Updated November 7, 2018
Defense Primer: United States Airpower
Almost since the invention of heavier-than-air flight,
worldwide deployments by joint and allied forces possible.
control of the air has been seen as a military advantage.
And Air Force assets work directly with ground units to
Over time, the United States has come to treat air
provide weapons on target when and where needed, and to
superiority as a necessity, and built such capable air forces
secure them against attack from the air.
that no enemy aircraft has killed U.S. ground troops since
1953.
Taken together, the Air Force sums up its core missions as
providing “Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global
Modern airpower is able to provide a full range of effects,
Power.”
from strategic operations at intercontinental ranges to direct
support of troops in combat. Today, every branch of the
Army Aviation
U.S. military employs air forces for various purposes,
Helicopters capable of accompanying troops to provide
employing nearly 14,000 aircraft.
tactical airlift, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
(ISR), and supporting fires form the backbone of Army
Figure 1. U.S. Air Forces, 2016-2025
aviation, about 3,600 of its more than 4,600 aircraft. The
service also operates light transport, special operations, and
intratheater airlift aircraft. The USAF provides heavy
transport and longer-range missions.
Naval Aviation
The U.S. Navy operates more than 2,500 aircraft (including
about 900 fighters) in 10 air wings. Their unique asset is the
ability to take their operating bases with them, as the
Navy’s 11 aircraft carriers (each with about 40 fighters plus
Source: Department of Defense, Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding
other air assets) provide U.S. presence and operational
Plan, Fiscal Years (FY) 2016-2045, April 2015.
capability far from home. Naval air assets are optimized for
strike, ISR, and fleet defense.
The United States Air Force
Marine Corps Aviation
The bulk of U.S. airpower resides in the U.S. Air Force
The nearly 1,200 Marine Corps aircraft (including just over
(USAF). With 501,500 active and reserve personnel and
400 fighters) operate from Navy ships, Marine amphibious
more than 5,000 aircraft, the USAF provides the capability
ships, and land bases, including expeditionary land bases
to reach, observe, strike and/or carry people and materiel to
with short runways. Some Marine Corps tactical aircraft are
any point on the globe. Four of the Air Force’s five core
capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing, a useful
missions directly involve applying airpower.
capability because Marine aircraft are deployed and
operated as part of Marine air/ground task forces, in which
Table 1. Air Force Core Missions
aviation is integrated into the unit.
Air and Space Superiority
Fighting as One
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
While the military services offer different capabilities and
Rapid Global Mobility
provide the equipment, personnel, and training, under
current joint operations doctrine, they fight as one force. A
Global Strike
joint air component commander oversees all airpower in a
Command and Control
given campaign, assigning targets and allocating forces as
needs warrant, without regard for the service that owns a
Source: U.S. Air Force, Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for
particular capability.
America at http://www.af.mil/Airpower4America.aspx.
Major Procurement Programs
The Air Force fleet covers the full range of aerial
The largest current DOD programs include the following:
capabilities, from fighters to intelligence aircraft, bombers,
transports, and helicopters. Moreover, USAF airpower
The F-35 Lightning II strike fighter, a multi-service,
enables other military services to apply their forces directly.
multi-national program slated to acquire 2,443 jets for
USAF cargo planes get Army and Marine troops and
the USAF, Navy, and Marine Corps.
equipment to the battlefield, and aeromedical transport
rapidly evacuates and treats injured troops. Air Force aerial
The KC-46 tanker, 179 of which are scheduled to
reconnaissance assets give joint commanders real-time
replace 50-year-old Air Force KC-135s.
strategic and tactical intelligence. USAF tankers make
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: United States Airpower
The B-21 Raider bomber, about 100 of which are
CRS Report R43049, U.S. Air Force Bomber Sustainment and
expected to enter USAF service in the mid-2020s,
Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress, by Jeremiah
replacing 1980s-era B-1s and B-2s.
Gertler
The Navy continues to procure the F/A-18E/F Super
CRS In Focus IF10486, Defense Primer: Naval Forces, by Ronald
Hornet multirole fighter and its electronic warfare
O'Rourke
variant, the EA-18G Growler.
CRS In Focus IF10547, Defense Primer: The United States Air
Force, by Jeremiah Gertler
The main Army aviation procurement, as has been the
case for many years, is for more UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopters to move cargo and troops.
Other Resources
Relevant Statutes
Department of Defense. Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding Plan,
Fiscal Years (FY) 2016-2045, April 2015.
Title 10, U.S. Code, Chapter 803 – Department of the Air
Force
USAF. Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power, September,
2013.
Title 10, U.S. Code, Chapter 303 – Department of the Army
U.S. Navy. Naval Aviation’s Role: Supporting the Six Core
Title 10, U.S. Code, Chapter 503 – Department of the Navy
Capabilities, January 2010.
Title 50, U.S. Code, Chapter 44 – National Security
DOD. Joint Publication 3-30, Command and Control of Joint
Air Operations, February 10, 2014
CRS Products
CRS Report R44305, The Air Force Aviation Investment
Jeremiah Gertler, Acting Senior Advisor to Dir/Sr
Challenge, by Jeremiah Gertler
Specialist
IF10546
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Defense Primer: United States Airpower
Disclaimer
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