Quote:
Originally Posted by ToughOmbres
I would imagine most fixed wing aircraft are long gone save for those in CentCom's area of Operation or (eventually) in CONUS after Operation Omega. Elsewhere, a unit here and there might have a helicopter and a small reserve of aviation fuel (like the MI-8 in the Free City of Krakow) or ala' the Soviets near the Romanian Ploesti fields. Otherwise, that's all folks. Decay, attrition, lack of parts and lack of pilots would mean most flying is a thing of the past. Accordingly, air defense is also (mostly) gone. Batteries, battery cooling units and MANPADS only last so long.
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Per 1.0 Canon, we know there is an operational refinery in Robinson, IL under US MilGov control, a refinery in Ploesti, Romania under USSR control, and refineries in Saudi Arabia / Iran under allied / Warsaw Pack control. The French also have a refinery or refineries going.
Additionally, even though most of the refineries were wiped out, there's a lot of universities that survived with chemical engineering and petroleum engineering undergrads, graduate students, and professors. Any quasi-state level government would be highly motivated to rebuild a basic chemical and petroleum industrial base close to where there were secure oil/natgas production (for MilGov, this would principally be Oklahoma & south eastern Wyoming).
So, I would expect core MilGov cantonments in CONUS to have limited air support available, even if it's just converted civilian helicopters with machine guns or Mk19s added as door guns and light airplanes for doing recon patrols for marauders outside of controlled areas. Not the same thing as radioing for an airstrike, but still would not be completely absent.