[propbeanie]

Stock and most mods, you will get "support", so long as an asset is within range. Aircraft carrier with fighters would have to be within roughly 250nm of your location, and it takes roughly 20 minutes for the spawn and then travel time. We did test this with FotRSU back during roughly the beta v0.80 timeframe. Of course, for a ship to respond, they would have to be much closer. AirBase support would also be forthcoming, if within roughly 600nm, for the long-range planes to respond.

As for the Contact Reports, you have to have a "Group" vessel targeted, and the escorts apparently don't count in this regard. In addition, you have to be within sight of 2 other ships, so that could be the escorts. These three ships have to be reported by your crew with the usual "Ship spotted! Bearing..." The reason for the main group ship being targeted of course, is so that the game can identify whether it is a Task Force, or Convoy, to route the report through the correct logic for you to get an appropriate response back. You should get a response back though, if you have executed the Contact Report correctly, even if it is just to tell you to continue with your orders. A Status Report will also result in a "support" response if within range, but will not elicit a response otherwise, other than to result in the player getting a new assignment if the primarty objectives is already fulfilled.