COIN Aircraft?

[jivemi]

Pardon my ponderous stupidity, but what exactly does "COIN Aircraft" refer to? In the game manual it says,

"UnitClass 223=COIN Fighter Plane
Clone of Fighter-Bomber, but it is less vehicle-centric in its targetting, so is more useful against them"

The only independent reference that makes sense (to me anyway) is "Counter-Insurgency Aircraft," which would seem to imply it's useful against infantry, not vehicles. Thanks.

[Suhiir]

COIN aircraft tend to carry ordnance loads that are more useful vs infantry, napalm, anti-infantry cluster bombs, additionally in game they prioritize non-vehicle targets.

Normal airstrikes carry stuff like laser/television guided weapons and anti-vehicle cluster munitions and prioritize vehicle targets.

[jivemi]

Okey-doke, much obliged, thanks for clearing that up. Next time I won't try to use Paveways on soft targets. It can be taught!

[Mobhack]

The AI picks from the normal fighters class, and the units in there are mainly armed for armour-heavy combat. The types of battles that are SPMBT bread and butter.

The main thing the second fighter class is used for now is as a useful dumping ground for rare beasties that are OK in human hands, but aren't wanted as part of the AI strike plane pick. Also, more anti-infantry load-outs of the same sort of stuff you see as strike planes in the usual class 44 can appear here.

And as the description of the unit class in the Game Guide says - the class is a little more open to targeting infantry units presented to them than the normal more vehicle-oriented strike plane class. (You would have to probably run a lot of test scenarios with both in the target area to actually notice that much of a difference, though.)

So - a humans-only and rarities dumping ground for things like the tsetse Mosquito with a 6 pounder, or armed trainers etc.

[IronDuke99]

I always wondered why British sea Harriers are in COIN aircraft?

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by IronDuke99

I always wondered why British sea Harriers are in COIN aircraft?

Its a niche plane for scenario designers only or whimsical players to use as explained in my previous post.

[Suhiir]

In the case of the British Sea Harrier, or for that matter the USMC one, it's not the "standard" ground support aircraft of the nation. In the British case it's the Tornado, and in the US one the A-10. Since the picklists are restricted to only one formation for ground support it makes sense that it use the "standard" aircraft types.

[IronDuke99]

I do see the point, it was just that Sea Harrier was the major fixed wing support to UK amphibious and Royal Marine ops until it was retired.

At the start of the Falkland's War in 1982, 20-22 carrier based Sea Harriers were the only fixed wing support (other than almost ridiculously resource expensive RAF Vulcan raids). Only later did RAF Harriers join the Task Force.

[Suhiir]

That's why that sort of thing is in the OOB. Scenario designers and buy-your-own battles/campaigns can use "nonstandard" stuff. The AI picklists by necessity create "typical" national battle organizations.

In the case of the Royal Marines you're never (short of WW III that's lasted long enough to recruit/train/equip them) going to see a division of them. For that matter you almost never see an entire USMC division in one place.

[IronDuke99]

The Royal Marines are a Brigade group sized formation. Don't think they were ever used as a division even in WWII.

The largest Royal Marines/Commando formation I can think of in WWII was a brigade of two Royal Marines and two British Army Commandos used in Burma late in the war, that one of my Grand Fathers Brothers fought with.