Asymmetric Air Warfare: A Paradigm Shift for US Air Superiority
Abstract
The United States has developed a very successful air superiority paradigm over the last century to counter nearly any adversary's manned aircraft and long-range ballistic missiles. It is even developing and using thousands of unmanned air vehicles (UAV) to reduce the risk to, and limitations of, combat aircrew. However, a Kuhnian anomaly has appeared that challenges the U.S. air superiority paradigm: adversary UAVs. The ever-increasing pace of technological advancement is giving adversaries access to smaller, cheaper, and more capable UAVs. These UAVs, particularly the man-portable ones (mUAVs), are highly mobile, difficult to detect, and even harder to kill. Furthermore, an adversary can use off-the-shelf technology in creative ways to attack U.S. troops or even U.S. aircraft. This disparity between U.S. air superiority methods and new adversary air weapons creates a capability gap the United States must address. Closing this capability gap requires more than just new missiles or aircraft; it requires a paradigm shift in the way the United States views air superiority. The previous symmetry that air superiority purveyors enjoyed no longer defines the entire air warfare environment. An asymmetry in air combat is emerging due to the introduction of the adversary UAV anomaly.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 20, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA583530
Entities
People
- John P. Mintz
Organizations
- Naval War College