It might be an idea that when the shield is shown to be still up and the Rebels are being hammered by the Imperial fleet and the Death Star weapon a small group of fighters try to bombard the shield dish from space with no effect because of the reach of the shield.
That would underline how important it is for the ground attack to work and tie the two battles together.
Requirements:
2-3 actors
1 B-wing model (repainted several times)
1 Full size B-wing cockpit
1 Flight jumpsuit
2-3 different helmets
Squibs and other pyrotechnics
1 drone + permit (for aerial photography of redwood forest)
1 shield generator model
Extensive digital vfx work
Seems reasonable.