I often thought that in Vietnam the idea of having superior aviation assets armed with missiles, then told they had to close to visual range and identify the baddies before engaging was a fools errant, wasn't it about the time they then had to quickly re-invent the gun for the Phantom due to the rules of engagement foisted upon them?, something that nearly re-ran years later with the Typhoon coming into service and the planned move to remove the gun to save money...