the task of clearing islands to this player. When you have a player who is not good at flying aircraft, assign them to driving barges to execute underway replenishments or assign them to spotting with various scouting platforms such as gimbal cameras, island turrets, carrier periscope, or simply by looking out the windows of the ship with their eyes. While spotting for enemy targets or driving a barge may not appear as glorious as flying an aircraft, it is still a way for a brand-new player to contribute to the crew’s success in an easy and meaningful way.

Step 3: Correct Mistakes in a Meaningful and Constructive Way

New players are bound to make a mistake during a high-stress competitive match. When these mistakes happen, it is crucial to immediately correct the mistake before it results in significant damage to the team’s chances of winning. Once this is done, it is your responsibility as the commander to clearly explain what the mistake was, why it mattered, and how to avoid the same mistake in the future. As long as the crew member understands their error and how to correct it in the future, this allows them to continue contributing positively to the team instead of isolating themselves for fear of making another mistake.

Step 4: Constantly Communicate Strategic Thinking

When commanding new players, I always spoke to myself when making strategic plans for winning a match. This gave new players situational awareness for what was happening in the game, and also provided context for why their tasks mattered to the crew. When a crew member feels like they are actively contributing to the success of the team, they often perform at a higher level than if they felt their delegated task was unimportant. For example, if logistics is a critical game-winning issue and this is communicated to the players, new crew members will be more motivated to drive barges despite the task of driving a barge being inherently less exciting than piloting an aircraft.

Step 5: Teach New Skills

Depending on the circumstances of a game, opportunities may arise which can allow the training of new players without much risk to the success of the team. For example, if the carrier is sitting still waiting for something and there are enemy AI swordfish or needlefish nearby, teach the new players how to use the torpedo system and let them try to destroy the ships. As the game progresses, you will begin to notice the new crew members becoming more skilled as a result of your teaching them new skills and allowing them to practice.

Step 6: Maintain Balanced Communications Discipline

Some “professional” crews may prefer a sterile communications environment to help the crew perform as efficiently as possible. But this environment is often counterproductive when playing with new players. Experienced players may use certain jargon to refer to in-game assets or situations, but the use of such jargon excludes new players from conversations and may lead to confusion thus reducing crew efficiency. As long as certain technical phrases are taught to new crew members, they may be used, but generally it is better to communicate using plain English and common words so that new players may instantly understand the meaning of a message and not waste time clarifying the meaning, or worse, executing a command contrary to what was asked of them. Some new players may act overexcited and crowd out other players trying to speak on the same frequency. Especially when in combat, this can quickly become a dangerous situation. As the commander, you must use your authority to prevent players from speaking too often during times necessitating higher levels of alertness. An example of such a time would be while defending your aircraft carrier from an incoming airstrike. When asking a player to stop talking, always be polite and professional. If you speak in a manner which implies that you lack respect for one of your crewmates, the remainder of the crew may quickly lose their respect for you. This could devolve into a situation characterized by insubordination, essentially, mutiny. This is why a balance must be struck when playing with new players. You must not be so strict with communications that no one has situational awareness, but not so relaxed that vital pieces of information are not brought to the crew’s attention.

If these 6 steps are followed, winning a competitive match with new players may still be challenging, but will become more possible.

For easy reference, below is a list of tasks which I commonly delegate to new players loosely ordered from easiest to most difficult from top to bottom.

• Look out the windows of the bridge or balcony behind the bridge for suspicious flashing strobe lights which might indicate enemy player aircraft or the enemy aircraft carrier.
  
• Occupy friendly island turrets and spot for signs of enemy player aircraft or the enemy carrier.
  
• Occupy the carrier viewing scope to spot for suspicious flashing strobe lights which might indicate enemy player aircraft or the enemy aircraft carrier.
  
• Occupy the gimbal camera on a reconnaissance aircraft to spot for suspicious flashing strobe lights which might indicate enemy player aircraft or the enemy aircraft carrier.
  
• Activate repairs on an aircraft carrier system.
  
• Activate CIWS turrets.
  
• Fire an AA missile from the aircraft carrier.
  
• Activate a carrier surface weapon system.
  
• Set the aircraft carrier on a constant heading and power setting.
  
• Pilot a supply barge to deliver supplies to the aircraft carrier while it is moving until the barge is emptied of supplies.
  
• Drive a seal with virus bots to and from an island command center to expedite the capture of an island.
  
• Expedite an aircraft along a certain flight path at a constant heading and altitude and 100% throttle.
  
• Press the small hold-on-deck buttons to allow aircraft to safely take-off while underway in a section of the ocean which has tall waves.
  
• Provide a status report on any incoming supplies or currently boarded supplies.
  
• Use a razorbill with 2 20mm autocannons to destroy all enemies at a level 1 island without having the ground targets previously scouted ahead of time.
  
• Use ship weapons to destroy the aircraft inside an island hangar.
  
• Pilot the aircraft carrier to position itself in a specific position in relation to the island without damaging the hull or beaching the aircraft carrier.
  
• Use a razorbill with 2 20mm autocannons to destroy all enemies at a level 2 island without having the ground targets previously scouted ahead of time.
  
• Fly as a member of a carrier airstrike in formation and release all weapons when commanded.
  
• Fire air-launched AA missiles at AI enemy aircraft.
  
• Bomb a needlefish which does not have a CIWS turret using an aircraft.

Assigning roles to specific members of a ship’s crew can often lead to idle players unassigned to critical tasks afraid to speak up over the captain. For example, when a crew member shouts “Somebody jump in the gimbal camera!” many questions arise like:

Should I follow the orders of someone who is not the captain?
Which crew member in particular should jump into the gimbal camera?
Which aircraft with a gimbal camera should I jump into?
What should I do once in the gimbal camera?
What am I looking for?
Am I cleared to fire any weapons?

To avoid situations like this, Delta Fleet uses the following doctrine when assigning tasks to crew members:

One player who is highly experienced in PvP is appointed as the captain before the match. The captain is the ultimate authority in strategic decision-making and is the only player permitted to launch aircraft unless the captain delegates this task to a specific crew member for one unique instance. The accidental launch of aircraft or aircraft launching in the wrong order is an unfortunate byproduct of having multiple people in charge of this responsibility and the consequences can be so dire that only the captain must make the final decision to launch aircraft since they bear responsibility for the team winning or losing the match. Due to the intermittent nature of logistics tasks, the captain is also expected to manage pending orders, barge deliveries, and aircraft loadouts. Because this strategy calls for very little carrier movement, and since most carrier movement occurs along a straight line for a long time, the captain is responsible for the helm. Surface weapons are seldom used and thus also the responsibility of the captain as long as it does not involve entering the periscope viewing screen.

The captain’s most important role is serving as a ground control intercept officer (GCI) for the rest of the crew. Even in cases where the captain’s piloting skill may be superior to other crew members, their experience is more valuable to the team when they can see the whole picture and make pilots’ tasks easier. There have been many instances where a pilot is ordered to attack a target but not told where or with what weapons to use. A dedicated GCI exponentially increases the effectiveness of the crew by applying the skill and attention of every crew member to the fullest extent. The captain must restrain themself from entering a vehicle control screen because the situational awareness from the operator map screen or display table is more valuable than any actions a single pilot may be able to perform.

Piloting and spotting require an immense amount of concentration and focus. This is why every crew member is a pilot and spotter first. Occasionally during times of low activity the captain may ask a crew member to assist with a very specific task for a limited amount of time. When players are idle with no tasks, the best use of their attention is on spotting. Spotting the enemy first gives you an intelligence advantage and allows the captain to prepare effective strategies sooner. Spotting can be done from an aircraft gimbal camera, vehicle control screen, island turret, barge control screen, needlefish control screen, carrier periscope, or simply by looking out the window of the carrier. When spotting through a camera, try to scan all targets fully. If there are multiple unscanned targets, scan them once to mark their locations, and then go back to more thoroughly scan each target for type and weapon. This tremendously helps the captain who can only see information on the operator map screen or display table.

It is crucial that when a crew member is in a situation where split second decision making can grant the team a significant advantage, they are allowed to act without orders. An example of this might be an incoming cruise missile. If the CIWS systems are offline, do not wait for orders to activate the CIWS system!

To summarize, here is a list of responsibilities assigned to captain and crew:

Captain:
Strategic High-Level Planning
Ground Control Intercept (GCI)
Vehicle Waypoints
Logistics
Helm
Surface Weapons (those which don’t require using the periscope)

Crew:
Piloting
Lookout
Any tasks specifically delegated to that player by the captain

Brevity

Brevity refers to the short yet detailed nature of a message. During a match, time passes, events happen, plans must change to react to the evolving situation. A long string of communication takes up valuable attention by the crew and could lead to new problems going unaddressed for dangerously long periods of time. This is why it is important to speak in very short yet easy to understand messages. The preferred way to acknowledge receipt of a message is by simply responding with copy, or roger.

Priority

When nothing is actively happening which could change the crew’s situation, it is important to remain silent in case another crew member needs to relay a message of high importance. If the captain is speaking, it is wise for the crew to stop speaking so that the captain’s message can be heard clearly by everyone.

Specific

A good message is specific. When relaying an order to the crew, begin by saying the in-game username or abbreviated familiar callsign for that individual. For example, Crimson_Knight13 can be abbreviated to Crimson. Next, describe exactly what they must do. If the task is to use a vehicle, specify which vehicle by type and ID number. It can also be helpful to call out the vehicle’s position with reference to a landmark such as an island, a formation, or the aircraft carrier so it can be more easily found in an operator’s map screen. If the task involves attacking something, specify the target type, ID, bearing, distance, and weapon with which to perform the attack. A bad example of a message from captain to crew would be: “Someone shoot down that Manta!” A good example of a message conveying the same idea would be “Crimson, use Manta ID 744 southeast of Tokamak to engage hostile Manta ID 621 with a TV missile bearing 080 for 4 kilometers.” A bad example of a crew member relaying a message to the captain would be: “I see him right there! I think it’s a Swordfish?” A good example of a message conveying the same idea would be “Ship lights spotted from Albatross 68 bearing 218, type unknown.” Here it is important to note the difference between the information given about the target in each example. Only relay information which is known to be certain. It is okay to not know with absolute certainty what you are looking at, and typically with the information you give, the captain will be able to deduce what the threat is.

Errors

No one is perfect and mistakes are bound to happen especially during times of high stress. If you cannot understand a message which was directed at you, use the words Say Again to ask the giver of the message to repeat what they said. If you misspeak during a message, use the word Correction to indicate that you are correcting a mistake in your message. If you have trouble memorizing details from a long complex string of instructions, have a paper and pencil ready to copy down instructions. This is a real-world tactic used by military pilots and is called a kneeboard in the aviation community.

Once a player has captured an island, there are many things that can be done to protect the island from being lost to an enemy team.

Early Warning Radar and Other Ground Vehicles

An early warning radar is vital for defending an island because it can alert you to the presence of hostile aircraft 10 kilometers away providing you enough time to react to the strike. Actuated cameras can easily be mounted to these vehicles to allow for scouting. Your radar should be well hidden either inside the command center or in a well-lit area to cover the headlight signature of the vehicle. Keeping this radar alive allows other defensive units such as turrets and aircraft to see hostile air and sea contacts outside their maximum range. This is great for helping IR missile turrets locate and shoot down enemy scout Albatrosses. A bear with a battle cannon, IR countermeasures, and sonic pulse generator can also be a great last line of defense for destroying virus bots or stationary aircraft.

Turrets

Certain islands depending on their size may be limited to only two or three turrets while others may allow the construction of over a hundred turrets. Among the three turret options (Gun, CIWS, and Missile) a CIWS turret must be constructed first to deter an attempt at an enemy Petrel dropping a virus bot near the command center. The 20mm rounds from the CIWS turret can even be used against ground vehicles to great effect. A CIWS turret is also beneficial for scouting with its zoom function and flexible mount as well as protecting other turrets from missile attacks. These turrets should be well hidden if possible. Next, an IR missile turret is important for shooting down hostile soft-target aircraft and ground vehicles. These turrets should be well hidden. Lastly, a gun turret should be built in plain view of the command center to defend from virus bots. A minimum 3:1 ratio is recommended for the number of IR missile turrets to CIWS turrets once one turret of each type is constructed. After 6 IR missile turrets are constructed, scale your island’s defense according to threat level and economic capability.

Needlefish

Needlefish should never be located at an island where an attack is suspected to occur and instead be held in reserve one island away as a quick reaction force. This is because naval targets are often the first priority target when attacking an island and Needlefish are quite susceptible to dedicated air attacks. They are most effective in ambushing an attack in progress and can lend support most effectively through cruise missile support. Another form of support may include artillery gun strikes on enemy landed vehicles. Fleets of Needlefish should always consist of at least one CIWS variant to fend off enemy missile attacks. It is not recommended to use torpedo needlefish since they only possess two torpedoes before needing a reload and these torpedoes have a high likelihood of missing.

Aircraft

It is a little-known fact that rotorcraft such as the Razorbill and Petrel can be landed on islands by setting an AI waypoint hold at 0 meters in altitude and manually piloting the aircraft to gently set it on the ground without crashing. While the throttle is at 0%, no fuel will be consumed and aircraft can be stationed at an island indefinitely. These aircraft can be equipped with weapons to assist in defending an island. A more realistic approach to defending an island with aircraft may be to simply retask scout or combat air patrol aircraft which are on standby.

Worst-Case Scenario

The most difficult attack to defend against will find a way to counter all of the aforementioned elements. It is possible for a carrier or needlefish to use its 160 mm artillery gun to destroy island turrets leaving the island defenseless. With enough money, you will quickly find yourself scrambling to build new turrets as they are destroyed. During this time, expect the enemy to deploy a virus vehicle and battle cannon equipped Bear for escort. A bear is particularly dangerous to island turrets due to its relatively high damage output and armor. One bear is capable of suppressing turrets as they are constructed long enough for a virus bot to capture a command center. The best counter for this worst-case scenario is to first eliminate the virus bots. Then eliminate the artillery spotting platform, typically an Albatross or Petrel. This will allow new turrets to be constructed without being spotted. Next eliminate any hostile ground vehicles, followed by naval vessels. In the event of an island defense, any enemy aircraft not dedicated to artillery spotting should be eliminated last.

1. Destroy enemy air assets and repel air attack waves
2. Damage enemy carrier using air assets

The establishment of air superiority accomplishes multiple goals:

1. Restricting the enemy’s use of aircraft severely limits their options for attack plans.
2. Without the use of aircraft, hostile island capture is slowed dramatically.
3. Without air cover, hostile ground units such as ground chassis and ships are extremely vulnerable to air attack.
4. The destruction of the majority of an enemy’s air force has a serious degrading impact on their morale, typically characterized by hopelessness in the face of difficult odds.

When starting a match, it is important to consider the possibility of a massive immediate hostile air attack. To defend from such an attack, the preparation of Mantas and Albatrosses with AA/TV missiles and AWACS is the best way to counter this event. It is important that no matter how many airframes you deploy, you should always have a high number of AA missiles in the air ready to fire on soft targets (aircraft which aren’t Mantas) and a high number of TV missiles ready to fire on hard targets (Mantas). Rotorcraft such as Razorbill and Petrel are of limited use in defending against air attacks and should only be used as a last resort in this use case. Rotorcraft should instead be focused on island capture and deployed after the launch of combat air patrol (CAP) aircraft. One exception to this is the use of a Razorbill to provide flare coverage over a carrier during an enemy IR missile strike. Deploying airborne IR countermeasures is an excellent way to redirect IR missiles away from your carrier.

To support the high usage of aircraft, AA missiles, and flares, the following supplies should be ordered as quickly as possible to the carrier.

• 50 AA missiles
  
• 8 Flare Launchers
  
• 200 Flares
  
• 2 Albatross Chassis
  
• 2 Razorbill Chassis

The reason only a limited number of supplies are ordered in the first delivery is because it can take longer or even multiple trips to deliver more supplies. For example, fuel is the slowest supply to be loaded/unloaded and is given priority over other supplies like ammunition.

Albatrosses should be equipped with an AWACS and gimbal camera whenever possible. Recent matches and exercises have shown a combination of a roughly equal ratio of AA and TV Missiles is the optimal loadout for the albatross serving in an early-warning or combat air patrol role. Mantas should also be given a gimbal camera when possible and a roughly equal ratio of AA and TV missiles if possible. At later stages in the match, a single 20mm autocannon may be recommended for destroying stray ground targets or virus bots deep in enemy territory. Recent exercises have demonstrated that the 20mm autocannon makes nearly no difference in the outcome of a fight when both opponents use TV Missiles as their primary offensive weapon. Razorbills should be equipped with dual 20mm autocannons and a single flare launcher whenever possible. Petrels should be equipped with at least two 20mm autocannons and two more weapons of the captain’s preference. If enemy air assets seem to present a greater threat, equip dual AA missiles or TV Missiles. If the priority is to clear an island of AI ground vehicles as quickly as possible, equip two IR Missiles. If the pilot possesses enough skill to evade AA missiles and CIWS in a Petrel, equip some variant of bombs to allow the option to destroy an AI ship protecting a level-two island.

This pattern of aircraft launches is designed to immediately deploy a protective shield of early warning and combat air patrol aircraft to protect vulnerable island capture aircraft. It is recommended that the slower AWACS carrying albatross be deployed first since the faster Mantas can easily catch up through manual supersonic flight (airspeed above 280 m/s). Once the first wave of CAP aircraft are in the air, then you should launch your island capture aircraft as quickly as possible including close air support (CAS) and anti-shipping aircraft.

It is recommended to keep your CAP aircraft halfway between your carrier position and the last known location of the hostile carrier. This will allow early detection of incoming air attacks and provide ample opportunity to intercept high speed enemy Manta aircraft. To help manage a large number of aircraft in the operator screen, it may be helpful to order aircraft to fly in formation together in a looping pattern or around a hold point. The AWACS aircraft should always be escorted by a CAP Manta within 10 kilometers to the rear of the front line. It is also worth noting that oftentimes experienced teams will send large waves of aircraft far outside the edge of the map on one-way carrier strike missions. CAP search patterns should be built to account for this possibility. During the early stages of the game, you should also try to keep your barge safe by setting patrols to cover its location. Losing your only barge in the beginning of a match can be a serious strategic loss for your team.

To maintain constant CAP cover, it is important to rotate your aircraft in and out of patrols regularly to prevent running out of fuel. When operating far from the carrier, it is recommended to launch a replacement aircraft when the current aircraft is at 50% fuel and order the current aircraft to return to the carrier when it reaches 35%-40% fuel. The table below displays fuel data on each aircraft. More data is forthcoming regarding the effect of external fuel tanks, altitude, throttle input, and holding patterns.











Launch-Land Sequencing

The most time-efficient method for sustaining air operations is to launch an aircraft before any aircraft lands. This is because it takes less than a minute for an aircraft to take off while it can take more than two minutes for an aircraft to land and the elevator/lift be ready to perform a new command. Launching an aircraft every time you recover an aircraft encourages the crew to keep a greater number of air assets airborne at any given time which offers greater safety for the carrier and gives the crew more aircraft to pilot which makes the game more fun for everyone involved.

Recovering Low Fuel Aircraft

In the event of the recovery of multiple low fuel aircraft, it is most effective to keep landing aircraft holding at waypoints near the approximate base leg of the traffic pattern, otherwise known as the section of the pattern right before an aircraft turns from purple for “queued” to red for “landing”. Keep the aircraft in a stack of varying altitudes from 200 meters upwards in 50 meter increments to decrease the amount of time an aircraft takes to descend towards the carrier. When the carrier aircraft elevator/lift begins to descend, the next aircraft in line will now be allowed to land. This method reduces the time it takes to retrieve aircraft by skipping the waiting time it takes for an aircraft to make one full lap around the traffic pattern and minimizes the number of times an aircraft passes the landing leg by making it instantaneous. To further minimize the time it takes for an aircraft to land, aircraft at various legs of the traffic pattern can be rushed to the landing leg by rotating the carrier, almost like bringing the final approach leg to the aircraft instead of letting the aircraft fly to the final approach leg. Once the aircraft is on landing approach, the carrier can be put in full reverse to shorten the distance the aircraft needs to travel before entering its final descent. Great care must be taken to not back up too far, otherwise the aircraft will consider the approach missed and restart the traffic pattern. Once the aircraft starts its final descent a few meters from the carrier, it will land safely as long as there are no waves in the way. Not even 0% fuel will keep an aircraft from landing once it is in its final descent. You can tell when an aircraft is in final descent because it stops flying in a naturally aerodynamic way and begins flying in an unnaturally straight path right down to the deck of the carrier.

Rebalance Update

The rebalance update 1.5.7 drastically increased the amount of fuel stored in extended fuel tanks. The following table demonstrates the drastic improvement in aircraft ranges when equipped with external fuel tanks.

It can be very difficult and time consuming to destroy hostile Mantas piloted by players. This is why when given the choice between engaging hard air targets (Mantas) or engaging soft air targets (Albatross, Razorbill, Petrel), the pilot should always prioritize engaging the soft air targets first. Probability of kill is far greater when firing an AA missile at a soft air target and the engagement typically lasts only a few seconds at long range (4-6 kilometers). Commitment to an engagement against hostile player Mantas typically lasts 1-2 full minutes and probability of kill is far lower, closer to 50%. It is far more efficient from a resource management and time management standpoint to engage soft air targets before hard air targets, especially when soft target aircraft typically serve in special operations roles (Bear drop, Radar drop, Virus drop, AWACS, flare escort, noisemaker escort, IR missile attack). The destruction of soft air targets is often of great strategic importance while the destruction of hard air targets is of tactical importance.

AA Missiles

When firing AA missiles, it is vital to only use them at long range. An AA missile’s range is not dependent on target lock and is typically effective between 2-5km. Within 1km, the AA missile does not have the maneuverability to track a target and will normally miss. During a head-on engagement, fire your AA missile at 4 km to ensure the missile tracks the enemy target and you have plenty of time to dodge the incoming enemy missile. AA missiles have a high probability of kill on Albatrosses and Petrels, typically 80%. This is less for the flare-equipped Razorbill at 60%. Probability of kill for an AA missile fired at an enemy Manta is very low, close to 20%. Thus, only a maximum of 1 AA missile should be spent on an enemy Manta to prevent wasting your ammunition for other targets which are more likely to be destroyed. Recent in-game testing found AA missiles can track targets flying head-on when fired at 6 km from the hostile air target. A coordinated ground control intercept officer (GCI) and pilot pair make it possible to fire on enemy aircraft without flying into the default 5 km detection radius given to all aircraft without AWACS equipped.

Beware, in 2025 most players have learned how to dodge AA missiles in an albatross with consistency. When fighting an experienced opponent, expected an AA missile probability of kill against an albatross to be as low as 30%.

20mm Autocannon

The 20mm Autocannon should only be equipped on Mantas in low numbers (1-2 weapon slots) to prevent running out of inventory when aircraft are shot down. The pilot should always use the 20mm Autocannon in a turning fight (dogfight, or ACM) with the target locked to provide an aiming dot. During a dogfight, keep the throttle between 95%-100% and position your aircraft behind the enemy in the circle, not above them. Keep in mind that in Carrier Command 2, turn rate is determined mostly by airspeed, and airspeed is primarily determined by pitch input. To keep your airspeed high, pay attention to your pitch, lowering it for more airspeed.During a dogfight, be mindful of your surroundings, natural hazards, and other hostile units. If you must disengage from a dogfight, keep a high speed with your aircraft and make small subtle dodges to evade hostile gunfire from the rear.

Only when all hostile air assets are destroyed, the 20mm Autocannon should be used against hostile player ground units in strafing runs which may have been deployed for island capture or dropped from a destroyed Petrel.

TV Missiles

The TV missile is a special tool that can be utilized by a solo pilot or a crew of two players. In a solo engagement, use the operator screen to order the Manta to engage an enemy manta with guns using built-in AI. Then enter the vehicle control screen, select the TV Missile, then destroy the other aircraft. The Manta AI is surprisingly good at evading fire in a dogfight for short periods of time (less than 30 seconds) and can even beat inexperienced players using guns. When two players are available, the pilot should continue the gun engagement as normal while the second pilots the TV missile to destroy the enemy Manta. Besides use in a dogfight, TV missiles can also be used to shoot down a Manta flying at maximum speed. As long as the mothership aircraft is being piloted by a player, chasing the enemy Manta at maximum speed and staying within 5km, the TV missile can shoot down supersonic aircraft before they reach their target.

Occasionally, a hostile will fire a TV missile at your aircraft. You can tell this is happening when you are fired upon with a missile within 1 kilometer and the missile fails to detonate. A trained GCI will be able to easily spot a TV missile based on its behavior and speed , usually spiraling around its target and travelling slower than an AA missile would. Another way to distinguish an AA missile from a TV missile when looking at the map screen is that AA missiles leave a faint grey line in their wake. TV missiles leave no trail on the map. The best defense against a TV missile is to flee at maximum speed in one direction with very small subtle dodges that do not cause the aircraft to lose speed. The Manta is capable of outrunning a TV missile at top speed but you must be careful not to let it catch you at low speeds.

IR Missiles

IR Missiles should not be used in air to air engagements to destroy aircraft. They can be used to chase an aircraft like a trailing flare to indicate their direction of flight, but its slow speed often allows hostile aircraft to dodge or outrun this missile. Despite their low probability of kill, they should always be fired indefinitely from land-based turrets whenever hostile aircraft enter their range. It should also be noted that an IR missile trailing a Manta will deplete some, if not all of the Manta's IR countermeasures making them more vulnerable to AA missiles.

Hostile Radar

Hostile Radar detecting a friendly unit can be seen as a flashing red exclamation point “!” next to a friendly unit. This means one of the following circumstances is true:

• The friendly unit is within 10 kilometers of an enemy player AWACS.
  
• The friendly unit is within 10 kilometers of an enemy player ground vehicle radar.
  
• The friendly unit is within 10 kilometers of an enemy aircraft carrier with an active radar.
  
• The friendly unit is within 5 kilometers of an enemy AI or player aircraft.
  
• The friendly unit is within 5 kilometers of an enemy AI Swordfish.
  
• The friendly unit is within 5 kilometers of an enemy AI or player Needlefish.
  
• The friendly unit is within firing range of an enemy AI or player ground vehicle or turret.

Ship AA Missiles and Other Ground Fire

When plotting CAP routes, always be mindful of the AA missile engagement range of a Swordfish protecting a level 2 island or higher. Oftentimes, CAP aircraft can be shot down while flying at 2000m due to an un-scouted Swordfish loitering near an island. Be sure to check with gimbal cameras for ships when flying near islands. To avoid other hazards such as CIWS fire from ships or ground units, it is recommended to keep CAP patterns at or above 1100m in altitude. Also keep in mind that the 4km engagement range of ship AA missiles is a spherical range. Keeping your CAP routes at 2000m allows your aircraft to fly up to 3.46km laterally within a swordfish on the operator panel before entering the 4km slant range.

Deep Water Launch and Recovery

The greatest natural hazard to CAP aircraft are large ocean waves on takeoff and recovery. When launching aircraft, use the small deck hold release buttons to time the launch with the carrier deck pointed towards the sky. This allows aircraft to be launched when underway in deep water with tall waves. Try to position the final approach leg of the carrier’s traffic pattern over shallow water to prevent this. If this is not a viable option, manually pilot the carrier to keep the ship at the crest of a wave such that no tall waves are blocking the landing approach for the runway. A second spotter may be necessary to provide callouts from the rear observation platform.

Island Structures

To keep aircraft from flying into island terrain or buildings in the traffic pattern, position the left side of the carrier to be entirely over water.

During the phase of contested air power, most enemy teams will be fixated on the capture of islands and the destruction of your carrier. Take advantage of this fixation by prioritizing the destruction of their air assets. If you are successful in catching the enemy team by surprise during an island capture or air strike, it is vital to destroy as many soft air targets as quickly as possible. It only takes 40 seconds for the enemy to launch a Manta fitted for air to air combat in response to your incursion on their operations. Most players will not protect their island capture aircraft with CAP cover. Those who do will typically only designate 1 CAP Manta for this purpose. This means as long as you send 2 Mantas to interrupt a hostile island capture, 1 can distract the CAP aircraft while the other engages soft air targets.

When a hostile team begins losing a large number of aircraft, they will typically abandon their current operational plan and retreat beyond the fuel range of your aircraft. If this happens, it is encouraged to recall your aircraft to refuel and rearm while the enemy is in retreat.

During the phase of contested airspace, it is important to keep your carrier well behind the front lines of the battlefield. Hostile teams are likely to launch air strikes against your carrier and keeping distance allows you to have time to react to these attacks. To maximize opportunities for safe aircraft launch and recovery, try to keep the carrier parked in the shallow waters of a friendly island. When a hostile carrier airstrike is detected, move your carrier away from your last known location towards an unexpected direction. This can often be off the edge of the map far from any islands. To remain hidden, turn off your carrier radar, lights, and restrict aircraft launches when absolutely necessary (taxiing aircraft on deck produces blinking lights). You can even pilot the carrier to remain in the trough of large waves to reduce your silhouette against the horizon. Remember to stay away from barges during hostile airstrikes, or send barges in directions to confuse the enemy.

Tricky’s 3 (Default Loadout)

In this match, Team Vanislayer (VS) initiated contact 5 minutes into the match with a lone AWACS Albatross scout aircraft. This aircraft was quickly shot down by a Team Grim Reapers (GR) AWACS/CAP aircraft at 1.5km a distance of 10 km from the GR Carrier while they were capturing islands. At 10 minutes into the match, GR recognizes the need to boost their CAP presence in anticipation for a hostile carrier airstrike, but it is too late. At this time, a flight of 2 IR Missile carrying Albatrosses enters the GR Area of Operations (AO), dodging AA missile fire from the lone CAP aircraft. Both VS aircraft scored direct hits with their IR Missiles before being destroyed by CIWS fire. At 12 minutes, VS carrier, gun carrying Razorbill, and IR missile Albatross entered within 10km of GR and initiated combined cruise missile, IR Missile, and torpedo attacks causing GR to retreat with their carrier in the opposite direction at low carrier health. This situation demonstrates the consequences which can result from insufficient CAP cover and early warning. Despite the early loss of a scout aircraft, VS were able to maintain air dominance in the following minutes to inflict damage on the GR carrier.

Tricky’s 12 (Complete Loadout)

In this match Team Grim Reapers (GR) engaged the opposition force (OPFOR), obtaining visual contact beyond 10km at 10 minutes with a scout heavy bombing carrier air strike Manta. At 12 minutes, a GR CAP Manta destroys an OPFOR island capture Petrel alone over the ocean. At this time, GR begins launching 3 carrier strike Mantas now that the OPFOR approximate location is known. GR has not at this point established positive air superiority over OPFOR. At 13 minutes and OPFOR CAP Manta engages the GR CAP Manta with guns and AA missiles. All AA missiles miss at close range, but one stray OPFOR AA missile destroys a nearby GR AWACS Albatross. OPFOR CAP aircraft managed to distract the GR carrier strike Manta long enough for OPFOR to launch 3 CAP aircraft. At 16 minutes, the original GR carrier strike Manta is destroyed by OPFOR carrier AA missiles. At 18 minutes, OPFOR destroys another GR AWACS Albatross and engages all GR CAP Mantas at a distance greater than 10km from the OPFOR Carrier. At 20 Minutes, GR’s carrier strike flight approaches their target, firing at long range leading to medium damage to the OPFOR carrier. At 21 minutes, the OPFOR carrier begins to retreat to a nearby friendly island in the opposite direction of GR.

In this case study, GR failed to establish total air superiority over the OPFOR prior to carrier airstrikes. This led to inaccurate weapon drops from pilots under pressure, and less damage done to the OPFOR carrier than was possible. This pressure persisted from OPFOR CAP aircraft, disrupting a Bear drop operation, harassing the GR carrier, and drawing out the engagement to last an hour while at the same time draining GR of air assets, supplies, credits, and more importantly time to deal with the two other teams on the map.

Tricky’s 14 (Complete Loadout)

In this case Team Grim Reapers (GR) spawned next to the only two aircraft islands in the map. Using this to their advantage, they launched regular air attacks against two nearby opposing teams while a third team, opposition force (OPFOR), gained a foothold in many islands on the opposite side of the map. When GR began hunting the OPFOR carrier, they met stiff resistance in the form of constant OPFOR CAP Mantas and early warning AWACS Albatross. GR slowly attritied OPFOR aircraft in engagements, but GR was unable to locate the OPFOR carrier for 5.5 hours. When the OPFOR carrier revealed its location at one of the airframe production islands with a massive flotilla of CIWS Needlefish, GR was able to destroy their carrier with two large waves of heavy bombing Mantas. This case is a clear example of the difference a well-operated combat air patrol can have on the dynamic of a battle. In this case, it allowed OPFOR to conceal their position long enough to attempt a comeback despite an obvious disadvantage of a lack of aircraft.

Tricky’s 17 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) engaged the opposition force (OPFOR) along the southern edge of a map with 3 islands between the teams’ starting islands. GR initially fixates on a dual island capture and does not even turn on the carrier radar until 10 minutes into the match. When the radar is turned on, it reveals a flight of four OPFOR aircraft within 10km approaching the GR carrier fast while GR has no CAP cover. GR immediately scrambles a CAP Manta but it is too late to prevent the loss of all the island capture aircraft in the immediate vicinity. The GR CAP Manta engages the OPFOR aircraft, successfully destroying 1 Manta before being destroyed by a second OPFOR CAP Manta. Another 2 GR CAP Mantas are destroyed 16 minutes into the match, causing GR to retreat with their carrier in the opposite direction. At 17 minutes, OPFOR establishes positive air superiority over GR, tracking their movements on the retreat. This situation highlights the effect of a successful air dominance campaign on a hostile which is caught by surprise during island capture operations.

Tricky’s 18 (Complete Loadout, Dual Carrier)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) fought against the opposition force (OPFOR) in a match where two teams had access to two carriers each. GR initiated contact with a massive wave of at least 6 Albatross IR Missile carrier strike aircraft with 2 Escort Mantas. OPFOR had already dispatched 2 CAP Mantas in the direction of the airframe island closest to GR’s home island, but in doing so were not prepared to intercept the wave of strike aircraft skirting around the extreme edge of the map. GR’s strike aircraft were all shot down but were able to destroy one of the OPFOR carriers within 10 minutes of starting the match. Following this event, OPFOR secured an airframe production island and manufactured Mantas while performing harassment attacks in the center of the map to stall for production time. Once 6 extra Mantas were produced, OPFOR drove their carrier towards the uncaptured airframe production island closest to GR in anticipation for an island capture. OPFOR successfully established positive air superiority over GR as they attempted a capture of the remaining airframe production island, however, the OPFOR carrier strayed too close to Bear units and suffered significant damage before charging the GR carrier and being destroyed with 160mm rounds. This situation could have turned out far differently if OPFOR instead remained at a large distance from GR, perhaps near their airframe production island. GR had run out of aircraft and would not have been able to defend from air attacks. Once again, this is an example where putting the carrier in unnecessary risk resulted in a loss that could have resulted in a win. Air superiority is useless if it is not used to support air operations. Opting for surface warfare in a carrier during a phase of air superiority is a waste.

Phase 2 of this plan outlines the following goals:

1. Apply pressure on the enemy team
2. Disrupt the operations of the enemy team
3. Destroy the enemy carrier using a series of airstrikes

The first step in planning an air strike is knowing what effect you wish to have on the target. The following table displays damage statistics for an aircraft carrier:
























According to these statistics, a flight of 4 Albatrosses with 4 IR Missiles each is capable of destroying a carrier in one attack run. This assumes all missiles impact the carrier, but this assumption can be easily made if a lead aircraft such as a Manta can disable CIWS turrets and AA missile launchers using targeted strikes on carrier subsystems or use its flare launcher to decoy AA missiles before they shoot down the strike albatrosses. This strategy can be attempted with starting warehouse supplies in a complete loadout match if a razorbill is used to decoy flares instead of a razorbill. The most difficult attack to defend against is the flight of 4 Mantas with 2 Rocket Pods each.

CIWS

The most dangerous weapon system on the hostile carrier against aircraft are the four CIWS turrets located on each corner of the ship. Each turret fixates on one target and will continue to track the target in one axis of flight until it is destroyed. This means a CIWS turret which has locked an aircraft will not engage other targets like IR missiles or other aircraft as long as it is engaged with the first target. CIWS turrets also cannot depress their barrel below the plane of the deck. This makes the carrier vulnerable to wavetop level strikes. If targeted by a CIWS weapon system, dodge by diving to increase airspeed and fly in a corkscrew pattern (not a barrel roll). This system is difficult to destroy since there are four of them and they do not run out of ammunition quickly. However, destroying these systems will allow better accuracy on bombing runs and allow easier targeting of ship subsystems.

AA missile array

The second most dangerous weapon system to aircraft is the AA missile launcher array. This system is a threat primarily to slow-moving rotorcraft. Fixed-wing craft can dodge incoming AA missiles by suddenly changing direction before the missile impacts. This is easier to accomplish at higher airspeeds. Destroying this subsystem is somewhat easier due to its centralized location on the side of the ship and its long reload time.

When hunting an enemy carrier, the first step is to establish constant air superiority. Keep CAP aircraft in the vicinity of the hostile carrier ready to engage aircraft as they are launched. Wait until the airspace is clear before moving in with strike aircraft. When performing long-range carrier air strikes, it is preferable to use many low-risk attacks with high probability of aircraft recovery than a single high-risk air attack where aircraft recovery is unlikely. The advantage of air superiority allows you time to gather resources and outlast the enemy team with regards to logistics. Release all missile-type weapons after your aircraft passes within CIWS range to ensure all missiles hit their target. Releasing missiles outside CIWS range results in some missiles being intercepted (1-2 missiles intercepted). To successfully attack a carrier with missiles outside CIWS engagement range, it is important to saturate the CIWS defenses by releasing many missiles at once (at least 3).

Barge Hunting/Damage Statistics

If the hostile carrier has successfully evaded your scout aircraft, the next best alternative is to disrupt the enemy supply line by hunting barges or needlefish. A barge has 80% the health of an aircraft carrier. The table below shows how many weapons are needed to destroy a barge:






















Some recommended methods for hunting barges include but are not limited to:

Air launched IR missile, torpedo, bomb, or rocket attack.
Naval blockade with gun or cruise missile variant needlefish

• When under attack from a carrier air strike and without air cover, a hostile player’s first instinct will be to launch any remaining CAP aircraft as quickly as possible. This will give you 40 seconds to engage and leave before the aircraft takes off.
  
• The enemy will rapidfire many AA missiles, (a maximum of 8). This can be effective against soft air targets but not Mantas.
  
• The enemy will activate their CIWS defenses causing power drain and a reduction of speed. A fast carrier can be an indication that the CIWS defenses are offline.
  
• The enemy will also drive the carrier erratically, using sharp turns or reverse thrust to evade weapons.
  
• Oftentimes, driving into deep water with tall waves can defend an enemy carrier from missiles by using waves as cover or even jumping over torpedoes.
  
• The enemy may keep their ship near a friendly island with IR missile turrets to fire upon incoming aircraft.
  
• The enemy may deploy ground chassis in the water with CIWS or IR missile attachments to support defense against aircraft and missiles.
  
• The enemy will drive the carrier away from the direction of attack to escape the fuel range of the aircraft.
  

During this phase of operations, it is recommended to keep your aircraft carrier far away from the front line of the battlefield, parked in the shallow waters of an aircraft production island to safely launch and recover an unlimited stream of aircraft.

Tricky’s 3 (Default Loadout)

Following a period of air dominance, Team Vanislayer (VS) engaged Team Grim Reapers (GR) in surface warfare. During this time, VS lost air dominance, allowing GR to maintain an airborne artillery spotting aircraft which ultimately fired the 160mm rounds which ended the match, destroying VS. This is an example of what happens when air superiority is not maintained into the carrier air strike phase of operations and the unnecessary risk involved in committing aircraft carriers to surface action.

Tricky’s 12 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers fought a constant battle for air superiority with the opposition force (OPFOR) with no clear winner. Both sides experienced high rates of lost aircraft and GR executed many partially successful carrier airstrikes in this contested airspace. The failure to maintain air superiority during carrier airstrikes resulted in less effective damage done to the OPFOR carrier causing the engagement to last an unnecessarily long length of time (1 hour).

Tricky’s 14 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers maintained positive air superiority due largely in part to a monopoly on airframe production. This strategic advantage allowed them to project airpower across the entire map and wipe out every team after enough time.

Tricky’s 17 (Complete Loadout)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers (GR) is retreating from the opposition force (OPFOR) after losing many aircraft. OPFOR accomplished positive air superiority 17 minutes into the match and proceeded with carrier airstrikes. GR recognized their attrition of aircraft and paused the deployment of air assets while they attempted evasive maneuvers with their carrier near a friendly island laden with IR missile turrets. OPFOR successfully executes 2 small-scale strikes against the GR carrier and 1 unsuccessful Bear drop before presenting their carrier on radar 10km away from GR with complete air dominance. The commitment of the OPFOR carrier was a fatal mistake in this engagement because it presented GR with a reason to justify launching strike aircraft. These strike aircraft got through the CAP screen and destroyed the OPFOR carrier before the OPFOR carrier could close distance for a surface engagement. The pursuit of the GR carrier with the OPFOR carrier also exposed the OPFOR carrier to traps in the water. Overall, OPFOR took an unnecessary risk in closing distance with their carrier and could have won had they kept their distance and focused on maintaining air superiority.

Tricky’s 18 (Complete Loadout, Dual Carrier)

In this match, Team Grim Reapers lost air superiority to the opposition force (OPFOR). Here, they were exposed to air attacks, however OPFOR did not take advantage of their air superiority and instead lost their final carrier in unnecessary surface action.

With the suppression of the most dangerous team on the map, your crew should now be ready to win the rest of the match uncontested. Remember to prioritize the capture of airframe islands as quickly as possible to maintain air superiority and utilize your starting supplies to the fullest extent.

If you have lost this engagement, try to hold a debrief with the opposing team to understand what mistakes were made and how you can improve your strategy for the next event. Always challenge yourself to face new opponents and greater odds. Experience is the best teacher.

The best way to improve your skill in preparation for pvp tournaments is to play regular sessions against players in established multiplayer servers. This will not only improve your strategy, but also help you network with the player community and form relationships with fellow players who you might one day want to be on a crew with.

Use your best judgment, and learn from your mistakes.

Good hunting.

• Trench1936