page_title: Power projection
section_title: Elements
hierarchical_section_title: Power projection / Elements
caption_attribution_description: English: Military trucks are unloaded from the nose ramp of a U.S. Air Force C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft assigned the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Military Airlift Command, in support of Operation Desert Shield. Deutsch: Blick in den riesigen Frachtraum der Galaxy. Entladung von Fahrzeugen über die Bugrampe.
context_page_description: Power projection is a term used in military and political science to refer to the capacity of a state to deploy and sustain forces outside its territory.
  This ability is a crucial element of a state's power in international relations. Any state able to direct its military forces outside its territory might be said to have some level of power projection capability, but the term itself is used most frequently in reference to militaries with a worldwide reach. Even states with sizable hard power assets may only be able to exert limited regional influence so long as they lack the means of effectively projecting their power on a global scale. Generally, only a select few states are able to overcome the logistical difficulties inherent in the deployment and direction of a modern, mechanized military force.
  While traditional measures of power projection typically focus on hard power assets, the developing theory of soft power notes that power projection does not necessarily have to involve the active use of military forces in combat.
context_section_description: The U.S. Department of Defense defines power projection as the "ability of a nation to apply all or some of its elements of national power—political, economic, informational, or military—to rapidly and effectively deploy and sustain forces in and from multiple dispersed locations to respond to crises, to contribute to deterrence, and to enhance regional stability".
  As distance between a fighting force and its headquarters increases, command and control inevitably becomes more difficult. Modern-day power projection often employs high-tech communications and information technology to overcome these difficulties, a process sometimes described as the "Revolution in Military Affairs".
  While a few long-range weapons such as the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and some unmanned combat aerial vehicles (drones) are capable of projecting deadly force in their own right, it is military logistics that is at the heart of power projection. The ability to integrate naval and air forces with land armies as part of joint warfare is a key aspect of effective power projection; airlift and sealift capabilities facilitate the deployment of soldiers and weapons to a distant theater of war.
  The aircraft carrier strike group, strategic bomber, ballistic missile submarine, and strategic airlifter are all examples of power projection platforms. Military units designed to be light and mobile, such as airborne forces (paratroopers and air assault forces) and amphibious assault forces, are utilized in power projection. Forward basing is another method of power projection, which, by pre-positioning military units or stockpiles of arms at strategically located military bases outside a country's territory, reduces the time and distance needed to mobilize them.
caption: The cargo hold and intercontinental flight capabilities of the C-5 Galaxy make it a major asset for deploying military equipment around the globe.
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