Originally Posted by
etudiant
Dumb question here-- does anyone have a plausible threat they are practicing against? I recognize the publicity value, but
afaik not even Russia fields a massive fighter/bomber force.
In fact, they are so strapped that they are reduced to hyping their potential F-35 equivalent in the hope of finding development money.
Would it not make more sense for Europe to take the lessons of recent conflicts more to heart?
Air superiority is wonderful, but it needs to translate into real military value. I do not see that here.
The export market for Russia is huge with some quite potent capabilities up for sale. Whilst we may not fight Russia, we may be fighting Russian capabilities.
Furthermore, there’s a lot of thought going into how a conflict may develop around the Baltics/St Petersburg, which absolutely would involve Russian capabilities.