Air Strategy Targeting for Effect
Abstract
Airmen have always believed that the airplane is an inherently strategic weapon. Airpower, operating in the third dimension, can bypass the tactical surface battle and operate directly against the centers of gravity (COG) of an enemy nation: the industrial, political, economic, and population loci that allow a country to function. However, airpower theorists have differed significantly over which specific targets should be struck or neutralized so as to achieve the greatest results. We must understand the various air -targeting strategies because they collectively define the boundaries of strategic-airpower thought, and they clarify the connection between the air weapon and its role in war. Moreover, understanding these concepts leads to a more balanced and flexible grasp of air strategy and the factors that go into its determination. Psychologists tell us that the most traumatic event in one's life is birth. If so, the birth of airpower was doubly traumatic because it occurred in concert with World War I. That war smashed empires, spawned dictatorships, caused the deaths of at least 10 million people, and had a profound effect on the conduct of war. The loss of a generation of European men, as well as over one hundred thousand Americans, convinced military leaders that tactics and strategy had to be altered. Radical solutions, therefore, received greater consideration than would ordinarily have been the case. Airpower was one of those radical solutions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA515118
Entities
People
- Phillip S. Meilinger
Organizations
- Air University