TACTICS: Anti-Aircraft

Contrary to popular belief, jets aren't invincible. Here's how to possibly kill them.

Ok, so you've become suicidal and decided to hop onto an AA turret. If you're harboring illusions about shooting down enemy jets, you're in for a rude awakening. As a rule, AA in BF2 is only supplemental to good air cover when it comes to jets. In fact, it can be useless against a transport full of engineers too. A good attack chopper crew can nuke you fairly easily as well...

...but hopefully the following strategies will assist your team's flyboys in dominating the skies. And we all know that aerial domination is a really good thing for your team. I'm sure it's worth the sacrifice.

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The Basics:
1. Get into your death-trap of choice.
2. Identify an enemy air asset: listen for the enemy, watch for "red" jets in your mini-map, and communicate with others to speed along the process. You can also look out for tracers from the jets.
3. If the vehicle is close enough, there will be a green box around it and you will start to hear a beeping sound.
4. Once you get a solid tone, fire away!
5a. Your target is now flaming wreckage. Feel free to continue the hunt until you think your victim's vehicle has re-spawned, then continue on to...
5b. The jet/helo is in the air! Run away from the turret! You are now the number one priority for the next pass.
6. Find a different AA position and repeat.

Vehicle Specific Procedures:

• Transport choppers: You can usually let them drop their flares in a panic, then fire once you've locked onto the chopper again. You're also fairly safe to reload and take more shots at them as necessary.
• Attack choppers: As with transports, you can usually let them drop their flares and then get a lock on the chopper. If they still don't know your position after you've unloaded on them once, feel free to reload. If they do know where you are, then you can either get to hard cover really fast, or stay on the turret and hope that you get him faster than his gunner gets you.
• Jets: Ok, if he's a good pilot and he knows that you're there, you're toast. You just want to take pot shots at unsuspecting jets. My strategy for shooting down jets is as follows:
  
  • 1. You get your initial lock as the jet is headed towards your position.
  • 2. Flares are dropped. Keep tracking him as he goes over your position.
  • 3. Obtain a solid-tone as he's headed away from you.
  • 4. Fire and book it out of there. (If you're a true durka-durka like me, you can stay on the turret and keep up the hunt. However, death is nearly guaranteed.)

Other Considerations:

• SPOT that chopper/jet before doing anything; paint him on the screen - by spotting him you are doing everyone on your team a favor.
• Make sure you don't fire a missile too close to one of your own team's air assets. Another bad thing about AA is that it can manage to lock onto teammate's vehicles after you've fired. Nothing is more depressing than getting a couple of teamkills because of a stray missile.

Your Weaponry:
Stationary Turret:
Even if one missile hits you've done your job effectively. The more skilled jet pilots will also be able to blow up the turret before they even come into firing range. Generally best for pot-shots. I suspect that if you could get multiple AA turrets to be manned, they might actually become effective in the long-term.

Mobile AA:
The 2-man mobile-AA package is an excellent way to boost the efficiency of the mobile AA. One player is an engineer (to repair the vehicle) and the other is support (to rearm it since it can burn ammo very quickly). It works as follows: Player 1 (either kit really) mans the AA. Player 2 should hide at a safe distance when the AA is active. When you move to a different spot, which should be often, Player 2 should hop in the AA for the ride. The bombs from the fighter planes usually don't take the Mobile AA out, so this is the time when the engineer gets to start repairing like crazy. Really simple and fun if you've got a reliable squad mate to do it with.

Positioning the Mobile AA against an obstacle to take a direction out of play can also be useful, since it forces bogies to come at you on your own terms. On the flip side, it does give them a way to avoid you as well.

The Essex:
It's useless. Really. Don't even try it unless there's either...
A. An enemy transport or...
B. An attack chopper with a "special" gunner.

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A parting thought: Think of AA as a method for taking pot shots at jets and helos, then getting the hell off of it before you get strafed.