Armour protection rating was based off me shooting friendlies wearing each armour type at close range in the chest with an M416.

Sights are really just for the player and are personal preference. They don't seem to impact AI.
PG07 is a requirement to unlock the RPG-23M and is automatically equipped on it.

Similarly, suppressors don't appear to have a damage dropoff and don't impact AI detection of your position from what I can see - but the AI isn't exactly razor sharp to start with...

Currently these are identical across factions.

All the pistols are equally garbage. There is no reason to even bother researching them - get your dudes equipped with rifles ASAP! Whilst there doesn't seem to be a way of equipping pistols as a secondary in the squad editor, I have seen troops deploy with them so it's not an absolute waste if you keep instead of selling the ones you loot but I definitely wouldn't waste a factory to manufacture these.

RPGs are a must to defeat enemy armour - at least until you get tanks. As you progress you can amass enough resources to give everyone an RPG if you want. Unfortunately the AI's use of it can be a bit trigger happy - rather than saving them for armoured targets, they will start lobbing them at infantry like it's going out of fashion.

The main upgrade of the RPG-23M is a better sight. RPGs are able to one-shot most tanks and IFVs except for the very late game ones with ERA.

At the start your troops will be equipped with bolt action rifles and pistols primarily. These rifles are pretty deadly in the hands of the AI, but the slow fire rate and painful reload make them ineffective beyond the early game. Whilst it might be tempting to equip squads with a sniper carrying a L-96, in my experience the AI is just as effective using the starting rifles.

If you're playing in direct control you may feel differently about that and prefer an L-96, at least until you can get a DMR...

Shotguns and SMGs are of limited utility once you get your hands on assault rifles. Engagements tend to be at distance, and both these weapons perform poorly beyond close range, either due to recoil management or limited magazine and shell spread. I recommend skipping these entirely and focusing on assault rifles.

Whilst I'd class the P90 as an SMG, the game treats it as an assault rifle.

Assault rifles are the bread and butter of the Western army. Most of them tend to perform quite similarly, and on realistic difficulty it will only take 1-2 shots to down an enemy regardless of which rifle you are using on realistic. If you are strapped for resources or time, I suggest just focusing on one rifle and equipping everyone with that - at least until the end game when other weapons become available. There isn't a significant amount of benefit/difference between the M16/M4A1 etc.

When you exit the 'M' family of rifles, you start to get some better weapons with larger magazines (with the exception of the Scar).

Unlike the South, the Western and Eastern factions get access to LMGs and DMRs. Arguably this is where the best weapons are. Despite the small magazine size of the MK14, it is a very manageable weapon and accurate at range.

Interestingly the M249 can be fired in semi-auto mode with a silencer. Combined with a 100-round magazine, it probably makes it the best all-round weapon, although the MK14 edges out the other two IMO because it has a greater variety of scopes available – which is really only a consideration in direct control.

The first vehicles you unlock have limited utility in the global campaign – you may as well save up and get APCs. The white-fleet vehicles are useless, but the jeeps can come in handy if the enemy doesn't have any vehicles.

Unlike the Eastern/Southern factions, many of these vehicles are quite average and you may find yourself outclassed by their truck-mounted AA.

The Western faction can somewhat hold their own early game thanks to the M163 with its 20mm chaingun and ability to carry a full squad. This is a winner and usable into the mid-game until later IFVs are unlocked. It’s excellent against infantry and light vehicles. The rest are pretty average and only useful as a pathway to the M163 – I wouldn't bother progressing beyond that.

Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), or 'battle taxis', are designed to transport troops to the edge of the battlefield and provide limited fire support. Their lack of armour means that anything larger than small arms (12.7mm) can cause significant damage – an autocannon will shred most APCs in seconds.

Note that most of these APCs can't fit a full squad inside – any troops riding on the outside will quickly get shot.

An Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) is a vehicle capable of deploying troops in combat while remaining in the fight and providing direct fire support. IFVs have more armour than APCs and heavier weapons, some mounting autocannons and anti-tank missiles. While they can fight tanks, most early IFVs can still be one-shot by guns over 105mm.

The Marder, Rosomak, and M2A2 are top picks for a mechanised army. With the Western Marine Corps DLC, the EFV is a strong contender early on, making the AAV-7 skippable.

Western tanks are solid and better than their Island counterparts in health and weapons. The K2 and AbramsX are the best in the game. RPGs remain a threat to all but the heaviest tanks, one-shotting them until ERA is available on Heavy Tanks.

With the Western Marine Corps DLC (2023 start), the Sheridan is a decent early tank, but its light armour means it gets quickly outclassed by mid-game MBTs and even IFVs.

All factions get access to artillery in the same year. Eastern/Southern MLRS is slightly better than their Western counterparts due to having over 3 times as many tubes for less cost.

Artillery—king of the battlefield—is a game changer once unlocked. Rocket artillery is significantly more deadly but has a major ammunition tradeoff.

Although it can be manually fired, there is no targeting computer—good luck hitting anything blind. A video online suggests directing artillery via binoculars in first person mode, but I couldn’t get it to work. Otherwise, artillery will independently fire on its own.

Currently the only naval vehicle is the LCM-8 which you will need to have in order to transport your troops over water on the global map. Each carries a full squad (including vehicles) and you can only embark and disembark at a port.

There are currently other naval units in the tree but they are locked pending future release. I'll update this section when they become available.

The Western faction has a significantly better roster of aircraft in comparison to the other factions in terms of number and versatility. You have cheap and expensive options - with the B52 bomber packing the heaviest payload in the game, but at some cost.

Aircraft (and anti-aircraft) mechanics are still under development at the time of writing; however, aircraft can be used to provide a significant boost to combat power and don't count against the 10 max deployed units in battle (with the exception of paratroops).

Air wings are formed from an airport. There is currently no way of determining the order they appear in the ORBAT - if you want to customise the order of your air support in battle you'll have to send aircraft away and then back as you build the wing.

Aircraft can be called in using the appropriate hotkeys during battle. You can simultaneously call in helicopters and aircraft. Currently there doesn't seem to be a way to determine a direction of attack but I haven't seen any aircraft fly towards your troops during a bombing run (which is good).

I think the bombers provide the best bang for buck, but are very expensive. I can't quite tell the difference between F15E/F18C/Typhoon in terms of payload.

I haven't seen any aircraft/helos shot down by enemy AA but they will try to shoot at it. Also note that all strikes are quite inaccurate - you probably won't have much success using an air strike to take out a lone tank, for example, but they are very effective against troops in the open.

There are currently other transport aircraft units in the tree but they are locked pending future release. I'll update this section when they become available.

Hopefully this guide has provided sufficient information to explain the myriad of units and equipment available - without you having to trial and error your way through production.

I'll update this as more units are released. If you spot any errors, let me know and I'll update accordingly.

If interested. you can find a link to my other faction guides below:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3529905336
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3535540745
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3538429014