@RichRARobi @elasticsoul Well, why not, but the question is whether the benefit (if any) over traditional launching is worth the time and cost of development.

Wikipedia says that a TAURUS weighs ca. 1.4 tonnes, while the maximum total take-off weight of a typical Cessna 172 is <1.2 tonnes (including the aircraft itself which is 800 kg). Also, I'd assume that a cruise missile needs a certain minimum launch velocity that the aircraft must fly at.

@RichRARobi @elasticsoul I think the German TAURUS cruise missile is somewhat stealthy (not entirely sure). Though, for cruise missiles, flying low and adapting the flight path (like TAURUS does) may already be sufficient to avoid air defence

@RichRARobi @elasticsoul So, fighter jets clearly cannot be replaced by drones, but even F-16s and MiGs must keep away from the front lines in order to avoid being shot down themselves. This also limits the range of air-launched Ukrainian cruise missiles dramatically.

If we provided stealth fighter jets to Ukraine, they could avoid russian air defence without problems, potentially even flying into russian airspace. The US' strike on Iran was conducted entirely with stealth fighter jets and long-range stealth bombers and would not have been possible with conventional aircraft.

Ukraine needs that capability to destroy russian air bases; and Europe needs it to maintain its air superiority if russia attacks.

@RichRARobi @elasticsoul Buy what exactly? There is no European stealth fighter jet. It will take decades until FCAS is ready for deployment, and it's unclear if FCAS will have any meaningful stealth capabilities.