ToddE
Trusted Member
Oh, in the future? Maybe. The problem IMO is doctrinal going forwards. They really should, as you say, have any aircraft at all squirreled away almost permanently underground. But whatever they would procure should be practical for their overall theater strategy. I'm not sure getting 5th or 6th gen planes really fits in that, honestly. They'll be really expensive and complicated to manufacture but for unclear tactical gains.
In the event that they achieve their maximal demands in this war, going forwards in context of a regional conflict with no external actors, what would a plane costing 10-100x what a missile does achieve? ISR honestly can be conducted using cheaper drones. Precision strikes? Combine them with drone ISR. In Ukraine we've seen Molniya/Orlan drones marking and guiding targets for Lancets. Could guide missiles the same way, potentially. And training a drone operator is far cheaper than training a fighter pilot, and the pool of available candidates is also comically larger.
We only have 1-2 underground airbases so far playing no role in war. The attack jets inside them can launch heavy and modern PGMs and long ranged AShCM and LACMs but sending them out will be dangerous. Our only solution in future to have an airforce will be atleast 7-8 underground airbases with massive defence mechanisms at entry points, runways ...
Against US+Israel or NATO any airforce will always be decimated on ground.








