Mission «Interception»
Article · Mission «Interception»
Mission «Interception» in Hearts of Iron IV
The order that lets an interceptor stop enemy planes from doing their job: bombing and hitting the ground. It does not paint the sky. Fuel costs five times less than Air Superiority.
One button (mission) on the air mission bar: Interception. What it does, why you click it, whether you need it at all, and who gets the order.
No plane designer here. You get the gap between this button and Air Superiority. And why a thousand interceptors in the region does not mean enemy bombers will not get through.
What it is
Interception is an order. You give it to an Air Wing, and interceptors stop enemy planes from doing their mission. An interceptor is the same Fighter, just on Interception.
Here is how it works. The wing sits on an Air Base. You assign it to an air region and press this button. When enemy planes show up in the region on a mission, your interceptors go up to meet them. Not factories. Not divisions. Enemy planes that are already flying to bomb or help the ground.
Sounds simple, and it is. The game is blunt: prevent enemy planes from doing missions in the region, such as bombing or close air support. Picture this: bombers are already heading for your factories, and something blocks the road from above. This is not taking the sky. This is stopping their work.
Two things people mix up all the time.
- The order Interception is the button on the wing. Without it, Fighters do not specifically hunt enemy bombers. They sit with no mission, or they are busy with another order.
- The order Air Superiority is a different button. With it, Fighters paint the sky and hit enemy Fighters first. They touch bombers too, but that is a side effect of the fight for the bar, not this mission.
This button does not paint the sky. Green and red regions come from Air Superiority. Interception will not buy you the green score or the penalty on the ground. This order does not hit divisions either: for the ground there is Close Air Support.
One more simple rule. If the wing’s Range does not cover the whole region, the mission works worse. 50% coverage — 50% of the maximum. The tooltip says so. You can stamp out a thousand Fighters, put them on Interception at the edge of a huge region — the button glows, enemy bombers slip past on the far side.
Why
The first and most obvious reason is to stop the enemy finishing their job. They put on Strategic Bombing, Close Air Support, Logistics Strike. Your interceptors try to break that. Factories stay healthier. Divisions take no hit from above. Air Supply also depends on interception: the game says fewer supplies get through if interception is there.
The second reason is Fuel. This mission’s consumption multiplier is 0.2. Air Superiority is 1.0. Close Air Support is 1.0 too. Exactly five times. Interceptors do not circle the region all day “just in case” at the same price as Fighters taking the sky. They wait cheaper, until there is someone to stop.
The third reason is to understand Air Detection. Without it the button glows and enemy planes go through. The game is blunt: the higher Air Detection in the area, the easier it is to locate and engage enemy planes. That number decides how many active planes even enter combat. The region tooltip shows what it is made of.
| What gets in the way | What it does | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Air Detection | goes up from territory, radars, active planes | Low detection — few interceptors enter combat. A thousand on the wing is not a thousand in the bomber’s path |
| Night and weather | cut total detection | The tooltip says so: Night, Bad weather. The button glows, finding them is harder |
| Enemy sky | enemy Fighters cover their own | Red region. They eat your interceptors; those often never reach the bombers. Air Superiority first |
| Empty region | nobody to intercept | No enemy missions — the order barely does anything. Fuel still trickles away |
So why “plenty of interceptors and the factories still get bombed”. Three simple reasons.
- Read Air Detection, not the wing. The air overview says a thousand. Fewer entered combat because of detection. Radar in range helps: the game says the higher the Radar Efficiency in the area, the easier interceptors will find enemies.
- Night. Detection drops. You stare at the button and cannot see why the bombs arrived. Often the answer is night.
- The sky is theirs. Interception does not paint the bar. While the region is red, enemy Fighters take your interceptors down before those take the bomber. On a front where you fight for the sky, this button is weaker than Air Superiority.
Do you need it
Yes — if enemy bombers or Close Air Support planes fly into the region, and the sky is already yours or barely contested. That is the case: factories, the rear, one quiet region where bombs show up now and then. Without this button, Fighters do not break the enemy mission.
No — if a war for the sky is on in the region. That wants Air Superiority. Interception will not buy you the green score. No — also if there are no enemy missions for weeks. Over empty rear the order still burns Fuel, just less: multiplier 0.2, not 1.0. Cheaper than circling on Air Superiority. Still not free.
| Mission | What it does | Fuel |
|---|---|---|
| Interception | Stops enemy missions: bombing and close air support. Does not paint the sky. Does not hit the ground | multiplier 0.2 |
| Air Superiority | Flies all the time, hits Fighters first, paints the bar and puts a penalty on the ground | multiplier 1.0 |
| Close Air Support | Joins a ground battle, hits enemy divisions. Does not paint the sky | multiplier 1.0 |
You take Interception when there are almost no enemy Fighters, and bombers or Close Air Support planes show up now and then. The moment a real war for the front starts — switch back to Air Superiority. Otherwise the sky goes red, and there will be nothing left to intercept with.
A small country still needs the order, just not on the whole map. One region with factories is cheaper to cover with Interception than sending Fighters in circles all day. Three ocean regions “so nobody flies through” — no. There are no enemy missions there. There is only Fuel, even if it is cheap.
Who gets the order
Fighter is the main client of this button. The game itself says: air superiority, protecting your bombers, intercepting enemy bombers. If the wing is built as a Fighter, you put this order on it in the region where enemy bombs are coming and you no longer need to paint the sky.
Heavy Fighter gets it too. More Range, heavier guns: against bombers that is exactly the job. Agility is worse in return. Over a quiet rear against bombs — fine. On a red front — regular Fighters on Air Superiority first.
Assign
- Fighter — main order over factories and the rear
- Heavy Fighter — if regular ones lack Range, or the ones hitting you are bombers
Do not assign
- Close Air Support plane — that one wants Close Air Support
- Tactical Bomber, Strategic Bomber, Naval Bomber — their own missions
The beginner mistake is hanging every Fighter on Interception and waiting for a green sky. There will be no sky. The second is hanging a Fighter on Close Air Support: it barely hits the ground, and enemy bombers go through in the meantime. Fighter wing on the front: Air Superiority. Interceptor wing over factories, where bombers show up now and then: Interception.
Bottom line
Interception is the order that lets an interceptor stop enemy planes from doing missions in the region: bombing and close air support. This button does not paint the sky. It does not hit the ground. You want it where enemy bombs are coming and you are no longer fighting for the bar. You do not want it as a stand-in for Air Superiority on the front. Fuel here is five times less: multiplier 0.2 against 1.0. How many interceptors actually get in the way is Air Detection: territory, radars, active planes. Night and weather cut that number. Look at detection in the region, not how many the wing lists.