In the current day and age it would almost certainly be possible for us to launch powerful lasers into space and vaporize key targets from there, saving the risk of man and plane. We could also launch an army of kill-satellites to knock our enemy's communications out of the sky.

If a symmetrical war began tomorrow and we did not have access to these technologies, would we be using obsolete tactics? IMO, no, we'd just be a bit slow on the uptake.

It usually takes a big push like a war to really get people ready to innovate. Look at the light-speed improvement in tanks and AT-weapons in just five years of WW2. You can't possibly say that the industry and materials necessary to produce a T-40, a KonigsTiger or a Pershing weren't available in '39, can you?

DA