Player Guide/Air Support

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Air support is called in by placing "map marks" on the F10 map and inserting "command text" as the mark label.

How to place "CORE MARK" and "UTILITY MARK" commands on the F10 map:

1. 1. Place a "Map Marker" on the F10 map by clicking the "Mark Label" button.

1. 2. Place the "circle map marker" at your desired location (see red arrow).

1. 3. "Type" one of the following commands into the text window of the map marker (green arrow). Specific commands are listed below.

VRS "CORE MARK" commands: "Type" one of the following into the text window.

AWACS

awacs awacs orbit awacs racetrack

focus focus orbit focus racetrack

skyeye overlord

The radio voice you'll hear from these AWACS is the SkyEye GCI bot, callsign Focus.

Tanker (boom + MPRS pair)

tanker tanker orbit tanker racetrack

tankers tankers orbit tankers racetrack

fuel gas aar

Boom Tanker (KC-135 / Texaco)

aar boom aar boom orbit aar boom racetrack

boom boom tanker texaco

MPRS Tanker (KC-135MPRS / Arco)

aar mprs aar mprs orbit aar mprs racetrack mprs

drogue basket probe arco

Specops Tanker (KC-130 / Shell)

aar specops specops special ops

hc130 c130 shell

Boom contact -- KC-135 Texaco at Angels 20.

F/A-18C plugged into a KC-135 boom.

F/A-18C topping off from a KC-135 - boom contact over the hills.

When refueling, the tankers will be on station at these speeds, altitudes, frequencies, and TACANs:

KC-135 Boom-Texaco	280 kts	Angels 20	Freq: 252.000	TACAN: 40Y
KC-135 Boom-Reserve	280 kts	Angels 20	Freq: 254.000	TACAN: 42Y
KC-135 MPRS-Arco	280 kts	Angels 20	Freq: 253.000	TACAN: 41Y
KC-135 MPRS-Reserve	280 kts	Angels 20	Freq: 255.000	TACAN: 43Y
KC-130 Specops-Shell	130 kts	Angels 5	Freq: 256.000	TACAN: 44Y

Probe-and-drogue plug -- Arco over the hills.

F-16CM holding the basket on a probe-and-drogue tanker.

F-16CM holding the basket - probe-and-drogue contact.

CAP

cap f14 cap f-14 cap f 14

cap f15 cap f-15 cap f 15

cap f16 cap f-16 cap f 16

cap f18 cap f-18 cap f 18

Drone Recon (MQ-9 / Reaper-1)

drone recon recon drone scout drone reaper recon

Drone CAS (MQ-9 / Reaper-2)

drone cas cas drone attack drone reaper cas

VRS "UTILITY MARK" commands: "Type" one of the following into the text window.

• flare

• smoke white

• smoke blue

• smoke red

• smoke green

• smoke orange

1. 4. To finalize the task, "minimize (-)" or "close (X)" the text box (see blue arrow on the screenshot above).

If correctly interpreted, you will receive a confirmation message in the upper right-hand corner of the F10 map screen, and your VRS direct player AI air support is on the way.

Map markers can call multiple flights at once -- here, F-18 and F-14 CAPs simultaneously.

What each support type does:

• AWACS: BLUE airborne picture anchor. Can be re-tasked by placing a new AWACS mark on the F10 map.

• Tankers (Boom / MPRS / Specops): Refueling anchors with racetrack or orbit behavior.

• CAP support (map-mark and menu-driven escorts): AI CAP flights. Map mark for area station; menu for personal escort.

• Drones: Per-player MQ-9 support; not shared with the coalition.

drone recon -- 340 Cr + 65 intel. Callsign: Reaper-1, orbits at ~25,000 ft for area ISR.

drone cas -- 680 Cr + 65 intel. Callsign: Reaper-2, same orbit profile, weapons-capable.

• Only one drone active at a time. A second request while one is up is denied at no cost.

• 30-minute personal cooldown starts only after a successful dispatch.

• Denied requests (threat zone, no intel, another active drone) do not start a cooldown and refund all resources.

• Drones use the same threat-avoidance logic as AWACS/tankers; move the mark farther from threat belts if denied.

Important "campaign support behavior" players should expect:

• Safety logic: If the marker is placed in an "unsafe" location, you get a chat message and the requested asset finds the nearest safe location on its own.

• Auto-relief: Low-fuel support assets RTB and can auto-replace to hold station continuity.

• Tanker scaling: If requests are far apart, additional tanker slot(s) can spawn.

• Continuous adaptation: Campaign assets can reposition if the threat picture changes.

Practical air support tips:

• Place support marks behind your current BLUE engagement edge, not on it.

• Racetrack for sustained lane support; orbit for compact local support.

• As the frontline moves, move your campaign assets forward or back to match.

• Think of tankers and AWACS as campaign assets: defend the airspace around them.