Help with Minesweeper mission

[LostManAbroad]

I am flying the Kestrel and only attempting the second mission of the first campaign called The Island. I don't get how this is possible or what I am doing wrong. I equipped the Kestrel with two rocket pods and the cannon mounted under the cockpit.

I take off and join my fighter escort. I lead them to the AO and they tell me to take out the lead carrier. And that is usually as far as my mission gets as the lead ship almost always hits me with a missile that takes out my engines.

How the hell are you supposed to take out a ship firing homing missiles when you have the ridiculously inaccurate rockets. I've managed to hit the ship once but only by firing half my rockets at it from so close that I barely managed to pull up before hitting the water.

[醉仙望月]

An enemy ship can lock onto only one target and launch one missile at a time.
If the enemy ship lock on you, stay away. When it attacks your wingman, that's your chance to attack it.
If you're lucky, your wingmen can do most of the work for you without you having to do it yourself.

[LostManAbroad]

I have no wingmen. In the mission I am flying a Kestrel and I have three fighters flying escort. When I reach the AO they tell me to take out the ships while they concentrate on the enemy fighters. And staying away may keep me safe from the missiles but from a distance, these unguided rockets are about as useful as a waterproof teabag.

Plus, if I don't take out the lead ship fast then it shoots down the fighters that were escorting me.

[醉仙望月]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47EzXeTijpI

[LostManAbroad]

Yeah, thanks for that. I can see a few things I did wrong. I think my biggest struggle is that I am not using my throttle enough. The few times I managed to dodge the first missile shot I then couldn't get enough time to shoot the carrier because with my throttle full I am simply passing him too fast.

[LostManAbroad]

Okay, at first this was a challenge. Now it is just pi**ing me off. I try flying behind the carrier, its first missile takes out my engines. I try flying in front of the carrier, it's first missile takes out my engines. I try banking, rolling, pulling up, diving. Regardless of what I try, its first missile takes out my engines. This is f**king bulls**it. Why doesn't the tutorial tell you what the hell to do when you have a missile tracking you?

One thought was to fire off a flare or a chaff but I cannot find the button to do that. Anyone know what the difference is between a flare and a chaff? I'm getting fed up of this real fast.

[醉仙望月]

Grab the throttle and press the button to drop countermeasures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQI8fbYpl7o

[LostManAbroad]

Great. Wow, this guy has lots of cool tutorial videos for VTOL. Thanks for linking this.

[Jaidensky]

I found that for radar guided SAMs, the simplest strategy seems to be the beaming+high g pull the video mentioned above. Simply nose down perpendicularly to the missile, wait for it to get closer (usually a little after it’s exhaust begins to get significantly shinier/brighter, I would suggest practicing to get the timing right,) then go full AB, air brakes, pull up hard and roll towards it slightly so that it remains perpendicular and level relative to you as it passes. Use chaff whenever you feel it would help (depending on situation, could be while missile is on its way or about to hit,) and in low attitude situations nose up at the beginning and simply invert during the final maneuver. Oh, and ♥♥♥♥ MAD-4s.

[LostManAbroad]

Yeah, the only thing is that I am attempting it in a Kestrel. Not quite as manoeuvrable as the jet used in the video. We'll see though. I'm just going back in to try again.