To some, it's Cuck porn

Thanks for explaining the logic! It does make sense in an A2A context. Everything is about range.

But more broadly, I wonder what "air superiority" means in 2026. Even if you shot down every plane the enemy had, they can still deny you unchallenged access to their airspace. It looks like that's what happening in Iran. We're dropping standoff munitions at the border and sending missiles, not dropping gravity bombs directly overhead.

Seems ground defense can now match air offense at a fraction of the cost. "The assignment", as I see it, is to build a cheap, robust military backed by an industrial base that can pump out munitions.

I think that's a serious misreading of what's happening in Iran.

Air superiority still matters a lot. But the way you establish air superiority is by systematically annihilating the enemy air defenses.

Remember all those Tomahawks, ATCMS, and other PrSMs the US absolutely dumped into Iran until their supplies started to run low? Yeah, you're supposed to use those to kill the enemy's air defence. That's exactly what they're good at. Instead the US just kind of threw them at whatever, including girls schools. Then they threw their aircraft at a still largely functional air defence network and were surprised when they got shot at.

The same thing is happening in Ukraine. Russia wasted their high end cruise missiles blowing up apartment buildings and then sent poorly trained pilots to fly so low and slow that they could be hit by MANPADS.

That's not supposed to be possible. Shoulder mounted anti air is basically useless against a jet fighter flown by a competent pilot (they're meant for killing helicopters). The only reason Ukraine is killing Migs with them is because the Russian pilots are so bad.

Nothing has changed about the importance of air superiority. We're just watching two object lessons in how to completely fuck up getting air superiority.

My guess is the US didn't take out Iranian air defenses because they can't; maybe it's memory or imagination, but I thought they're underground until they're in use, or they only turn on when there's been a visual, or there are a ton of cheaper decoys, or a combination of the three.

Damn, that's pretty embarassing for the Russians, though.

Underground air defense systems aren't a thing. The US is perfectly capable of identifying likely Iranian air defence sites. In theory.

They just suck at this. There's no excuse for it. Iran isn't pulling some crazy James Bond villain shit. The US Military is just run by total fucking clowns, because they hired an alcoholic TV personality to run the show and he chased out everyone with an ounce of competence.

What? War is more team sports than actual team sports

I've been debating if I want to ever explain my answers with this account. It feels like it would kill the joke.

I'm only going to make an exception here because this circumstance is particularly funny to me and I plan on deleting it shortly: This is Cuck porn to the taxpayers who are having their money sent to fund the wars they don't wish to participate in. They are being made to watch.