In the full-scale war the fighter planes are useless cause the air bases and carriers will be nuked out in the first hour. So the reality is that the planes are not made for fights, they are made for parades.
In a full scale nuclear war most things would be useless. The US however has managed to use it's planes a fair bit since WW2 though and not just for parades.
But they are brilliant against barbarians, which seem to be our main enemy these days.