PN -
I was just pondering various situations and talk of the highly lethal radar guided flak in Vietnam got me thinking. I also vaguely remember instances when, I think in Afghanistan, that fastjets were called in simply to make their presence felt by flying low near where hostile forces gathering/moving. My agile (some would say unstable!) mind then recollected something about a hostility in an African nation when Harriers were called in from the offshore carriers.
I also remember of way back when Buccaneers where called in off the carriers to do fly-by's over Belize; this 'flexing of the bicep' did the trick in dissuading neighbouring forces massing on the border from invading.
If some rag-tag 'army' that cant afford S400 but can buy lots of 40mm etc. flak was operating within range of our carriers that are only equipped with F-35, what would we do? If time was of the essence, would we risk F-35's in that situation? Albeit, a remote situation.
Just a thought that wafted into my empty head!