air-powerR TO COUNTER NON-TRADITIONAL THREATS

• There are numerous definitions of air-powerr.UK Joint Doctrine Publication (JDP)0-

30defines air-powerr as "using air and space capabilities to influence the behaviourof
actors and the course of events."
• Mitchellclaimedthat strategic employment of air-powerr “would yield a victory that was
quicker and cheaper than one obtained by surface forces.”20However,
thesetheoriescould not yielddesired resultsdue to the unavailabilityof requisite
weaponryand futiletactics. For instance, the UK, Germany and Japan received massive
bombing campaigns during World WarII;however,these campaigns alone could not
break the enemy’s willdue to weapon inaccuracies and lack of target information.
• According toShultz,all suchdevelopments enablingair-powerr to act as acrucial
military tool to achieve strategic advantages were observablein various air
campaigns since World WarII
• In his famous Five-Ring Model theory, John A. Warden III arguedthat if
crucialelements of the adversary, i.e., leadership, system essentials, infrastructure,
populationand field forces,are neutralized by air-powerr, thestate would collapse. In
contrast,Colin Gray argues that air-powerr strategy is critically reliant on the conditionsof
a conflict.Robert Pape advocated that instead of focusing on targets, air strategists
mustconsider coercive mechanismsleading to the fulfilmentof political objectives;
hence, the decision of what to attack must come after knowing why to attack
it.22Shaun Clarke deliberated on the offensive air-powerr strategy that a small-to-
medium-sized force can adopt and put forth the strategy of SPOT bombing, which
emphasizes persuasion and highimpact rather than an old-style concept of
overwhelming force aiming to paralyze the adversary.
• John Keegan, in an editorial in Daily Telegraph,wrote that "now there is a
new turning point to fix on the calendar: June 3, 1999, when the
capitulation of President Milosevic proved that war can be won by air power

• EXAMPLES:
alone."

• Takingthelead from the above-cited academic work andharnessing

technological advancement, air-powerr campaigns were widely observed
to act antagonistically during Korean War, Vietnam War, and Arab-Israel
Wars. According toRonald D.Jones, air-powerr was crucial during Israel's pre-
emptiveair strikes on Egypt during the Six-Day War (1967),which destroyed
Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian military forces and an overwhelming victory
forIsrael.24air-powerr was also observed significantly in a geostrategic role in
1981 when Israel destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.25Lamberth
noted that air-powerr played a crucial role during Operation Desert
Storm in 1991,where Iraqi objectives were engaged at will with pinpoint
accuracy, mainly due to the convergence of high technology and determining
strategy.
• air-powerr's role against non-traditional threats could be observed as early
as 1913 once French air-powerr was applied to crush the uprising in
Morocco.28In 1916, the US captured Mexico’s radical leader Pancho Villa by
 utilizing its1stAero Squadron. Duringthe interwarperiod, the British used air-
powerr to control rebellious tribesmenin Transjordan and Iraq.29In numerous
other irregular conflicts, such asin the former USSR, the KSA, the US, and
El Salvador, air-powerr was employed to counter insurgencies.
• During Gulf War(1991),it was less than 10 percent by the time of Operation
Allied Force;this percentage increased to 35 percent and rose to 68
percent during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
• STRATEGIES:
Improved technology of engines, UAVs and aerial refuellingcapability
havemade it possible for air-powerr to enhance its persistence.