This is an outgrowth of a discussion on AMM and AFM that have sensors.
The question I was turning over in my mind was what sort of formation should a box launcher equipped fighter force use? Also, do you optimize them for anti-ship work, or do you have a resolution 5 missile fire control as well, so they have some defense against fighters?
If you have point defense fighters with your box launcher fighters, your formation is pretty simple. Everybody in a tight ball so you can use final fire PD against anything incoming, with the anti-missile sensor fighters a little in advance of the formation to get better firing solutions.
I suppose a lot depends on what kills your fighters, or what you expect to kill your fighters. If your fighters are spread in a line perpendicular to the enemy force, their missiles will all arrive at the same time, but be in lots of different volleys, and missiles targeted at destroyed fighters will likely be out of range of retargeting other fighters.
In WWII, the Allies had night fighters lurking over German airbases to shoot down enemy bombers as they were preparing to land. Intercepting box launcher fighters that are empty and returning to base, all you would need would be to have a couple faster beam equipped fighters, or a missile equipped fighter with a decent magazine that could stay in range long enough to fire its missiles. Even 1 missile volleys would be sufficient if the box launcher fighters are empty, and have no point defense.
I would guess that the AI uses the fighter ball strategy, but aesthetically, there is something to be said for wider formations, at least where there is some tactical benefit to it.