SlowMotion

See me reacting!  The AI-tank-commander announces the targets and override-points the turret in the right direction for me (the gunner).  
https://youtu.be/ubncD6I1SqM?t=181
 

Like already stated gunners when instructed or in case of direct danger can open fire without permission. Triggering the laser range finder gives you normally an instant result and manual or computerized lead for moving targets also is adjusted pretty fast or in most cases (especially the short engagement ranges of CM) not even needed due to the high velocity of the rounds.
An further possibility that may contribute to the speed is that some of the modern Western battle tanks (not sure about other vehicles and don´t know about Russian) also have an override function that in case enemy contact allows the gunner or commander to instantly slew the turret/cupola of the other crew member to his bearing. In most cases this happens when the commander spots and target and then slews the gunners turret towards the target. Taking into consideration that both crew members are likely looking towards the expected enemy contact this form of target aquisition takes not even a second.
Further account goes to the fact that CM assumes that most Western vehicles in the theatre have superior technology in comparsion to the Soviet/Russian vehicles and also simulates highly likely superior Coalition crew training when compared to their Syrian crews.

My experience comes from being a CV9030 gunner.
 
Let us start with a very real live example. CV9030 company is moving along a road surrounded by dense forest. Enemy contact is possible but not imminent. The company is "traveling" so mounted and expected to move somewhat quickly. Leading CV9030 is moving slow enough to be 100% ready to open fire instantly, the gunner is constantly "pre-aimed" to the next corner on the road ext. and the gunner will engage on his own initiative.
So let us say a meeting engagement happens. What happens in the lead tank?
- Gunner sees the enemy AFV and opens fire.
- Commander knows without words what is happening (gunner shooting + direction the gun is pointed) and acts out his part of the script. Says to the intercom: "reverse, fast!" and flips a switch that pops smoke. Gunner gives a report as fast as he can while/after shooting: "IFV, destroyed"
- Commander informs the platoon/company radio shortly: "contact, heavy" (heavy meaning mechanized force) Also sometimes lead tank intercom is directly connected to platoon radio so the information is as fast as possible and if the lead tank is lost the information is not.
- Commander gives the driver instruction on the reversing (left, right, hard left...)
- Commander and driver have packed up a short distance to the side of the road and the commander gives "dismount, left" order for the dismounts. Same time more information to platoon/company radio.

There are certainly some weird pathing issues.  However, many issues can be mitigated by using minimum/very short length waypoints when in restricted terrain.  That seems to help the pathing AI routine.

Have long said that the current version of the game is pretty dam good as is.  Focus should turn to making the UI more intuitive and easier to use so that more complex orders can be given with less mouse clicks.   But, may have to wait for CM3.   Another reason we should start chanting for that.

I wonder if it would be possible to use this no-go symbol when you're plotting movement path for a vehicle through a fence, low wall etc and the vehicle cannot drive through it (but has to find some longer route to get to the other side of the fence/etc.)?
Why? Because this longer computer planned route can go to very surprising places like areas where enemy can destoy the vehicle.

Will the UI remain untouched until release? I mean in CMBS there are Artillery Support / Air Support and Drones. In the current CMSF2 demo, Air Support and Drones are merged. I do not know yet what is better, just asking... 🙂

I run all my CM games from a directory that has been white listed and is therefore ignored by my AV software. CM's DRM is flagged as suspicious by lots of AV programs but not enough of us play these games and the AV programs never bother to sort out their problems.

The Quick Battle Maps are very well along.  No QB Map shipped in CMSF2 is an untouched hold over from CMSF1.  And there are a LOT OF THEM

The demo is fantastic.
That Alamo scenario is tough!
I mostly play quick battle in the newer games, since battalion-level scenarios on huge maps are somewhat rare.
I remember SF having some really good scenarios and campaign missions though.

I have to say I'm quite impressed with the new troop behaviour under fire. Not tried it with entrenchments yet but in the Bank scenario I've got several exciting inter-building firefights going on which would have been impossible before as everyone just ran away. Seems like Combat Mission is fun again! I'm looking forward to the release of the patch to bring the other titles up to this standard. Well done Battlefront!

Syrian Special Forces or Airborne, or both could be split. I don't remember for sure which it was. I am not on my gaming comp so I can't check at the moment.
 
Mord.

Currently after a battle ends you can see how many casualties each unit has caused by selecting a unit.
In game's final AAR screen there are other summary stats like how many vehicles have been destroyed.
I thought it would be interesting to see on this AAR screen if there were casualties from friendly fire.
Some examples where such casualties could happen:
- your infantry being in some area when it is hit by artillery strike or air support.
- If your units trigger a mine that YOU have placed during setup phase.
- Your tank shoots at buildings or area where your infantry happens to be.

Currently after a battle ends you can see how many casualties each unit has caused by selecting a unit.
In game's final AAR screen there are other summary stats like how many vehicles have been destroyed.
I thought it would be interesting to see on this AAR screen if there were casualties from friendly fire.
Some examples where such casualties could happen:
- your infantry being in some area when it is hit by artillery strike or air support.
- If your units trigger a mine that YOU have placed during setup phase.
- Your tank shoots at buildings or area where your infantry happens to be.

Currently after a battle ends you can see how many casualties each unit has caused by selecting a unit.
In game's final AAR screen there are other summary stats like how many vehicles have been destroyed.
I thought it would be interesting to see on this AAR screen if there were casualties from friendly fire.
Some examples where such casualties could happen:
- your infantry being in some area when it is hit by artillery strike or air support.
- If your units trigger a mine that YOU have placed during setup phase.
- Your tank shoots at buildings or area where your infantry happens to be.

Both KIA (brown base) and WIA (red base) can receive buddy aid (buddy aid also serves to recover some ammo and equipment).  After the completion of buddy aid both the KIA and WIA casualties disappear from the map.    
@SlowMotion just some more information that came from the below forum topic:
 
 
                                                                                                                                                
WIA (red base) can turn to KIA (brown base) from additional hits.
Buddy Aid is one on one however a team can treat multiple casualties in the same A/S concurrently.
A team administering Buddy Aid will recover ammo including ammo for weapons they do not have in the team.
Buddy aid on KIA (brown base) was about 15 - 35 seconds. On WIA (red base) about 1 minute – 2 minutes 30 seconds.
Casualties only disappear if they receive Buddy Aid. I tested 2 KIA & 2 WIA for 1½ hours game time. They never disappeared.
Experience of the teams administering buddy aid did not affect the length of buddy aid or the amount of equipment recovered.
Lightly wounded (yellow base) are not counted as casualties on the AAR screen.
To share ammo recovered in buddy aid the medic team must be part of the unit (“highlighted” unit) needing the ammo.
During testing on average about 2 grenades and 170 rounds of ammo were recovered per casualty. I know from playing the game other                                equipment (radios, binoculars, some weapons etc.) can also be recovered but I did not try for that in the experiments.
WIA (red base) incapacitated wounded are not counted in Parameter/Condition but are counted in Parameter/Casualties.
Buddy aid does not make a difference to the score in Quick Battles or in Scenarios.
Buddy aid does not make a difference to the score in a Campaign.

If the leader of the team that called the observe mission is taken out then you will not be able to cancel it. Same for Artillery and Air support. Many times you don't notice that for artillery or air because the mission naturally ends at some point (other than Maximum missions for Artillery).
I am not sure what you meant about the air controller disappearing when there is on man left. Do you mean the icon changed from the observer icon to something else?

Thank you for the update!

This is also 2008 not 2018.  Just a reminder  

For me ability to play turn based PBEM with 2 or more players on one side would be enough. No need to support more complex  RT game modes.
I think the basic idea could be very simple:
- during setup phase players would choose units that each player would control
- during later turns each player would make their turn and send them to a Dropbox folder (or some similar file sharing service).. Once all players of same side have made their  turn, the game would read commands from all turn files, combine them to one and produce the next turn file for the opponent. This file would be sent to them
- you would also need some way for reassign units if some player is unable to continue and select units tha arrive as reinforcements. Otherwise everything would work like currently.

Interesting retrospective on the 2008 Russo-Georgian War by WOTR. 
https://warontherocks.com/2018/09/russian-performance-in-the-russo-georgian-war-revisited/
Posting here and in Black Sea forum because it's a dual-use article. For SF2 it gives a greatsense of comparable RUS forces (I know they're not in the game), even just as background context. 
For BS it helps show just how far modern, 2018 RUS forces have come. 
It refs the CAST study, tge Tanks of August, so it's decent for civilian analysis (I guess?). 

Hull-down is an order avilable in the new 4.0 upgrade for all CM2 games. Shoot and scoot can be imperfectly replicated by placing a move order with a pause at the end and a target arc or target point and a reverse order.

Yeah for real! I know it would be a hard and  a whole bunch of work and I know there is "other games" for that. But in a combat mission game working with a friend doing combined operations would be a lot of fun. Having to re map out an entire strategy because your ally made a poor choice or having one player surrounded and having the other player attempt to break the siege, etc.

Trying to bring this thread back on topic, I point you to the presentation below, which is well worth watching through. It gives a good overview over the history of computer graphics along with a description of the new technologies.