AIR POWER AND STRATEGY

Air power is the military use of aerospace resources for the defense of the nation and
support their policy for achieving the objectives of national leadership. The capacity
intrinsic to Air Power to reach and neutralize or destroy the center of gravity of
opponent and the essential components of their device, determine its strategic value1.

For this, it is necessary for the selection of objectives to determine the physical objectives whose
Destruction or neutralization can determine the achievement of the same in each phase.
from the campaign, as well as the sequence and rhythm of the attacks. For this, it is important the
intelligence data available, as physical elements (buildings, tracks, are analyzed
communication routes, deposits, etc.) that have been identified as part of the systems
more vital than the opponent (government machinery, military forces, elements of
production, transportation infrastructure, energy sources, etc.), in order to determine
the requirements and means for their neutralization. This decision corresponds to the command
political and is the core part of the campaign, as it can determine success or failure
of it and its cost in human lives and material resources.

THE WARDEN RINGS

In strategic warfare, objectives are the key to success. When we go into combat
against a state or any strategic entity we must have objectives, and those objectives,
to be useful, they must go far beyond simply defeating the opponent or destroying their
military forces.

According to Warden, the structure of the 5 rings, in its application to strategic warfare, is the

next

Leadership - Center of gravity (Government, Communications, Security).

Essential systems - Energy (electricity, oil, food, and money).
Infrastructure (Roads, Airports, factories).
Population (population).
• Armed Forces (Armed Forces, Police, Firefighters)2.

The most critical is the leadership ring, because it refers to the command structure.
enemy, whether there is a civilian at the head of the government or a military commander in charge
1Air Power and Strategy, available URL: [Link]
[Consultation January 14, 2013].
2Air Power and Strategy, available URL:hThe provided text is a URL and cannot be translated.

[Consultation January 14, 2013].

to a fleet, because it is the only opposing element that can make concessions, adopt
the most complex decisions to maintain a state with a particular orientation, or
What can lead a country into war.

The essence of war is to pressure the innermost of the strategic rings.

opponent, their command structure.

The following most critical ring contains the essential organic elements. Such elements
they are those processes and facilities without which the state or the organization cannot
maintain. The number of objectives related to vital organic elements, even in a large
state, is reasonably small, and each of the targets within the subsystems,
as the production of energy and oil refining are fragile. Depending on the
size of the state and the importance it assigns to its objectives, even minor damages
Vital industries can induce the driving element to make concessions.
concessions can be made because of the damage to essential organic elements:

Leads to the collapse of the system.

It makes it materially difficult or impossible to maintain a certain policy or

to combat.
• It has internal political or economic repercussions that make it very costly.
support them3.

The third most critical ring is the infrastructure one. It contains the transportation system of the
adversary state, the system that mobilizes civil and military goods and services
around the entire area of state operations. It includes railways, airlines,
roads, bridges, airports, ports, and a number of other analogous systems.
Involves the majority of the country's industry that does not fall into the category of elements.
essential organics.

The fourth most critical ring is the population. Putting aside moral objections, it is
it's difficult to attack the population directly. There are too many targets and in many cases, the

population can endure great suffering before it turns against its own
government. The indirect attack on the population, as North Vietnam did against the
3
The five rings in strategic warfare, available URL: [Link]
s/1995/invier95/[Link] [Consulted January 13, 2013].
The U.S. can be especially effective if the target country has a relatively strong interest.
low in the outcome of the war. It is complicated to determine what actions may be for
how humans are very unpredictable.

The last ring contains the military forces deployed by the state. Although
we tend to think that military forces are the essence of a war, in
reality is a means to achieve an end. That is, its exclusive function is to defend its
own inner rings or threaten those of an opponent. Naturally, a state can
be induced to make concessions by reducing their campaign forces and if all their
deployed forces are destroyed, you may have to make the final concession, simply
because the command element knows that the inner rings have become indefensible and
possible to be destroyed.

In volume, the fifth ring is currently smaller than the fourth of the population.
but theoretically it is less vulnerable to direct attack simply because it is
prepared to behave like this. A handful of bombs around Qadhafi led him to
make concessions; if the same amount had fallen on their tanks, they would not have
had consequences.

Centers of gravity exist not only at the strategic level but also at the operational level.
and indeed they are very similar. At the operational level, the goal is still to induce the
enemy operational level commander to make concessions such as a
withdrawal, a surrender, or to give up the offensive.

At the operational level, the first ring or center of gravity is the commander himself. It is
the objective of the operations, whether directly or indirectly, because it is the one who will decide whether

concede something to the enemy. Their central command, control, and communications system.
is within its central ring. The next operational ring is that of the elements
essential organics (which at the operational level can be classified as logistics)
because it contains the essentials for combat: ammunition, fuel, and the
supplies without which a modern war cannot be continued. To mobilize the
material that exists in the ring of vital organic elements is necessary to have
an infrastructure and military forces deployed and that infrastructure is the third ring
operational. It consists of roads, air routes, maritime routes, railway tracks, lines of
communications, pipelines, and myriads of other facilities to support the forces of
campaign. None of the three inner rings will function without personnel, and that personnel from
support integrates the fourth operational ring. Like the population in the fourth strategic ring,
this staff offers very difficult targets and will very rarely be suitable for attack
direct

The fifth and final ring of the operational commander is that of the campaign forces.
aircraft, ships, and troops. The fifth ring is the hardest to reduce, simply because it has
has been designed to be like this. As a general rule, a campaign that focuses on the fifth ring is
likely to be the longest and bloodiest for both sides. However, sometimes it is
It is appropriate to focus against the fifth ring, and sometimes it is necessary to reduce it in some way.

measure, in order to reach the internal operational or strategic rings4.

4
The five rings in strategic warfare, available URL: [Link]
s/1995/invier95/[Link] [Consulted January 13, 2013].