Air superiority is the dominance in the air power of one side's air forces over the other side's during a military campaign. Air power redirects here for electrical and mechanical energy supplied by air movement see Wind power In the Military sciences a military campaign is a term applied to large scale, long duration significant Military strategy plan incorporating It is defined in the NATO Glossary as "That degree of dominance in the air battle of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, and air forces at a given time and place without prohibitive interference by opposing air forces. The North Atlantic Treaty " One should note that in military speak, air superiority is different from air supremacy. Air supremacy is the most favorable state of control of the air

Air superiority allows greatly increased bombing efforts as well as tactical air support for ground forces. In addition, paratroop assaults and airdrops can move ground forces and supplies. Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. An airdrop is a type of Airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been Airborne

With mid-air refueling it is possible to keep a number of attack aircraft airborne and on call for ground support. Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling ( IFR) air-to-air refueling ( AAR) or tanking, is Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces In Military tactics, close air support ( CAS) is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to The aircraft can then assist ground forces often within a matter of minutes of being requested.

Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 External links 4 References 5 References

History

In the early 1900s, Italian air-theorist Giulio Douhet wrote in The Command of the Air that future wars would be decided in the skies. General Giulio Douhet ( 30 May 1869 - 15 February 1930) was an Italian Air power theorist By late 1915 the German Luftstreitkräfte had air superiority, making Allied access to vital intelligence derived from continual aerial reconnaissance much more dangerous to acquire. At the beginning of World War II Giulio's ideas were dismissed by some, but as the war continued, it became apparent that his theories on the importance of aircraft were supported once the Allies attained air superiority. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Air power has since become an increasingly powerful element of military campaigns; military planners view having at least an environment of air superiority as a necessity. In the Military sciences a military campaign is a term applied to large scale, long duration significant Military strategy plan incorporating Military strategy is a National defence policy implemented by Military organisations to pursue desired strategic goals Derived from the Greek For example, Britain's successful air defence in the Battle of Britain during World War II denied the German military air superiority in the English Channel, making a seaborne invasion (planned as Operation Sealion) unlikely to succeed. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Operation Sealion (Unternehmen Seelöwe was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during World War II, beginning in 1940 Achieving total air superiority later allowed the Allies to carry out strategic bombing raids on Germany's industrial and civilian centers, most notably the Ruhr and Dresden. Strategic bombing is a Military strategy used in a Total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability to wage war rather The Ruhr is a medium-size River in western Germany ( North Rhine-Westphalia) a right tributary (east-side of the Rhine. The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF between 13 February and 15 February 1945 12 weeks

The element of air superiority has also been the driving force behind the development of aircraft carriers, which allow aircraft to operate in the absences of designated airbases. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with For example, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out by aircraft operating from Japanese aircraft carriers miles away from the nearest Japanese air base. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by

In the Second World War, some fighters became specialized in roles tasked with destroying other fighters, while interceptors were originally designed to counter bombers. The most important air superiority fighters of Germany were the Me-109 and FW-190, while the Supermarine Spitfire was Britain's primary defensive fighter. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Performance and range made the P-51 an outstanding escort fighter which permitted American bombers to operate over Germany during daylight hours. The A6M Zero gave Japan air superiority for much of the early days of the war, but suffered against newer naval fighters such as the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair which exceeded the Zero in performance and durability. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

In the Korean war, the swept-wing jet powered Mig-15 soon outclassed initial superiority of United Nations forces. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The United States introduced its own swept-wing F-86 Sabre which claimed kill ratios as high as 10 to 1 against the Migs. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

In the 1950s, the United States Navy tasked the F-8 Crusader as their close in air superiority fighter, though this role would be taken over by the F-4 Phantom, designed as an interceptor. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The USAF had developed the F-100 and F-104 as air superiority fighters, but these did not have the range or performance to counter the MiG threat encountered over Vietnam. In the Falklands conflict, the British Harrier was employed as an air superiority fighter against Mach 2 Mirage jets.

In the 1960s, the limited agility of American fighters in dogfights over Vietnam led to a revival of the concept of the dedicated Air superiority fighter which led the development of the teens series F-14, F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. An air superiority fighter is a type of Fighter aircraft intended to enter and seize control of enemy airspace WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout All made close-combat maneuverablility a top priority, and were equipped with guns which had been deleted from early Phantoms. ^[1]. The heavy F-14 and F-15 were assigned the primary air superiority mission because of their longer range radars and capability to carry more and longer range missiles than the lightweight fighters.

In the 1980s, the United States opted for a newer fighter capable of clearing the skies without being detected by the opposing force. The ATF was held in order for the United States Air Force to receive new aircraft to replace their aging F-15 fleet. The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF contract was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation The YF-23 and the YF-22 were chosen as the finalists for the competition. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The F-22 was the subsequent result of the program and has been dubbed the "fifth-generation" of fighter aircraft. Various nations across the world are now also building "fifth-generation" aircraft in order to compete against the American F-22 Raptor. The most notable is the Russian Sukhoi PAK-FA

See also

• Air superiority fighter
• Air supremacy
• SEAD
• command of the sea

External links

• Glossary of Nato Definitions
• RAND Study of U.S. Fighter Design

References

References

• Col. John A. Warden III. The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat. June 2000.

WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout An air superiority fighter is a type of Fighter aircraft intended to enter and seize control of enemy airspace Air supremacy is the most favorable state of control of the air SEAD (pronounced see-add or seed or Suppression of Enemy Air Defences, also known as " Wild Weasels quot and "Iron Hand" operations in the USA are A naval force has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals cannot attack it directly

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