Air force: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

[[File:Usaf.f15.f16.kc135.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|Four [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] and a [[tanker aircraftKC-135]] of the [[USAF]] ]]

[[File:B-2 Spirit original.jpg|thumb|right|[[USAF]] [[B-2 Spirit]] stealth [[strategic bomber]] ]]

[[File:JaguarGR1 41Sqn refueling Gulf1991.jpeg|thumb|right|Refuelling a [[SEPECAT Jaguar|Jaguar GR1]] of the [[Royal Air Force]] (1991)]]

An '''air force''' – in the broadest sense – is the national [[military branch]] that primarily conducts [[aerial warfare]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Monica|first=1776 Main Street Santa|last2=California 90401-3208|title=Air Warfare|url=https://www.rand.org/topics/air-warfare.html|access-date=2020-12-31|website=rand.org|language=en}}</ref> More specifically, it is the branch of a [[nation]]'s [[armed services]] that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an [[army aviation]] or [[naval aviation]] units. Typically, air forces are responsible for [[air supremacy|gaining control of the air]], carrying out [[Strategic bombing|strategic]] and [[tactical bombing]] missions, and providing support to [[land forces|land]] and [[naval forces]] often in the form of [[aerial reconnaissance]] and [[close air support]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Air Force Reserve|url=https://afreserve.com/air-traffic-control|access-date=2020-12-31|website=afreserve.com}}</ref>

The term air force may also refer to a [[tactical air force]] or [[numbered air force]], which is an operational formation either within a national air force or comprising several air components from allied nations. Air forces typically consist of a combination of [[fighter aircraft|fighters]], [[bomber]]s, [[Military helicopter|helicopter]]s, [[Military transport aircraft|transport planes]] and other aircraft.

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Arguably, the [[Finnish Air Force]] was the first independent air force in the world,{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} formed on 6 March 1918, when the Swedish count, [[Eric von Rosen]] gave Finland the second aircraft, a [[AB Thulinverken|Thulin]] [[Morane-Saulnier Type L|Typ D]].<ref>A photograph of this plane can be found in the book by Shores 1969, p. 4.</ref> Some considered that the Finnish Air Force did not officially exist during the [[Finnish Civil War]], and the [[Red Guards (Finland)|Red Guards]] had its own air force.<ref name="keskinen">Keskinen, Partonen, Stenman 2005.</ref>

Over the following decades, most countries with substantial military capability established independent air forces. The [[South African Air Force]] was formed on 1 February 1920 and the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] was formed shortly thereafter, on 31 March 1921, although it was not until 1922 that the head of the Service was titled as [[Chief of Air Force (Australia)|Chief of the Air Staff]], placing him on a par with his [[Australian Army]] and Navy counterparts. The [[Canadian Air Force (1918-1920)|Canadian Air Force]] was formed at the end of World War I and was abolished and reorganized several times between 1918 and 1924. It became the permanent [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] when it received the ''Royal'' title by royal proclamation on 1 April 1924. It did not however become independent of the [[Canadian Army]] until 1938, when its head was also designated as [[Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force|Chief of the Air Staff]]. Similarly, the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] was established in 1923 as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, but did not become independent of the New Zealand Army until 1937. The [[Royal Indian Air Force]] was also formed on 8th october 1932. Other British-influenced countries also established independent air forces. For example, the [[Royal Egyptian Air Force]] was created in 1937, when Egyptian military aviation was separated from Army command. The Afghan Air Force was established on 22 August 1924, with support from the Soviet Union and Great Britain, but [[Reforms of Amānullāh Khān and civil war|a civil war]] destroyed most of the planes and it was not reestablished until 1937, when King [[Mohammed Nadir Shah]] took power.

Outside of the British Empire, the [[Italian Royal Air Force]] was founded in 1923,<ref>[http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/1919_1936_C/Pagine/CreazioneAeronautica.aspx UNA NUOVA FORZA ARMATA AUTONOMA]</ref> the [[Romanian Air Force]] was established as a force category on 1 January 1924,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roaf.ro/?p=5264|title=Anul 1920|language=ro|work=RoAF}}</ref> the [[Finnish Air Force]] was established as a separate service on 4 May 1928, the [[Chilean Air Force]] was founded in 1930<ref>[https://www.fach.mil.cl/hitos.html "Hitos Históricos de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile"]</ref> and the [[Brazilian Air Force]] was created in 1941.<ref>[http://www2.camara.leg.br/legin/fed/declei/1940-1949/decreto-lei-3302-22-maio-1941-413224-publicacaooriginal-1-pe.html Decreto-lei nº 3.302, de 22 de maio de 1941.Dá nova denominação às Forças Aéreas Nacionais e aos seus estabelecimentos]. Retrieved on 3 July 2020.</ref> Both the [[United States Air Force]]<ref>80 P.L. 253, 61 Stat. 495 (1947); Air Force Link, (2006)[https://web.archive.org/web/20080709030729/http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2 "Factsheets: The U.S. Air Force"]. U.S. Air Force, December 2008. Retrieved on 9 May 2009.</ref> and the [[Philippine Air Force]] were formed as a separate branches of their respective armed forces in 1947, as did the [[Argentine Air Force]] in 1945.<ref>[https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sobre-nosotros/nuestra-historia "Nuestra Historia – Fuerza Aérea Argentina"]</ref> The [[Israeli Air Force]] came into being with the [[State of Israel]] on 18 May 1948, but evolved from the pre-existing [[Sherut Avir]] (Air Service) of the [[Haganah]] paramilitary. The [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] was not established until 1954;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scramble.nl/orbats/japan/summary/airforce|title=Orbats – Scramble|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-date=13 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113105127/http://www.scramble.nl/orbats/japan/summary/airforce|url-status=dead}}</ref> in [[World War II]] Japanese military aviation had been carried out by the Army and Navy. Unlike all these countries, the [[Mexican Air Force]] remains an integral part of the [[Mexican Army]].{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

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==Infantry==

[[File:French Armed Forces.JPEG|thumb|Members of the {{Lang|fr|[[Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air]]}}, the infantry unit of the French Air and Space Force]]

[[Image:ExerciseBuechelAB.jpg|thumb|right|230px|An airman of the [[German Air Force]] Regiment (right) together with an American Security Forces Specialist during an anti-terrorist exercise at [[Büchel Air Base]], Germany in 2007.]]

[[Air assault]] and [[Airborne infantry]], such as the [[RAF Regiment|Royal Air Force Regiment]], [[Airfield Defence Guards|Royal Australian Air Force Airfield Defense Guards]], [[RNZAF Force Protection|RNZAF Security Forces]], and the [[United States Air Force Security Forces|US Air Force Security Forces]], are used primarily for ground-based defence of air bases and other air force facilities. They also have a number of other specialist roles, including [[CBRN defense|Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defense]], offensive operations in defense of air force assets, and training other air force personnel in basic ground defence tactics.