Combat endurance is the time that a military system or unit can remain in

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

before having to withdraw due to depleted resources. The definition is not precise; for example the combat endurance of an

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, without qualification, is usually the time the aircraft can remain at an

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

suitable for combat, but in a particular theatre of operations it is the time it can remain in the area of combat. During the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, for example, the combat endurance of German fighters was the time they could remain over Britain, i.e., their inherent (

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...

)less the time to travel from their base to Britain, and the time to return—about 15 minutes. In addition to fuel the expenditure of ammunition and other consumables will reduce combat endurance, for example the limiting factors for a nuclear attack submarine are its torpedoes or for a nuclear

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

aviation fuel and aircraft munitions. Military units will have a combat endurance, how long they can stay in the field for, measured by how long its logistics train can keep its component subunits supplied with food, fuel, ammunition and spare parts etc. The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

define endurance as "the time an aircraft can continue flying, or a ground vehicle or ship can continue operating, under specified conditions, e.g., without refueling." Combat endurance training is also used for a system of physical training associated with stamina.

Improving combat endurance

The improvements of combat endurance are largely concerned with better efficiency to the current platforms and they aim to bridge the gap between the resources available today and the future. Technology, therefore, dominates this field and one specific aspect that demonstrates this involves the technologies that enhance

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...

. There are three improvement categories focused on this area: * fundamental: involves new vehicle configurations that affect overall aerodynamics and structural efficiency; new propulsion architecture and over the longer term fuels * major subsystem increments: engine improvements and use of new structural materials * small component evolution: use of more efficient generators, thrusters, and material substitution, among others The U.S. Department of Defense identified three breakthrough technologies that could significantly improve its capabilities and combat endurance and these are: 1) blended wing body for fixed-wing, heavy-lift aircraft; 2) variable speed tilt rotor for vertical lift aircraft; and, 3) blast bucket design concept for light armor ground vehicles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combat Endurance Combat Fighter aircraft Exercise physiology Military planning