"In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one aircraft. The aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy, 3.5 days each per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day." -- Norm Augustine, Augustine's Law Number XVI
Yay. Spending money on hundred million dollar planes, billion dollar carriers, etc when a 50k drone will do the job just as well.
Guess all those lessons in Ukraine haven’t really sunk in for defense acquisitions.
Russia's most successful tactic in Ukraine is to pound frontline positions for days on end with glide bombs launched by Su-34s that are able to operate at standoff distances with impunity because Ukraine are desperately short on fighters and can't contest air superiority.
Kudos to the USN being willing to go toe-to-toe over Taiwan while the USAF punts.
Fixed base aircraft would be pretty vulnerable to airfield attacks unless you can base them out of range of PLA ballistic missiles. But that would then require the aircraft to sacrifice performance characteristics for fuel capacity. As an armchair general I bet any conflict over Taiwan would be primarily naval.