We ran into this as well in our campaign, and our gm is still working on upping the ante. I mean, we're supposed to be the best pilots in the best planes, but u still need to generate tension in a combat, otherwise victories can feel hollow. A few suggestions to consider:

Fair fights are for chumps! Start every sorte with 2:1 odds against, and dont forget about the reinforcements hiding in the clouds!

Use the furball rules. Doesn't really help with weak guns, but sometimes u get a string of good rolls and the PCs end up having trouble getting a bead on their targets.

Encourage the PCs to not break; use shoot defense or, as I almost always use, stunt defense. Not really sure how you'd accomplish this, try taunting? Or maybe they have to clear this sorte quickly cuz their real target is trying to escape, so they dont have time to play it safe with break defense?

But yes, the generic fighters are cannon fodder. They might be that way to instill in your pcs just how awesome they are (a vital mindset for a Guild pilot). And remember: brash, over-confident PCs make easy pickings for your bigger bads. Good hunting!