Book Description

The historical roots of air superiority date to the First World War, which marked the emergence of the fighter airplane, offensive and defensivefighter doctrine, and the trained fighter pilot. By the end of the war, the Imperial German Air Service had been decisively outfought, and thoughoccasional bitter air combat still occurred, the Allied air arms were free to harass and attack German ground forces wherever and whenever they chose. After the war, there were defense commentators who injudiciously predicted-not for the last time-that the era of dogfighting was over;higher aircraft speeds would make maneuvering air combat a thing of the past. Instead, the lesson of the importance of air superiority was rediscovered in the skies over Spain, and confirmed again throughout the Second World War. Having tenaciously wrested air superiority from the Luftwaffe, the Allies in 1941 went on to achieve genuine air supremacy, a situationacknowledged by General Dwight Eisenhower, who, riding through Normandy after D-Day, remarked to his son: “If I didn't have air supremacy, I wouldn't be here.” Sadly, many of these lessons were lost in the post-Second World War era, when technology advances-supersonic design theory, nuclear weapons, and “robot” aircraft-seemed to signal an end to the traditional air-to-air fighter-even though the experience of the Korean War demonstrated that transonic jet combat was not merely possible, but the new normative form of air warfare. Indeed, the fighter airplane underwent a dramatic transformation into a nuclear-armed strike aircraft, now that popular wisdom held that surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles foreshadowed the end of the era of “classic” air combat. That prediction collapsed in the face of the Vietnam war and the experiences of the Middle East. The 1970s witnessed both a revolution in fighter aircraft design (spawned by the technology advances of the 1960s and 1970s) and a return to basics in both design fundamentalsand the training of fighter pilots. Operations in the Falklands war, over the Bekaa Valley, and most recently, during DESERT STORM confirmed not only the benefits of this revolution and rediscovery, but also the enduring importance of air superiority.During DESERT STORM (which occurred while this book was in press) the airmen of the United States Air Force established air superiority overIraq and occupied Kuwait from the outset of the war, defeating the Iraqi air force both in the air and on the ground. By so doing, they created the conditions essential for decisive air war. Strike and support aircraft and helicopters could go about their duties without fear of molestation from enemy aircraft. Iraq's forces, pinned in place, were denied any respite from punishing air attack. Because of coalition air supremacy, coalition land operations could be undertaken with an assurance, speed, and rapidity of pace never before seen in warfare. Bluntly stated, the Gulf war demonstrated that with air superiority, General Norman Schwarzkopf could undertakehis famed “Hail Mary” play. Lacking air superiority, Iraq paid dearly. Its III Corps became vulnerable to air attack-stuck in a traffic jam out of Kuwait City on the “Highway of Death.” Air superiority, like democracy itself, must be constantly secured and renewed. In recognition of this, the United States Air Force is developing the F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter to ensure that America retains its technological edge well into the 21st century. The case studies in this volume, encompassing several major air-to-air battles, eloquently demonstrate why the quest for air superiority remains critically important for today's Air Force.