Content Type: Gaming Guides
If you want to win the battle in the skies, choosing the right air doctrine is key. They provide substantial bonuses to different plane types and aerial missions that you won’t want to miss out on. In this guide, we’ll go over each of the three available air doctrines, and discuss when and why you’d want to pick each one.
The key aspect to keep in mind before selecting an air doctrine is what type of plane you want to support the most. You’ll also want to consider what your overall approach to the game will be, as the three doctrines are best paired with different strategies.
Battlefield Support
Choose Battlefield Support if: You plan to use plenty of close air support AND are confident you can win air superiority without any fighter bonuses
As the name suggests, the Battlefield Support doctrine provides excellent bonuses for supporting your troops on the ground with the air force. The trade-off for this is pretty steep, as it also has the weakest bonuses for normal fighters. This means you should only choose Battlefield Support if you have the industry to produce enough fighters to offset the lack of bonuses.

Operational Integrity
Choose Operational Integrity if: You don’t care about close air support or strategic bombing OR you just want the strongest possible fighters
The absolute best bonuses for fighters and earning air superiority come from Operational Integrity. This is an excellent choice if you want to prioritize defending your airspace from enemy missions.

Strategic Destruction
Choose Strategic Destruction if: You are going to focus on strategic bombers throughout the game.
Strategic bombers can be invaluable for destroying enemy industry, the backbone of any war effort. Strategic Destruction provides excellent buffs to bombers and some moderate ones for fighters to protect the bombers.

There’s no real best Air Doctrine in Hearts of Iron IV. Instead, you have three viable options, and which you choose will depend on the situation of your campaign. With these doctrines and the best plane designs, controlling the skies should be effortless.