Air and Space Functions
< < L18 > >
If you are an AIRMAN then you believe
that airpower, if used in certain ways,
will achieve victory more quickly
than if used in other ways.
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Overview
 Levels of Air & Space Doctrine
 Functions of Air & Space Power
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Strategic Attack
Counterair
Counterspace
Counterland
Countersea
Information Operations
Combat Support
Command and Control
 Functions of Air & Space Power
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Airlift
Air Refueling
Spacelift
Special Operations
Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Intelligence
Combat Search and Rescue
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Levels of Air & Space Doctrine
 Levels of Air & Space Doctrine
 Basic
 Operational
 Tactical
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3 Levels of Doctrine
 Basic Doctrine (AFDD 1)
 Most fundamental and enduring beliefs that guide proper use of air &
space forces
 NOT a checklist or scientific formula
 Operational Doctrine (AFDD 2)
 More detailed organization of air & space forces
 Tactical Doctrine
 Most detailed
 Codified in AFTTP 3-series (Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures)
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Strategic Attack
“…strategic attack…generating effects that most directly achieve our
national security objectives by affecting the adversary’s leadership,
conflict sustaining resources and strategy.”
 Points where:
 the enemy is most vulnerable
 an attack will have the best chance of being decisive
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Strategic Attack
 Possible strategic attack targets
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National leadership
Command & Control (C2)
War production facilities
Infrastructure
 Striking enemy in the core
 Bring enemy to their knees
 Stop enemy’s will to fight
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Counterair
“... attain and maintain...air superiority by
the destruction, degradation or disruption of
enemy forces”
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Counterair
 Offensive Counterair (OCA)
 Take the fight to the enemy
 Engage over or near their territory
 Defensive Counterair (DCA)
 Enemy brings the fight to you
 Engage over or near our territory
* * DCA has not been very effective, historically…
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Impact of Counterair
 Traditional ground war:
defense >>> offense
 Air war: offense > defense
Ability to mass quickly and decisively
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Speed prevents effective enemy defensive response
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Range (Air can strike at enemy’s core)
= SURPRISE
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Potential Counterair Targets
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Aircraft
Aircrews
Airbases and launch facilities
Warning and control facilities
Surface based air defense
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Counterair Targets
(Airbases or Launch Facilities)
Airbases or Launch Facilities
 If the aircraft can’t be flown, they’re not a threat…
they’re a static display
 Very efficient way to destroy aircraft
 Lower threat on the ground
 1967 Arab/Israeli war…85%
 Hickam Field (7 Dec 41)
 Can also attack logistics
 POL, munitions, runways air traffic control tower, etc
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Counterair Targets
(Aircraft)
AIRCRAFT
 Traditional role most people think about
 Using aircraft to hunt down other aircraft on the ground to destroy them
before they launch
 Air-to-Air Combat (Dog fighting)
 Good opportunity to destroy both crews and airframes
 Can be extremely dangerous for aircrews and air frames
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Counterair Targets
(Aircrews)
AIRCREWS
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You need someone to fly the plane!
Cost & time to train a pilot are very significant
Attack in the air
Attack on the ground
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Counterair Targets
(Airbases or Launch Facilities)
 If the aircraft can’t be flown, they’re not a threat
 Very efficient way to destroy aircraft (on the ground)
 Can attack logistics
 POL, munitions, etc
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Counterair Targets
(Warning And Control Facilities)
 Effectively eliminate the enemy’s ability to think, communicate, or
gather intelligence
 Render enemy deaf, dumb, and blind...
 Information Warfare
 Disrupt enemy information capabilities
 Enemy incapable of mounting coordinated defense effort
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Counterair Targets
(Surface Based Air Defenses)
SURFACE BASED AIR DEFENSES
 Surface to air missiles (SAMs)
 Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA)
 Extremely lethal to aircraft
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Counterspace
“... kinetic and non-kinetic operations
conducted to attain and maintain...
space superiority by the destruction,
degradation or disruption of enemy
space capability”
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Counterspace
 Offensive Counterspace (OCS)
 Deny, degrade, disrupt, destroy or deceive an adversary’s space capability.
 Destroy or neutralize enemy’s space systems or information they provide.
 Defensive Counterspace (DCS)
 Active & passive actions which protect our space-related capabilities from
enemy attack or interference.
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Counterspace
 Offensive Counterspace
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Deception
Disruption
Denial
Degradation
Destruction
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Counterspace
 Defensive Counterspace
 Active & passive actions which protect our space-related capabilities from
enemy attack or interference
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Counterland
“air and space operations against enemy
land force capabilities to create effects
that achieve JFC objectives.”
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Counterland
 Interdiction
 Close Air Support (CAS)
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Counterland
(Interdiction)
“Divert, disrupt, delay or destroy the enemy’s surface military potential
before it can be used effectively against friendly forces.”
 Two types of targets for interdiction attacks:
 Military weapon systems (tanks/artillery/infantry)
 Military supplies (POL)
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Counterland
(Interdiction)
 One of airpower’s most flexible and powerful uses
 Strike at enemy forces w/o having to fight them
 Disrupts enemy’s offensive operations
 Very powerful force enhancer
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Counterland
(CAS)
 Air operations against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly
forces…
 Occurs on or near battlefield
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Countersea
(Collateral Function)
“...extensions of Air Force functions into a maritime environment”
 Objective:
 Gain control of the medium
 Support naval forces
 Can include:
 Surveillance, antiship warfare, protect sealines, aerial mine laying
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Information Operations
 Actions taken to influence, affect, or defend information, systems,
and/or decision-making to create effects across the battlespace
 Focus: countering the enemy’s ability to attain an information
advantage
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Information Operations
 Types of Operations
 Influence
 Electronic warfare
 Network combat
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Information Operations
 Influence operations
 employ capabilities to affect behaviors, protect operations, communicate
commander’s intent, and project accurate information to achieve desired
effects across the cognitive battlespace.
 Electronic warfare operations
 are those military actions involving the use of electromagnetic and
directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the
enemy across the electromagnetic battlespace.
 Network combat operations
 are the integrated planning and employment of military capabilities to
achieve desired effects across the digital battlespace. Network combat
operations are conducted in the information domain, which is composed of
hardware, software, data, and human components.
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Combat Support
“…essential capabilities, functions, activities and tasks
necessary to create and sustain air and space forces.”
 Includes:
 Procurement, maintenance, distribution, and replacement of personnel
and material
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Command & Control (C2)
“…exercise of authority and direction by a
properly designated commander over
assigned and attached forces…”
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Command & Control (C2)
 C2 includes the battlespace management process of planning,
directing, coordinating, and controlling forces & operations
 Accomplished across the entire range of military operations
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Airlift
 The transportation of personnel and material through the air and can
be applied across the entire range of military operations to achieve or
support national objectives.
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Airlift
It’s critical in the support of overall national policy and
objectives and a vital component of the US defense policy
because of the ability to deliver essentially anything needed
for a battle. Our airlift capabilities are second to none!
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Airlift
 Four delivery concepts
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Airland delivery
Airdrop
Hub and Spoke operations
Direct delivery operations
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Air Refueling
 Air refueling is the in-flight transfer of fuel between tanker and
receiver aircraft
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Air Refueling
 Expands commander’s employment options by increasing
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Range
Payload
Loiter time
Flexibility
 By increasing range it is a force enabler
 By increasing payload it is a force multiplier
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Spacelift
 Delivers satellites, payloads, and material to or through space.
 4 Purposes of Spacelift
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Deploy space systems
Sustain existing space systems
Augment existing space systems
Service and maintain existing/new space systems
 Two Approaches
 Launch-on-schedule
 Launch-on-demand
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Special Operations Employment
 The use of special airpower operations to conduct unconventional
warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism,
foreign internal defense, psychological operations, and counter
proliferation
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Special Ops Employment
 Accomplish tasks at all 3 levels of war
 Low-visibility, covert, clandestine ops
 Usually conducted in enemy-controlled or politically sensitive
territories
 Used as means to control escalation
 Conventional force use may be undesirable
 Can operate independently from theater commander forces
 Require careful coordination!
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Surveillance
 The function of systematically observing air, space, surface/subsurface
areas, places, persons, or things by visual, aural electronic,
photographic or other means
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Surveillance
 A continuing process!
 Not oriented toward a specific target
 Air- & space-based surveillance assets exploit elevation
 Detects enemy initiatives at long range
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Reconnaissance
 …obtaining specific information about the activities and resources of
an enemy through visual observation or other detection methods; or
by securing data concerning the meteorological, hydrographic, or
geographic characteristics of a particular area.
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Reconnaissance
 Surveillance & Reconnaissance must operate together to ensure proper
Intelligence!
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Intelligence
 …product resulting from the collection, processing, integration,
analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of available information
concerning foreign countries or areas.
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Intelligence
 The overall objective of intelligence is to provide battlespace
awareness to commanders and combat forces to enable them to
successfully plan, operate, and assess results across the range of
military operations.
 Provides:
 Indications of enemy intentions
 Guides decisions on how, when, & where to engage enemy
 Gives commanders:
 Best estimate of enemy capabilities
 COGs
 Courses of action
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Combat Search & Rescue
 …a specific task performed by rescue forces to recover isolated
personnel during war or military operations short of war.
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Combat Search & Rescue
 Key element in sustaining morale, cohesion, and war-fighting capability
of friendly forces
 Denies enemy potential intel sources
 Preserves combat resources
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Summary
 Levels of Air & Space Doctrine
 Functions of Air & Space Power








Strategic Attack
Counterair
Counterspace
Counterland
Countersea
Information Operations
Combat Support
Command & Control (C2)
 Functions of Air & Space Power







Airlift
Air Refueling
Spacelift
Special Operations Employment
Intelligence
Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Combat Search & Rescue
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QUESTIONS ? ? ?
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Homework
 Prepare for Lesson # 19
 Air & Space System Capabilities
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