GG, are you old enough to remember when all the "smart" aerial tacticians boldly said there'd never again be a need for a gun on a fighter? That "wisdom" evaporated when our all-missile F-4s kept getting on the tails of Migs over Hanoi - with no way to shoot them down because they were inside missile armup range. Or the missiles just flat failed, which is where dependence on technology can get you.
Yes I remember that, but this isn't 1965. In 1965 the Sparrow hadn't really been tested in war, and the Sidewinder while the best missile in the air, was still very new and had a lot of room to grow.
Today we have the AMRAAM that has been used in combat (a little), and has never missed. Tests have show it to be nearly 100%, pilots call it the slammer. And the latest all aspect sidewinders are damn near foolproof as well.
Now I'm not saying take guns out of aircraft, that's just dumb. I'm just saying if ever there was a time where a gun means much less, its now.
