Airpower Airpower or air power comprises the application of military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare . Airpower began with the advent of mechanized flight early in the 20th century . Airpower represents a " complex operating environment that has been subjected to considerable debate " . British doctrine defines airpower as " the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events . " Airpower is a function of air supremacy and numbers . Roughly speaking , a combatant side that has 100 % or near 100 % control of the skies has air supremacy ; an advantage of some 70 - 90 % would indicate air superiority . A 50 / 50 split is air parity ; lower than this , one side may be said to be air denied or air incapable . Because airplanes generally take off from designed airfields on missions typically involving some hours of cruising , the precise state of air superiority is fluid and less defined vis - a - vis land or sea combat . For example , a contested airspace directly above a battlezone bristling with antiaircraft weapons may be denied to the airforces of both sides . Further , the completely different situations of a technologically advanced airforce with one flight of high - tech planes ( air supremacy but low capacity ) or a low - tech force of massive numbers of low - tech planes ( e . g . An - 2 ) resulting in high capacity but low long - term survivability demonstrate that ' air power ' is multi - faceted and complex . Significant contributors are Giulio Douhet , Billy Mitchell , John Boyd and John A . Warden III . Some early strategists / visionaries after World War I imagined that airpower alone would suffice to bring nations to their knees . The Bombing of Guernica was an early trial that revealed both capabilities and limitations . But yet another maxim ' no war was ever won solely by airpower ' was challenged by the NATO victory in Kosovo . Airpower has been used to conduct lightning strategic strikes , to complement land offensives , to instill fear / lower morale similarly to a fleet in reserve , and to create broad - based destruction behind enemy lines . With airpower , supplies can be transported by cargo planes , providing a decisive edge in mobility . Military and civilian aircraft , moreover , interact in a number of complex ways , including shoot - downs of civilian planes whether mistaken or not ; military escorts of civilian planes ; civilian planes being used for military transport , espionage , or other purposes ; and / or no - fly zones being enforced to punish or sanction a target nation . Airpower also relates to space power , although militarization of space remains regulated by international treaty . Developed nations have enjoyed a consistent advantage in airpower since the beginning of mechanized flight . Airpower has been wielded mostly decisively in the last hundred years by Germany , the United Kingdom , the United States , the Soviet Union , Japan , Italy , and France , with many client nations using aircraft developed by one or more of these nations . A mass technological base is considered necessary for the development of airpower .