Modern Era
The advent of the air superiority fighter, such as the F-15 Eagle, meant that bombers and attack aircraft would be protected by fighters flying far afield and ahead of them, engaging distant enemy air units, rather than by direct escorts staying in sight nearby.
The concept of multirole fighter, such as F/A-18, also decreased the need for escorts, as the aircraft on air strike mission became capable of effective self-defense.
Read more about this topic: Escort Fighter
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or era:
“The susceptibility of the average modern to pictorial suggestion enables advertising to exploit his lessened power of judgment.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“It struck me that the movies had spent more than half a century saying, “They lived happily ever after” and the following quarter-century warning that they’ll be lucky to make it through the weekend. Possibly now we are now entering a third era in which the movies will be sounding a note of cautious optimism: You know it just might work.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)