Because space is an ocean.

It’s a ship. You use ship terms.

I agree with what everyone else is saying, and…

Time of deployment on the vessel naval crews can be deployed from months maybe even years. Air crews are deployed for hours maybe a day. If the flight crew has a disagreement, they just have to hold their tongues long enough to land, and then they can deal with it on the land maybe even get reassigned etc etc

More analogies from naval service apply to spaceborn service where crews will be isolated for long periods of time.

Space warfare is much closer to naval warfare on Earth, so naval tactics and strategies are more transferable when applied to space. For example: taking weeks to maneuver, and firing at your opponent 100,000 of kms away.

Air sorties are typically completed within hours, because it is ultimately limited by the fuel they can carry.

Because they’re way more like ships than they are planes – Planes don’t stay in the air indefinitely or take long voyages, have large crews, etc – They often treat the fighter pilot space ship people like AF though – Like if I have a ‘carrier’ with a bunch of smaller ships on it

“Why do they use” is a question. “Why they use” is an explanation.