As a longtime user of the skyguard, I have some across some reasonable tactics, while also proving and disproving all those fantastic myths about this legendary aircraft killer. I am not going to claim that after reading this, you'll be an ace aircraft killer, but I can attest that some of the things youll read here will give you that moment or two that means survival, or getting killed and losing a valuable asset to your squad. The lightning is a small and fast tank capable of dancing around enemy fortifications and tanks without giving them much to shoot at. It's also a very simple tank to hide, due to having a very short height. The one thing you want to remember is that aircraft are actually quite hard to fly around and hit targets multiple times at fast speed. Most times, they are forced to slow down or stall and launch their weapons, before making a quick escape to avoid counter fire. Taking your skyguard and getting it hidden behind small amounts of cover will help you enormously, since the cover keeps you safe, while also giving you a maximum amount of coverage of the sky. If there is no cover, and your in the open, then your best bet is to use your skyguard as a protective barrier against enemy aircraft. The aircraft have to fly towards you, and putting rounds down range will almost always force them to veer off. Now, you will more often than not hit them, and chances are, after realizing that they can't get after your group, the damaged pilot will fly off and approach another group, and get promptly get shot down, still awarding you points. The lightning may be mobile, but never fire on the run, as more often as not, youll wind up wasting more shots than you hit. At the average flying height, most aircraft cant see a small tank like the lightning sitting still and blending in with the ground terraine. Most fliers crap their pants when a skyguard opens up on them, and that effect is multiplied when its super accurate and you cant pin down exactly where it is, versus a laughable inaccurate shooter and you see a blob moving around down below that they can now shoot at. Now, most people say that a skyguard is a horrible anti tank and anti infantry gun. I can say that this is only partly true. In most cases, with inexperience, you won't do much damage to these targets, however, at roughly 25-50 feet, six to ten shots will take down your average infantry soldier, if fired in short bursts. When dealing with tanks, your best bet is to strike at rear armor, and unload fast and try to keep him from getting a gun on you. To a full health tank, you wont be much of a threat, but take a half health tank or less, and your downright dangerous with that high rate of fire and fairly fast reload. Two rapid clips into the side and back armor of a tank will put it down in short order. Now, to talk about defending your tank, we are going to discuss all the gear your skyguard will need to keep you safe. The gun: First and formost, bullets are your friends. There are times when ammo towers are far from you, and you have a lot of aircraft overhead. When you run dry, your skyguard is no longer a weapon of destruction, but a 2 ton paperwieght and infantry magnet. Next, work on your scope before pushing reload speed. Spotting enemy aircraft at range and working on leading your shots on target is far more important then spraying and praying for a max range kill, which are few and far between. Performance, Utility, and Defense: These are the bread and butter, and the most important aspects of any tank. These set tanks apart. For performance, focus on your top speed. If you are ever under fire, or wind up running right into that massive enemy armor column you've been expecting, then your engine is your best friend, and you'll want it going as fast as it can. For utility, some people focus on the radar, wanting to see blips on the radar. The problem is, your job is to hunting aircraft, and youll be watching the sky and you will spot or hear them long before they ever come onto that radar. I recommend the IR Flare for you, due to the fact that you are a skyguard, and every ground target lock on rocket launcher is going to eventually be pointed your way, and 6 seconds is more than enough time to get out of view and away from rocket propelled danger. For defense, focus on stealth. It provides more time to protect yourself against rockets, and gives you a better chance to hide behind enemy lines and wait for reinforcements for a counter assualt, or extraction corridor to open up. It also lets you just stay hidden and harrass enemy aircraft until armor and infantry are sent in to investigate. I hope this guide helps you all out, should you ever become curious about skyguards. Just remember this one last important note. Skyguards are like a wife during "that time" and ammo towers are her cravings. Feed her often, and she is happy.
I know 2 other configurations designed for anti tank and anti infantry use, but I don't think people will use them in those lines, even though they can fill these rolls rather easily.
