Airpower in Counterinsurgency: The Search for Missing Doctrine

Abstract

The United States' overwhelming dominance in conventional airpower has often overshadowed its significance in the lower intensity type of conflict resembling insurgency and counterinsurgency (COIN). Today, airpower has not only evolved into a major player in conventional warfare but will likely serve a dominant role in COIN operations well into the 21st century. While insurgency and COIN are established terms in joint doctrine, research has revealed critical shortfalls in current U.S. military doctrine regarding COIN operations and the use of airpower. In addition to highlighting these shortfalls, this paper analyzes historical and current COIN operations to provide valuable lessons learned for the employment of airpower during COIN operations. Finally, the paper integrates these doctrine inadequacies and lessons learned into joint doctrine development considerations to enable the joint force commander (JFC) to effectively synchronize airpower across the full range of military operations during counterinsurgencies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 10, 2007
Accession Number
ADA470743

Entities

People

  • Thomas D. Barber

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Aircrafts
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • International Organizations
  • Iraqi-War
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.