A strike package is a group of aircraft with different capabilities that are launched together to perform a single attack mission. It is a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

effort in the air. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

calls the same concept " alpha strike". The term is normally applied to

ground attack Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

missions, where the strike package for attacking the primary target will include bombers, fighters to defend them from enemy aircraft, wild weasels to defend against ground-based

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

weapons,

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

for pre-raid and post-raid reconnaissance and

tanker aircraft This is a list of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling of another aircraft while in powered flight. Refueling methods ;Looped hose: The first commercial method employed a hose which was held slack in a trailing half-loop behind both airc ...

to extend the mission radius. AWACS and stand-off jamming aircraft may support the strike package without entering the most dangerous airspace. In some cases all of these roles can be carried out by a single aircraft type with different payloads, but it is more common to use a variety of different aircraft, launched from different locations and times. Strike packages are a tactical adaptation to substantial threats (fighters, air defenses) and are less efficient than an all-strike fighter effort would be in face of little resistance. Often, only about 40% of the strike package aircraft are equipped to engage the primary ground targets. The strike package tactic gives up continuous air/ground operations over a target area in favor of discontinuous presence. This leaves periods of little air threat and thus relatively good freedom of movement to the opposing ground forces.

References

External links

Website written for wargamers, describing historical Vietnam War strike packages
Military aviation {{aero-stub

See also

References

External links