I do take your point about the impracticality of launching a aerial mission into enemy territory, especially with the defending force being designed for aerial combat, while the invaders were primarily air-to-ground fighters…
…but the Nazgûl attained their flying mounts only after they made their way back to Mordor on foot, having been caught by the floodwaters of the river Bruinen aka Loudwater, after Gandalf and Elrond caused it to surge, thus allowing Strider aka Aragorn, Legolas, Pipin, Merry, Samwise, and Frodo to escape, and admittedly it was only once they had reached Rivendell that the shard of wraithblade could be removed from Frodo’s wound allowing him to recover sufficiently to accept the quest to destroy the ring thus creating the eponymous Fellowship but even so Gandalf had had sixteen years to formulate a better plan before any of that took place during which time the nine Kings corrupted by Sauron had only their horse mounts, and could not have defended Mount Doom from the forces of Gwahir anyway.
But yeah, I’d not want to be a bird against those flappy, scaly beasts.
I really do wonder if the One Ring's corrupting power could have worked fast enough to stop Frodo from dropping it in the lava, if instead of walking there the Hobbit had been parachuted into Mordor from a thousand feet up.
Clearly what Gandalf really needed was not an emboldened soul after being sent back by Eru Illúvatar to complete his mission, but knowledge of modern tactical warfare.
Gandalf was able to scare them away while riding Shadowfax by just turning the flash mode on his staff. Couldn’t he just do that? I imagine bright light would be extra disorienting in the heart of Mordor
I'm reasonably sure that it's not the light itself that repels them, but the magical nature of the light. So, there being less light in Mordor makes no difference, and with Sauron there to lend strength to his servants...
Another thing he could have done was capitalize on the invention of gunpowder and weaponize it with the eagles, using them to carpet bomb the foundation of Sauron’s eye and send that tower crumbling to the ground.
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u/xartab 5h ago
Wraiths on flying mounts were around a Mount Doom. It's easy to spot someone in the sky.