Aerial warfare is the use ofmilitary aircraft and other flying machines inwarfare. Aerial warfare includesbombers attackingenemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops orstrategic targets;fighter aircraft battling forcontrol of airspace;attack aircraft engaging inclose air support against ground targets;naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets;gliders,helicopters and other aircraft to carryairborne forces such asparatroopers;aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; andmilitary transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.[1]
Historically, military aircraft have included lighter-than-airballoons carryingartillery observers; lighter-than-airairships for bombing cities; various sorts ofreconnaissance,surveillance, andearly warning aircraft carrying observers, cameras, and radar equipment;torpedo bombers to attack enemy vessels; and militaryair-sea rescue aircraft for saving downedairmen. Modern aerial warfare includesmissiles andunmanned aerial vehicles. Surface forces are likely to respond to enemy air activity withanti-aircraft warfare.
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The history of aerial warfare began in ancient times, with the use of man-carryingkites inAncient China. In the third century it progressed toballoon warfare.Airships (notablyzeppelins) served in military use in the early years of the 20th century.
Heavier-than-air airplanes first went to war in theItalo-Turkish War in 1911, initially foraerial reconnaissance, and then for aerial combat to shoot down enemy reconnaissance planes. Aircraft continued to carry out these roles duringWorld War I (1914-1918), where theuse of planes and zeppelins for strategic bombing also emerged. The rise offighter aircraft and of air-to-air combat led to a realisation of the desirability of achievingair superiority. Closer integration of attacking aircraft with ground operations ("battlefield support") alsodeveloped during World War I.[2]
DuringWorld War II (1939-1945), theuse of strategic bombing increased, whileairborne forces, missiles, and earlyprecision-guided munitions were introduced.Aircraft carriers gained particular importance in the trans-oceanic projection ofair power.
Ballistic missiles became of key importance during theCold War,were armed withnuclear warheads, and were stockpiled by the United States and the Soviet Union todeter each other from using them.
Drone warfare using relatively cheap unmanned equipment proliferated in the 21st century, particularly after the start of theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.
Aerial reconnaissance isreconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted usingreconnaissance aircraft. This role can fulfil a variety of requirements, including the collection ofimagery intelligence, observation of enemy maneuvers andartillery spotting.
Air combat manoeuvring (also known as ACM ordogfighting) is the tactical art of moving, turning and situating afighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. It relies on offensive and defensivebasic fighter manoeuvring (BFM) to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent.
Airborne forces aremilitary units, usuallylight infantry, set up to bemoved by aircraft and "dropped" into battle, typically byparachute. Thus, they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have the capability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning. The formations are limited only by the number and size of their aircraft, so given enough capacity a huge force can appear "out of nowhere" in minutes, an action referred to asvertical envelopment.
Conversely, airborne forces typically lack the supplies and equipment for prolonged combat operations, and are therefore more suited forairhead operations than for long-term occupation; furthermore, parachute operations are particularly sensitive to adverse weather conditions. Advances inhelicopter technology sinceWorld War II have brought increased flexibility to the scope of airborne operations, andair assaults have largely replaced large-scaleparachute operations, and (almost) completely replaced combat glider operations.
Anairstrike orair strike[3] is an offensive operation carried out byattack aircraft. Air strikes are mostly delivered from aircraft such asfighters,bombers,ground attack aircraft, andattack helicopters. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular use the term is usually narrowed to atactical (small-scale) attack on a ground ornaval objective. Weapons used in an airstrike can range frommachine gunbullets andmissiles to various types ofbombs. It is also commonly referred to as anair raid.
Inclose air support, air strikes are usually controlled bytrained observers for coordination with friendly ground troops in a manner derived fromartillery tactics.
Strategic bombing is amilitary strategy used in atotal war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying their morale or their economic ability to produce and transportmateriel to thetheatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematically organized and executed attack from the air which can utilizestrategic bombers, long- or medium-rangemissiles, or nuclear-armedfighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy's war-making capability.
Anti-aircraft warfare orcounter-air defence is defined byNATO 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, andair forces in any location. However, for most countries the main effort has tended to be 'homeland defence'. NATO refers to airborne air defence ascounter-air and naval air defence asanti-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.
In modern usage, a missile is a self-propelledprecision-guided munition system, as opposed to an unguided self-propelled munition, referred to as arocket (although these too can also beguided). Missiles have four system components: targeting and/ormissile guidance, flight system, engine, and warhead. Missiles come in types adapted for different purposes:surface-to-surface andair-to-surface missiles (ballistic,cruise,anti-ship,anti-tank, etc.),surface-to-air missiles (andanti-ballistic),air-to-air missiles, andanti-satellite weapons. All known existing missiles are designed to be propelled during powered flight by chemical reactions inside arocket engine,jet engine, or other type of engine.[citation needed] Non-self-propelled airborneexplosive devices are generally referred to asshells and usually have a shorter range than missiles.
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]
The advent of theunmanned 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 jetdogfight, 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]
In 1917, goaded by the British example of air-ground operations over the Somme. Germany increasingly emphasized development of ground-attack aviation [...].
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