v1.8.0 Concerns about the recent UAV nerf

[AFG]

I understand how overpowered it can really be, but being a UAV operator is a specialized niche role that not many commanders appreciate or have the patience to use. As a commander who depends on the UAV for intelligence gathering and communication with my team, I’m disappointed by the recent UAV nerfs.

The increased fuel consumption is particularly problematic, as it significantly reduces the UAV's effectiveness and makes it much harder to maintain a continuous aerial presence. With it being fully fueled, you are going to lose 50% worth of fuel in a span of just 1 minute due to how much fuel you are burning more quickly. In practice, this severely limits the UAV's loiter time to a mere 3-4 minutes when fully fueled. With half of the fuel, you will only get 1-2 minutes worth of loiter time. Based on my experience, this is inadequate, particularly in game modes like Insurgency, where extended loiter time is crucial for locating caches, FOBs, and hideouts. Furthermore, in AAS, where prolonged surveillance is essential for tracking enemy assets, the UAV's reduced loiter time severely hinders its effectiveness.

In my opinion, the recent changes have rendered the UAV almost useless as a reconnaissance tool. On top of that, the added 5 minute delay seems unnecessary, and I also played and remember a while back to v1.7.1.0 where UAV did not start with fuel anymore, and throughout those years there were no issues, and now all of a sudden a 5 minute delay is added, which is more of an inconvenience and annoyance.