Fleet air defence is a sequence of overlapping layers. Combat air patrols should destroy bombers before launch because thirty aircraft are easier to engage than the many missiles they can release. Area-air-defence weapons then reduce the inbound salvo, followed by point-defence systems, chaff, jamming, and other electronic countermeasures. Close-in weapon systems engage whatever survives those layers. That last engagement must occur before terminal range, where a damaged missile's momentum or fragments can still strike the ship. The model explains why detection range and early interception matter even when a fleet carries effective defensive missiles.
Notable Point · 2:35:41-2:37:59
Layered air defence starts with the launch aircraft
Fleet defence works outward to inward: fighters attack launch platforms, missiles engage leakers, electronic warfare breaks locks, and close-in weapons remain the last hard-kill layer.