While adding a unit that can reach anywhere on the map reduces the pressure to engage in negotiation, having a wing that could be helpful to any player, anywhere on the map, opens up strategic possibilities and breathes new life into the game we love.

Airbases: Wings are built during the build phase on any vacant home SC. That SC will be the airbase where it will start and end every mission each turn. A wing may move its airbase to any other vacant home SC where units didn't bounce in the same turn (eg. a wing in sevastopol moves to vacant st. petersburg: sev-stp). If an airbase is attacked, any air missions from that base are grounded that turn and the wing remains there. If attacked by a greater force, the wing is destroyed. A wing in its airbase may hold and be supported in holding by adjacent ground units and other wings. Unlike other units, a wing may not support a unit in an adjacent space. A wing requires being able to take off and occupy other airspaces to provide support (see air support). If a wing is supported to hold in its airbase by another unit but the wing does something other than hold that turn, that support is ineffective.

Air Assaults: A wing may attack any space on the map. When it attacks a target it occupies the airspace over that target during that turn before returning to base (eg. a wing from berlin attacks london: ber-lon). The attack may be supported by other armies and fleets in adjacent spaces to the target (eg. a fleet in the english channel supports the attack: eng s ber-lon). If the attack is successful, the wing doesn't occupy the space but returns to its airbase, leaving the the vanquished forces to retreat or be destroyed and the conquered space vacant. As many wings may attack the same space as you want - an exception to the diplomacy rule of only one unit occupying a space at once (eg. a wing in munich supports an air attack by a wing in berlin on moscow: ber-mos, mun s ber-mos). Equal forces bounce back to their airbases and a larger force of wings destroys a smaller force.

Air Support: A wing supports a unit to hold by occupying the airspace over that unit during that turn before returning to base (eg. a wing in berlin supporting piedmont to hold: ber s pie hold). More than one wing may provide air support in the same space (eg. wings from berlin and munich support piedmont to hold: ber s pie hold, mun s pie hold, pie hold. This would hold against an attack by a ground force of 3 units).
A wing supports a ground attack by occupying the airspace of the space being attacked before returning to base (eg. a wing in berlin supports an army attacking vienna from budapest: ber s bud-vie).
If the airspace being supported, whether supporting to hold or attack, is attacked by another wing, air support of all supporting wings in that space is cut. If the air-supporting wing(s) is attacked by a larger force of wings while providing air support, it is (they are) destroyed.

Airlifts: A wing can pick up an army from any space and drop it off in any vacant land space on the map where no units bounced this turn. This is similar to convoying. Airlifts can be disrupted by attacking the originating airbase or the dropoff space, leaving the army and airlifting wing remaining where they are. If a greater force of wings attacks the dropoff space, the airlifting wing and the unit airlifted are destroyed. Airlifts may be supported by other wings (eg. a wing in munich supports an airlift by a wing in berlin of an army from portugal to moscow: using 'a' for airlift, ber a por-mos, mun s por-mos, por-mos).

Optional: Delay introduction of wings, allowing them to be built only after a year or two if players feel these units are too powerful to be introduced immediately.

These rules are designed to be relatively simple and balance the power of these new air units by reducing available space for a player to build, successful wing attacks not occupying the spaces attacked, air support being cut easily by other wings, wing missions being disruptible with air defences by attacking airbases and target spaces, and greater forces of wings destroying weaker forces.

I hope you like these rules. Let me know how they work out for you.

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