What's your favorite fighter jet and why?

Well yes, because planes are in the sky ;)

*nods* :D

@Gumba1000: Yes indeed. They need to fly very low and very slow to make an impact on the battlefield. The pilots need to be able to see what is going on and to distinguish their own troops, vehicles and tanks from the enemy's.

@Mugin16: From what I see on the news that is not what happens.

@Gumba1000: No, indeed not. The reason is that a) flying low and slow is rather dangerous and the airforce does not want to lose these hugely expensive planes and pilots, b) both the senior airforce officers and the pilots think in terms of air-to-air combat and regard supporting the troops on the battlefield as beneath them and c) most planes, and especially the jets everybody here raves about, are not designed to do that.

@Mugin16: Surely a bomber is?

@Gumba1000: Depends on what kind of bomber. When you bomb from very high, then you cannot even see the ground. The A-10 is designed to fly low and slow and to take and survive many hits by enemy fire.

@Mugin16: Perhaps it is safer to fire a mossle from far away.

@Gumba1000: Here is an article that illustrates my point.


http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/weapons/2013/air-force-brass-ignores-wars-lessons.html

@Mugin16: It's ok, I am not arguing, just speculating.

@Gumba1000: No worries. I am not arguing either. I just try to make an imporant point, which most people are not aware of.

Modern technology has removed the need for those "low and slow" CAS runs needed to identify troops.

@Mugin16: yourbpoint about the current priority and capabilities of the fighter world couldn't. E further from the truth. The release of the F-16 in the 70s began a major shift to multi-roll fighters. Every fighter jet since has been produced with the best ATG capabilities. We have r had a legitimate ATA threat in years and the top brass most certainly does consider CAS and overall ATG combat to be of the utmost importance.