Reply #33: Vietnam was a low-intensity conflict...

[PacerLJ35]

The NVAF didn't have the numbers of fighters sufficient to conduct any real bombing raids into the south...they were primarily for air defense of the northern cities and harbors. I think the poster above was talking about a REAL war, like WWII or even Korea (in the beginning, before the USAF gained air superiority, the NKAF was conducting bombing raids on the south). Make no mistake, if we ever wind up in a conflict with a real power like China, the side that gains the upper hand in the air will likely win. In those kinds of wars, with nation-states opposing each other, political victories are possible (ie, China backs down or calls for a cease fire, or the US sails away, etc). That kind of war, while not as common as low-intensity wars (insurgencies, guerilla warfare, civil war, etc), do happen and there is still potential for such conflict.