Letter: New air assault on our ears

Sir: There was fighter combat in the Gulf war, but it was over very quickly, with few allied casualties. In Bosnia the Serb fighters stayed on the ground. Why? Because the American fighters and pilots were vastly superior to the Iraqis and Serbs. Britain's fighters hardly got involved, because their current aircraft, the Tornado F3, badly needs replacement.

We owe it to our pilots to send them into combat with the best equipment, so they have less chance of being killed.

CONOR O'NEILL

London SW14