Bug Fixes & Additions

Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.6.8.49 - April 2026

This is a major update bringing enemy variety, a comprehensive intelligence reporting system, an expanded Guide panel, intercept status updates, shift handover, supply coaching, and dozens of fixes across interceptors, radar, voice, and training.

New: Enemy Variety System

Enemy aircraft now employ a wider range of deception tactics. What you see on your radar may not be what it appears. Intelligence reports from various sources across the UK will help you identify threats -- pay attention to the clues. Difficulty setting affects how challenging these encounters are to detect.

New: Intel Reports

The ASMA console now posts intelligent, data-driven reports from across the UK.

• Real Aircraft Data: Every observer report -- RAF veterans, air cadets, coastguard, police, North Sea oil rig crews, ATC squadrons, GCHQ -- references the contact's actual altitude, speed, heading, and approach direction. Reports never contradict your radar picture.

• Expertise-Aware Language: RAF veterans use proper military terminology. Civilians describe what they see. Air cadets check their Jane's guides. The source shapes how it's written.

• Contact Positions: Every report includes where the contact is (e.g., "30nm north of Edinburgh"), so you can correlate sightings with tracks.

• ATC Call Intelligence: CALL ATC now includes a RELATED INTELLIGENCE section -- observer sightings, SIGINT assessments, registry checks, and ATC anomalies for the queried track.

• Your Squadron: 849 real RAF Air Cadet squadron numbers and locations across 34 Wings are included. When an enemy aircraft overflies your town, your squadron may be the one to spot it.

• Radar-Gated IDO: The Identification Officer only reports contacts visible on the radar scope. Aircraft beyond coverage are reported by maritime and ground observers, not the IDO.

New: Guide Panel

The Guide panel has expanded from 9 to 12 tabs with comprehensive coverage of game mechanics.

• Overview: Game setting, your role as an Air Defender, the core control loop, and what difficulty affects.

• Scoring: Score meter rules and key scoring mechanics.

• QRA Operations: Scramble procedure, the 4-minute delay, fuel states, how to task a tanker, and RTB.

• ROE: Mission-based weapon authorisation rules, tension state rules of engagement (Peacetime, Heightened, Critical) with the current state highlighted, aspect gating, kill probabilities, ROE violations, and the full escalation sequence -- written in plain operational English.

• Procedures: Reorganised into 7 named scenario types for clearer reference.

• Opens on Overview by Default.

New: Shift Handover

At the start of a new session, some IFR civilian contacts are pre-classified as Assumed Friendly by the previous watch, reducing initial identification workload.

New: Intercept Status Updates

Right-click an interceptor and select STATUS to get a mission update: current phase, bearing and range to target, and fuel state -- posted to the ASMA console with voice comms.

New: Supply System Discoverability

• Low Ordnance Coaching: When weapons run low at a base, the ASMA console now coaches you to dispatch a supply mission. The NO ORDNANCE warning also includes this hint.

• Redeploy Missile Count: When redeploying combat aircraft, destination bases now show their current missile count with colour coding (green = can arm a pair, yellow = can arm one, red = insufficient).

Improvements

• Track Classifications Persist: Your identification work -- Hostile, Suspect, Unknown, Assumed Friendly, X-ray, Zombie -- now survives saving and loading. Previously all classifications were lost on reload.

• Weapon Indicators: Interceptor tracks now show G for guns, R for radar-guided missiles, and H for heat-seeking missiles (e.g. G180/R4/H2). Clearer at a glance.

• Panel Resize from Top: All panels can now be resized by dragging their top border. Side and bottom drag margins are also slightly wider for easier selection.

• Spoofer Cover Integrity: Spoofers now keep their civilian cover presentation much more consistently until visual identification, making deception play out more convincingly on the scope and in Flight Info.

• Military Filter Gating: Enemy-looking contacts no longer leak into the Military filter before you have genuine identification grounds to treat them as military.

• Readable Radar Symbology: Compact labels, leaders, hook boxes, origin circles, and radar/L11 history dots have all been tightened up for a clearer and more stable radar picture across zoom levels.

• Civilian Traffic Recovery: Atlantic and Scottish north-west civilian IFR routes now stay visibly populated, keeping the wider air picture healthier during longer sessions.

• Local Observer Coverage: Local intelligence reports now surface more reliably when unidentified enemy aircraft overfly the UK, with stronger regional coverage and better source variety.

• Show Of Force Presentation: Show of force now reads as a much clearer visible manoeuvre instead of feeling like an invisible state change in the intercept flow.

• Tanker Recovery Flexibility: Tankers returning home can now still be redirected into tanker-to-tanker refuelling before landing starts, then continue their recovery afterwards.

• Interceptor Track Continuity: Friendly interceptor tracks now stay visible more reliably during airborne refuel and RTB transition periods instead of briefly dropping off the scope.

• FIR Escalation Procedure: The complete escalation sequence (escort, show of presence, show of force, turn-away warning) now works correctly for all enemy types approaching the UK. Pilot reports "aircraft not compliant" at the correct time during the procedure.

• Easter Egg Aircraft: Hidden aircraft unlocked through Operation Silent Bunny now carry correct weapons loadouts and can be used as fully combat-capable interceptors.

• QRA Launch Cancellation: Pending QRA launches can now be cancelled during the scramble countdown.

Bug Fixes -- Interceptors

• Escalation Completion: QRA interceptors no longer get stuck after completing the full escalation sequence against Suspect targets. Interceptors now correctly resume shadow or escort formation.

• Visual Identification: QRA interceptors assigned to intercept Suspect contacts now properly complete visual identification before engaging in Critical tension.

• RTB Speed: QRA interceptors on return to base now respect Buster, Cruise, and Eco speed settings from the right-click menu.

• Engage Orders: QRA engage orders no longer refuse when retasking to the same target.

• Refuel from CAP: QRA interceptors ordered to refuel while on CAP now correctly leave the patrol pattern and proceed to the tanker.

• Identify Completion: QRA interceptors on Identify missions no longer immediately return to base after identification. They now continue shadowing the target, allowing the normal intercept and escalation procedure to proceed.

• Redeployed Interceptors: Redeployed interceptors no longer return to base immediately on launch.

• Subsonic Speed Limits: Subsonic interceptors no longer exceed their maximum speed when tasked to engage fast targets.

• Fixed4-Ship Radio CallsIn 4-ship launch groups, duplicate radio calls and voice gaps during the escalation sequence are now resolved.

Bug Fixes -- Radar and Tracks

• Track Designation Persistence: Track designations (Suspect, Hostile, Unknown, etc.) now persist when tracks drop off and reappear on radar.

• Civilian Aircraft Names: Civilian aircraft now display their actual aircraft type name (e.g. Boeing 737, BAe Jetstream 41) instead of a generic classification.

• Missile Track Cleanup: Missile tracks disappear immediately from the radar display after a confirmed kill.

• Bomber Track Freeze: Enemy bomber tracks no longer freeze on the radar display when a radar station is toggled off and on.

• Multiple SEAD Tracks: Multiple SEAD aircraft now appear as separate tracks instead of one flickering track.

• Hidden Aircraft Tracks: Hidden aircraft tracks now behave like normal radar tracks and carry the correct weapons loadout.

Bug Fixes -- ASMA Console

• AddedScroll StabilityThe ASMA console no longer snaps scroll to top when new messages arrive.

• Visual ID Spam: VISUAL ID messages no longer repeat excessively during civilian identification.

• Sortie Tabs: Sortie tabs now correctly disappear when flights land and recover at base.

• Premature Identity: Aircraft identity is no longer revealed prematurely in ASMA messages before visual identification has been completed.

• INTEL Filter Tab: GCHQ assessments and SIGINT reports no longer appear in the Aircraft filter tab.

Bug Fixes -- Voice and Radio

• Emergency Squawk Codes: Emergency squawk codes (7700, 7500, 7600) now persist for the full duration of the emergency instead of being replaced after a few seconds.

• Weapons Controller RTB Response: The Weapons Controller "copied RTB, base is BRA" response now only plays when the pilot initiates RTB, not when the Weapons Controller ordered it.

• FIR Escalation Voice: FIR escalation voice calls now work correctly for all approach directions.

Bug Fixes -- Training

• Training Audio: Training intro voice now stops immediately when clicking Back from the selection screen.

• Training Progress Recovery: Training progress now automatically recovers when switching between Proton or Wine compatibility layers on Linux.

Linux and Proton Fixes

• Window Resizing and Panning: Window resizing and mouse panning now work correctly on Linux (Wayland).

• Regional Clock: The regional clock now appears reliably on every game start via Linux/Proton.

• Keyboard Hotkeys: All keyboard hotkeys (F-keys, time controls, numpad, Tab cycling) now work reliably on Linux and Wayland systems.