Operation: Desert Strike is a PvE mission in Armored Warfare.
Briefing[ | ]
"June 11, 2039. The NPAA is reportedly preparing air strikes against cities and other civilian targets. The ISD ordered you to assault the enemy airbase and destroy their airplanes."
Primary Objective[ | ]
Destroy the Fighter Jets[ | ]
The ultimate goal of the mission is to destroy eight stationary targets located within the hangars under 12 minutes. To do so, players have to capture three control points for the objectives "Prepare for Assault", "Open the First Hangar Group", and "Open the Second Hangar Group".
Prepare for Assault[ | ]
Capture the first control point at E6.
Open the First Hangar Group[ | ]
Capture the second control point located between H4 and H5. Completing this objective will cause the eastern hangars to open its gates, revealing the first four targets for players to destroy for the "Destroy the Fighter Jets" objective.
Open the Second Hangar Group[ | ]
Capture the third control point at H1. Completing this objective will cause the western hangars to open its gates, revealing the remaining four targets for players to destroy for the "Destroy the Fighter Jets" objective.
Secondary Objective[ | ]
There are three possible secondary objectives in this mission, but only one will appear per playthrough.
Capture the UAV[ | ]
This objective requires the players to find and capture the UAV, whose location is not revealed on the minimap until a player vehicle drives close to its location, which can be at G0, G3, or G9.
Upon locating the UAV, an enemy vehicle will spawn nearby and attempt to capture it. When a player successfully captures the UAV, the bonus objective is complete and the aircraft will automatically spawn as an ally, spotting all enemy vehicles within its vision range. However, the UAV can only stay airborne for 2 minutes before it gets shot down.
Should the enemy capture the UAV, the objective would fail and the aircraft would be deployed against the players.
Destroy the Plane[ | ]
A transport aircraft flies from north to south mid-mission. A health bar and a minimap icon appear when the aircraft spawns, and the players are tasked to destroy the aircraft before it despawns to the south.
(You cannot actually destroy this plane - it takes no damage - a bug reported many times and not fixed)
Destroy the Helicopters[ | ]
Players have 6 minutes to destroy three helicopters. The markers on the minimap indicate possible locations, but only one is correct for each group. When a helicopter is located, it will attempt to take off and escape, and an icon will be displayed on the minimap. Shooting one helicopter will trigger the next group of possible locations to show up on the minimap.
Strategy[ | ]
Upon reaching the first control point at E6, enemies will spawn and advance on the said control point from the west and northwest, or from the southeast. After clearing the first wave of enemies, head south and anticipate the next group of enemy resistance, which mostly come from the south and west of the second control point. There is relatively little cover available, but players with lighter vehicles can use the hill just east of the airbase to provide fire support. When the "Open the First Hangar Group" objective is complete, players should destroy the aircraft in the eastern hangars before heading for the final control point.
The final wave of enemies spawns west and south of third control point. A small number can also spawn from the north. Two lieutenant vehicles also among the enemies in Hardcore difficulty. Completing the "Open the Second Hangar Group" objective will cause the western hangars gates to open, allowing players to destroy all remaining aircraft and conclude the mission.
Rewards[ | ]
Desert Strike has a x3.3 Experience multiplier and base x10 Credits multiplier for completing the mission. The latter can be boosted to x15 if secondary objective is complete.