Cryptic crossword clue
Complicated aria involves bumbling trio in form of combat

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word AIR-TO-AIR

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
A
I
R
-
T
O
-
A
I
R

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "form of combat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case form of combat = air-to-air.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does AIR-TO-AIR mean?

AIR-TO-AIR adjective
  1. (of a missile) fired from an aircraft in flight at another one

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