Originally Posted by
Just This Once...
Of course - you don't usually carry them at all for for non-operational sorties. Careful husbandry of missile stocks also helps to ensure you have the right weapon available for when you really need it.
We used to have aircraft that tortured AMRAAMs beyond the ability for the manufacturer to model or test. After a number of sorties they went to a different aircraft type for a more relaxed and lengthy service life.
I would suggest that sorties flown on Shader come under the banner of 'operational', which brings me back to my question - for an operational sortie in an active combat zone, would preserving hours of a brand new missile type be a consideration for not carrying it? If it is, how come Meteor is carried on Baltic ops?