D'85: Helicopters..the final verdict!

[Elxaime]

In his Bolt from the Blue scenario, the designer addressed the issue by reducing helicopter defense values, upping the counterbattery values (which affects AAA op-fire attacks) and adding in the mobile SAM assets each side had (e.g. more NATO Hawk and Roland, Pact SAM-6) which are currently abstracted in the HQ units in D85. A different approach, but it seems to be working in the games I have played. You still see people sending their helos deep behind the lines or placing them and leaving them right on the front line, but they pay a heavy price.

I would reduce the defense values even more if it was me, since it seems to me that helos were pretty fragile assets when confronted by modern air defense systems in number operated by a quality opponent. I seem to recall the US Army helos in Albania during the 1999 Kosovo war never got off the ground for fear of the losses that would have been sustained against unsuppressed Serb AAA and SAM (Manpads).