In warfare, time is always a paramount consideration. The general rule appears to be if you can operate at tempos above that of your enemy, you gain and hold the initiative. In the Second World War time was critical as it gave the defenders the opportunity to climb to a suitable altitude from which to gain speed and engage the enemy. However; as jet fighters started to evolve, tactics became driven more by the closing speeds between an air defender and an incoming threat. If the enemy aircraft was thought to be carrying a nuclear warhead, it became even more important to get airborne and attack the enemy as far away as possible from home territory. During the Cold War this was not too difficult over the North Sea and the polar wilderness of the Arctic Sea; in Germany however the timings involved were very reminiscent of what happened in the Second World War: with Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) flights needing to be capable of responding at very short notice to threatened incursions by Warsaw Pact aircraft.
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