The U.S. Air Force has also configured Patriot PAC 3 anti-missile missiles to be launched from F-15 fighters. This would enable missiles to be in position, over a wider area, to intercept incoming ballistic missiles. An F-15 can move around a lot faster than the towed launchers that normally carry PAC 3 missiles. The PAC 3 fired from the air can also hit cruise missiles, or ballistic missiles that were just launched, and are still climbing. Work is now underway to adapt the 17 foot long PAC 3 to be launched from the F-16, F-22 and F-35 aircraft as well.
Patriot PAC 3 has a range of only 20 kilometers. So such a fighter capability to fire these missiles isn't that useful as a pure defensive system if their are adequate ground-based systems to defend important targets. In that case, it wouldn't help much at all to put a small number of PAC 3-equipped fighters in the air over friendly territory in case an enemy strikes.
But if PAC 3-equipped stealth aircraft are flying above suspected enemy missile launch sites deep in enemy air space when our strike aircraft and missiles start dropping ordnance, our enemy will have to make a decision to launch what they have before they are blown up on the ground. And if we send wave after wave of attackers while we rotate these anti-missile platforms, the enemy will be in a terrible position.
This is a mission for a small number of fighter aircraft carrying PAC 3 missiles--right on top of the enemy launch sites.
