gambit
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Here is the real world deal...This makes zero sense. First Strike aircraft don’t exist in modern Iranian military philosophy to a significant degree they are replaced by missiles.
A critical component of defense is deterrence, after all, if your enemy is somehow discouraged from attacking you, that is defense. But also critical to your defense posture and war doctrine is what kind of hardware you have, in other words, what kind of weapons you have determines how you respond.
A missile is a throw away weapon, but not only that, you have no control over it, that mean you have no flexibility in how you could create a deterrence impression. Once you launch the missile, you are committed to war. A threat could be a bluff or worse, a ruse to lead you into action. A missile launched mean you are committed to that ruse whether you know the enemy created that bait or not. It is too late to second guess yourself. The missile is airborne and once it land, it will create death and destruction. War results.
This is why the airplane will always be the superior method in creating a deterrence impression. The airplane can be just as committed to death and destruction as the missile but because the airplane have the option of returning to base, you will never be locked into a response. You can abort the response all the way up to the last second. Your commitment to war is absolute the moment you launched the missile, whereas with the airplane, you can delay commitment until the last moment which can be by crossing the border or wait until literally over the enemy target. The missile cannot offer you that freedom. You launched, you war. So in the long term, the impression non-ally but non-hostile neighbors have of you is that you are dangerous or even unstable. They will always be wary of miscommunication which is always present because they know that you have only one response to a miscommunication -- war. So they would rather minimize their relationship with you.
What I said is not absurd. The airplane's effects on national security postures are reflected in 'The Influence Of Air Power Upon History' by Walter Boyne. This book is on many air chiefs' recommended reading list. The book is in my home library.
The missile's simple design and fast manufacture are seductive but the missile serves only one purpose. The airplane, many.