None. But, presumably, if the threat was both credible and judged to be imminent, the presence of an accompanying fighter could mean the determination of where and when the aircraft was destroyed.

Indeed, Kev. And that’s the elephant in the room, if you like.

In situations like this, the role of fighter aircraft is not to ‘guide, to ‘deter’ or to ‘protect’. These are simplistic tabloid fantasies.

They scramble to ensure that, should the worst case scenario transpire, the authorities can choose the least worst from a small number of grim options – as you outlined so clearly.