Wartime air defence worked as a layered system. Fighters did not have to destroy every attacking aircraft to be useful. Hurricanes and other fighters could disrupt bomber formations enough to improve the chances of radar-directed anti-aircraft artillery. Singapore possessed meaningful anti-aircraft strength, but much of the wider air effort was dispersed. Japanese attacks in three places exploited that weakness by drawing fighter coverage away from any single decisive point.
Notable Point · 16:19-17:52
Fighters only had to disrupt the raids
A concentrated fighter force, radar, and Singapore's anti-aircraft guns might have broken up attacks even without destroying every Japanese aircraft.