Why are airplanes so important in modern warfare? After all, they do not carry a lot of weapons with them and can be an easy target for missiles
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[In an ideal world, this is what complete air superiority allows you to achieve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_air_campaign). The ground war in Desert Storm would’ve been a lot worse if there was no sustained air campaign. Planes can carry a lot of munitions, strike areas way behind the enemy lines, and with guided munitions be a lot more accurate than conventional artillery. And if you have enough of them, you can constantly strike targets. There are artillery systems that can also accomplish this but they’re much less numerous compared to the amount of planes you can field.
And yes planes are vulnerable to ground based SAMs, that’s why you rarely see jets in Ukraine due to both sides having a lot of anti air and not much to counter. But if the anti air is suppressed/destroyed then planes can perform their role again.
Edit: Aircraft can also quickly respond to situations on the ground. If there’s a column of tanks and infantry on a road an aircraft armed with bombs can attack them without friendly troops being present. Or if friendly troops are engaged with the enemy aircraft can offer support alongside artillery.
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