WHILE THE DEBATE over the relative importance of air and ground forces in warfare is far from resolved, there is one thing on which all military strategists agree: the side that controls the airspace over the theater of battle has an enormous advantage. The primary job of fighter aircraft is to deny the enemy access to friendly airspace and to eliminate the enemy's ability to defend its own airspace. To achieve this, a fighter force must beable to survive in hostile airspace and must engage anddestroy enemy aircraft.
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