Attacker and CAS Guide: Press the Ground War

Attackers are the close air support branch of the air tree: sturdy, cannon-armed aircraft built to press an attack on ground targets and survive light fire on the way out. They are not fighters and they are not bombers — they are the tool for sustained pressure on the ground battle, and their effectiveness depends almost entirely on how they approach.

The approach is the tactic

Every attack run has three parts, and two of them are escape:

Part	What it means	Error that kills
Approach	Line up along or behind the friendly line	Flying over enemy-held ground to reach the target
Attack	One pass, one target type, one weapon solution	Lingering over the target after the pass
Escape	Break away toward friendly airspace and altitude	Turning back for a second look

The rule underneath all of it: never fly where anti-air weapons can shoot you. Ground-based AA is the primary killer of attack pilots, and AA sits near the front line by design. Attack from the friendly side, along the line, and let the angle do the work.

Matching ordnance to targets

Attackers carry a mix of cannons, machine guns, rockets, and bombs. Each has a discipline:

• Cannons and machine guns — soft targets, light vehicles, and artillery. Tight strafing runs with short bursts; a single pass.
• Rockets — vehicles and fortified positions from standoff range. Fire in pairs or small salvoes from distance rather than one at a time from close.
• Bombs — stationary, high-value targets. Released with altitude and speed, then leave.

Loadouts and ordnance counts vary by vehicle and change over time, so confirm the rack before takeoff — the difference between one bomb and two decides whether the sortie is worth its repair bill.

Target priority in a CAS run

Ground targets are not equal. This priority order holds in most battles:

1. Vehicles actively engaging friendly ground forces.
2. Artillery and other long-range threats behind the line.
3. Vehicles moving to reinforce the contested point.
4. Whatever remains, if your exit is still clean.

The point of the order is that the ground battle — not your personal score — defines value. A tank killed where it was about to break a friendly position is worth more than three parked trucks.

Surviving the egress

After every pass, extend: increase speed, gain or hold altitude, and put distance between you and the target area before you even think about re-entering. If you are damaged, disengage completely and land — a second pass with a wounded aircraft is where most attackers die. When AA does engage, the survival patterns are the same ones helicopters use, described in helicopter AA survival and in the AA role guide.

For the aircraft that do a similar job from higher and slower, see the bomber role guide; for where attackers fit in the wider class system, see vehicle classes and roles.