Defense Primer: The United States Air Force

Abstract

When it was established as a separate service in 1947, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) was to be "organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations ... necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned." That statutory language remains almost identical today. Similarly, although the words used to describe its core missions have changed, space and cyberspace joined air as operational domains, and the means used to carry them out have evolved with technology, the USAF's missions themselves have remained remarkably constant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 15, 2020
Accession Number
AD1170108

Entities

People

  • Jeremiah Gertler

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air National Guard
  • Air Power
  • Aircrafts
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Command And Control
  • Congress
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military Organizations
  • Space Force
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Space