The recent battle between India and Pakistan provided evidence of a decline in the role of jet fighter pilots in modern warfare. A massive air battle was shot between the two countries on May 6th and 7th. Most of the losses were given by BVR (beyond visual range) air-to-air missiles. In the following video clip, officers of the Pakistani Air Force explain how the sides of their fight are driving.
The Pakistani Air Force describes the air combat with the Indian Air Force.
1️⃣Perfect air package
2️⃣, important for bmc3 air station pix
Civil air traffic redirected from 3Ao
4. The plan is not the first contact
5️⃣An active information push by paf while the truth is the first victim pic.twitter.com/l7p0nhd2tc
-DavidBoey (@senangdiri) May 11, 2025
This engagement was trapped as a “dogfight” in the Subm report, but that wasn’t the case. Missiles using Indian fighter jets were fired from 20 to 100,000, and Nais side went over other airspace. There was no flashy, flashy cause that required bold aerobatics. The role of Pakistani pilots was reduced to navigate missiles and launch missiles against designated targets. The successful exations and the absence of recovery of the fallen pilot on the Indian side indicates that the target aircraft is not warned enough and evasion operations are not possible.
Glory Day for Fighter Pilots
Fighter pilots’ star status began in World War I. This was when flight skills and courage were key to victory in air-to-air combat. Manfred von Lichtfen, the “red man,” confirmed the murders of 80 people for his achievements. The enormous scale of air combat in World War II is the 5,000 pilots who have earned ace status with more than five kills. Several German pilots have achieved over 200 kills on the Eastern Front. Most of these aircraft killings were painful by guns that fired rapidly over short ranges. Targeting relies on aiming for vision and pilot dexterity. Popular culture portrays air combat as extended maneuverability, but after World War I emerged from a surprising attack, most people were killed in the Air Force, with the most successful pilots avoiding dogfighting and preferring ambushing and killing Cruz. The tactics were the human eyes, brains and muscles, victory made up of heroes.
In the Korean War, both sides used jet-powered fighter jets, and the mystique of fighter pilots continued to grow. Steve Canyon, the comic book aviator created by Milton Caniff, has become a symbol of the hero warrior piloting high-tech jets in aerial combat. All combat was visual range as the aircraft guns still caused damage.
Enter the missile
During the Vietnam War, airborne missiles began to expand in aerial combat. The missiles resulted in about two-thirds of kills made by US fighters and about a quarter of kills made by North Vietnamese fighters. These early missiles had a relatively short range, requiring visual sighting and maneuvering of the target. After the Vietnam War, missiles became dominant air force weapons, and aircraft guns were relegated to secondary roles.
With more capacity for missiles in the air, range and better guidance systems, the balance between swelling in WVR (within visual range) and BVR (Beymond Visual Range) also changed, killing was increasingly achieved as pilots continued to change the battle.
Returning to the latest fighting between India and Pakistan, no decisive action was carried out by fighter pilots. It was a radar operator of an air surveillance aircraft and commander assessing the tactical equipment of the Bo-side planes that controlled the battle. The pilots effectively transported missiles and fired them in the direction of the BMC3 (combat management, command, control, and communications) so that they were too far away from the target to be seen. This is not a heroic role, and in theory could be carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles.
Inertia culture
The history of war is characterized by the persistence of ineffective practices. This was a suicide infantry attack in World War I, poison cavalry charges against German tanks in World War II, and the US military’s failures against Vietnamese and Afghan rebels. The combat pilot memes as heroic champions are deeply entertained by American popular culture and US military ranks. As we acknowledge, manned aviation remains a high priority in US defense facilities. Learning the abundant signs of the pressing advantage of drones and AI systems in future warfares, the United States continues its massive commitment to manned fighters (F-35 and F-46) and bombers (B-2 and B-21).
Provelope drobelloing drone fighters intended to be operated in conjunction with manned fighters is particularly concerning. The US Air Force implemented the Joint Fighter Aircraft (CCA) program to build a fleet of drones operating in a layer overseen by manned aerial vehicles. The obvious problem with this concept is the overload of pilots who have to manage multiple accompanying drones. The concept of an AI drone “wingman” aircraft awaiting instructions from stressed human formation leaders raises serious feasibility questions. In many situations, it can be argued that instructions should move from AI drones to human pilots. Fortunately, simulations can easily reveal the shortcomings of the CCA concept. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense and defense contractors have a history of disregarding or distorting testing in support of continuing costly flawed programs.
A conceptual description of a joint fighter plane – what is wrong with this photo?
Conclusion
As technology relays change the characteristics of air combat, the era of heroic fighter pilots is coming to an end. Unscathed by the biological limitations of human pilots, drone fighters ultimately rule the sky in armed conflict. Cultural memes are hard to erase, and the glory of jet fighter pilot entertainment media such as Top Gun Film (total revenue: $186 billion) helps maintain political support for manned aerial programs over the years. Institutional military inertia and perverse vendor incentives continue to work to keep human pilots in fighter planning. I hope that the costs will be limited to excessive Pentagon spending. The result of Worsst would be a military disaster if it turns out to be an enemy fiat drone with the right straf.
