Air force

Encyclopedia : A : AI : AIR : Air force

An Air force is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. They typically use a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft. Many air forces are also responsible for operations of military space, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and communications equipment.

Organization

Most, but not all, armed forces have air forces that are independent - that is, it is neither part of the army nor the navy. This does not stop armies and especially navies from possessing air arms to support their land or sea operations, although some, such as the Canadian Air Force operate all military aircraft, even when they are attached to Canadian Army units.

Air Forces typically operate numerous types of aircraft. These may include

Fighters, used to destroy other aircraft;
Bombers and Attack Aircraft, used to attack ground targets;
Reconnaissance Aircraft;
Electronic Warfare Ai;
Airborne Early Warning Aircraft;
Transport Aircraft;
Tankers which provide in-flight re-fuelling for other aircraft;
Helicopters, used for attack, reconnaissance or transport;
and Training Aircraft.

Air forces also operate numerous types of satellites. These satellites provide services such as:

Secure and unsecure communications
Position, navigation and timing
Missile warning
Weather data
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaisance (ISR)

Some air forces such as the British Royal Air Force (RAF) have a unique rank structure; other air forces such as the United States Air Force (USAF) have a rank structure on the Enlisted side that is unique, but the Officer corps uses Army-style rank. And finally there are air forces such as Soviet Air Force that use Army-style ranks for both Enlisted and Officer corps. Most (but not all) wear blue-grey uniforms pioneered by the Royal Air Force. The organization structures of the air forces also vary: some air forces (such as the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force) are divided into commands, groups and squadrons; others (such as the Soviet Air Force) have an Army-syle organizational structure.

Contrary to popular belief, pilots often make up only a small portion of an air force's personnel. For every pilot, there is a flight crew who supports the aircraft, a maintenance group, communications crew, satellite operators, administrative personnel, medical personnel; in many air forces, there are officers responsible for strategic nuclear weapons, usually ballistic missiles, or even intercontinental ballistic missiles, known as ICBMs...in truth, although the majority of the senior leadership of most air forces are pilots, the majority of the personnel are not. Some air forces also operate anti-aircraft artillery (now with radars and missiles), and a few air forces even have their own paratroopers. Given the pilots' special status, they often wear special insignia in the form of a vol or "wings". Other air crews might wear variations of such insignia.

Air force

Organization

See also