Adaptation of Existing Aircraft
The advantage of adapting existing aircraft was that the emergency fighter could be produced quickly. A variety of aircraft types were used: the Bristol Blenheim light bomber lacked performance in its intended role as a heavy day fighter, but found a useful niche as a strike fighter in Coastal Command and as a night fighter, pioneering the use of airborne intercept radar; the Russian Ilyushin Il-2 was occasionally used to escort other Shturmoviks on ground attack missions; and 26 British Miles Masters were produced, but never used, as the M.24 Master fighter with a single seat and six wing guns.
Modern attack aircraft are usually equipped to carry short range air-to-air missiles for self defense, some airforces because of inventory shortages will task their attack aircraft with a secondary air to air role, for example as with the Portuguese A-7 attack squadrons. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the United Kingdom planned to use their BAe Hawk trainer aircraft as point-defence fighters.
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