Air Operations in Frontkrieg: Flight Radius, Patrol and Aerodromes

Air power in Frontkrieg runs on its own rules: planes ignore roads and sea lanes, fly in a straight line from their aerodrome to the target, strike once and return to refuel. Getting a single machine airborne requires an aerodrome: 10,000 money, 50 iron, 200 lumber, 100 oil and 12 hours of construction. After that, everything comes down to radius. A fighter reaches 280 map units from its home aerodrome, a bomber 600. Every landing costs one in-game hour of refuelling, and patrol mode deals only 25% damage, split across every enemy stack inside a 60-unit zone.

This guide is for players who already handle infantry and artillery and now want the air layer specifically: how to plan a sortie, when patrol beats a direct attack, and why a bomber on the far side of the map is more dangerous than ten tanks next door.

Contents

• The aerodrome: where the air war starts
• Three machines, three different jobs
• Flight radius: 280 versus 600
• Five sortie modes
• How to shoot down enemy aircraft
• The price of the sky: oil every hour
• Five rules of air operations
• FAQ

The aerodrome: where the air war starts

The aerodrome is the only level-1 building that grants neither morale nor production, yet it unlocks an entire branch of the army. It costs 10,000 money, 50 iron, 200 lumber and 100 oil, takes 12 hours to build, and caps at level 1. Build it once and the province becomes a base.

The key point is that the aerodrome defines not just where planes appear but the centre of every future operation. Flight radius is measured from the aerodrome, not from the aircraft's current position in the air. An aerodrome deep in the rear therefore means a beautiful but useless air force: it simply cannot reach the front. Place one 100-150 units from the border and your bombers suddenly reach enemy capitals.

Air units never mix with ground units, or even with each other: the engine creates a separate air army for each machine type, because their radius and speed differ. Fighters and bombers based at the same aerodrome are always two independent stacks. For build order of the aerodrome and the factory behind it, see the guide to buildings in Frontkrieg.

Three machines, three different jobs

Fighter. 18,000 money, 120 iron, 80 oil, 30 lumber, 6 hours to produce. Requires aerodrome level 1 and factory level 1. HP 40, air attack and air defence 25 each. That is the highest anti-air value in the game, so the fighter exists first and foremost to clear the sky.

Bomber. 26,000 money, 240 iron, 150 oil, 50 lumber, 14 hours to produce, requires factory level 3. HP 180, attack 40 versus ground, 45 versus fleets, 8 versus buildings and 5 against province morale. It is the heaviest strike unit in the game and the best answer to a hostile navy.

Observation balloon. 8,000 money and 80 lumber, built in 1 hour, requires an aerodrome and a workshop. HP 20, air attack 4, speed 0.1. It is a pure scout: the engine explicitly refuses attack and patrol orders for balloons, so it can only reposition to a point and loiter there, lifting the fog of war. How that combines with spy work is covered in the guide to reconnaissance and fog of war.

The complete stat sheet for every branch, plus the counter table, lives in the separate article on unit types and counters.

Flight radius: 280 versus 600

Radius is the number that decides air operations. The fighter has 280 map units, the bomber 600, and both are measured from the home aerodrome. If a target or patrol zone sits beyond that line, the order is refused outright: the interface replies that the point is outside flight radius.

Translate it into time. Both the fighter and the bomber move at speed 2, roughly 260 map units per in-game hour. That gives you:

• a fighter reaches the edge of its radius in about 1 hour 5 minutes one way;
• a bomber needs roughly 2 hours 20 minutes to cover 600 units;
• a full bomber raid at maximum range means almost 4 hours 40 minutes airborne plus one hour of refuelling.

The tempo arithmetic follows: against distant targets a bomber flies 4-5 sorties per in-game day, against close ones twice that. Plan a sortie as an expenditure of hours, not as an instant click. The same march-hour thinking is spelled out in the article on troop movement and logistics.

Five sortie modes

Direct attack. You pick a specific enemy army. The plane flies to it, delivers one full strike, and returns home, followed by one hour of refuelling. The strike is always an exchange: the defender fires back, and that retaliation is calculated before any losses are applied. A bomber hitting artillery (air defence 0.2) is therefore an almost free trade, while a bomber hitting a fighter stack is a gift to your opponent.

Patrol. You set a point inside the radius, the machine flies there and loiters. From then on it automatically strikes every enemy army you are at war with inside a 60-unit radius. But damage is cut to 25% and then split between all targets: with three stacks in the zone, each takes a third of that 25%. Patrol is a tool of attrition and area denial, not a way to kill anything.

Recon reposition. A flight to a point with no strikes and no refuelling; the machine simply loiters and lights up the map. It is the only mode available to balloons and the only one you can re-issue while airborne.

Transfer to another aerodrome. The machine flies to another of your bases, re-homes there on landing and refuels for an hour. This is how an air force follows a front line that has moved 200-300 units forward.

Return to base. Cancels the task: the plane flies home and always refuels after landing.

One detail that ruins beginner plans: you can only change a task from the aerodrome. While a machine is airborne under a combat order, the engine answers that the plane must be returned to base first. Recon repositioning and balloons are the exceptions.

How to shoot down enemy aircraft

Ground troops are nearly helpless against the sky: infantry has 0.2 air attack, a tank 2, artillery 0.2. The only reliable answer is the fighter with its 25. The 60-unit patrol radius is meanwhile five times the default ground engagement radius of 12, so a single pair of fighters on patrol covers an area no ground formation can even contest.

The practical defensive pattern: keep fighters at the aerodrome nearest the front, on patrol above your own artillery positions. Artillery is the most attractive target for enemy bombers precisely because of that 0.2 air defence, and this is where a fighter earns back its 18,000. Gun placement details are in the artillery guide.

The price of the sky: oil every hour

Upkeep is charged per in-game hour, and aircraft are the most expensive units per head. A fighter burns 5 money and 2 oil per hour, which is 120 money and 48 oil per in-game day. A bomber costs 10 money and 3 oil per hour, or 240 money and 72 oil per day. A balloon is nearly free at 1 lumber and 1 grain per hour.

Ten bombers therefore consume 720 oil daily, and that is exactly where the budget collapses for players who built an air force without oil provinces. Check the balance against the guide to economy, resources and oil before expanding the fleet, because a shortage of an upkeep resource eats into unit HP.

Five rules of air operations

1. Push the aerodrome forward, not back. Radius is measured from the base, so 100 units forward are cheaper than ten extra planes.
2. Bombers hunt weak air defence, not the biggest stack: artillery and railguns die with almost no retaliation.
3. Patrol pressures, attack kills. 25% damage split between three targets kills nobody.
4. Fighters own the sky. Without them your artillery survives only until the first enemy raid.
5. Budget the oil first. The sortie is free, the hangar hour is not.

FAQ

How does air power work in Frontkrieg?

Planes are based at an aerodrome, fly to the target in a straight line regardless of terrain, strike, and return to base, where refuelling takes one hour. The target must sit within flight radius of the aerodrome: 280 units for a fighter, 600 for a bomber.

What is the difference between patrol and direct attack?

A direct attack is one full strike on a specific army, followed by the return flight and refuelling. Patrol means loitering in a zone where the plane automatically hits every enemy within 60 units, but at only 25% damage, split across all targets. Attack kills; patrol grinds and denies ground.

What is the flight range of aircraft?

A fighter reaches 280 map units from its aerodrome, a bomber 600. Orders against a target or zone beyond that limit are rejected by the engine. Radius is always measured from the base, never from the plane's current position.

How do you shoot down enemy bombers?

Only with fighters: their air attack and defence are 25, while a bomber has just 10 against air and ground units have 0.2-2. The cheapest method is a fighter patrol above your own artillery, because that is where hostile bombers are heading.

Summary

Air operations in Frontkrieg are about managing radius and time, not counting airframes. A 12-hour aerodrome, 280 units for a fighter, 600 for a bomber, one hour of refuelling per sortie and 25% damage on patrol are the four numbers behind every air plan. Push the base forward, strike weak air defence, and keep fighters over your guns, and you gain an edge your opponent only sees at the moment of impact.

The historical background of these mechanics is covered in the article on aviation in World War I, with an academic overview available on Wikipedia. Frontkrieg is free to play with no pay-to-win shortcuts.

A new match starts every day and registration costs nothing: pick a nation in the lobby and build your first aerodrome within the opening two days. More guides live in the blog.