Air supremacy

Air supremacy is a degree of air control in which opposing air forces cannot effectively interfere with friendly operations or defend their forces.

Air superiority: A degree of air control that permits one side to conduct operations with less interference than its opponent. This lesser degree of control may precede supremacy but still allows meaningful enemy resistance.
Close air support: Air action against hostile targets near friendly forces, coordinated with those forces. Air supremacy reduces enemy interference with aircraft supporting troops in contact.
Battle of Britain: The 1940 air campaign in which Britain resisted German attempts to gain air superiority before an invasion. Germany failed to secure the air control needed to protect an invasion of Britain.
Air parity: A condition in which opposing air forces have roughly comparable capabilities and neither can dominate the air. Parity contrasts with the overwhelming freedom of action implied by supremacy.
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses: Military actions that reduce the effectiveness of enemy air-defense systems. Suppressing surface defenses helps friendly aircraft operate without effective interference.
Strategic bombing: Air attacks intended to weaken an enemy's capacity or will to wage war. Uncontested access makes sustained attacks on distant strategic targets more feasible.
Operation Desert Storm: The 1991 coalition air and ground campaign that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Coalition forces rapidly established air supremacy over Iraq and Kuwait.
Contested airspace: Airspace in which opposing forces can threaten aircraft and interfere with air operations. Contested airspace is the opposite of the permissive conditions associated with supremacy.
Counter-air mission: Air operations intended to gain and maintain control of the air by targeting enemy air capabilities. This broader mission includes the actions used to establish air supremacy.
Amphibious warfare: Military operations that project forces from sea onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore. Air control can protect ships and landing forces from aerial attack.

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