Air Superiority: Blunting Nearsighted Criticism
Abstract
'Everything is possible if you have air superiority-little is possible if you lose it.' General Charles Horner, architect of the decisive DESERT STORM Air Campaign, clearly articulates a need to control the medium of air. While the logic of General Horner's statement is obvious to the airpower practitioner, it may not be apparent to those who remain unconvinced about this fundamental tenet. This paper serves as a vehicle to provide an understanding of air superiority and compelling arguments for its value. To document that value, air superiority is examined from a historical perspective. While the history of air power is short relative to other forms of warfare, it does provide a laboratory to examine theory. The paper focuses on the operational level of war and does not deal in tactical employment, nor does it address how to destroy enemy fighters in aerial combat. It does attempt to answer the fundamental issue of why control of the air must remain a high-priority role of critical necessity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264535
Entities
People
- John D. Corley
Organizations
- United States Army War College