Eli5 why do military planes fly in a formation

Question

Does it have specific tactical advantages or is it just cool?

Edit to add: what about specific types of formations, like a Flying V vs a Diamond vs whatever else they can do?

In: 797

Answer 1

The reason we fly in formations is mutual support. The wingman is there to provide visual lookout for threats, back me up on the radios, and bring more weapons to the fight so we can kill stuff. Vis, comm, and firepower. Different formation positions all offer different advantages and disadvantages in to those three things and what we go with is determined by the tactical situation