Militaries race to develop Very Long Range Air-to-Air missiles with features like large ‘no-escape zone’, AESA Radar, EO/IR Imaging, Network centric data links and hypersonic speeds

Over the past few decades, advances in electronic sensors, communications technology, and guided weapons may have fundamentally transformed the nature of air combat.  One of critical technologies was superior situational awareness (SA) when a pilot has a better understanding of the position of all relevant aircraft and their activities in the combat area than an opponent. The ultimate expression of SA is to move into position to attack an opponent without being detected, launch an attack, and escape before other enemies can take counteroffensive action.