Mission «Air Supply»

What is this mission?

You assign a region to your transport planes. They start carrying supplies to your troops there. In the game the button is called “Air Supply”.

The idea is simple: the supply hub is far away, you have not built the railway yet, and divisions lack supplies. Sometimes there are simply too many troops in one place to supply them normally. Then transports deliver cargo by air, straight to the region.

Note: only transport planes fly this mission. Fighters, close air support and bombers do not have this button.

Why do you need it?

First reason — help troops where the map itself gives little supply. North Africa, snow near Moscow in winter, mountains. The supply hub is overloaded, divisions lose organization and halt.

Second reason — keep attacking. You need to push the enemy a little further, but supplies are running out. You switch on transports — and the offensive continues.

Third reason — hold the front while engineers lay railway behind your tanks. Aviation helps now, the railway solves it later.

The pleasant truth about the mission

Honestly: a strong mission beginners often forget. My tank group got only 20% supply. I added transports — it became 90%. The tanks moved again.

In my hundreds of games I have seen this many times: everyone halts over bad supply, and you keep moving. Divisions at full supply fight visibly better.

What happens when you switch it on?

Open the air map — the plane icon at the bottom right or the F3 key. Select a transport wing, press “Air Supply” in the orders menu, then right-click the region.

• • What the planes do.

    Your transports shuttle between the airbase and the region: they bring cargo and return. Each plane gives supply with a 0.01 factor. One drop lasts 168 hours — 7 days — then a new sortie is needed.

    How much arrives depends on three things, as the game says: mission efficiency, enemy interception and AA. Cargo goes first to the province with the sharpest shortage.

  • Command power cost .

    Note: the only mission in the whole list paid for with command power. The price is 0.05 per plane. Do the math: 100 transports — 5 power, 600 — already 30, and 1000 — a full 50.

    For reference: a country's base stock is 80, and gain is only 0.4 a day. A thousand transports take over half the stock. A big air bridge limits your other operations.

How effective is it?

With your air superiority — very. My example: a tank group at 20% supply rose to 90% with transports. In Africa as Germany, 600 transports lifted a corps to an acceptable level — and the tanks advanced.

But if the enemy holds the sky, it is the reverse: efficiency drops by 20-30%, and transports take losses from his fighters. Fuel still burns as usual: 1.0 per plane, same as air superiority and close air support.

When to switch this mission on?

When your troops lack supply and railways do not help. Open the supply map — the crate icon at the bottom right or the F4 key. If the supply hub is overloaded and divisions show yellow or red — time to act.

Usually one of three cases. First — the offensive outran its base. Second — a tough region: Africa, winter near Moscow, mountains. Third — finish the offensive: one step left, supplies almost gone.

Before switching on, check three things:

• The region needs extra supply
• You hold air superiority
• Transports reach it with 50%+ coverage

Who should switch it on?

• • When to use it.

    Any country fighting far from its supply hubs. Germany in Africa and near Moscow in winter, Japan on islands, the USSR on a wide front. But if you fight near your capital with supply in order, you do not need the button.

    Big majors like it most: enough factories to put 5-10 on transports without weakening tank output.

  • Which plane is needed?

    Transport plane only. No other type can be assigned — the button simply will not appear. The game's formal minimum is 1 plane, but that achieves nothing visible.

    The working rule is: 200-1000 planes per region needed. 50 planes change almost nothing. But 600, as in my Africa example, lift supply to an acceptable level.

Which region to assign?

A land air region where your low-supply troops stand. Not the sea and not the neighboring rear — exactly where the hub is overloaded.

Check coverage and range. At 50% coverage the mission works at half strength while fuel and command power burn anyway. So place the airbase as close to the sector as possible.

First way — pinpoint supply where it is worst

Find the lowest-supply region — where your tanks halted. Send 200-1000 transports there and hold until you break through. As in my Africa example: 600 planes on one region, supply leveled out — and the tanks advanced.

This way suits a breakthrough: everything massed in one place. But mind the price: 600 planes cost 30 command power out of a base 80. Downside: neighboring regions get no help.

Try this way first. If you are new and do not know where to start — start where supply is worst.

Second way — spread across the front to perfect it

Split transports into groups across the whole front, turning good supply into excellent. Roughly 100-500 planes per sector.

Costs more: many planes, air superiority everywhere, command power per wing — 1000 planes take 50 power total. But the whole front moves evenly, without halts. Fits winter, when supply is low everywhere, not in one spot. Now what else can go wrong.

• Nuances worth knowing

  • Air decides.

    Without air superiority transports take losses and delivery falls 20-30%. First your fighters with “Air Superiority”, only then transports.

  • Command power .

    Note: the only mission with a resource price — 0.05 per plane. 600 planes take 30 power, 1000 — already 50. With a base cap of 80 and 0.4 daily gain, a big air bridge visibly limits your other operations.

  • A drop lasts a week.

    Supplies persist 168 hours — 7 days. Then a new sortie is needed. The mission demands consistency: remove the wing — a week later supply in the region drops again.

• Typical beginner mistakes

  • Switching on without air superiority.

    The most common mistake — I have made it too. Assigned transports where the enemy holds the sky: a week later the wing is gone, delivery down 20-30%. The order is: air superiority first, cargo second.

  • Never building transports at all.

    Many never produce them — a separate plane type. Then they wonder why tanks halt. As a major, assign 5-10 factories to transport planes in advance — winter near Moscow will be far easier.

  • Too few planes everywhere.

    Spreading 200 planes over five regions helps no one. The formal minimum is 1 plane, but hundreds deliver results. Fully cover one region rather than five a little.

• Tips from top players

  • Build ahead.

    You need transports when the offensive starts, not after. Start production in peacetime so Africa or winter finds you with 500-600 ready planes.

  • Keep the pair.

    Fighters provide air superiority, transports carry cargo. Mission fuel use is 1.0 per plane, same as superiority. Check both wings and coverage in one region.

  • Watch the supply map.

    Before switching on, press F4. The overloaded hub and the right region are visible at once. That is how experienced players pick regions, not by guess.

  • Watch the live tooltip.

    After the mission starts you can check delivery. Press F3 or open the air region map. A tooltip appears over the assigned region . Hovering shows the air supply state — quite handy.