Why light aircraft cannot simply replace high-end combat jets

What future role remains for light aircraft such as the OV-10 or Super Tucano in naval warfare?

They remain useful for focused missions in low-threat environments, but they cannot replace high-end fighters whose combat value includes integrated sensors, planning, and sustainment.

The panel begins by asking what mission and threat environment a proposed light aircraft must face. Small aircraft can perform reconnaissance, training, counter-insurgency support, or light strike, but they cannot provide a one-for-one replacement for a multirole fighter in a contested environment. The F-35 example also separates a fictional kill switch from the real dependence on integrated logistics and mission-planning databases. Cutting that support would degrade a fleet over weeks or months rather than instantly disabling it, and any substitute only needs to be operationally viable rather than a perfect copy.