Air superiority: Encyclopedia - Air superiority

Air superiority

Air superiority is the dominance in the air power of one side of a aerial conflict over the air force of the opposing force, which is unable to give an effective resistance. Dominance of the skies allows paratrooping and airdrops into enemy territory and execution of bombing campaigns from the sky without interference from enemy fighter aircraft. Air supremacy is the paradigm of air superiority, achieving complete dominance over the enemy with virtually nil resistance from the opposing force.

It is defined in the NATO Glossary as "That degree of dominance in the air battle of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, and air forces at a given time and place without prohibitive interference by the opposing force."

As air power has become an increasingly powerful element of military campaigns, military planners view having at least an environment of air superiority as a necessity. For example, Britain's successful air defence in the Battle of Britain during World War II denied the German military air superiority in the English Channel, making a seaborne invasion (planned as Operation Sealion) impossible. Air superiority however requires a significant investment in military resources to achieve, and overinvestment might lead to a shortfall of other crucial aspects of military deployment. A balance therefore should be achieved.

See also

• Air superiority fighter
• SEAD
• Space superiority
• Space supremacy
• sea control
• command of the sea

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Air superiority", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki