An Aircraft Problem

I have an aircraft problem.

The latter half or so of Liberation is a battle between the enslaved and their overlords. Kurt, the aristocratic vampire you want dearly to hate but then turns out to be a pretty cool dude, goes to check out the bad guys’ armaments so the gang and Nyv (the wonder battleship) can know what they’re up against.

He returns and reports they have this, that, and the other, but no aircraft (they don’t have tanks either, but that’s a different problem).

Where are the airplanes?

Why? My thought was they weren’t needed. The bad guys have colonized only one continent and only along the coast. There’s a battleship hanging around in a geostationary low orbit, keeping an eye on things. If there’s trouble, the battleship zaps the spot with a precision vaporizer, and that’s that. More than one trouble spot? Zap, zap, zap. No problem.

So who needs aircraft?

But somehow, it doesn’t sit right with me. Could it just be my Earth sensibilities? We have ICBMs, which is kinda sorta like what I have in mind. But we still have bombers, fighters, and attack helicopters.

We’re dealing with an advanced alien civilization, and a militarized one. The coast is lined with sprawling bases. Smaller bases border the city limits. In total, the occupied area isn’t that big. Say, north to south, from Western Connecticut to North Carolina. Going east to west, Connecticut through Southern New York, Eastern Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

Hop, skip, and a jump from A to B.

If you ignore the speed limits and don’t stop, you could make a round trip in two days. Maybe add an extra half-day.

Like, the time I took a flight from Baltimore-Washington Airport to Dulles Airport in Virginia. In the air for 20 minutes. Up and down. Never leveled out. What a waste of fuel.

Smaller aircraft, maybe? Something about the size of and with the range of a Sopwith Camel? I suppose that could work. Armed, but not really meant for battle, just transport. Something to use in a pinch if necessary.

Okay, then. I’ll add Sopwith Camels to the armaments inventory. Use them in battle, of course. That also means the good guys will need anti-aircraft vaporizers. Or something.

Now that I’ve more or less solved the aircraft problem, next up: The question of tanks.