Air Superiority (Red Alert)

Air Superiority is a tactic that has been used, or at least attempted since the Second World War. It refers to having complete domination of the skies over the battlefield, and therefore a highly important strategic advantage.

Air superiority does not guarantee victory on the battlefield. It does however increase the chances of the commander that is using the tactic to gain victory over his enemies.

Second World War
It was first attained by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, who gained air superiority with their Yak and MiG fighters after ground forces took out allied anti aircraft artillery positions. The MiG's in particular were useful against an enemy's base, as they were fast, carried powerful missiles, and were quick to reload. The Soviets also used Spy Planes as high-speed reconnaissance units.

Third World War
After the war, the Allies took steps to ensure they would control the skies. First, the Soviet Union's Air Force was greatly reduced. Second, the Allies bulked up their arsenal of aircraft. Most Allied nations stuck with the VTOL Harrier, but the Republic of Korea constructed even more advanced aircraft, the Black Eagle. In addition, the Allied fleets were reorganized; heavy bombardment cruisers were replaced in their role with Aircraft Carriers, massive capital ships loaded with Hornet strike aircraft. Also, the Allies experimented with Rocketeers, infantry equipped with jetpacks, allowing them unprecedented mobility.

The Soviet Union, devoid of most of its advanced jet planes, experimented with heavily-armored airships. The Kirov was a massive blimp that carried a large amount of extremely heavy bombs. Unfortunately, these craft were limited in role; while extremely durable, their slow speed and need to get directly over a target greatly reduced the amount of targets vulnerable to them.

Psychic Dominator Disaster
During the Psychic Dominator Disaster, the Allied Air Forces largely remained the same; no major changes affected Allied Air power.

However, the Soviets revealed that they had much more air power than previously revealed. First, contrary to earlier reports, Soviet design burea Mikoyan-Gurevich continued development of jet fighters. These new MIGs were equipped with state-of-the-art avionics and laser guided "smart" bombs. To maintain secrecy, the Soviets had constructed only a few new-type MIGs, and they were placed under the command of Boris, hero of the Soviet Union. Also, the USSR constructed Siege Choppers, a powerful fusion of helicopter and artillery.

[[Yuri (character)
 * Yuri]] himself had a unconventional air force, in the form of the Floating Disc, a unique flying machine that could steal resources or power from an enemy base and attack aircraft.

Third World War (third iteration)
"He's in my airspace."

- Apollo

Allied Nations
During the Third World War's third iteration, the Vindicator Bomber is the primary ground attack aircraft of the Allies, replacing the old Harriers. The Cryocopter is very useful for neutralizing enemy ground units with its S.H.R.I.N.K. and Freezer Beams. The Apollo Fighter can knock hostile Fighters/Bombers/Helicopters out of the sky with its Sol Autocannons within seconds. The Century is the Allies' heavy bomber that can also drop paratroopers. In the Uprising expansion, the Allies gained their most powerful aircraft in the form massive armored Harbinger Gunships feature Collider Cannons to devastate vehicles and structures, as well as a chain gun to deal with massed infantry.

Overall, the Allies possessed the most effective airforce due to possessing the dominating air superiority fighter and their fast strong bombers.

Soviet Union
The USSR continues to use MiGs, only this time they are used as interceptors, designed to quickly decimate Allied and Imperial aircraft. The new Twinblade helicopter gunships are used for taking out enemy ground units with rockets and cannons. The old Soviet Kirov airships have been retained, still capable of leveling entire enemy bases and now featured Gastroburner for quicker movement, at the cost of damaging the Kirov itself.

Today, Soviet Air Superiority arguebly rivals that of the Allied nations.

Empire of the Rising Sun
The air force of the Empire of the Rising Sun is a unique one, which can transform from naval/ground to air mode, suiting different purposes.

The Jet Tengu is an air superiority fighter that is inferior to the Apollo and the MiG unless in numbers. The Chopper-VX is a helicopter armed with rocket pods that is effective against tanks in numbers. The Sky-Wing is a naval anti-infantry ground attack aircraft armed with a machine gun.

The Empire of the Rising Sun's Air Force was the weakest due the weakness of the their Tengu and that they lacked a heavy bomber, or any aircraft they could win easily against the AI with when deployed in mass like the Allies and the Soviets. This changed in The Uprising when a desperate Empire created their Giga Fortress. Its Sky Fortress mode is armed with a God's Breath device which can devastate any defense from outside of its range, and hit many targets at once if they are in a line. It outranged anti-air turrets as well. It had heavy armor making it necessary to destroy it before it reaches a commanders base to avoid heavy damage.