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Anti-aircraft warfare

 
Anti Aircraft Warfare

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Anti-aircraft warfare



 
 
Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
 in defense of ground objectives
Tactical objective

A tactical objective is the immediate short term desired result of a given activity, task or mission, usually entrusted to the lower positioned management in a three-tier organisation's structure of field or front desk, middle and executive management....
, ground or naval forces or denial of passage through a specific airspace
Territorial waters

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state....
 region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
, area
Area (subnational entity)

In addition to its other uses , the word area may refer to any of the following types of subnational entities:*Local Government Area*Insular area...
 or anti-aircraft combat zone. It is also used in denying entry into national air space to unauthorized aircraft.

From the initial introduction of aircraft into combat during the First World War the means to achieve air defense included infantry firearms, light anti-aircraft weapons, cannon
Cannon

A cannon is any tubular piece of artillery, that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile over a distance....
s and anti-aircraft artillery as well as barrage balloon
Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large moored balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level attack by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult....
s and Interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft

An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, particularly bomber aircraft, usually relying on great speed....
, with all, aided by radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
 installations, growing in power and accuracy over the course of the 20th century, particularly with the introduction of the surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
 to self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon

A self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon is an anti-aircraft gun or surface-to-air missile launcher mounted on a mobile vehicle chassis. The Russian language equivalent of SPAAG is ZSU, for zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, ....
s.

names for anti-aircraft guns include AAA or triple-A, an abbreviation
Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase....
 for anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack (from the World War I phonetic alphabet
RAF phonetic alphabet

Following the take up of radio, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force used a succession of radiotelephony spelling alphabets to aid communication. These have now all been superseded by the NATO phonetic alphabet....
 for AA), archie (a WWI British term probably coined by Amyas Borton
Amyas Borton

Air Vice Marshal Amyas Eden Borton Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Distinguished Service Order, Air Force Cross was a commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1920s....
 and believed to derive via the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance....
 from the music-hall comedian George Robey
George Robey

George Edward Wade , better known by his stage name, George Robey, was an England music hall comedian and star. He was marketed as the "Prime Minister of Mirth"....
's line "Archibald, certainly not!"), and flak (from the German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
 Flugabwehrkanone, aircraft defence cannon).






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Encyclopedia


Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
 in defense of ground objectives
Tactical objective

A tactical objective is the immediate short term desired result of a given activity, task or mission, usually entrusted to the lower positioned management in a three-tier organisation's structure of field or front desk, middle and executive management....
, ground or naval forces or denial of passage through a specific airspace
Territorial waters

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state....
 region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
, area
Area (subnational entity)

In addition to its other uses , the word area may refer to any of the following types of subnational entities:*Local Government Area*Insular area...
 or anti-aircraft combat zone. It is also used in denying entry into national air space to unauthorized aircraft.

From the initial introduction of aircraft into combat during the First World War the means to achieve air defense included infantry firearms, light anti-aircraft weapons, cannon
Cannon

A cannon is any tubular piece of artillery, that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile over a distance....
s and anti-aircraft artillery as well as barrage balloon
Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large moored balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level attack by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult....
s and Interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft

An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, particularly bomber aircraft, usually relying on great speed....
, with all, aided by radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
 installations, growing in power and accuracy over the course of the 20th century, particularly with the introduction of the surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
 to self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon

A self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon is an anti-aircraft gun or surface-to-air missile launcher mounted on a mobile vehicle chassis. The Russian language equivalent of SPAAG is ZSU, for zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, ....
s.

Origin of the term

Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include AAA or triple-A, an abbreviation
Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase....
 for anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack (from the World War I phonetic alphabet
RAF phonetic alphabet

Following the take up of radio, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force used a succession of radiotelephony spelling alphabets to aid communication. These have now all been superseded by the NATO phonetic alphabet....
 for AA), archie (a WWI British term probably coined by Amyas Borton
Amyas Borton

Air Vice Marshal Amyas Eden Borton Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Distinguished Service Order, Air Force Cross was a commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1920s....
 and believed to derive via the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance....
 from the music-hall comedian George Robey
George Robey

George Edward Wade , better known by his stage name, George Robey, was an England music hall comedian and star. He was marketed as the "Prime Minister of Mirth"....
's line "Archibald, certainly not!"), and flak (from the German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
 Flugabwehrkanone, aircraft defence cannon). An anti-aircraft missile is another name for a surface-to-air missile, abbreviated and pronounced SAM
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
.

The United States Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 uses the term
Anti-Air Warfare (AAW); most groups of ships have a designated AAW commander
Commander

Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement....
 among them. The Soviet Anti-Air Defense
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
 was a separate armed service
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
, but in Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 it has been subordinated to the Air Force
Russian Air Force

The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russia. It is the second largest Air Force in the world in terms of combat aircraft inventory. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin....
. The United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 has generally been able to count on air superiority to reduce the threat from air attack on its ground units, and settles for a two-tier structure: the man-portable Stinger
FIM-92 Stinger

The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981....
 missile (fired by troops or from vehicles) and the anti-aircraft/anti-missile Patriot
MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States....
 system. Depending upon the threat perception of the country or to increase the reliability of ground defence a country can opt for extra tiers of defence. Russia, for example, has a system consisting of battalion-level MANPADS, regimental SHORAD (typically autocannon and IR
IR

IR may refer to:Business:* Illinois Railway* Indian Railways, the state-owned railway company of India* Industrial relations * Ing?nieur , Engineer, someone who practices the profession of engineering...
/SACLOS
SACLOS

SACLOS is a second-generation method of missile guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight....
 SAMs), divisional SHORAD (typically short-ranged radar guided SAMs), medium range Army level (SA-11) and long range Front level (SA-12) systems.

Anti-aircraft warfare systems

Although the firearms used by the infantry can be used to engage air targets, on occasion with notable success, they are in general not effective against modern jet aircraft, or aircraft designed for the ground attack role.

Adaptations of the standard autocannon
Autocannon

File:Autocannon MLG27.jpgAn autocannon is a rapid fire projectile weapon. Autocannon often have a larger caliber than a machine gun , but there is no maximum or minimum caliber that makes a weapon an autocannon....
, originally intended for air-to-ground use, and heavier artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 systems were commonly used for most anti-aircraft gunnery, starting with standard pieces on new mountings, and evolving to specially designed guns with much higher performance prior to World War II. The ammunition
Ammunition

Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery....
 and shells
Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to Round shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot ....
 fired by these weapons are usually fitted with different types of fuses
Fuse (explosives)

In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately....
 (barometric, time-delay, or proximity
Proximity fuze

A proximity fuze is a Fuse #Munition_fuses that is designed to detonate an Explosive material device automatically when the distance to target becomes smaller than a predetermined value or when the target passes through a given plane....
) to send exploding metal fragments into the area of the airborne target. For shorter-range work, a lighter weapon with a higher rate of fire
Rate of fire

Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second ....
 is required, to increase a hit probability on a fast airborne target. Weapons between 20 mm
20 mm caliber

The 20 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon and not a heavy machine gun....
 and 40 mm caliber have been widely used in this role. Smaller weapons, typically .50 caliber
.50 BMG

The .50 Browning Machine Gun or .50 BMG is a cartridge developed for the M2 Browning machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge....
 or even 8 mm rifle caliber guns have been used in the smallest mounts. Unlike the heavier guns, these smaller weapons are in widespread use due to their low cost and ability to quickly follow the target. The classic examples of autocannons and large caliber guns are the 40 mm autocannon
Bofors 40 mm gun

The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous Anti-aircraft warfare autocannon designed by the Sweden firm of Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies of World War II as well as various other forces....
 and the 8,8 cm FlaK 18, 36 gun
88 mm gun

The 88 mm gun is a Germany anti-aircraft warfare and Anti-tank warfare artillery gun from World War II. They were widely used throughout the war, and could be found on almost every battlefield....
, both designed by Bofors
Bofors

The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years. Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646....
 of Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
, and the American 90mm AA Gun
90 mm gun

The United States 90 mm family of guns served as primary heavy anti-aircraft gun and anti-tank guns, playing a role similar to the renowned Germany 88 mm gun....
. Artillery weapons of this sort have for the most part been superseded by the effective surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
 systems that were introduced in the 1950s, although still retained by many nations.

The development of surface-to-air missiles began in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
 during the late World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 with missiles such as the Wasserfall
Wasserfall

The Wasserfall Ferngelenkte Flakrakete , also known as Aggregate series#A5 , was a World War II guided surface-to-air missile developed at Peenem?nde, Germany....
 though no working system was deployed before the war's end, and represented new attempts to increase effectiveness of the anti-aircraft systems faced with growing threat from the bomber
Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them....
s. Land-based SAMs can be deployed from fixed installations or mobile launchers, either wheeled or tracked. The tracked vehicles are usually armoured vehicles specifically designed to carry SAMs. Larger SAMs may be deployed in fixed launchers, but can be towed/re-deployed at will. The SAMs launched by individuals are known in the United States as the
Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). MANPADS of the former Soviet Union have been exported around the World, and can be found in use by many armed forces. Targets for non-ManPAD SAMs will usually be acquired by air-search radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, then tracked before/while a SAM is "locked-on" and then fired. Potential targets, if they are military aircraft, will be identified as friend or foe
Identification friend or foe

In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is a cryptographic identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military, and national interrogation systems to distinguish friendly aircraft, vehicles, or forces, and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator....
 before being engaged. The developments in the latest and relatively cheap short-range missiles have begun to replace autocannons in this role.

The interceptor aircraft (or simply interceptor) is a type of fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs....
 designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
, particularly bombers, usually relying on high speed and altitude
Altitude

Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
 capabilities. A number of jet interceptors such as the F-102 Delta Dagger
F-102 Delta Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an United States interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s....
, the F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s....
, and the MiG-25
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a high-supersonic Interceptor aircraft and reconnaissance/bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan bureau....
 were built in the period starting after the end World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 and ending in the late 1960s, when they became less important due to the shifting of the strategic bombing
Strategic bombing

Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces....
 role to ICBMs. Invariably the type is differentiated from other fighter aircraft designs by higher speeds and shorter operating ranges, as well as much reduced ordnance payloads.

The radar systems use electromagnetic
Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation takes the form of wave propagation waves in a vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric field and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy Wave propagation....
 waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of aircraft
Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to flight by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere, of a planet. Examples include balloons, airplanes and helicopters....
 and weather formations
Weather forecasting

Bold text'Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the Earth's atmosphere for a future time and a given location....
 to provide tactical and operational warning and direction, primarily during defensive operations. In their functional roles they provide target search
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, threat
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, guidance
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, reconnaissance
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, navigation
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, instrumentation
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, and weather reporting
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
 support to combat operations.

History


Earliest use

The use of balloons by the Union Army during the American Civil War compelled the Confederates to develop methods of combating them. These included the use of artillery, small arms, and saboteurs. They were unsuccessful, but internal politics led the Union's Balloon Corps
Union Army Balloon Corps

The Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Union Army during the American Civil War, established by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe....
 to be disbanded in midwar. For further information, see Confederate Responses to Union Balloon Operations during the American Civil War
Union Army Balloon Corps

The Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Union Army during the American Civil War, established by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe....
, in the Spring 2007 issue of the American Association of Aviation Historians Journal.

The earliest known use of weapons specifically made for the anti-aircraft role occurred during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between Second French Empire and Kingdom of Prussia, while Prussia was backed by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Grand Duchy of Baden, History of W?rttemberg#The Kingdom...
 of 1870. After the disaster at Sedan
Battle of Sedan

The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III along with his army and practically decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new France government....
, Paris was besieged
Siege of Paris

The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, brought about French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and led to the establishment of the German Empire....
 and French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 troops outside the city started an attempt at resupply via balloon
Balloon (aircraft)

A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
. Krupp
Krupp

The Krupp family, a prominent 400-year-old Germany dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments....
 mounted a modified 1-pounder gun (~32 mm) on top of a horse-drawn carriage for the purpose of shooting down these balloons, the
ballonkanone.

World War I

Given this early history, it is perhaps not surprising that it was only in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 that development of anti-aircraft guns continued. In 1909, a number of Krupp's designs were shown, including adaptations of their 65 mm 9-pounder, a 75 mm 12-pounder, and even a 105 mm gun. By the start of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, the 75 mm had become the standard German weapon, and came mounted on a large traverse that could be easily picked up on a wagon for movement.

Other countries seem to have largely ignored the possibility of aircraft being an important part of hostilities, but this soon changed when German spotter aircraft started calling down increasingly accurate artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 fire. All armies soon deployed a number of guns based on their smaller field pieces, notably the French 75 mm and Russian 76.2 mm, typically simply propped up on some sort of embankment to get the muzzle pointed skyward. The British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 decided on an entirely new weapon, and deployed a 3-inch (76 mm) gun that was perhaps the best of all the designs at that time. The German Army also adapted a revolving-cannon that came to be known to Allied fliers as the "flaming onion
Flaming onion

The flaming onion was a 37 mm revolving-barrel anti-aircraft gun used by the German army during World War I, the name referring to both the gun, and especially the flares it fired....
". This gun had five barrels that quickly launched a series of 37 mm artillery shells.

In general, these ad-hoc solutions proved largely useless. With little experience in the role, and no ability to spot the "fall" of their rounds with any accuracy, gunners proved unable to get the altitude correct and most rounds fell well below their targets (discovering this, British fliers gave German AAA the mocking nickname, "Archie"). The exception to this rule were the guns protecting spotting balloons, in which case the altitude could be accurately measured from the length of the cable holding the balloon. The Krupp 75 mm guns were later supplied with an optical sighting system that improved their capabilities, but these sorts of systems were not deployed by other forces.

As aircraft started to be used in tactical roles against ground targets, these larger weapons proved too ponderous to aim at the quickly traversing targets. Soon the forces were adding various machine gun
Machine gun

A machine gun is a Automatic firearm mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire List of rifle cartridgess in quick succession from an Belt or large-capacity Magazine , typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
 based weapons mounted on poles. The British introduced a heavier weapon — their 1-pounder "pom-pom" (a 37 mm version of the Maxim Gun
Maxim gun

The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born United Kingdom Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884....
) on an elevated mounting. These short-range weapons proved more deadly, and the Red Baron
Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German fighter pilot known as the "Red Baron". He was the most successful flying ace of World War I, being officially credited with 80 confirmed Aerial warfare victories....
 arguably fell victim to an anti-aircraft Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun

The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the Water cooling .303 British machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army....
.

When the war ended, it was clear that the increasing capabilities of aircraft would require a more serious attempt at downing them. Nevertheless the pattern had been set: anti-aircraft weapons would be based around heavy weapons attacking high-altitude targets and lighter weapons for use when they came to lower altitudes.

World War II

World War I had proven that the aircraft was an important part of the battlefield. As the capabilities of aircraft improved, and more specifically their engines, it was clear that their role in future combat would be even more critical as their warload grew. Many felt that the higher speeds and altitudes would render anti-aircraft systems useless, so little effort was put into improving systems.

Once again, it was only Germany that seriously considered what to do about this with any lead time before the war started. They developed a number of new anti-aircraft weapons in the late 1920s and early 1930s, often in collaboration with Swiss and Swedish companies, including a new rapid-fire 20 mm gun
2 cm FlaK 30

The FlaK 30 and improved FlaK 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns widely used by various German forces throughout the Second World War....
 for low-altitude work, and a 37 mm gun
3.7 cm FlaK 43

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-301-1957-30, Nordfrankreich, Zwillings-Flak.jpgGermany produced a series of 37 mm guns prior to and during World War II as their primary medium-caliber anti-aircraft gun....
 for low and medium altitudes. By the mid-1930s the 20 mm was considered to be too low power against the increasingly fast planes but, instead of introducing a new gun, Krupp managed to squeeze four of the existing 20 mm guns onto a single carriage of about the same weight. This improved firepower enough to make a switch to a larger gun unattractive in comparison. By the end of the war Germany had essentially given up on the 20 mm as it lacked punch. It was never cleanly replaced however; the 37 mm was available in limited numbers, and a new dual-30 mm system based on the MK 108
MK 108 cannon

The MK 108 was an 30 mm calibre autocannon manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft....
 aircraft gun was never put into widespread use.

Germany's high-altitude needs were originally going to be filled by a 75 mm gun from Krupp, designed in collaboration with their Swedish counterpart Bofors
Bofors

The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years. Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646....
, but the specifications were later amended to require much higher performance. In response Krupp's engineers presented a new 88 mm design, the FlaK 36
88 mm gun

The 88 mm gun is a Germany anti-aircraft warfare and Anti-tank warfare artillery gun from World War II. They were widely used throughout the war, and could be found on almost every battlefield....
. The
eighty-eight would go on to become one of the most famous artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 pieces in history. First used in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
, the gun proved to be one of the best anti-aircraft guns in the world, as well as particularly deadly against light and medium tanks.

After the Dambusters
Operation Chastise

Operation Chastise was the official name for the attacks on German dams on 17 May 1943 in the Second World War using a specially developed "bouncing bomb"....
 raid in 1943 an entirely new system was developed that was required to knock down any low-flying aircraft with a single hit. The first attempt to produce such a system used a 50 mm gun, but this proved inaccurate and a new 55 mm gun replaced it. The system used a centralised control system including both search and targeting radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
, which calculated the aim point for the guns after considering windage and ballistics, and then sent electrical commands to the guns which used hydraulics to point themselves at high speeds. Operators simply fed the guns and selected the targets. This system, modern even by today's standards, was in late development when the war ended.

90mm M1 Aagun Cfb Borden
In the late 1920s the Swedish Navy
Swedish Navy

The Royal Swedish Navy is the navy branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Naval fleet – as well as Marine units, the so-called Swedish Amphibious Corps ....
 had ordered the development of a 40 mm naval anti-aircraft gun from the Bofors
Bofors

The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years. Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646....
 company. The new gun proved to be light, fast and reliable, and a mobile version on a four wheel carriage was soon developed. Known simply as the 40 mm
Bofors 40 mm gun

The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous Anti-aircraft warfare autocannon designed by the Sweden firm of Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies of World War II as well as various other forces....
, it was adopted by some 17 different nations just before WWII and is still in use today in some applications such as on coastguard frigates.

Prior to the war, Britain had followed conventional wisdom that the "bomber would always get through" and spent little effort on air defence. The introduction of radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
 so upset this conventional wisdom that, starting in the second half of the 1930s, a major effort was made to dramatically improve all defensive weapons. Up to this point, they had relied on their WWI-era 3 inch guns, but these were clearly outdated and a new QF 3.75 inch (94 mm) gun was introduced that was arguably the least effective medium anti-aircraft weapon of WWII. Both the 3 inch and 3.7 inch delivered with optical sighting systems for ranging. At the small-end of the scale a number of 20 mm designs were used, but testing showed, as Germany had discovered, that these weapons were of little use against modern aircraft.

They had already arranged license building of the 40 mm Bofors gun, and introduced these into service. These had the power to knock down aircraft of any size, yet were light enough to be mobile and easily swung. The gun became so important to the British war effort that they even produced a movie,
The Gun, in order to encourage workers on the assembly line to work harder. The Imperial measurement production drawings the British had developed were supplied to the Americans who produced their own (unlicensed) copy of the 40 mm at the start of the war—moving to licensed production in mid-1941.

B 24 Hit By Flak
Service trials demonstrated another problem however: that the problem of ranging and tracking the new high-speed targets was almost impossible. At shorter ranges, the "lead" required (aiming in front of the target because it is moving) is so small that it can be done manually while, at very long ranges, the apparent speed is so slow that simple mechanical slide rules could be used. For the ranges and speeds that the Bofors worked at, neither solution was good enough.

The solution was automation
Automation

Automation or industrial automation or numerical control is the use of control systems such as computers to control industry machinery and industrial processes, reducing the need for human intervention....
, in the form of a mechanical computer, the Kerrison Predictor
Kerrison Predictor

The Kerrison Predictor was one of the first fully-automated anti-aircraft predictors, fire-control systems which would aim a weapon at a plane based on simple inputs like the observed speed and angle to the target....
. Operators kept it pointed at the target, and the Predictor then calculated the proper aim point automatically and displayed it as a pointer mounted on the gun. The gun operators simply followed the pointer and loaded the shells. The Kerrison was fairly simple, but it pointed the way to future generations which incorporated radar, first for ranging and then later for tracking. Similar predictor systems were introduced by Germany during the war, also adding radar ranging as the war progressed.

Although they receive little attention, US Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 anti-aircraft systems were actually quite competent. Their smaller tactical needs were filled with four M2 .50 caliber
.50 BMG

The .50 Browning Machine Gun or .50 BMG is a cartridge developed for the M2 Browning machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge....
 machine guns linked together (known as the “Quad Fifty”), which were often mounted on the back of a half-track
Half-track

A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load....
 to form the
Half Track, M16 GMC, Anti-Aircraft. Although of even less power than Germany's 20 mm systems, they were at least widely available. Their larger 90 mm M3 gun would prove, as did the eighty-eight, to make an excellent anti-tank gun as well, and was widely used late in the war in this role. Also available to the Americans at the start of the war was the 120 mm M1 gun
120 mm M1 gun

The 120 mm Gun M1 was the United States Army's standard super-heavy anti-aircraft gun, complementing the smaller and more mobile 90 mm M3 gun in service....
 
stratosphere gun, which was the most powerful AA gun with an impressive 60,000 ft (~18km) altitude capability. The 90 mm and 120 mm guns would continue to be used into the 1950s.

The US Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 had also put some thought into the problem, and came up with the 1.1"/75 (28mm) gun to replace the inadequate .50 caliber
.50 BMG

The .50 Browning Machine Gun or .50 BMG is a cartridge developed for the M2 Browning machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge....
. This weapon had the teething troubles that most new weapons have, but the issues with the gun were never sorted out. It was replaced by the Bofors 40 mm
Bofors 40 mm gun

The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous Anti-aircraft warfare autocannon designed by the Sweden firm of Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies of World War II as well as various other forces....
 wherever possible. The 5"/38 caliber gun turned out to be an excellent anti-aircraft weapon, once the Proximity fuze
Proximity fuze

A proximity fuze is a Fuse #Munition_fuses that is designed to detonate an Explosive material device automatically when the distance to target becomes smaller than a predetermined value or when the target passes through a given plane....
 had been perfected.

Vienna Flak Tower Dsc01594
The Germans developed massive reinforced concrete blockhouse
Blockhouse

In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It is intended to serve as a defensive strongpoint against any enemy which does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery....
s, some more than six stories high, which were known as
Hochbunker "High Bunkers" or "Flakturm" Flak Tower
Flak tower

Flak towers were large, above-ground anti-aircraft warfare gun Blockhouse#Concrete blockhousess used by the Luftwaffe to defend against Allies of World War II Strategic bombing during World War IIs on certain cities during World War II....
s, on which they placed anti-aircraft artillery. Those which were in cities attacked by the Allied land forces became fortresses. Several in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 were some of the last buildings to fall to the Soviets during the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin was the final Strategic offensive of the European Theatre of World War II of World War II and was designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union.The last offensive of the European war was the Prague Offensive on 6?11 May 1945, when the Red Army, with the help of Poland, Romanian, and...
 in 1945. The British built structures in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary

The Thames Estuary is the area in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary , although physically the head of ??Sea Reach??, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary....
 and other tidal areas upon which they based guns. After the war most were left to rot. Some were outside territorial waters, and had a second life in the 1960s as platforms for pirate radio
Pirate radio in Europe

An introduction to the subject of pirate radio can be found under that heading....
 stations.

During WWII, the use of rocket-powered missiles for shooting down aircraft began. The British started with a unguided rocket, the 2 inch RP which was fired in large numbers from
Z batteries. The firing of one of these devices during an air raid is suspected to have caused the Bethnal Green Disaster
Bethnal Green tube station

Bethnal Green tube station is a station on the Central line of the London Underground in Bethnal Green, East London. It lies between Liverpool Street station and Mile End tube station stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2....
 in 1943. By the end of the war, the British had developed a surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
, Stooge, which would have been launched from Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 ships against the Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese Kamikaze
Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviation from the Empire of Japan against Allies Of World War II shipping, in the closing stages of the Pacific War of World War II, to destroy as many warships as possible....
 attacks. The Germans invested heavily in various anti-aircraft missile projects as well, but none of these was ready for service before the war ended. In particular, the Wasserfall missile, based on a scaled-down V-2
V-2 rocket

The V-2 rocket was the first ballistic missile and first man-made object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight, the progenitor of all modern rockets....
, was particularly powerful and would have been a deadly weapon had the electronics ever matured.

Another aspect of anti-aircraft defense was the use of barrage balloon
Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large moored balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level attack by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult....
s to act as physical obstacle initially to bomber aircraft over cities and later for ground attack aircraft over the Normandy invasion
Battle of Normandy

The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Western Allies forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II....
 fleets. The balloon, a simple blimp tethered to the ground, worked in two ways. Firstly, it and the steel cable were a danger to any aircraft that tried to fly among them. Secondly, in avoiding the balloons, the bombers were forced up to a higher level which was more favorable for the guns. The barrage balloon was limited in application and direct success at bringing down aircraft—being largely immobile and passive weapons.

Post-war

Amd Sa11
Post-war analysis demonstrated that even with newest anti-aircraft systems employed by both sides, the vast majority of bombers reached their targets successfully, on the order of 90%. This was bad enough during the war, but the introduction of the nuclear bomb upset things considerably. Now even a single bomber reaching the target would be unacceptable.

The developments during WWII continued for a short time into the post-war period as well. In particular the US Army set up a huge air defence network around its larger cities based on radar-guided 90 mm and 120 mm guns. But, given the general lack of success of guns against even propeller bombers, it was clear that any defence was going to have to rely almost entirely on interceptor aircraft
Interceptor aircraft

An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, particularly bomber aircraft, usually relying on great speed....
. Despite this, US efforts continued into the 1950s with the 75 mm Skysweeper
Skysweeper

Skysweeper, technically Gun, M51, Antiaircraft, was an United States 75 mm Anti-aircraft warfare deployed in the early 1950s by both the United States Army and United States Air Force....
 system, an almost fully-automated system including the radar, computers, power, and auto-loading gun on a single powered platform. The Skysweeper replaced all smaller guns then in use in the Army, notably the 40 mm Bofors.

Things changed with the introduction of the guided missile. Although Germany had been desperate to introduce them during the war, none were ready for service, and British countermeasures were likely to defeat them even if they were. With a few years of development, however, these systems started to mature into practical weapons. The US started an upgrade of their defenses using the Nike Ajax missile, and soon the larger anti-aircraft guns disappeared. The same thing occurred in the USSR
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 after the introduction of their SA-2 Guideline systems.

As this process continued, the missile found itself being used for more and more of the roles formerly filled by guns. First to go were the large weapons, replaced by equally large missile systems of much higher performance. Smaller missiles soon followed, eventually becoming small enough to be mounted on armored cars and tank chassis. These started replacing, or at least supplanting, similar gun-based SPAAG systems in the 1960s, and by the 1990s had replaced almost all such systems in modern armies. Man-portable missiles, MANPADs as they are known today, were introduced in the 1960s and have supplanted or even replaced even the smallest guns in most advanced armies.

Future developments

Hmsdaring
If current trends continue, missiles will replace gun systems completely in "first line" service. Guns are being increasingly pushed into specialist roles, such as the Dutch Goalkeeper CIWS
Goalkeeper CIWS

Goalkeeper is a Netherlands close-in weapon system , which defends ships against incoming missiles and ballistic shells. This system consists of an autocannon and an advanced radar which tracks incoming fire, determines its trajectory, then aims the gun and fires in a matter of seconds....
 which uses the GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm seven-barrel Gatling Gun, or the US Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS

The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System is an anti-Anti-ship missile system that was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona, California....
 which uses a 20 mm M61 Vulcan
M61 Vulcan

The M61 Vulcan is a 20 mm hydraulically or pneumatically driven, six-barrel ed, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling gun with an extremely high rate of fire....
 gun firing at over 4,500 rounds per minute for last ditch anti-missile and anti-aircraft fighting. Even this formerly first-rate weapon is currently being replaced by a new missile system, the Rolling Airframe Missile, which is smaller, faster, and allows for mid-flight course correction (guidance) to ensure a hit.

Upsetting this development to all-missile systems is the current move to stealth aircraft
Stealth aircraft

Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to make it harder to be detected by radar and other means than conventional aircraft by employing a combination of features to reduce visibility in the visual, audio, infrared and Radio frequency spectrum....
. Long range missiles depend on long-range detection in order to provide significant lead. Stealth designs cut detection ranges so much that the aircraft is often never even seen, and when it is, often too late for an intercept. Systems for detection and tracking of stealthy aircraft are a major problem for anti-aircraft development.

Another potential weapon system for anti-aircraft use is the laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
. Although air planners imagined lasers in combat since the late 1960s, only the most modern laser systems are currently reaching what could be considered "experimental usefulness". In particular the Tactical High Energy Laser
Tactical High Energy Laser

The Tactical High-Energy Laser, or THEL, is a laser developed for military use, also known as the Nautilus laser system. The mobile version is the Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser, or MTHEL....
 can be used in the anti-aircraft and anti-missile role. If current developments continue, some believe it is reasonable to suggest that lasers will play a major role in air defense starting in the next ten years.

The future of projectile based weapons may be found in the railgun
Railgun

A railgun is a purely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor....
, currently tests are underway on developing systems that could create as much damage as a BGM-109 Tomahawk
BGM-109 Tomahawk

The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a submerged submarine....
, but at a fraction of the cost. In February 2008 the US Navy tested a magnetic railgun; it fired a shell at 5,600 miles (9,000 km) per hour using 10 megajoules of energy. Its expected performance is over 13,000 miles (21,000 km) per hour muzzle velocity, accurate enough to hit a 5 meter target from 200 nautical miles (370 km) away while shooting at 10 shots per minute. It is expected to be ready in 2020 to 2025. () These systems while currently designed for static targets would only need the ability to be easily retargeted to become the next generation of AA system.

Force structures

Most Western and Commonwealth militaries integrate air defence purely with the traditional services, of the military (i.e. army
Army

An army , in the broadest sense, is the land-based armed forces of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as an air force....
, navy
Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's military forces principally designated for naval warfare and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions....
 and air force
Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
), as a separate arm or as part of artillery. In the United States Army for instance, air defence is part of the artillery arm, while in the Pakistan Army, it was split off from Artillery to form a separate army of its own in 1990. This is in contrast to some (largely communist or ex-communist) countries where not only are there provisions for air defence in the army, navy and air force but there are specific branches which deal only with the air defence of territory, for example, the Soviet PVO Strany
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
. The USSR also had a separate strategic rocket force in charge of nuclear ICBMs.

Navy

Benfold fires its 5?/54 MK 45 gun during routine training operations off the coast of Southern California.]] Virtually all modern vessels contain anti-aircraft weapon systems. Smaller boats and ships typically have machine-guns or fast cannons, which can often be deadly to low-flying aircraft if linked to a radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
-directed fire-control system
Fire-control system

A fire-control system is a computer, often mechanical, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately....
. Larger vessels (patrol boat
Patrol boat

A patrol boat is a small naval ship generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuary or river environments....
s, frigate
Frigate

A frigate is a warship. The term has been used for warships of many sizes and roles over the past few centuries.In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square rig on all three masts , but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort....
s, destroyer
Destroyer

In navy terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers ....
s and on up) are typically equipped with surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile

A surface to air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft....
 systems, with increased range and deadliness as the vessel size increases, although virtually all also carry radar-controlled cannon
Close-in weapon system

A Close-in weapon system is a Navy shipboard point-defense weapon for detecting and destroying incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range ....
 for point defence. Some vessels like Aegis
Aegis combat system

The Aegis combat system is an integrated weapons system used by the United States Navy. It is both an integrated single ship system and a ship-to-ship network....
 cruisers are as much a threat to aircraft as any land-based air defence system. In general, naval vessels should be treated with respect by aircraft, however the reverse is equally true. Carrier battle group
Carrier battle group

A carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts....
s are especially well defended, as not only do they typically consist of many vessels with heavy air defence armament but they are also able to launch fighter jets for combat air patrol
Combat air patrol

Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile aircraft before they reach their target....
 overhead to intercept incoming airborne threats.

Some modern submarines, such as the Type 212 submarine
Type 212 submarine

The Germany Type 212 is a highly advanced design of non-nuclear submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG for the German Navy. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion system using Siemens AG proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cells....
s of the German Navy
German Navy

The German Navy The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the Revolutions of 1848 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy and became the Imperial Navy ....
, are equipped with surface-to-air missile systems, since helicopters and anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and then damage or destroy enemy submarines....
 aircraft are significant threats.

Army


Armies typically have air defence in depth, from integral MANPADS like RBS 70
RBS 70

RBS 70 is a Swedish MANPADS designed for combat in all climate zones and with little to no support from other forces. It uses the RB 70 missile which is also in use in a number of other Swedish missile systems....
, Stinger
FIM-92 Stinger

The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981....
 and Igla at smaller force levels up to army-level missile defence systems such as Angara and Patriot
MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States....
. Often, the high-altitude long-range missile systems force aircraft to fly at low level, where anti-aircraft guns can bring them down. As well as the small and large systems, for effective air defence there must be intermediate systems. These may be deployed at regiment-level and consist of platoons of self-propelled anti-aircraft platforms, whether they are self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs), integrated air-defence systems like Tunguska or all-in-one surface-to-air missile platforms like Roland or SA-8 Gecko.

Air force

Air defence by air forces is typically taken care of by fighter jets carrying air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a guided missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel rocket but sometimes liquid-fuel rocket....
s. However most air forces choose to augment airbase defence with surface-to-air missile systems as they are such valuable targets and subject to attack by enemy aircraft. In addition, countries without dedicated air defence forces often relegate these duties to the air force. For example, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
' strategic air defence is the domain of the Air Force, even when it is performed by missiles launched from fixed installations. For example, see Project Nike
Project Nike

Project Nike was a United States Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Labs, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system in 1953, the #Nike Ajax....
.

Area air defence

Area air defence, the air defence of an specific area or location, (as opposed to point defence), have historically been operated by both armies (Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command

Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army Command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles....
 in the British Army, for instance) and Air Forces (the USAF's Nike Hercules and its sibling programmes). Area defence systems have medium to long range and can be made up of various other systems and networked into an area defence system (in which case it may be made up of several short range systems combined to effectively cover an area). An example of area defence is the defence of Saudi Arabia and Israel by MIM-104 Patriot
MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States....
 missile batteries during the first Gulf War
Gulf War

"Persian Gulf War" and "First Gulf War" redirect here. For other uses, see Persian Gulf War .The Persian Gulf War was a United Nations-authorized military conflict between Iraq and a Coalition of Gulf War from 34 nations commissioned with expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait of Kuwait in August 1990....
, where the objective was to cover populated areas.

Tactics


Mobility

Most modern air defence systems are fairly mobile. Even the larger systems tend to be mounted on trailers and are designed to be fairly quickly broken down or set up. In the past, this was not always the case. Early missile systems were cumbersome and required much infrastructure—many could not be moved at all. With the diversification of air defence there has been much more emphasis on mobility. Most modern systems are usually either self-propelled (i.e. guns or missiles are mounted on a truck or tracked chassis) or easily towed. Even systems which consist of many components (transporter/erector/launchers
Transporter erector launcher

A transporter erector launcher is a vehicle with an integrated Prime mover that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles....
, radar
Radar

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic radiation waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain....
s, command posts etc.) benefit from being mounted on a fleet of vehicles. In general, a fixed system can be identified, attacked and destroyed whereas a mobile system can show up in places where it is not expected. Soviet systems especially concentrate on mobility, after the lessons learnt in the Vietnam proxy war
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
 between the USA and USSR. For more information on this part of the conflict, see SA-2 Guideline.

North Korea
North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 (officially the DPRK) has inherited a lot of older Soviet equipment. One major reason for the success of the U.N.
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 forces during the Korean War
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
 (1950–1953) against the DPRK and PRC
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 was the air superiority they were able to attain. As tensions still exist on the Korean Peninsula and the DPRK is so heavily militarised, their air-defence network is amongst the strongest of a non-superpower. A large part of it consists of a number of older, fixed systems like SA-2, SA-3, SA-4
SA-4 Ganef

The 2K11 Krug is a Soviet and now Russian long range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile system. "2K11" is its GRAU designation, while SA-4 Ganef is its NATO reporting name....
 and SA-5. But the DPRK is also in possession of many mobile systems which have proven to be deadly in the past.

Air defence versus air defence suppression

The U.S. Air Force, in conjunction with the members of NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
, has developed significant tactics for air defence suppression. Dedicated weapons such as anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile

An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner....
s and advanced electronics intelligence and electronic countermeasures
Electronic countermeasures

Electronic countermeasures are a subsection of electronic warfare which includes any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems like IR and Laser....
 platforms seek to suppress or negate the effectiveness of an opposing air-defence system. It is an arms race; as better jamming, countermeasures and anti-radiation weapons are developed, so are better SAM systems with ECCM capabilities and the ability to shoot down anti-radiation missiles and other munitions aimed at them or the targets they are defending. Now that Russia is beginning to offer top quality SAM systems for export, it is possible that the U.S. and NATO forces could face serious challenges in maintaining air superiority in future conflicts. This will mainly be determined by the effectiveness of these devices and tactics.

See also

  • List of anti-aircraft weapons
  • Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon
    Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon

    A self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon is an anti-aircraft gun or surface-to-air missile launcher mounted on a mobile vehicle chassis. The Russian language equivalent of SPAAG is ZSU, for zenitnaya samokhodnaya ustanovka, ....


External links

  • by Kenneth P. Werrell (book available for download)