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 Asherian Command wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

-.-
Yes Because tau have the best everything....

Mate. You do realize the tau are not the most advanced race? The Eldar and Necrons win at that. The Eldar have better skills and they have had centuries to perfect their art. They have no other will but to serve the Craftworld, they move with specific purposes, they fight together as one. The tau are still young and do not have the capacity to do what an eldar could do.

Not the best just not nothing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Swastakowey wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Swastakowey wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.

Ummm thats not how it works... Where will these fighters hide if their airbases are gonna be under constant attack from the navy? How are the fighters gonna even get back to their air bases without being under constant fire? You have either won or lost air supremacy within days of a battle. Once you have lost it its pretty much gone unless something amazing happens. Ground defences have never stopped air superiority. If your enemy is above you all the time your supplies will always be under attack, your reinforcements will always be under attack and your front line will always be under attack. Unless you have an amzing strategy like the vietnamese did or something you will be fighting a loosing battle.

But ground based defense have stopped naval superiority. Shore battery can stop naval forces from approaching. EMC can jam targeting so air bases cannot located. If space based weaponry cannot locate or hit air bases then they do not bring air superiority.

When have they stopped naval superiority? Like ever? Static defense doesnt really work. EMC? So you are telling me nobody could just look at these attack craft, then alert the navy to tell them to watch the aircraft land? Of course the navy has aircraft. Aircraft that will always be kilometres away from battle when not in use.

Dardanelles in World War I,Gibraltar has stopped more than a few navies from passing. Singapore was consider unassailable by sea in WWII. As for EMC when you are dealing with distances from ground to orbit visual spotting will not be enough any sensor can be jammed or blinded.

Zookie wrote:
Singapore was consider unassailable by sea in WWII.

Too bad the Japanese were equipped with bicycles. Singapore didn't stand a chance agains those dreaded vehicles

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

The Rebels didn't hold air superiority at Hoth. Vader was willing to simply burn them out with the Executor but held back due to Luke being on the planet, and not wanting him reduced to slag.

And no, you're not going to have air superiority when the enemy holds the orbit, and is capable of raining hell down on your forces while dispatching squadrons of bombers and fighters to run strafes on your supply lines, power, airfields, etc.

Zookie wrote:

 Asherian Command wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

-.-
Yes Because tau have the best everything....

Mate. You do realize the tau are not the most advanced race? The Eldar and Necrons win at that. The Eldar have better skills and they have had centuries to perfect their art. They have no other will but to serve the Craftworld, they move with specific purposes, they fight together as one. The tau are still young and do not have the capacity to do what an eldar could do.

Not the best just not nothing.

Eldar would win over tau in most cases (eldar have the best air-craft and pilots), but tau do have the advantage in the air against most armies. The true (not those stupid codex flyers) main flyer is light, but cheap, and has a fearsome gun for a flyer (an ion cannon). It's burst cannon have super advanced tracking systems that can auto-correct the aim to take into account other flyers moves, and an armament of seeker missiles and missile pods back those up. The barracuda also excels in air-to-air and dogfights, being instrumental during the Taros campaign. The remora, although not the best at air-to-air, receives some mention by being devilishly hard to hit (or even know where it is), and possessing long barreled burst cannons, seeker missiles, and a markerlight, making them great against light-ish flyers, or even large one with the seeker missiles.

 Wyzilla wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

The Rebels didn't hold air superiority at Hoth. Vader was willing to simply burn them out with the Executor but held back due to Luke being on the planet, and not wanting him reduced to slag.

And no, you're not going to have air superiority when the enemy holds the orbit, and is capable of raining hell down on your forces while dispatching squadrons of bombers and fighters to run strafes on your supply lines, power, airfields, etc.

The Snow Speeders went unchallenged and the transport faced no threat until they left orbit. Also the scenario you describe could only be done after air superiority has been achieved. Otherwise the bombers would just get shot down before reaching their target. Obtaining orbital supremacy is just the first step. It does not imply air superiority . Next you would need to neutralize planetary defenses so the warships could approach the planet to locate targets and come into weapons range. Then you could knock out air bases and interdict troops.

So as long as planetary defenses can keep warships at a bay the defender will control the sky. A fleet would have to be astronomically huge to provide more assault and fighter craft than a planet could support.

It is situations like this that Space Marines shine. Slip a strike force true a defense net, knock out a few key targets giving the fleet the edge and watch the fireworks.

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

The Rebels didn't hold air superiority at Hoth. Vader was willing to simply burn them out with the Executor but held back due to Luke being on the planet, and not wanting him reduced to slag.

And no, you're not going to have air superiority when the enemy holds the orbit, and is capable of raining hell down on your forces while dispatching squadrons of bombers and fighters to run strafes on your supply lines, power, airfields, etc.

The Snow Speeders went unchallenged and the transport faced no threat until they left orbit. Also the scenario you describe could only be done after air superiority has been achieved. Otherwise the bombers would just get shot down before reaching their target. Obtaining orbital supremacy is just the first step. It does not imply air superiority . Next you would need to neutralize planetary defenses so the warships could approach the planet to locate targets and come into weapons range. Then you could knock out air bases and interdict troops.

So as long as planetary defenses can keep warships at a bay the defender will control the sky. A fleet would have to be astronomically huge to provide more assault and fighter craft than a planet could support.

It is situations like this that Space Marines shine. Slip a strike force true a defense net, knock out a few key targets giving the fleet the edge and watch the fireworks.

Star wars is not the greatest example. I am 100% certain the the HUGE amounts of fighters in that blockade fleet could easily over come that 1 defense cannon and measly amount of ships the rebels had. But for some odd reason they decided not to do it. Why? Because how else would the rebels escape and how else could they show the epic land speeders doing their thing. The series would be dull if the rebels where wiped out because the empire used their brains. And they didnt have air superiority because they where reduced to small windows of flight time suggesting there where breaks in enemy aircraft times etc.

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:

Zookie wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:
Air superiority is only possible when you hold orbital superiority lest the enemy blow you out of the sky. So, Necrons followed by the Imperium. Orks as well through shear numbers. Tau for tactical skill, although it won't last long when the big guns show up.

I disagree. I think I would be possible that Naval forces could control the space around a planet. But planetary defences world prevent the ship from bringing their power to bear. If you are familiar with Star wars think the battle of Hoth. The rebels had air superiority but not space superiority.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Asherian Command wrote:
Eldar have the most agile fighters.

Imperium has the toughest fighters

Tau well trained pilot, advanced sensors, and good tactics

Orks have weakest fliers. But they have a lot

Necrons have the best space ships

Fixed it.

The Rebels didn't hold air superiority at Hoth. Vader was willing to simply burn them out with the Executor but held back due to Luke being on the planet, and not wanting him reduced to slag.

And no, you're not going to have air superiority when the enemy holds the orbit, and is capable of raining hell down on your forces while dispatching squadrons of bombers and fighters to run strafes on your supply lines, power, airfields, etc.

The Snow Speeders went unchallenged and the transport faced no threat until they left orbit. Also the scenario you describe could only be done after air superiority has been achieved. Otherwise the bombers would just get shot down before reaching their target. Obtaining orbital supremacy is just the first step. It does not imply air superiority . Next you would need to neutralize planetary defenses so the warships could approach the planet to locate targets and come into weapons range. Then you could knock out air bases and interdict troops.

So as long as planetary defenses can keep warships at a bay the defender will control the sky. A fleet would have to be astronomically huge to provide more assault and fighter craft than a planet could support.

It is situations like this that Space Marines shine. Slip a strike force true a defense net, knock out a few key targets giving the fleet the edge and watch the fireworks.

What? No, the reason why fighters weren't dispatched instantly to blow away landspeeders (which are slugs that would be easily out-maneuvered by TIEs) was due to the large shield protecting the rebel base, which would have required a large bombardment from orbit to break the shield, which would have killed Luke who Vader wanted to take alive. If you paid attention to the movie, you'd know that they even comment on how the whole situation was fethed up (they originally were going to sneak into the system so the Rebels wouldn't raise the shield), IIRC it was Ozzel who charged the fleet into the system and right in front of Hoth, which spooked the Rebels and caused them to throw up the shield. That's why they had to land the AT-ATs behind the shield to slowly walk through it and drop off troops.


(Really, Vader should have taken direct command as he was one of the few actually competent commanders in the Galactic Empire, which was largely comprised of pampered officers from rich families always trying to backstab their way up the rank ladder for more power.)

Trust me I paid attention.

You make my argument for me. It is the same reason you cant use orbital bombardment to achieve air superiority. If you used battleship lance weapons and Vortex missles to take out every airfield (or even most) odds are there would not be much worth talking when to landed on the planet. Also wouldn't a competent defender spread air bases around so a preliminary bombardment could not find them all. Think 2nd strike capable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_strike

Re: OP

Tau win this easily. The best way to win air superiority isn't dogfighting over the battlefield, it's blowing up aircraft and their bases on the ground. And the Tau make the best use of stealth units behind enemy lines that can find and attack air bases, supply convoys, fuel pipelines, etc. Eldar and DE can match them 1v1, but their much weaker numbers and preference for hit and run attacks make it much harder for them to do enough damage to win air superiority on a planetary scale.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
Tau doctrine doesn't utilise air-to-air combatants in a big way, though.

Their only anti-air weapons are the Barracuda (a tiny interceptor) and the Skyray Missile Defence Gunship.

But how many do you really need? If you have an air superiority fighter and a ground-based AA tank, both of them very effective (fluff-wise the Barracuda dominates Imperial fighters 1v1 and the only thing keeping the Imperium in the fight is sheer numbers and a handful of veteran aces, and the Sky Ray is death incarnate to enemy aircraft), then other fighter types would be redundant. The Tau just pick one effective design and spam it as much as possible.

Also, the Tau have the Remora, a nearly-invisible stealth drone fighter with AA burst cannons and seeker missiles. Have fun keeping air superiority when you're cruising along straight and level and the first sign you're under attack is when your first aircraft explode.

 Swastakowey wrote:
As shown in history. Without a supporting navy they are a mere annoyance. If defences are so amazing then all the beach landings that have ever happened would have failed. Simply put they are not enough to win a battle.

Except that real-world argument is based on the real-world inaccuracy, poor range, and limited coverage of shore batteries. Building huge bunkers with battleship-scale guns costs a lot of money so you're going to be limited to covering a few specific locations. That's fine if you have an obvious choke point where the enemy has to go to attack a point target (for example, the base with your main fleet), but it's not very effective at covering hundreds of miles of coastline to block every possible invasion spot. Without ships of your own to threaten the landing the enemy can just land somewhere that your guns aren't covering and attack from a different direction.

Contrast this with 40k defenses where effective gunnery range in space is long enough that a target in low orbit is easy to hit, and a well-placed defense laser can cover the space above an entire continent. Meanwhile that defense laser/missile silo/etc is better protected, supplied with (effectively) infinite ammunition, and has unlimited cooling ability to keep shooting without melting itself. Mount a battleship worth of guns on a continent and you can pretty much turn orbital bombardment into a suicide mission.

Orks and Imperials out of sheer numbers. Superior technology can only get you so far, as the Nazis learned to their cost when facing the Soviets back during the Second World War.

EDIT: Tyranids as well, for the same reasons.

I haven't read the whole thread so forgive me if this has already been stated, but orbital superiority would be key except against certain enemies who don't require a base of operations.

If you have the ability to orbitally bombard your enemy, you can systematically destroy all enemy aerial bases, making air superiority only a concern for a brief period of time, or if you have orbital superiority but not such great bombardment ability for any reason but decent dual role atmospheric and void attack craft then you can attack from a vertical position right on top of the enemy air base.

And then there is obviously drop troop regiments... Which can hit the ground fast and hard and take the base.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Obviously, anti orbital ground based weapons are an issue with my scenario.

Orks for sheer numbers and absolute craziness, they sometimes don't even put brakes or landing gears on there airplanes because why would a ork need a break .

 Peregrine wrote:
Re: OP

Tau win this easily. The best way to win air superiority isn't dogfighting over the battlefield, it's blowing up aircraft and their bases on the ground. And the Tau make the best use of stealth units behind enemy lines that can find and attack air bases, supply convoys, fuel pipelines, etc.

That sounds rather like the role of Space Marines too, honestly.

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:
Re: OP

Tau win this easily. The best way to win air superiority isn't dogfighting over the battlefield, it's blowing up aircraft and their bases on the ground. And the Tau make the best use of stealth units behind enemy lines that can find and attack air bases, supply convoys, fuel pipelines, etc.

That sounds rather like the role of Space Marines too, honestly.

No, space marines charge blindly at the enemy with there guns blazing . They don't use cover because the codex tells them not to (making them tactically stupid in large ongoing engagements).

I'd say
Eldar have the best pilots given they train for centuries, and good construction.

Orks have numbers, big guns

Imperium combines quality fighter craft with skilled pilots, and they usually have good numbers as well.

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

Necrons have numbers, high tech, self repair, and pilots who won't black out making pinwheel turns at supersonic speeds (a nice benefit) and have excellent coordination in their attack patterns given the way they operate.

The Tyranids blot out the sun with splattered gargoyles on your winshield and in your engines. The occasional MC gives them some punch.

Really, lets face it.... its a wash. It depends on the battlefield, and the assets present

Yeah Co'tor Shas, like you've actually read the codex astartes to know what it says. The Tau are a puny and insignificant race that would be wiped out at any moment by the Imperium if they cared enough to do it.

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

 6^ wrote:
Yeah Co'tor Shas, like you've actually read the codex astartes to know what it says. The Tau are a puny and insignificant race that would be wiped out at any moment by the Imperium if they cared enough to do it.

It was a joke (if there is a anywhere in my post, assume it is a joke). It would actually take quite a lot to eradicate the Tau, and the Imperium has enough to deal with right now (giant WAAAAAGHs , Abbadons 13th black crusade, Necrons awakening, The Tyranid invasion, ad infinitum).

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

Compared to whom? Humans? Most likely, i'll give you that without arguement, unless the humans have hypothetical cybernetics of some kind which might help their abilites, but we aren't talking about augmented humans, so Tau pilots are probably better than the imperium's
Necrons cant be effected in their flying by g-forces however, and physically, are the best pilots. When it comes down to something like instincts and reflexes, Eldar probably have the best pilots in that regard.

 iGuy91 wrote:

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

Compared to whom? Humans? Most likely, i'll give you that without argument, unless the humans have hypothetical cybernetics of some kind
Necrons cant be effected in their flying by g-forces

Tau also sleep less needing 1-3 decs (1.5-3 hours of sleep) over a rotaa (15 hours, the tau day). That is the equivalent of a human sleeping 2.4-4.8 hours of sleep a day. This means that they can stay airborne longer.

 iGuy91 wrote:

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

Compared to whom? Humans? Most likely, i'll give you that without arguement, unless the humans have hypothetical cybernetics of some kind which might help their abilites, but we aren't talking about augmented humans, so Tau pilots are probably better than the imperium's
Necrons cant be effected in their flying by g-forces however, and physically, are the best pilots. When it comes down to something like instincts and reflexes, Eldar probably have the best pilots in that regard.

I don't remember where I read this but in the fluff it states Tau pilots tend to be better trained than imperial pilots. But imperial pilots tend to have more experience. I imagine they are comparable in effectiveness.

I like all these post that are flying in the logic of real world with plenty of historical examples proving how incorrect they are.

Zookie wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

Compared to whom? Humans? Most likely, i'll give you that without arguement, unless the humans have hypothetical cybernetics of some kind which might help their abilites, but we aren't talking about augmented humans, so Tau pilots are probably better than the imperium's
Necrons cant be effected in their flying by g-forces however, and physically, are the best pilots. When it comes down to something like instincts and reflexes, Eldar probably have the best pilots in that regard.

I don't remember where I read this but in the fluff it states Tau pilots tend to be better trained than imperial pilots. But imperial pilots tend to have more experience. I imagine they are comparable in effectiveness.

I think that was in one of the forge world books. I'll have to check.

 iGuy91 wrote:

 Maniac_nmt wrote:

 iGuy91 wrote:

Tau combine high-tech weaponry and sensors in their craft, and I imagine their air force is very professional, but I wouldn't say they best pilots.

They are genetically adapted to be better pilots. Their bodies (as their pilots are air caste) have altered to allow them to compensate for higher g's, the kind you would pull in an aerial engagement. Physically their pilots are better at being pilots. Now you can argue training and skill, but in terms of staying awake, avoiding tunnel vision, etc the Tau are simply better.

Compared to whom? Humans? Most likely, i'll give you that without arguement, unless the humans have hypothetical cybernetics of some kind which might help their abilites, but we aren't talking about augmented humans, so Tau pilots are probably better than the imperium's
Necrons cant be effected in their flying by g-forces however, and physically, are the best pilots. When it comes down to something like instincts and reflexes, Eldar probably have the best pilots in that regard.

Compared to say humans, yes. Other than perhaps Necrons and probably Tyranids they are the most genetically adapted to being pilots (air or space combat). Each of the Tau castes is actually different, unlike say historical human based caste systems. Each has genetically adapted itself to it's chosen 'role' in Tau society. Unlike Eldar, Ork, or Human, they have been genetically adapted to fulfill their niche/role in society. An air caste Tau couldn't become an effective Fire Warrior, even if the desire was there (the air caste used to have membranous "wings", as an example, but quickly shed them once powered flight was developed). It lacks the proper physical structure for it. A human female is more likely to be closer to them in terms of ability to process g-force, but it wouldn't be quite the same (females are better able to handle g-forces then men on average, but genetically aren't as good on average at other things).

In some regards the Tau are not completely unlike the Kroot in their ability to genetically alter themselves in a relatively short period of time to meet what they need to (much slower, and it doesn't work the same, but the capacity to selectively alter their physical attributes is there).

Orkz have several advantages
1:They can replace craft without being at specilised conquered worlds(The Imperium would most likely need a forge world to make a single lightning fighter)Also they can get even more fightas when an enemy one is shot down by looting it.
2:They can get aircraft back in the air fasterh this bomma has fallen apart.Pass da burna.You git,you got a few teef?Want to become a flyboy?Bye!
3: they have bomms.Filled with promethium.Against guard.And nids.Owwww...
4:Flakka dakka would (probably)Chew through aircraft with sheer bullets.
5ey is orkz and you Iz not!
Note that they are not THE best.But against tau I'm rooting for da flybosses.If I don't I'll be krumped though...(If anybody has holes in my logic speak now or forever shut yer gob..And believe me there is probably a book of mistakes that can be written about this post)

Tau also sleep less needing 1-3 decs (1.5-3 hours of sleep) over a rotaa (15 hours, the tau day). That is the equivalent of a human sleeping 2.4-4.8 hours of sleep a day. This means that they can stay airborne longer.

True, but a fighter can only take so much abuse, fire so many munitions, and use so much fuel before it returns to base, but that is indeed helpful.
Humans have recaff lol by comparison.

I believe the quote earlier stating that human pilots are more experienced, while Tau pilots have better training, and thus are similarly effective, is probably a apt comparison.
Cant count the eldar out however, their twitch reflexes are second to none, especially compared to humans and Tau, this is well documented in fluff they are by far faster than either, also likely benefitting from psychic assistance?

Yes, Orks sure have an easy time making/fixing their fighters

 Galdos wrote:
I like all these post that are flying in the logic of real world with plenty of historical examples proving how incorrect they are.

Well in the end it is all spit balling. In the end it is not like real world events have any bearing on what can and cannot happen in the made up universe of 40k. Take a deep breath it all just for fun.

Eldar are the best at air superiority, followed by Necrons and then Tau.

Dark Eldar rarely make use of air superiority, so I'd say they do what they do without even needing it...as their raids are so short in a timescale that the response time of enemy air assets is not an issue.

 Swastakowey wrote:

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
How about normal eldar, with their cloacking shields they are very hard to shoot down

Eldar almost always fight in small hit and run groups. So although they kick butt they probably never hold superior anything. They just deal out the pain then disappear. Then strike somewhere else annoying. Including their aircraft. They are by far the most annoying kind of enemy to fight.

I'd say the Eldar certainly do have air superiority almost everywhere they go...period. It may not be planet spanning air superiority, but they always have it for the duration of when it is needed.

I would say Imperial Navy or flight squads of IG just by sheer numbers. If you mean technology, well... my bet Dark Eldar.

Based off of both croissants and the IA with the Maynark(sp) dynasty, I don't see any race being able to defeat the necrons in the air, let alone anywhere. Maybe the nids could present a tarpit in air, but I just don't see how the crons wouldn't eventually chew through it.

Since the Craftworld Eldar are written to be incompetent at all levels I immediately dismiss them.