A Unified Field Theory of Coercive Airpower
Abstract
Airpower is neither inherently strategic nor tactical in nature, but it is inherently flexible. This is the key to coercing our enemies through airpower, and failure to recognize this fundamental truth has led many airpower theorists astray. Airpower is but one of the tools available to the military commander, and that tool may be applied in different ways at several different levels of war. To proclaim that a single approach against a certain target set will always succeed, ignores the fact that circumstances surrounding different conflicts can be vastly dissimilar. This article shows the linkages between the various accepted types of coercive strategy and the ways they are more described as points along a single continuum of military options rather than as separate, isolated strategies. The decision as to which portion of that continuum to employ-and at what level of war-can be made only after examining the context within which a particular conflict exists.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA541823
Entities
People
- Scott Walker
Organizations
- Air University