Heatseeker/Reprisals

Reprisals is the third mission of the Vertana chapter.

Introduction
The Nemesis fleet is under attack en route to Vertana. Take off and fend off incoming attackers.

Recommended Loadout
Both high-priority air and sea targets will be present. Use either the F-16 for GAMs or F-15 for its stronger air-to-air missiles, depending on which you find more difficult to deal with, as well as whether you intend to go for the bonus objectives.

Defend Eyeball from the Attackers
As soon as the opening cutscene ends, Eyeball's V-22 Osprey will be under attack by multiple MiG-29 Fulcrums. You start out locked onto him, so order Divot to defend him as you make your approach. Speed is key here; fly over at full speed and target the fighters closest to Eyeball, then slow down to engage. At minimum speed, most fighters will fly past you when pursuing Eyeball, putting them in your sights, or alternatively will target you (which takes pressure off Eyeball). Pick them off quickly with your missiles and cannon. More fighters will spawn to engage once you're almost done with the first wave; fly over to engage and deal as much damage as possible before they get in range, though they should be less troublesome as they tend to target you instead of Eyeball. The objective completes once Eyeball reaches the fleet, and all enemy fighters are down.

If you're having trouble keeping Eyeball alive, Anti-air missiles can be used to make this section easier by picking off enemies as you approach as well as deal with spawning enemies from a longer range.

Defend the Fleet From Air and Sea Attack
Multiple PT Boats will attack from the south, targeting the Nemesis, followed by multiple waves of Yak-141s and MiG-29s. The PT Boats can deal heavy damage when they get in range, so they should be prioritized. The boats are dispersed this time, making bombs less effective compared to previous missions, though GAMs will still make short work of them (SRAMs are less effective as they take 3 hits to sink a PT Boat). The planes can deal some damage, but not nearly as much, and the fleet's guns will weaken them and potentially destroy a few.


 * Bonus Objective: Destroy the enemy spy aircraft - An A-50 Mainstay will spawn a moderate distance to the north of the fleet, and will appear on the radar as a white blip. Fly close to activate the bonus objective and shoot it down, but make sure you do so quickly in order to have time to engage and destroy the boats; alternatively, sink all the boats and leave a handful of fighters around before hunting this bonus objective.

Go to Angel and Assist Her
Rumbler informs you of what Eyeball was up to: he was busy extracting the Vertanian defector Angel, who is currently attempting to flee the Vertanian forces in a MiG-29. She and her pursuers will be a long distance away from the player, so fly toward her at full throttle. Enemy MiG-29s will spawn as you approach, to try and distract you and slow you down; try to pick off a few as they approach (you'll have to deal with them later anyway), but focus on getting to Angel first and foremost, so if you can't get them don't worry too much about it.

Escort Angel Back to the Fleet
Once you've reached Angel, she will start to head for the Nemesis. She will also have multiple MiG-29 fighters on her tail, so destroy them and follow her to keep her safe. There will also be three ships (two Sovremenny cruisers and one Udaloy destroyer) attacking Angel. Divot suggests to ignore them, as Angel is your top priority, and more MiG-29 fighters will attack as she makes her way to the fleet so spending time sinking them will put her in danger from the pursuing fighters, which can wear away her health very quickly.


 * Bonus Objective: Destroy the enemy cruiser - One of the Sovremenny cruisers will be marked as a bonus objective to be sunk. If going for this bonus objective, whittle down the fighters as much as possible between attack passes, and bring some decent anti-ground weaponry (you may have to defend Eyeball using only SRAMs). The more time you take sinking this ship, the more time you'll have to take to reach Angel to defend her on the return trip, and the more damage she will sustain from spawning fighters - and the more damage you will likely take as well, because ship guns hurt quite a bit. The other two ships can be ignored.

As she approaches the fleet, a Typhoon attack submarine will surface to attack her with missiles. Sinking the submarine is optional, as the objective completes if you destroy all enemy fighters.


 * Bonus Objective: Destroy the submarine before it submerges - The Typhoon will submerge and flee after enough time has passed or all enemy fighters have been destroyed. Sink it before taking on the remaining fighters; this should not take long due to its low health.

Defend the Civilian Freighter Lucille
After a cutscene, you will be placed at the fleet, and the Lucille will spawn south of the fleet. Fly over to the freighter, and multiple MiG-29s will attack. While the Lucille can take a couple of hits, the fighters can do high damage with each pass, so destroy at least one on your initial pass with SRAMs and guns before they get to turn around and fire again.

Defend the Civilian Freighter Axelrod
Axelrod is found to the east of Lucille, and is attacked by PT Boats as well as MiG-29s. As before, destroy the boats as quickly as possible before taking on the fighters.

Defend the Fleet from Enemy Subs
A Typhoon submarine will emerge near the fleet and begin firing cruise missiles toward the fleet. Prioritize taking out the missiles, following behind them and shooting them down with SRAMs, before turning your attention to the sub. If it fires more cruise missiles, chase them down before resuming your attack on the sub. Once the sub is destroyed, the mission completes.