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Ruin-Known77 t1_j6eegkd wrote

I'm honestly questioning the utility of fighter jets. What can they do that can't be done with missiles? They might be obsolete.

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CurtisLeow t1_j6eixvt wrote

Modern fighter jets mostly launch missiles. They can be used for air superiority, or for striking ground targets, or for electronics warfare. EG a fighter jet might fly near an area, detect a radar, then launch a missile towards that radar. The fighter jet is mobile. It greatly extends the range of many missiles, compared to launching those same missiles from the ground. Then the fighter jet has a gun as backup, for shooting down drones or dogfighting.

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afops t1_j6ekgh8 wrote

The most useful missiles would be air launched cruise missiles like JASSM or Storm Shadow (SCALP). Those can be launched from F-16 or Mirage/Tornado respectively. The planes would just be the launch platforms for the missiles. Without those, missiles would need to be shorter range ballistic (ATACMs) or ground launched cruise missiles which are harder to come by.

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MATlad t1_j6gam3b wrote

I feel that if the US wasn’t willing to provide long-range ATACMS missiles for the HIMARS on the basis that they could be used to strike into Russia (and despite Ukrainian guarantees over target selection) cruise missiles (whether air- or ground- launched) would be completely off the table.

I’d think that F-16s in volume (especially with more HAARMS, or even EF-16s) could enable the Ukrainians to win air superiority. And with that, enable close air support and even combined arms in the US / NATO mode. But unfortunately, that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Unless even getting the edge in the air is enough...

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afops t1_j6gzpaq wrote

Yes, so long as the ATACMs holdup is that reason, then US air launched missiles are also off the table.

But that’s why Storm Shadow is interesting as it’s not requiring US approval (formally). Rumor has it they are trying to adapt it to Su-24

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Maximum-Cranberry-64 t1_j6eiwfc wrote

Not super knowledgeable on that, but I'd think close air support for the upcoming Ukrainian offensive would be the main point of it. For the vast majority of applications though, yeah I'd assume missiles would be just as useful.

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massada t1_j6firgd wrote

For this use case?
You can more or less use them as missile launchers, where the afterburner on the jet is the "first stage" of the missile.

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jlaw54 t1_j6gvgyj wrote

They give you options. Options are amazing to have in battle. And it massively scrambles both potential launch points and possible targets.

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