After reading the story I just have to recall stories from the guys who flew and serviced F4s, they joked they could fly without either wing simply because it was just a rocket sled.
We had one guy knicknamed Major Cablecutter as he "clipped" the guidelines of a radio tower one time. He also had come back more than once with branches stuck to his F4. Being that they were only "Recon" they tended to be aggressive during war games and this game guy over stressed his airframe turning into some F18s trying to tag him.
So many military planes have such high thrust to weight ratios I do not doubt that wings merely become the means to stable flight
We had one guy knicknamed Major Cablecutter as he "clipped" the guidelines of a radio tower one time. He also had come back more than once with branches stuck to his F4. Being that they were only "Recon" they tended to be aggressive during war games and this game guy over stressed his airframe turning into some F18s trying to tag him.
So many military planes have such high thrust to weight ratios I do not doubt that wings merely become the means to stable flight