Ok, I hate to pick nits, but I am still a little confused.

If a sortie, according to Dictionary.com, is "the flying of an airplane in combat," I have the follow up questions.

Helicopters don't count?
Flying gas stations don't count?
"70 to 80 sorties" means 70 to 80 unique airplanes?
Or can one airplane have more than one sortie?
Or is it simply that each time an airplane takes off on a mission, that is one sortie?

Man, this is like discussing the minutiae of a latte, a cappuccino, a white chocolate mocha, a dark chocolate mocha, 2% milk. Or how about discussing the difference between fat free milk and non-fat milk?

Addition: ah, I see RickyBobby answered my original questions. Let me examine them before asking any more.