Good afternoon!
In my opinion, air combat can be varied as follows:
1. UFO systems and weapons before each battle must be randomly generated from a specific list of available onboard systems and weapons. Thus, the same type of UFO will have different characteristics (speed, rotation, armor, hull, shield, etc.), escort fighters (one or more), and different weapons that the player will not know about in advance.
In this case, the player will not know in advance about the characteristics of the UFO and each battle will be unpredictable and special for him. However, in the case of using only one interceptor, the player will not be able to prepare for flexible and adaptive combat with such an unpredictable opponent. It will take an entire squadron to do this.
2. I think that an interesting game point will be the introduction of the UFO missile defense system into the game. In this case, some UFOs could better resist missile weapons and motivate the player to conduct close combat, or search for dead zones of missile defense.
3. Different weather conditions - this is a great idea! Cloud cover that could hide the enemy from view. A storm front that disables shields. Strong wind, which reduces the ability to maneuver. If possible.
