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Gunship Academy

by Richard Sheffield

Rule 7: Conserve Ordnance and Use It Wisely

Remember your mission and make sure you reserve enough ordnance to complete it. It does little good to fight your way into an enemy area only to find that you're out of the necessary ammunition to complete the job. Relying on the gun in such situations can be very dangerous, due to its limited range. Weather conditions may severely limit the weapons load you can carry, so be extra conservative when flying with a small ordnance load. Fighting your way into an area may also mean fighting your way out again, so keep your plan of retreat in mind.

When involved in a heavy battle be sure to take enough time when firing and selecting weapons to pick the correct weapon system for the target and use proper system-switching procedures. Remember that you cannot switch from Hellfires until the missile hits or you'll shut off the laser tracking system. However, you can switch from rockets immediately after firing because they are unguided.

Table of Contents
Previous Section: Rule 6: Always Positively Identify Targets Before Attack
Next Section: Rule 8: Know the Situation