Air supremacy is the most favorable state of control of the air. It is defined by NATO and the United States Department of Defense as "that degree of air superiority wherein the opposing air force is incapable of effective interference." NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...

There are normally thought to be three levels of control of the air. Air supremacy is the highest, meaning there is complete control of the skies. Air superiority is the next highest, which is being in a more favorable position than the opponent. Air parity is the lowest level of control, meaning control of the skies only above friendly troop positions. Air superiority is the dominance in the air power of one side air forces of another side during a military campaign. ...

For example, in World War II after the German attack into France, the German Luftwaffe had air superiority over Western Europe, being able to attack England, specifically London, with some resistance. As the Royal Air Force began winning the Battle of Britain it had air parity - having control of the skies above England, but not the skies over Western Europe. As the war went on, the Allies eventually gained air supremacy and the Luftwaffe could not give effective interference. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1,963 total...

After the First World War, many theorists around the world began to consider the importance of air supremacy and air superiority. Most notably was the Italian general Giulio Douhet in his book The Command of the Air. At the beginning of the Second World War, the main combatants took different views on the importance of air power. Adolf Hitler saw it as only a helpful tool to support the Wehrmacht, the German army. The Allied powers, however, saw it as being a more important part of warfare, specifically long-range strategic bombing which crippled Germany's industrial centers. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... General Giulio Douhet (30 May 1869 - 15 February 1930) was an Italian air power theorist. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. ... The city heart of Rotterdam after being terror bombed by Nazi Germany in 1940, the ruin of the (now restored) Laurens Kerk is the only building that reminds people of Rotterdams medieval architecture. ...

Today, air supremacy is a key first goal of United States military operations. This was demonstrated in the Gulf War when the Iraqi Air Force had been decimated in the opening stages, losing five of six Tu-22s to bombings and not obtaining any kills on coalition forces while losing several jets.^{[citation needed]} Combatants United States & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 378 dead, 1,000 wounded see section below The Gulf War or the Persian Gulf War (16 January 1991–28 February 1991)[1][2] was a conflict between Iraq and... The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) is the military branch in Iraq responsible for aerial warfare. ... The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name Blinder) is a Soviet jet supersonic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. ...

See also

• Air superiority
• Giulio Douhet
• Billy Mitchell
• Gulf War

Air superiority is the dominance in the air power of one side air forces of another side during a military campaign. ... General Giulio Douhet (30 May 1869 - 15 February 1930) was an Italian air power theorist. ... For other people with the same name, see Billy Mitchell (disambiguation). ... Combatants United States & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 378 dead, 1,000 wounded see section below The Gulf War or the Persian Gulf War (16 January 1991–28 February 1991)[1][2] was a conflict between Iraq and...

References

• Defense Technical Information Center [1]
• Australian Department of Defence [2]
• Encyclopedia Britannica [3]
• Canadian forces aerospace doctrine [wps.cfc.forces.gc.ca/doctrine/aerospace.doc]