Fighter

Fighters rule the skies, inflicting heavy damage on other air units. They are vulnerable to all anti-air units, including other fighters. Of all units, they have the most movement and defense, but are vulnerable to antiaircraft guns and surface to air missiles. They can only attack air units in Super Famicom Wars and the Advance Wars games.

In Famicom Wars and the Game Boy Wars series, Fighters (with the exception of the Fighter S) can attack land units, but damage against anything with decent armor shouldn't be expected.

There are also Lite Fighers in most Japan-only installments, and in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin they are called Dusters.

Game Information

Famicom Wars

Main article: Fighter A (Famicom Wars)

Super Famicom Wars

Matchups

Fighter Matchups

Opposing unit	Damage given		Damage taken
	Primary	Secondary	Primary	Secondary
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
Armored Personnel Carrier	-	-	-	-
New Model Tank	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
Rocket Launcher	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	25	-
	-	-	75	-
Anti-Air Missile Launcher	-	-	70	-
Fighter	55	15	55	15
Attacker	80	35	35	10
Bomber	95	45	-	-
Battle Helicopter	95	65	-	-
Transport Helicopter	95	75	-	-
Battleship	-	-	45	-
Escort Frigate	-	-	-	-
Lander	-	-	-	-
Submarine	-	-	-	-

Game Boy Wars 3

Fighter A Information

Unit Group	Cost		Movement		Fuel	Initiative		Production
			Power	Type		Base	Loss
Air	8500	86	12	Plane	80 (-6)	32	2	Airport
Air To Air Missiles B								Special Commands
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
-	-	50	-	-	5	40G	1
Gatling Gun B								Other abilities
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
20	8	22	1	-	7	3G	1
Defense					Other
					Transport		Supply
					Type	Number
48	42	35	44	-	N/A	N/A	Jet

Fighter B Information

Unit Group	Cost		Movement		Fuel	Initiative		Production
			Power	Type		Base	Loss
Air	6500	72	11	Plane	60 (-5)	29	2	Airport
Air To Air Missiles B								Special Commands
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
-	-	50	-	-	4	40G	1
Gatling Gun B								Other abilities
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
20	8	22	1	-	8	3G	1
Defense					Other
					Transport		Supply
					Type	Number
42	36	30	38	-	N/A	N/A	Jet

Fighter S Information

Unit Group	Cost		Movement		Fuel	Initiative		Production
			Power	Type		Base	Loss
Air	9000	94	13	Plane	70 (-6)	36	2	Fighter B Promotion
Air To Air Missiles A								Special Commands
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
-	-	47	-	-	6	45G	3-5
Air To Air Missiles B								Other abilities
Attack					Details			None
					Ammo	Price	Range
-	-	50	-	-	3	40G	1
Defense					Other
					Transport		Supply
					Type	Number
56	50	40	52	-	N/A	N/A	Jet

Advance Wars

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Strategy

With their high movement and firepower, Fighters are easily the best anti-air options available in the game. A small fighter contingent should dissuade enemies from recklessly using their Bombers, Transport Helicopters and Battle Helicopters - in fact, none of those three units can return fire on the Fighter. As long as you have Fighters controlling the battlefield, you hold air superiority, enabling your own air units to wreak havoc on the enemy.

Their 9-space movement speed also allows them to quickly engage any air units on the map. Some players may also use Fighters to scout out any indirect units hiding in Woods. While they are quick, any direct anti-air units can take Fighters apart in 2 turns, and indirect anti-air units can eliminate Fighters in just 1. Either way, anti-airs are always a cost-effective counter to Fighters. Because of that, even if there are no air units for the Fighters to engage, it's best to keep them around just to secure your air superiority.

Competitive Play

Due to their extremely high cost, Fighters are usually not built, in favor of cheaper anti-air alternatives. In drawn-out battles where every space and units matter, air units will strive and so will Fighters. As a rule of thumb, the more air units there are in a match, the more important a Fighter becomes. Even a single Fighter can take out 3 Battle Helicopters at a time, making the Fighter move valuable and cost-effective the longer it survives. As such, if there is a Fighter in the game, it will almost always be accompanied by B-Copters of T-Copters to shield it.

If you see your enemy deploying a Fighter, it's a good idea to hide a Missle in the Wood somewhere near the frontline and wait for the chance to take down the Fighter. This will deal a huge blow in the enemy's air control as well as their economy.

Fighters are an expensive unit with no versatility in its uses. Despite that, it allows your own air units to roam the map freely, thus giving you a large air advantage. Keep Fighters in a place where anti-airs can't attack, be careful of bait air units and your Fighter will make your game go smoothly.

Trivia

• The Orange Star and Rubinelle fighters resemble the American F-15 Eagle.
• The Blue Moon fighter resembles the French Mirage III.
• The Yellow Comet fighter resembles the Japanese A6M Zero and the American Curtiss P-36 Hawk. Yellow Comet fighters make jet noises although using propeller engines.
• The Green Earth fighter resembles the American A-10 Thunderbolt. In real life the A-10 is an air-to-ground attack aircraft.
• The Black Hole fighter resembles the front half of the American MQ-1 Predator drone with a rocket nozzle attached to the rear.
• The Lazurians and IDS Fighters resemble the Soviet Su-15 'Flagon'.