Can Surface-to-Air Missiles Replace Fighters in Southeast Asia?
Several factors constrain the role of SAMs in Southeast Asian military modernization efforts.
By Shangsu Wu
February 25, 2017
With high procurement costs and training, maintenance, and upgrading costs, as well as their vulnerability on the ground, the burdens of operating fighter aircraft are increasingly heavy everywhere, including Southeast Asia. Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) present an alternative means of air defense. Though several types of fourth generation fighters have been introduced into the region, most Southeast Asian air forces have only purchased a few squadrons of them since the end of the Cold War. Because of a ceiling of operational readiness and the broad air space of most regional countries, the limited sizes of these fighter fleets means they may not be able to respond to intruders or other contingencies all the time. Furthermore, those small fleets, usually concentrated in one or a few airbases, could be vulnerable to a pre-emptive strike, especially from an extra-regional power. Some countries such as Cambodia have even forsaken their fighter capability entirely due to financial concerns.
http://thediplomat.com/2017/02/can-surface-to-air-missiles-replace-fighters-in-southeast-asia/
