What is the role of AFVs in PR?

[Hunt3r]

I've been wondering this for a while, since once I've gotten good enough to keep my tanks and APCs alive long enough, I really do wonder what the best way of contributing to the team is.

So far, I've basically just been a direct fire support platform, kind of like an AC-130 on the ground, with lots of armor. I am usually not with infantry, but I will find a nice spot to provide overwatch and move up ahead to do recon by fire if necessary. I've found that not much else is really needed, but what do you think?

[Rhino]

Transporting troops near to there objectives, letting them out a bit away from there objective and then moving up behind them giving them fire support from a distance while they move up

[Truism]

recon by fire

I don't think you actually understand what this means.

Edit:
You are the highest density of combat power on the map. You should seek to exploit this by maximising your strengths (mobility, protection, firepower) and inflict maximum casualties on the enemy without putting yourself in danger.

I still don't see suppression as a particularly important tool in PR. Just kill things. That's what you're best at.

[TomDackery]

Reconnaissance by fire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia < Recon by Fire

[dtacs]

I don't think you actually understand what this means.

Edit:
You are the highest density of combat power on the map. You should seek to exploit this by maximising your strengths (mobility, protection, firepower) and inflict maximum casualties on the enemy without putting yourself in danger.

I still don't see suppression as a particularly important tool in PR. Just kill things. That's what you're best at.

This. Although mechanized infantry is highly effective at protecting and supporting the infantry themselves, an APC/IFV/AFV/whatever is more suited to killing as many enemies as possible in order to reduce their tickets.

[Hunt3r]

I do believe that AFVs are highly useful in the true recon by fire role, you just fire a sabot near where you think the tank is, and make them panic if they are there. If you are wrong though, you gotta be careful.

AFVs can also move up ahead and use their armor and firepower to act as cavalry, to soften up the target and destroy key spawn points.

[mat552]

The stated intended role of an AFV is, as others have said, mobile fire support. In addition, the packaged deal of close infantry support is an ideal goal.

Unfortunately, the "realities of war" in PR (in 99% of matches. Scrims and organized play are a whole 'nother kettle of fish) means the toolset provided by the AFV are best utilized in a light/heavy tank role from cover. If the AFV is equipped with a missile launcher, that is its first and foremost priority under the goal of staying alive. While it is admirable to want to support the infantry, there are too many threats and not enough ways of dealing with them other than hoping your armor holds up to the assault.

I am not discounting the occurrences in which you find a squad well suited to watching your back, but I like to speak from the majority of experiences, and that majority dictates the safest return on investment on you, your crewman, and your vehicle is to stay carefully back and whittle down the enemy tickets whenever possible.

[Hunt3r]

In general though, AFVs are very vulnerable things when far from infantry, very easily picked off by CAS and other enemy AFVs.

[mat552]

I hold that it's the lesser of two evils to be out there fighting alone.

You may be at the bottom of the proverbial food chain, but you have mobility. Once you enter a city or get constrained trying to coax a situation update from a squad leader, you take away your only real advantage. Sure you're easy pickings for CAS or AFVs, but at least you're reasonably safe from enemy AT. If you get in close and dirty, you're still vulnerable to CAS and enemy AFVs, but you also expose yourself to man portable H/LATs and emplaced TOW systems, and on some servers, suicide charges from enemy combat engineers.

[Hunt3r]

Which is why I think that being within a gridsquare of where most infantry are is a very important thing when it comes to giving infantry proper support in terms of anti-armor and also general infantry support. You should probably be around infantry, but not so close that they can be hurt by an RPG explosion from hitting the AFV.

[Teek]

This theory is based on my last two rounds driving an Stryker, both insurgency maps, karabala and ramiel. In both we ended up with around 1/5 of the teams kills, no deaths and we supported the infantry taking out caches.

I think there are two elements to a sucessful APC; Survival and Support

1. Survival - Float like a butterfly
You dont want your APC to get killed, and there are so many things out there that could kill you means you have to use your mobility to survive. Behave like a helicopter, dont Hover around a area for more than 10 minutes, because by then, bomb cars will be enroute and RPGs will be closing in. By RTBing every so often, you disrupt any tank hunters that may be stalking you, possibly suprising them in the open.

2. Support - Sting like a bee, a very large bee.
The sniper is who you want to emulate here, especially the kind who help the infantry. You want to maintain maximum standoff distance to the enemy, where they cant hit you with RPG's or flabk you by walking around the block. Try an maintain line of sight to infantry, as that is one of the best flank and rear defences they can hope for. Pick off targets before they get to the infantry's AO and deter and distract hostile forces from harrassing the infantry.

From a diffrent perspective: A diffrent round on Ramiel when I was on insurgets had my sqjsd defending a cache in the North East outskirts of the city. The Stryker sat on a platue on the edge of the view distance which doubled as a LZ and FOB point. Our insurgets were half occupied thinking of how to kill the APC and half occupied with not dieing from that APC, resulting in blufor infantry getting too close to our hide out to let us spawn on it, then they mopped up, moving from the rear and flank of the compound. My squad leader eventually drove a gary into the apc, but that was already 15 minutes since the APC arrived and the cache was taken out a minute ealier.

What is the diffrence between a IFV and a Tank? A Tank has no regard for infantry. As Armoured Cav/Mech. Inf, you should consider how you could best help your ground pounders when making plans. If they are too deep in hostile territory to be considered safe, so be it, at least you thought of them, maybe in 10 minutes the situation will change and you can reevaluate your plan.