En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte

Theses concise and informative guides provide an excellent source of references on modern contemporary weapons and military equipment. Each features technical line profiles, a wealth of photographs and informative text written by experts in the field.

En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte

CAS is an "air action by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft against hostile targets which are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces." (Joint Publication (Joint Pub) 1-02, DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms) CAS is an offensive air support (OAS) mission that is planned and executed to deliver firepower against selected enemy capabilities at a designated place and time. By using the speed and mobility of aircraft, CAS provides the commander with the means to strike the enemy swiftly and unexpectedly. Applying the fundamentals of combined arms, the commander integrates CAS with other forms of fire support and the fire and movement of ground forces. In so doing, the commander takes advantage of fleeting battlefield opportunities and achieves combat objectives. CAS is a mission conducted at the tactical level that may affect operational-level objectives.

In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.