Investigation of a micro-fighter airborne aircraft carrier concept [pdf]

Long-range supersonic airplanes struggle with the contradiction of having sufficient lift at takeoff to carry a heavy load of fuel vs having oversized and heavy wings at supersonic cruise that cause excessive induced drag.

The SR-71 dealt with the problem by taking off with a minimum fuel load and refueling in air. Other attempts to square the circle of takeoff and cruise requirements include (heavy, fragile, ...) wings that swing and the preposterous swinging stainless steel nose on the Concorde that weighed more than the luggage carried on by the PAX!

The "micro fighter" never has to take off from the ground but might have to land in an emergency. They can't take advantage of a much lighter wing loading however, because they are fighters! Range does not matter as it does on the XB-70, you are going to have high wing loading anyway and low-speed performance as important as high-speed performance is important in the synthesized American and Russian doctrine on air combat.