It might not balance much, but it would certainly make the game more interesting, bases and HQ no longer being the only things to go after that really have an effect on much...
I know this will sound like catering to the weak, but what if the factories hardness rating went up as that countries numbers went down? I don't think that would be too unreasonable.
Personally, I'd love this for two major reasons:
1. My squad (and many others) fly a lot of German iron and would more than likely have a blast upping to attack formations of heavy bombers lining up to bomb our factories; and
2. It would make for some more interesting missions. I'm sick and tired of the usual "P-51, P-47, Typhoon, etc., all loaded with 100% ordinance payload going in to jabo something mission". I'd LOVE to see some missions where the P-47 and P-51 are clean except for dt's and are expected to do nothing more than escort bombers at high altitude to a target deep inside enemy territory.
If the factories were far enough back, there would be high altitude engagements (25k + I'd imagine) that would really let some planes like the Ta152 and P-47 shine.
Furballs would still exist on the deck, smaller fights could still be found at the 15k range, and the strategy/simulation enthusiasts could have their "realistic" missions too...
But, as noted before, I'm an optimist
