With the arrival of the German campaign in U-Boat Missions, players gain control over additional strategic resources other than their own submarines. These resources can be used towards the goal of sinking enemy shipping by either helping the player locate enemies – i.e. the scout planes – or by directly attacking them.

The most important feature is that the units controlled by the strategic gameplay now report contacts and combat the enemy even when away from the player’s location. This is a great tool in attacking enemy ships, but on the other hand the player has to exercise caution and be careful not to cause the indirect loss of said units. In other words, do not direct your Armed Merchant Cruisers to intercept enemy battleship groups, if you care for the lives of those brave sailors that is.

The actual concept of a submarine commander giving direct orders to aircraft or surface warships is admittedly a little stretched from reality, but not by much. In a grand scale war there’s always information flowing to and from submarines, and commanders often reposition their battle groups or divert resources based on feedback from the units in the field. Submarines benefit greatly from sighting reports from scout planes (one needs only to read the memoirs of Grand Admiral Doenitz to see how many times he requested scout planes for support) and it makes perfect sense for a form of collaboration similar to what we’ve modeled here to take shape.

Are the strategic support elements available only for the new German campaign?

As of now the strategic support features are available only for the new German campaign in U-Boat Missions. However, there is nothing stopping enterprising modders from adding it to the U.S. campaign.

The same steps one takes in hunting as a lone submarine apply here. Find the target, position for attack and then deliver a crushing blow. With scout planes, finding a target is obviously easier since their speed and detection range is much greater than yours. Positioning your cruiser groups is an exercise in the art of interception. The final part, the actual battle, is simply a matter of bringing enough resources to overcome the enemy. Don’t take chances and you won’t be surprised by the results.

Units available to command: Recon plane (from land bases), German auxiliary cruiser, German heavy cruiser, Japanese carrier group (call recon plane), Japanese cruiser group, Japanese taskforce.   

What are the requirements for unlocking new units and abilities?

Unlocking the auxiliary units is based on the player’s rank, and the rank is achieved based on the number of successful patrols and renown what has been gained.

The strategic game cannot be turned off except by modding the game, but there’s nothing forcing the player to use the new abilities. So, if you prefer a "traditional" Silent Hunter experience, commanding only your own submarine, you can choose to do that.