Atmospheric Fighter Roleplay question

[Fletcher]

Something pinged in my head just now, atmospheric fighters and bombers. In Sirius, or even any large populated planet, or even military planet, would they have a defensive aircraft garrison?

If yes, would they be the usual fighter said Faction employs? E.g. Would Liberty have a garrison of Liberators on hand in the atmosphere?

To me, I'd probably say yes and no since there are pros and cons on both sides. Lets look at them both.

Pros to having normal House fighters in atmosphere
Its cheaper to build a lot of the same ship than many different types due to manufacturing reasons;
Easier to train pilots on generic fighters;
Easier for logistics.

Cons
Space faring ships tend to be less aerodynamic, making them less combat efficient as atmospheric fighter counter parts;
Easy as hell for heat seeking missile technology, fission trail in atmosphere, then again in space too
Difficult to deploy between space and atmosphere in high traffic situations
Impossible for assault missions due to no re-entry capabilities (supposedly)


Let us now look at the atmospheric fighter side of things. These would be the super advanced jets that we have today, or even equipped with fission drives. These are built to fly and vanguard planets on home turf.

Pros to having purpose built atmosphere fighters
Much better anti-air capabilities due to better aerodynamics, and systems tuned to specific atmospheric conditions;
Harder for enemies to have ballistics damage them due to agility;
Possibly easier to launch due to possibly catapult or 'magnetic acceleration' launch technology;
Higher speeds, blocky space ships would produce too much drag;
Specialized armaments;
Possibly able to launch missiles into orbit to engage at safe perimeter. The atmosphere could act as a shield;
Possible to launch through re-entry drop pods to attempt to gain air-superiority in hostile territories.
Harder to detect, likely due to stealth materials. (Think F-22 Raptor or F-117)

Cons
Expensive to maintain, who gets attacked planet side by hostile forces? Save Kusari and Bretonia (possibly).
No space faring ability;
Lower armor and shield ability, aerodynamics would not be able to compensate a shield or large fission drive;
If aircraft is VTOL based, they have too low speed in general compared to scram jet or fission types;
Specialized training required.


Now then, what are your thoughts on atmospheric fighters?

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