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A USAF F-22 Raptor, a stealth fifth generation air superiority fighter

Air supremacy is the complete dominance of the air power of one side's air forces over the other side's, during a military campaign. It is the most favorable state of control of the air. It is defined by NATO and the United States Department of Defense as "that degree of air superiority wherein the opposing air force is incapable of effective interference."^[1]

There are normally thought to be three levels of control of the air. Air supremacy is the highest, meaning there is complete control of the skies. Air superiority is the next highest, which is being in a more favorable position than the opponent. 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." Air parity is the lowest level of control, meaning control of the skies only above friendly troop positions.

For those air forces which are unable to contest for air superiority or even air parity a course of action would be Air denial, that is maintaining a level of operations that although it concedes air superiority to the other side prevents it from achieving air supremacy and having a totally free use of the air space.

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. Air supremacy 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.

History[link]

World War I[link]

During the First World War air superiority on the Western Front changed hands between the Germans and the Allies several times. Periods of German air superiority include the so-called Fokker Scourge of late 1915-early 1916 and Bloody April (April 1917).

In the 1930s, Italian aerial warfare theorist Giulio Douhet wrote in The Command of the Air that future wars would be decided in the skies. At the beginning of World War II Douhet's ideas were dismissed by some, but as the war continued, it became apparent that his theories on the importance of aircraft were supported by events.

World War II[link]

A Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire at the Battle of Britain.

At the beginning of World War II, the main combatants took different views on the importance of air power. Adolf Hitler saw it as only a helpful tool to support the Heer, the German army. The Allied powers, however, saw it as being a more important part of warfare, specifically long-range strategic bombing which they thought could cripple Germany's industrial centers.

After the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe achieved air supremacy over Western Europe. The Battle of Britain represented a concerted attempt by Germany to establish air superiority over Britain, which it never achieved. Through home-territory advantage and Germany's failure to push home its strategy targeting Britain's air defences, Britain was able to establish air superiority over that territory - superiority that it never lost. It also denied the German military air superiority over the English Channel, making a seaborne invasion (planned as Operation Sea Lion) impossible in the face of Britain's naval power. Strategically, the overall situation at home and abroad at the end of the battle might be considered air parity between Britain and Germany. After this air battle, known as the Battle of Britain, the Germans switched to a strategy of night bombing raids which Britain echoed with raids over Germany.

During Operation Barbarossa the Luftwaffe again achieved air supremacy for some time over the Soviet Union. As the war dragged on, the USA joined the fight and the combined Allied air forces gained air superiority in the West, eventually gaining air supremacy. Russia did the same on the Eastern front, such that the Luftwaffe could not effectively interfere with Allied land operations. Achieving total air superiority later allowed the Allies to carry out ever-greater strategic bombing raids on Germany's industrial and civilian centers, most notably the Ruhr and Dresden, and to prosecute the land war successfully on both the Eastern and Western fronts.

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. For example, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out by aircraft operating from Japanese aircraft carriers thousands of miles away from the nearest Japanese air base.

Some fighter aircraft specialized in combating other fighters, while interceptors were originally designed to counter bombers. The most important air superiority fighters of Germany were the Bf-109 and FW-190, while the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane were the primary ones on the British side. Performance and range made the P-51 Mustang the outstanding escort fighter which permitted American bombers to operate over Germany during daylight hours, shooting down 5,954 aircraft, more than any other American fighter. 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 both performance and durability. The Hellcat shot down the second highest number of enemy aircraft, 5,168 while the land-based Lockheed P-38 was third, shooting down 3,785 in all theaters.^[2]

Korean and Vietnam Wars[link]

A US Marine Corp F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft

In the Korean War, the swept-wing jet-powered MiG-15 soon outclassed initial superiority of United Nations forces. The United States introduced its own swept-wing F-86 Sabre which claimed kill ratios as high as 10 to 1 against the MiGs.

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. 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 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 "Teen Series" F-14, F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. All made close-combat maneuverability a top priority, and were equipped with guns which had been absent from early Phantoms.^[3] 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 missiles of longer range than the lightweight fighters.

1980s to present[link]

An F-35 Lightning II, a stealth fifth generation fighter aircraft.

In the 1980s, the United States opted for a newer fighter capable of gaining air superiority 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 YF-23 and the YF-22 were chosen as the finalists for the competition. The F-22 was the subsequent result of the program and has been dubbed the "fifth generation" of fighter aircraft.

In the Falklands War (2nd April-20th June 1982) ^[4][5], the British Harrier jet was employed as an air superiority fighter against Mach 2-capable Dassault Mirage jets. ^[6]

In the (first) Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), the Iraqi Air Force was almost completely obliterated in the opening stages, losing most of its aircraft and command and control capability, to precise Coalition strikes as well as to Iraqi troop desertion to Iran. Meanwhile, the Iraqis shot down relatively small numbers of opposing American aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

Methods[link]

A team of Pakistan Air Force airmen during training.

Although the destruction of enemy aircraft in air to air combat is the most glamorous aspect of air superiority this has not been, and is not, the only method of obtaining air superiority. Historically by far the most effective method of gaining air superiority is by the destruction of enemy aircraft on the ground and the destruction of the means and infrastructure by which an enemy may mount air operations, e.g. through the destruction of fuel supplies, the destruction of runways and the sowing of air-fields with area denial weapons. A historical example of this is Operation Focus in which the outnumbered Israeli Air Force dealt a crippling blow to the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian Air Forces.

This disruption can be carried out through both ground and air attack. During the Cold War for example, the Soviet Union claimed that it could achieve air superiority despite the inferiority of its fighters by over running NATO air-fields and parking their tanks on the runways. The Soviet Union also planned to use its Spetsnaz special forces in attacks against NATO airfields in the event of conflict.

Attack by special forces is seen by some commanders as one way to level the playing field when faced by superior numbers or technology; attacking German aircraft and airfields was the main role for which the British Special Air Service were formed. Given the disparity in effectiveness between their own fighters and the South Korean and US fighters they would face, North Korea maintains a large force of infiltration troops, who in the event of a war with the south would be tasked, amongst other missions, with attacking coalition air fields with mortar, machine gun and sniper fire.

To protect against conventional and unconventional ground attack, most air forces will train airmen in infantry skills. In some air forces these may be airmen who receive infantry training in addition to other tasks or in others airmen who belong to units such as the RAF Regiment and United States Air Force Security Forces whose main task is the protection air fields and of aircraft on the ground.

See also[link]

• Air superiority fighter
• SEAD, "Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses"
• Offensive counter air
• Command of the sea
• No-fly zone
• Battleplan (documentary TV series)
• Operation Focus

References[link]

External links[link]

• Defense Technical Information Center [1]
• Australian Department of Defence [2]
• Encyclopædia Britannica [3]
• Canadian Forces aerospace doctrine
• Col. John A. Warden III. The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat. June 2000.
• Glossary of Nato Definitions
• The Luftwaffe and the battle for air superiority: Blueprint or warning
• RAND Study of U.S. Fighter Design
• Air Power In Peripheral Conflict: The cases of Korea and Vietnam