Tips for Fighting Aircraft

VTOLs are like mosquitos:  annoying and hard to kill unless you have a flyswatter.  Unfortunately, your starting lance is rarely equipped with a flyswatter. The purpose of this guide is to help you figure out how to kill the little bastards anyway.
First, improve your EWAR equipment.  Sight range, ECM, probes, anything to ensure you always have visuals and sensors on enemy aircraft.  The last thing you want to deal with on top of their evasion is the "no visuals" or "no sensors" to-hit penalty. 
Second, obtain a flyswatter.  Make it a high priority to obtain weapons with a to-hit bonus against aircraft.  These include LBX autocannons with cluster munitions, AA munitions for regular autocannons, bolt-on AA rockets, airburst mortar rounds, SAM LRM ammo, and even Arrow IV launchers set to FLAK mode or Thumper FLAK rounds.  All of these will make it easier to hit aircraft. If you can't find those, anything that reduces enemy evasion will help. 
Third, if you can't find a flyswatter, borrow a page from the Orks {Ed. note: Wrong game!} and just unload on them with as much dakka as you can find.  LRM20s, SRM6s...the larger the number, the better it is.  Disco party Hunchbacks are also acceptable for this purpose.  Just keep shooting till they die and give 'em a good WAAAAGH while you're at it. 
Fourth, sometimes aircraft will run and hide on the edge of the map if the AI senses the battle is now unwinnable for them.  So how do you hunt down something that fast that can flee to the far edge of the map in just a few turns?  With bait.  If you don't have units that can match their mobility or weapons that can counteract their range you need to employ the basics of tactics and offer something they want. And what all fast squishy units want is to backstab an isolated target.
Don't fire at them every turn and keep most of your units back. They'll drop off its radar and threat awareness. Put a bait unit forward, ideally something low evasion with its back turned. When it comes in to backstab, murder it. If it comes in hot and still has a ton of evasion don't spring the trap yet. Engage with your bait unit only. You want it to decide to stay close and move less next turn. Let it shoot your bait. That's a "Trade a cut for a kill" situation.
Category:Guides