What Makes a Unit Detectable
No sensor, no eyes — and six ways to be noticed.
SENSORS SEE, NOT UNITS
Only units carrying an actual sensor can detect anything. Most ground troops without a recon or radar loadout can't see past their own position — they can still be attacked; they just can't spot. Every sensor has three ranges, shortest to longest: identification, detection, and radar range — a bare blip beyond which nothing registers.
| UNIT TYPE | APPROX. RANGE |
|---|---|
| RIFLEMAN (OWN EYES) | 250–400 m |
| MAIN BATTLE TANK CREW | 600–850 m |
| AWACS — IDENTIFICATION | 135–165 km |
| AWACS — RADAR BLIP | 300+ km |
| EARLY-WARNING NETWORK BROADCAST | 800–1,050 km |
SIX WAYS TO BE SEEN
Every target carries six separate signature ratings — radar, visual, infrared, sound, sonar, magnetic — roughly 0–100. A stealthy design scores low on the channels it's built to evade; an unstealthy one sits near 100. Lower effective signature shrinks the range any sensor picks it up at, roughly proportionally.