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Perhaps I am missing something here, but is there a way to configure a strike mission such that assigned aircraft will distribute themselves among multiple targets using the WRA? Or is the only way to get aircraft to strike multiple targets by creating multiple strike missions? I've only ever had success with the latter course of action.

This is something that I myself have found frustrating with the strike planner and is the main reason I never use it. Setting WRA for the weapons and appropriate target types is the best way if you're going to use the planner but that really only works well when employing standoff-ish guided weapons like JDAMs/LGBs or cruise missiles because the strike aircraft will only switch to the next target in the target list once the first target is destroyed or its WRA are met by having weapons in the air. When using unguided weapons like rockets or bombs, the weapons spend very little time in the air and are employed at very short ranges so you have an extremely narrow window for aircraft to switch to the next target in the list. Once the weapons land all subsequent aircraft will reattack the first target again until it's destroyed, which isn't always the goal. The way it ends up working for me is that all strikes that the planner could handle are simple enough and generally easier to do manually, and all strikes which are complex enough to facilitate planning, such as an airfield attack with older platforms, are too much for the strike planner to adequately handle.

Having the ability to remove targets from the target list once their preset WRA are met or the ability to pre-assign specific targets to specific aircraft would be the only thing that'd make me actually use it.

Wondering if you've done the Strike Tutorials? I discuss this a bit in those.

I believe that the best way of using the Mission planner in its current form is to break it up into multiple missions, selecting appropriate munitions and numbers for the targets and then using the WRA to adjust the number of bombs on target etc.

This method is not unrealistic and the planning aspect of it is generally enjoyable so I believe its a good part of the game.

Thanks Gunner! That advice is what I've come across before and tracks with my experience thus far. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something, since I normally only use strike missions extremely sparingly.

To achieve what you're asking about, you want to make sure the units can attack off axis in the strike planner, and change the WRA as well.
Still, it's not ideal and doesn't always work as expected.