An attacker is unlikely to detect an F-22 or F-35 at the advertised maximum range, so the valuable targets are large support aircraft such as AWACS. The published range also reveals an operational assumption: the launching fighter expects to approach no closer than roughly that distance before firing. Defenders must therefore protect the enabling aircraft whose radar and command functions make the rest of the air campaign possible.
Notable Point · 4:03:12-4:13:09
What extreme-range air-to-air missiles are meant to kill
A missile-range discussion explains why 250- to 350-mile weapons are aimed at tankers, transports, and airborne early-warning aircraft rather than stealth fighters.