sortie

Or maybe they mix up a batch of bombs before the sortie - "You can't launch yet.

A single AGM-114 Hellfire missile costs over $100k, on top of the costs of arming and launching an aircraft for sortie.

A wingman is the other pilot flying a sortie with you, supporting you in a dangerous mission.

The longest ever recorded sortie without in-flight refueling was 1h56m, but it was common for them to be running low on gas and need to tank up 20 minutes after a hot scramble.

"So eager were many minimally trained pilots to take part in suicide missions that when their sorties were delayed or aborted, the pilots became deeply despondent.

Many of those who were selected for a bodycrashing mission were described as being extraordinarily blissful immediately before their final sortie.

"After the war, some commanders would express regret for allowing superfluous crews to accompany sorties, sometimes squeezing themselves aboard bombers and fighters so as to encourage the suicide pilots and, it seems, join in the exultation of sinking a large enemy vessel.

I'm pretty sure the only thing the F-35 will ever shoot down is nations' budgets....The thing is a dog - a flying compromise, that's not even particularly stealthy because it needs to carry external weapons since the internal weapons bay is barely large enough to fit someone's groceries, never mind a reasonable payload for any actual combat sortie...