It all depends on where and when you expect to fight, doesn’t it?
IIRC the USAAC/USAF were always incredulous at the small fuel fraction of RAF fighters, but the RAF expected to fight close to home and have the enemy come to them. The same applied t8 the Luftwaffe with the Me-163 above. It equally held true for the Mig-19 in Vietnam; and the Mig-29 on the Central Front.
The OR that led to the SR-53 was originally just for an updated equivalent of the Me-163 - a rocket powered fighter able to climb to 60,000 ft in 2.5 minutes to intercept M2 bombers, and then to glide back to base. It was only during the development they added the Viper jet engine as as an additional “get you home” capability.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saunders-Roe_SR.53