THE THIRD WORLD WAR
9. THE AIR WAR Both players have air units, each representing groups of approximately 100 aircraft. Air units are rated for range and serviceability (maintenance), and effectiveness in three types of missions: air superiority, ground attack, and strike. In general, each air unit may be assigned to one mission each turn. For the remainder of this rule, the term unit refers to air units.
9.1 Basics
Some basic concepts of the air rules are explained here. 9.1.1 Theaters For the purposes of air operations, the game maps are divided into six theaters – Northern, Western Europe, Southwestern, Balkan, Western Asia, and Persian Gulf. These theaters are denoted with light purple borders on the game maps. A seventh theater – the Eastern European theater – appears on Map D, this theater is ignored for current game purposes. All air operations are handled separately for each theater, although it is possible for units to transfer between theaters or fly missions in other theaters. Each theater is adjacent to one or two other theaters; a theater is adjacent to the theater immediately preceding or following its listing in the list: • • • • • •
In the theater air superiority phase, units which will fly air superiority missions are moved from the available box to the air superiority box. Units in the available box and the air superiority box may fly missions during the turn, after which they are placed in the flown box or the shot down box, depending on the result of air combat and air defense fire. In the aircraft landing phase of every turn, all units remaining in the air superiority box are moved to the flown box. Every turn, half the units in the shot down box are returned to the flown box and half are eliminated from the game. The grounded box contains units which are grounded and the crater track records the amount of cratering of theater airfields. The flow of air operations is explained in more detail below and in the expanded sequence of play. All air theater displays (and the units on them) should always be in full view of both players.
Northern Western Europe Southwestern Balkan Western Asia Persian Gulf
(Note that the Balkan and Western Asia theaters are adjacent, even though the European and Middle East maps are separate; note that the Western Europe and Balkan theaters are not adjacent.) 9.1.2 Range Air units may fly missions in or be committed to air superiority to theaters as limited by their range: short- and medium-range air units only in the theater in which they are based; long-range air units in the theater in which they are based or in any adjacent theater; intercontinental-range air units in any theater.
9.1.4 Participation Air units from multiple friendly nations, even rivals (see rule 15.4), may participate in a single air mission. Example: A West German Tornado may provide top cover for an U.S. A-10 on a ground attack mission supporting combat with a French ground unit.
Note: Players may wish to place a generic marker underneath long-range air units as a reminder that they were based in an adjacent theater before the mission. When transferring from the available box, air units may transfer to any theater. When transferring after flying a m ission or returning from an abort, medium-range air units may transfer to an adjacent theater, and long- and intercontinental-range air units may transfer to any theater. 9.1.3 Air Theater Displays Each player has an air theater display for each theater. All air units, except when actually flying a mission, are kept in one of the boxes on the display. At the beginning of a turn most units will be in the flown box (if they flew a mission last turn) or in the available box. In the maintenance phase, units in the flown box which make their maintenance die rolls are moved to the available box.
9.2 Maintenance
During the aircraft maintenance phase, each player rolls one die for each unit in the flown box of the air theater display. If the die roll is less than or equal to the unit’s maintenance rating, place it in the available box of the same theater. Units which fail their maintenance rolls remain in the flown box and are not available to fly missions in that turn.
© 2021 Compass Games, LLC.
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