Anti-aircraft warfare

Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. Various guns and cannon have been used in this role since the first military aircraft were used in World War I, growing in power and accuracy over the years. Starting in the post-World War II era the guns were joined by the guided missile, specifically the "surface-to-air missile", and today both are used in combination in most roles.

Related Topics:
Aircraft - Cannon - World War I - World War II - Guided missile - Surface-to-air missile

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Adaptations of standard artillery systems were commonly used for most long-range anti-aircraft artillery, starting with standard pieces on new mountings, and evolving to custom guns with much higher performance prior to World War II. Their shells are usually fitted with different types of fuses (barometric, time-delay, or proximity) to send exploding flak into a specified area. The classic example of a large, long-range anti-aircraft gun is the German 88 mm gun. Long-range weapons of this sort were replaced outright with the introduction of missile systems in the 1950s.

Related Topics:
Artillery - System - Shell - Fuses - Barometric - Proximity - German - 88 mm gun - Missile - 1950s

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For shorter-range work a lighter weapon with a higher rate of fire is required, to guarantee a hit on a quickly traversing target. Weapons of 20 mm, 37 mm and 40 mm have been widely used in this role. Unlike the heavier guns, these smaller weapons are still in widespread use today for the same reasons as they were originally introduced, that missile systems cannot traverse or react fast enough to targets that are manuvering close to the ground. Modern systems often use weapons originally intended for air-to-ground use, and are known as autocannon. The very latest of short-range missiles appear to be able to replace guns even in this role.

Related Topics:
Rate of fire - Target - Autocannon

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Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include AAA or triple-A for anti-aircraft artillery, ack-ack (from the World War I phonetic alphabet for AA), archie (a WWI British term believed to derive via the Royal Flying Corps from the music-hall comedian George Robey's line "Archibald, certainly not!"), and flak (from the German Flugabwehrkanone, aircraft defense cannon). An anti-aircraft missile is an alternate name for a surface-to-air missile.

Related Topics:
World War I phonetic alphabet - Royal Flying Corps - Music-hall - George Robey - German

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The United States Navy abbreviates anti-air warfare as AAW; most groups of ships have a designated AAW commander among them. In the Russian Army, Air Defense is a separate armed service, reflecting its extreme importance in Russian military science. The United States Army has disdained air defense for ground units, counting on achieving air superiority. This has left a gap in American military equipment between the man-portable Stinger and the theater anti-missile system Patriot.

Related Topics:
United States Navy - Abbreviates - AAW - Commander - Russia - Armed service - Military science - United States Army - Stinger - Patriot

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