ThunderHQ / Nuclear Escalation
Nuclear Escalation Strategy Center
Work out what’s stopping your team, then choose an attack that helps.
Deciding what your team needs
| What’s happening | What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Your attackers keep getting shot down by SAMs | Find the site covering their route and help suppress it. | Sending another loaded attacker down the same route. |
| An exposed convoy is heading toward the front | Attack it with a weapon that can hit a moving target. | Dropping on coordinates the convoy has already left. |
| A supply building is open to attack | Hit it while a teammate watches the approach. | Fixating on the building and ignoring its defenses. |
| Enemy fighters are picking off your attackers | Cover the next attack and intercept the fighters near it. | Chasing one fighter so far that everyone else is left alone. |
| A teammate is ready to fly a nuclear aircraft | Clear the route and escort them in. | Leaving them to fight through the defenses alone. |
Keep pressure on enemy supplies
Depots and convoys keep the frontline supplied. Destroyed factories and warehouses can recover, and convoys can change their destination. Check the map again on your next flight—the target you attacked earlier may be repaired, captured or supplied from somewhere else.
Don’t expect one convoy kill to shut down an entire sector. Supply columns carry more cargo and depots have more storage following the October 5 changes, so keep watching the front and look for a worthwhile follow-up.
A small group can divide the work: one aircraft deals with the air defense, one attacks the supply target, and one covers them against fighters. Afterward, look at what changed before loading up for the same target again.
Back to contents ↑Dealing with SAM sites
Find the site that blocks your attack
Work out which position covers the route you need. Look for separate radars and launchers; destroying one vehicle may leave the rest of the site dangerous.
Choose a weapon for that target
An anti-radiation missile needs a radar it can home on. A silent radar, gun or launcher may need a different weapon.
Time the attack together
Have the strike aircraft wait until the approach opens. Keep an escort watching for fighters while you work on the ground threat.
Check whether it’s really down
S-75 and HAWK radars can switch off when threatened by ARMs. If the emission disappears, look for a kill confirmation and check for other threats before sending your teammate through.
Staying alive around missiles
Use the RWR to help you look in the right direction, then keep scanning outside. What it can detect depends on your aircraft and the threat. No warning doesn’t mean nobody can shoot at you.
Against a radar-guided missile, use terrain and a defensive maneuver to break the attack, with chaff where it helps. Against an infrared missile, watch your heat and use flares as you defend. Don’t rely on countermeasures alone.
Keep enough speed to control the aircraft and watch the ground during the break. Low flight over water is still dangerous: SAMs can engage targets below the height of their own site. Check the threat again before turning back toward the fight.
Back to contents ↑Covering an attack
Know who you’re covering and where they’re going. Stay where you can spot an enemy approaching them, with enough speed and room to intercept without crossing their attack run.
Go after the fighters threatening your teammate. If an enemy drags you away from the target, decide whether the chase is worth leaving the strike aircraft uncovered. Check for friendlies before firing, and keep supporting a radar missile for as long as its guidance needs.
Stay with the attacker on the way out, too. They may be low on fuel, slow after the drop or busy finding their landing field. Keeping them alive for another flight is worth more than a chase that takes you out of the battle.
Back to contents ↑Keep team calls short
| Role | Example call |
|---|---|
| SAM suppression | Radar’s off, but I haven’t confirmed the kill. Hold the attack. |
| Ground attack | Going for the exposed depot. One pass, then heading back. |
| Escort | Covering your route. Enemy fighter coming in from the coast. |
| Nuclear aircraft | Nuke is ready. Need cover and the SAMs on the approach cleared. |
Mistakes that get you killed
| Mistake | What happens | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| Filling every hardpoint | The aircraft is heavier and harder to get in and out of the attack. | Bring what you need for one target or job. |
| Turning straight back for a second pass | The enemy already knows where you are. | Leave the area, check the threats and decide whether another run is worth it. |
| Watching the weapon all the way in | You miss warnings and fly a predictable path. | Keep guiding as needed, but look outside and keep flying. |
| Calling a SAM site dead when its radar disappears | It may have shut down, leaving the site alive. | Look for a kill confirmation and check the other vehicles. |
| Changing jets after every bad match | The same approach or aiming mistake follows you into the next aircraft. | Practice the part of the attack that failed. |
| Spending points without looking at the loadout cost | You leave yourself fewer options for the next spawn. | Check the price before choosing another heavy load. |