Aerial warfare
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Aerial warfare is the use of
Historically, military aircraft have included lighter-than-air
History
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The history of aerial warfare began in ancient times, with the use of man-carrying
) served in military use in the early years of the 20th century.Heavier-than-air airplanes first went to war in the
During
Drone warfare using relatively cheap unmanned equipment proliferated in the 21st century, particularly after the start of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.
Aerial reconnaissance
Air combat manoeuvring
Airborne forces
Conversely, airborne forces typically lack the supplies and equipment for prolonged combat operations, and are therefore more suited for
Airstrike
An
In close air support, air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers for coordination with friendly ground troops in a manner derived from artillery tactics.
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying their morale or their economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematically organized and executed attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy's war-making capability.
Anti-aircraft warfare
Anti-aircraft warfare or counter-air defence is defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action."[4] They include ground and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries the main effort has tended to be 'homeland defence'. NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight.
Missiles
In modern usage, a missile is a self-propelled
In ordinary British-English usage predating guided weapons, a missile is "any thrown object", such as objects thrown at players by rowdy spectators at a sporting event.[5]
UAVs
The advent of the unmanned aerial vehicle has dramatically revolutionised aerial warfare[6] with multiple nations developing and/or purchasing UAV fleets. Several benchmarks have already occurred, including a UAV-fighter jet dogfight, probes of adversary air defense with UAVs, replacement of an operational flight wing's aircraft with UAVs, control of UAVs qualifying the operator for 'combat' status, UAV-control from the other side of the world, jamming and/or data-hijacking of UAVs in flight, as well as proposals to transfer fire authority to AI aboard a UAV.[7] UAVs have quickly evolved from surveillance to combat roles.
The growing capability of UAVs has thrown into question the survivability and capability of manned fighter jets.[8]
See also
- Aerial bombing of cities
- Air force
- Airlift
- Airstrike
- Dogfight
- Loss of Strength Gradient
- Timeline of military aviation
Notes
- ^ See John Andreas Olsen, ed., A History of Air Warfare (2010) for global coverage since 1900.
- ^
For example:
ISBN 9780817356576. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
In 1917, goaded by the British example of air-ground operations over the Somme. Germany increasingly emphasized development of ground-attack aviation [...].
- ^ air strike- DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ AAP-6
- ^ Guardian newspaper: "Emmanuel Eboué pelted with missiles while playing for Galatasaray" Archived 2017-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Example of ordinary English usage. In this case the missiles were bottles and cigarette lighters
- ^ "How robot drones revolutionized the face of warfare". CNN. 27 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012.
- ^ "072309kp1.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
- ^ "Drone Planes: Are Fighter Pilots Obsolete?". ABC News. 24 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018.
References
Bibliography
- ISBN 1-58980-034-6.
- Buckley, John (1999). Air Power in the Age of Total War. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33557-4.
- Budiansky, Stephen. Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Iraq (2005) global coverage by journalist
- Collier, Basil (1974). A History of Air Power. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
- Cooksley, Peter G.; Bruce Robertson (1997). The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Conflict: Air Warfare. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-223-5.
- Corum, James S.; Johnson, Wray R. (2003). Airpower in Small Wars – Fighting Insurgents and Terrorists. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1240-8.
- Glines, Carroll V. (1963). Compact History of the United States Air Force. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc. )
- Gross, Charles J. (2002). American Military Aviation: The Indispensable Arm. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-215-1.
- Higham, Robin (2004). 100 Years of Air Power & Aviation. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-241-0.
- Lockee, Garette E. (April 1969), PIRAZ, United States Naval Institute Proceedings
- Olsen, John Andreas, ed. A History of Air Warfare (2010) 506 pp; 16 essays by experts provide global coverage
- Overy, Richard. Why the Allies Won (1997), ch 3, on bombing in World War II.
- Overy, Richard. The Air War – 1939–1945 (1980), global coverage of combat, strategy, technology and production
- Web
- "War in the Air" from Oral Histories of the First World War: Veterans 1914–1918 Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine at Library and Archives Canada
- "Warplane: Military Aviation: Key Innovations". Thirteen/WNET New York. 2006. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
External links
- Middle Eastern Air Power 2009
- Aerial Warfare Quotations
- Jones, Johnny R.: Air power, Air & Space Power Journal
- Historic films showing aerial warfare during World War I at europeanfilmgateway.eu
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