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{{See also|Surface-to-air missile}}
{{short description|Measures to combat enemy aerial forces}}
{{Redirect-several|dab=no|Flak (disambiguation)|Ack Ack (disambiguation)|Anti-Aircraft (video game)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
[[File:DGLC systemen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Artist's rendition of short and long range AA systems used by the Dutch [[Joint Ground-based Air Defence Command]]
{{
'''Anti-aircraft warfare'''
Most modern anti-aircraft (AA) weapons systems are optimized for short-, medium-, or long-range air defence, although some systems may incorporate multiple weapons (such as both [[autocannons]] and [[surface-to-air missiles]]). ‘Layered air defence’ usually refers to multiple
In some countries, such as Britain and Germany during the [[World War II|Second World War]], the [[Soviet Union]], and modern NATO and the United States, ground-based air defence and air defence aircraft have been under integrated command and control. However, while overall air defence may be for homeland defence (including military facilities), forces in the field, wherever they are, provide their own defences against
Until the 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions ranging from 7.62 mm (.30 in) to 152.4 mm (6 in) were the standard weapons; guided missiles then became dominant, except at the very shortest ranges (as with [[close-in weapon system]]s, which typically use [[rotary cannon|rotary autocannon]]s or, in very modern systems, surface-to-air adaptations of short-range [[air-to-air missile]]s, often combined in one system with rotary cannons).
==Terminology==
It may also be called
The term
NATO defines anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) as "measures taken to defend a maritime force against attacks by airborne weapons launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and land-based sites".<ref name="AAP-6" /> In some armies the term ''all-arms air defence'' (AAAD) is used for air defence by nonspecialist troops. Other terms from the late 20th century include "ground based air defence" (GBAD) with related terms "[[short range air defense]]" (SHORAD) and [[man-portable air-defense system]] (MANPADS). Anti-aircraft missiles are variously called [[surface-to-air missile]]s, ("
Non-English terms for air defence include the German ''Flak'' or ''FlaK'' (''Fliegerabwehrkanone'', 'aircraft defence cannon',<ref>{{cite web |url = http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flak |title = flak |publisher = Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |access-date = 30 June 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080514025728/http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flak |archive-date = 14 May 2008 |df = dmy-all }}</ref> also cited as ''Flugabwehrkanone''), whence English ''flak'', and the Russian term ''Protivovozdushnaya oborona'' ([[Cyrillic]]: Противовозду́шная оборо́на), a literal translation of 'anti-air defence', abbreviated as PVO.{{sfn|Bellamy|1986|p=219}} In Russian, the AA systems are called ''zenitnye'' (i.e., 'pointing to [[zenith]]') systems. In French, air defence is called ''Défense contre les aéronefs (DCA)'' , ''aéronef'' meaning 'aircraft'.<ref>le petit Larousse 2013 p20–p306</ref>
The maximum distance at which a gun or missile can engage an aircraft is an important figure. However, many different definitions are used and unless the same definition is used, performance of different guns or missiles cannot be compared. For AA guns only the ascending part of the trajectory can be usefully used. One term is "ceiling", the maximum ceiling being the height a projectile would reach if fired vertically, not practically useful in itself as few AA guns are able to fire vertically, and the maximum fuse duration may be too short, but potentially useful as a standard to compare different weapons.
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Ground-based air defence is deployed in several ways:
* Self-defence by ground forces using their organic weapons, AAAD.
* Accompanying defence, specialist
* Point defence around a key target, such as a bridge, critical government building or ship.
* Area air defence, typically "belts" of air defence to provide a barrier, but sometimes an umbrella covering an area. Areas can vary widely in size. They may extend along a nation's border, e.g. the [[Cold War]] [[MIM-23 Hawk]] and [[Nike (rocket)|Nike]] belts that ran north–south across Germany, across a military formation's manoeuvre area, or above a city or port. In ground operations air defence areas may be used offensively by rapid redeployment across current aircraft transit routes.
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In Britain and some other armies, the single artillery branch has been responsible for both home and overseas ground-based air defence, although there was divided responsibility with the [[Royal Navy]] for air defence of the British Isles in [[World War I]]. However, during the [[World War II|Second World War]], the [[RAF Regiment]] was formed to protect airfields everywhere, and this included light air defences. In the later decades of the [[Cold War]] this included the [[United States Air Force]]'s operating bases in the UK. All ground-based air defence was removed from Royal Air Force (RAF) jurisdiction in [[2004]]. The British Army's [[Anti-Aircraft Command]] was disbanded in March 1955,<ref>Beckett 2008, 178.</ref> but during the 1960s and 1970s the RAF's Fighter Command operated long-range air-defence missiles to protect key areas in the UK. During World War II, the [[Royal Marines]] also provided air defence units; formally part of the mobile naval base defence organisation, they were handled as an integral part of the army-commanded ground based air defences.
The basic air defence unit is typically a battery with 2 to 12 guns or missile launchers and fire control elements.{{
Batteries are usually grouped into battalions or equivalent. In the field army, a light gun or SHORAD battalion is often assigned to a manoeuvre division. Heavier guns and long-range missiles may be in air-defence brigades and come under corps or higher command. Homeland air defence may have a full military structure. For example, the UK's Anti-Aircraft Command, commanded by a full [[Frederick Alfred Pile|British Army general]] was part of ADGB. At its peak in 1941–42 it comprised three AA corps with 12 AA divisions between them.{{sfn|Routledge|1994|p=396–397}}
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The use of balloons by the U.S. Army during the American Civil War compelled the Confederates to develop methods of combating them. These included the use of artillery, small arms, and saboteurs. They were unsuccessful, and internal politics led the United States Army's [[Union Army Balloon Corps|Balloon Corps]] to be disbanded mid-war. The Confederates experimented with balloons as well.<ref>Spring 2007 issue of the American Association of Aviation Historians Journal</ref>
Turks carried out the first ever anti-airplane operation in history during the [[Italo-Turkish war]]. Although lacking anti-aircraft weapons, they were the first to shoot down an
The earliest known use of weapons specifically made for the anti-aircraft role occurred during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870. After the [[Battle of Sedan|disaster at Sedan]], [[Siege of Paris (1870–71)|Paris was besieged]] and French troops outside the city started an attempt at communication via [[balloon (aircraft)|balloon]]. Gustav [[Krupp]] mounted a modified 1-pounder (
<gallery heights="180">
File:Canon antiballons.JPG|''Ballonabwehrkanone'' by Krupp
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On the 30th of September, 1915, troops of the [[Serbian Army]] observed three enemy aircraft approaching [[Kragujevac]]. Soldiers fired at them with shotguns and machine-guns but failed to prevent them from dropping 45 bombs over the city, hitting military installations, the railway station and many other, mostly civilian, targets in the city. During the bombing raid, [[private (rank)|private]] [[Radoje Ljutovac]] fired his cannon at the enemy aircraft and successfully shot one down. It crashed in the city and both pilots died from their injuries. The cannon Ljutovac used was not designed as an anti-aircraft gun; it was a slightly modified Turkish cannon captured during the [[First Balkan War]] in 1912. This was the first occasion in military history that a military aircraft was shot down with [[ground-to-air]] artillery fire.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/3842-prvi-ratni-avion-oboren-u-istoriji-pao-na-kragujevac.html| title=How was the first military airplane shot down| magazine=National Geographic| access-date=5 August 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831011608/http://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/3842-prvi-ratni-avion-oboren-u-istoriji-pao-na-kragujevac.html| archive-date=31 August 2015| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefirstworldwar.net/licnosti/ucesnici-ratova/ljutovac-radoje/ |title=Ljutovac, Radoje |publisher=Amanet Society |access-date=5 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071649/http://www.thefirstworldwar.net/licnosti/ucesnici-ratova/ljutovac-radoje/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pecat.co.rs/2014/09/radoje-raka-ljutovac-prvi-u-svetu-oborio-avion-topom/|title=Radoje Raka Ljutovac – first person in the world to shoot down an airplane with a cannon|date=30 September 2014|publisher=Pečat|access-date=5 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812103535/http://www.pecat.co.rs/2014/09/radoje-raka-ljutovac-prvi-u-svetu-oborio-avion-topom/|archive-date=12 August 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
The British recognised the need for anti-aircraft capability a few weeks before World War I broke out; on 8 July 1914, the ''New York Times'' reported that the British government had decided to
[[File:Maxim anti-aircraft machine gun.JPG|thumb|upright|A Maxim anti-aircraft machine gun in the anti-aircraft museum in Finland, 2006]]
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The first issue was ammunition. Before the war it was recognised that ammunition needed to explode in the air. Both high explosive (HE) and [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]] were used, mostly the former. Airburst fuses were either igniferious (based on a burning fuse) or mechanical (clockwork). Igniferious fuses were not well suited for anti-aircraft use. The fuse length was determined by time of flight, but the burning rate of the gunpowder was affected by altitude. The British pom-poms had only contact-fused ammunition. [[Zeppelin]]s, being hydrogen-filled balloons, were targets for incendiary shells and the British introduced these with airburst fuses, both shrapnel type-forward projection of incendiary "pot" and base ejection of an incendiary stream. The British also fitted tracers to their shells for use at night. Smoke shells were also available for some AA guns, these bursts were used as targets during training.<ref>The Ministry of Munitions pg 40–41</ref>
German air attacks on the British Isles increased in 1915 and the AA efforts were deemed somewhat ineffective, so a [[Royal Navy]] gunnery expert, Admiral Sir [[Percy Scott]], was appointed to make improvements, particularly an integrated AA defence for London. The air defences were expanded with more RNVR AA guns, 75 mm and 3-inch, the pom-poms being ineffective. The naval 3-inch was also adopted by the army, the [[QF 3-inch 20 cwt]] (76 mm), a new field mounting was introduced in 1916. Since most attacks were at night, searchlights were soon used, and acoustic methods of detection and locating were developed. By December 1916 there were 183 AA
AA gunnery was a difficult business. The problem was of successfully aiming a shell to burst close to its target's future position, with various factors affecting the shells' predicted trajectory. This was called deflection gun-laying, where "off-set" angles for range and elevation were set on the gunsight and updated as their target moved. In this method, when the sights were on the target, the barrel was pointed at the target's future position. Range and height of the target determined fuse length. The difficulties increased as aircraft performance improved.
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As aircraft started to be used against ground targets on the battlefield, the AA guns could not be traversed quickly enough at close targets and, being relatively few, were not always in the right place (and were often unpopular with other troops), so changed positions frequently. Soon the forces were adding various [[machine-gun]] based weapons mounted on poles. These short-range weapons proved more deadly, and the "[[Manfred von Richthofen|Red Baron]]" is believed to have been shot down by an anti-aircraft [[Vickers machine gun]]. When the war ended, it was clear that the increasing capabilities of aircraft would require better means of acquiring targets and aiming at them. Nevertheless, a pattern had been set: anti-aircraft warfare would employ heavy weapons to attack high-altitude targets and lighter weapons for use when aircraft came to lower altitudes.
[[File:AA-Predictor-Nr1MarkIII-001.jpg|thumb|The No. 1 Mark III Predictor that was used with the [[QF 3.7-inch AA gun]] was a mechanical computer.]]
[[File:Antiaircraft defence Sweden 1934.jpg|thumb|Shooting with anti-aircraft gun in Sweden 1934]]
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While HAA and its associated target acquisition and fire control was the primary focus of AA efforts, low-level close-range targets remained and by the mid-1930s were becoming an issue.
Until this time the British, at RAF insistence, continued their use of World War I machine guns, and introduced twin MG mountings for AAAD. The army was forbidden from considering anything larger than .50-inch.{{
The 40 mm Bofors had become available in 1931. In the late 1920s the [[Swedish Navy]] had ordered the development of a 40 mm naval anti-aircraft gun from the Bofors company. It was light, rapid-firing and reliable, and a mobile version on a four-wheel carriage was soon developed. Known simply as the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]], it was adopted by some 17 different nations just before World War II and is still in use today in some applications such as on coastguard frigates.
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After the [[Operation Chastise|Dambusters raid]] in 1943 an entirely new system was developed that was required to knock down any low-flying aircraft with a single hit. The first attempt to produce such a system used a 50 mm gun, but this proved inaccurate and a new 55 mm gun replaced it. The system used a centralised control system including both search and targeting [[radar]], which calculated the aim point for the guns after considering windage and ballistics, and then sent electrical commands to the guns, which used [[hydraulic]]s to point themselves at high speeds. Operators simply fed the guns and selected the targets. This system, modern even by today's standards, was in late development when the war ended.
[[File:Wehrmacht Flugabwehr Airdefence.jpeg|thumb|upright|German soldier manning an [[MG 34|MG34]] anti-aircraft gun in
The British had already arranged licence building of the Bofors 40 mm, and introduced these into service. These had the power to knock down aircraft of any size, yet were light enough to be mobile and easily swung. The gun became so important to the British war effort that they even produced a movie, ''[[The Gun (1940 film)|The Gun]]'', that encouraged workers on the assembly line to work harder. The Imperial measurement production drawings the British had developed were supplied to the Americans who produced their own (unlicensed) copy of the 40 mm at the start of the war, moving to licensed production in mid-1941.
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AAA battalions were also used to help suppress ground targets. Their larger [[90 mm M3 gun]] would prove, as did the eighty-eight, to make an excellent anti-tank gun as well, and was widely used late in the war in this role. Also available to the Americans at the start of the war was the [[120 mm M1 gun]] ''stratosphere gun'', which was the most powerful AA gun with an impressive {{convert|60000|ft|km|abbr=on}} altitude capability, however no 120 M1 was ever fired at an enemy aircraft. The 90 mm and 120 mm guns continued to be used into the 1950s.
The [[United States Navy]] had also put some thought into the problem, When the US Navy began to rearm in 1939 in many ships the primary short ranged gun was the M2 .50 caliber machine gun. While effective in fighters at 300 to 400 yards this is point blank range in naval anti-aircraft ranges. Production of the Swiss Oerlikon 20 mm had already started to provide protection for the British and this was adopted in exchange for the M2 machine guns.<ref>Friedman, 2014 Location 8687</ref> From December 1941 to January 1942, production had risen to not only cover all British requirements but also allowed 812 units to be actually delivered to the US Navy.<ref>Friedman, 2014 Location 8713</ref> By the end of 1942 the 20 mm had accounted for 42% of all aircraft destroyed by the US Navy's shipboard AA. However, the King Board had noted that the balance was shifting towards the larger guns used by the fleet. The US Navy had intended to use the British pom-pom, however, the weapon required the use of cordite which BuOrd had found objectionable for US service.<ref>Bulletin of Ordnance Information, No.245, pp. 54–60.</ref> Further investigation revealed that US powders would not work in the pom-pom.<ref>Friedman, 2014 Location 8620</ref> Bureau of Ordnance was well aware of the Bofors 40 mm gun. The firm York Safe and Lock was negotiating with Bofors to attain the rights to the air-cooled version of the weapon. At the same time Henry Howard, an engineer, and businessman became aware of it and contacted
Mated with the Mark 37 director and the proximity fuse it could routinely knock drones out of the sky at ranges as far as 13,000 yards.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_5-38_mk12.php |title=USA 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12 - NavWeaps |access-date=2 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928150652/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_5-38_mk12.php |archive-date=28 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:USS New Mexico Flak Kamikaze Battle of Okinawa.jpg|thumb|right|[[5-inch/38-caliber gun|5-inch]], [[Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun|
[[File:Vienna flak tower dsc01594.jpg|thumb|upright|left|One of eight [[flak tower]]s built during [[World War II]] in [[Vienna]]]]
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Another aspect of anti-aircraft defence was the use of [[barrage balloon]]s to act as physical obstacle initially to bomber aircraft over cities and later for ground attack aircraft over the [[Normandy Landings|Normandy invasion]] fleets. The balloon, a simple blimp tethered to the ground, worked in two ways. Firstly, it and the steel cable were a danger to any aircraft that tried to fly among them. Secondly, to avoid the balloons, bombers had to fly at a higher altitude, which was more favourable for the guns. Barrage balloons were limited in application, and had minimal success at bringing down aircraft, being largely immobile and passive defences.
The Allies' most advanced technologies were showcased by the anti-aircraft defence against the German [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1]] cruise missiles (V stands for ''Vergeltungswaffe'', 'retaliation weapon'). The 419th and 601st anti-aircraft gun battalions of the US Army were first allocated to the Folkestone-Dover coast to defend London, and then moved to Belgium to become part of the "Antwerp X" project coordinated from the {{Interlanguage link|Le Grand Veneur|nl}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxZdUuUDMcI |title=Le Grand Veneur Keerbergen operation Antwerp X |website=[[YouTube]] |date=25 January 2014 |access-date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115093236/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxZdUuUDMcI |archive-date=15 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Keerbergen]]. With the liberation of Antwerp, the port city immediately became the highest priority target, and received the largest number of V-1 and V-2 missiles of any city. The smallest tactical unit of the operation was a gun battery consisting of four 90 mm guns firing shells equipped with a radio [[proximity fuse]]. Incoming targets were acquired and automatically tracked by [[SCR-584 radar]],. Output from the gun-laying radar was fed to the [[M9 Gun Director|M9 gun director]], an electronic analogue computer to calculate the lead and elevation corrections for the guns. With the help of these three technologies, close to 90% of the V-1 missiles, on track to the defence zone around the port, were destroyed.<ref>''Cruise Missile Defence: Defending Antwerp against the V-1'', Lt. Col. John A. Hamilton</ref><ref>''The Defense of Antwerp Against the V-1 Missile'', R.J. Backus, LTC, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1971</ref>
=== Post-war ===
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Post-war analysis demonstrated that even with newest anti-aircraft systems employed by both sides, the vast majority of bombers reached their targets successfully, on the order of 90%. While these figures were undesirable during the war, the advent of the [[nuclear bomb]] considerably altered the acceptability of even a single bomber reaching its target.
The developments during World War II continued for a short time into the post-war period as well. In particular the US Army set up a huge air defence network around its larger cities based on radar-guided 90 mm and 120 mm guns. US efforts continued into the 1950s with the 75 mm [[M51 Skysweeper|Skysweeper]] system, an almost fully automated system including the radar, computers, power, and auto-loading gun on a single powered platform. The Skysweeper replaced all smaller guns then in use in the Army, notably the 40 mm Bofors. By 1955, the US military deemed the 40 mm Bofors obsolete due to its reduced capability to shoot down jet powered aircraft, and turned to SAM development, with the [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax|Nike Ajax]] and the [[RSD 58
The introduction of the guided missile resulted in a significant shift in anti-aircraft strategy. Although Germany had been desperate to introduce anti-aircraft missile systems, none became operational during World War II. Following several years of post-war development, however, these systems began to mature into viable weapons. The US started an upgrade of their defences using the Nike Ajax missile, and soon the larger anti-aircraft guns disappeared. The same thing occurred in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] after the introduction of their [[SA-2 Guideline]] systems.
[[File:Type 91 SAM fire.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.9|A three-person [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force|JASDF]] fireteam practices using a rocket target with a training variant of a [[Type 91 surface-to-air missile|Type 91 Kai]] [[Man-portable air-defense system|MANPADS]] during an exercise at [[Eielson Air Force Base]], Alaska, as part of Red Flag – Alaska]]
As this process continued, the missile found itself being used for more and more of the roles formerly filled by guns. First to go were the large weapons, replaced by equally large missile systems of much higher performance. Smaller missiles soon followed, eventually becoming small enough to be mounted on armoured cars and tank chassis. These started replacing, or at least supplanting, similar gun-based [[SPAAG]] systems in the 1960s, and by the 1990s had replaced almost all such systems in modern armies. Man-portable missiles, MANPADS, as they are known today, were introduced in the 1960s and have supplanted or replaced even the smallest guns in most advanced armies.
In the 1982 [[Falklands War]], the Argentine armed forces deployed the newest west European weapons including the
During the [[2008 South Ossetia war]] air power faced off against powerful SAM systems, like the 1980s [[Buk-M1]].
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== AA warfare systems ==
[[File:Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard.jpg|thumb|A [[Flakpanzer Gepard|Gepard]] in motion at the 2015 Military Day in [[Uffenheim]]. The Gepard is an autonomous all-weather-capable German [[self-propelled anti-aircraft gun]] system armed with twin [[Oerlikon GDF]].]]
[[File:Bangladesh Army CS AA3 35 mm AA gun with the FW-2 fire control system on display.jpg|thumb|[[Bangladesh Army]] CS/AA3 35 mm twin anti-aircraft gun system along with its FW-2 [[fire control radar]] system behind. CS/AA3 is a Chinese variant of the Oerlikon GDF.]]
Although the firearms used by the infantry, particularly machine guns, can be used to engage low altitude air targets, on occasion with notable success, their effectiveness is generally limited and the muzzle flashes reveal infantry positions. Speed and altitude of modern jet aircraft limit target opportunities, and critical systems may be armoured in aircraft designed for the [[Ground-attack aircraft|ground attack role]]. Adaptations of the standard [[autocannon]], originally intended for air-to-ground use, and heavier [[artillery]] systems were commonly used for most anti-aircraft gunnery, starting with standard pieces on new mountings, and evolving to specially designed guns with much higher performance prior to World War II.
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Another potential weapon system for anti-aircraft use is the [[laser]]. Although air planners have imagined lasers in combat since the late 1960s, only the most modern laser systems are currently reaching what could be considered "experimental usefulness". In particular the [[Tactical High Energy Laser]] can be used in the anti-aircraft and anti-missile role. The [[ALKA (weapon)|ALKA]] [[directed-energy weapon]] (DEW) system is a Turkish dual electromagnetic/laser weapon developed by [[Roketsan]] allegedly used to destroy one of [[General National Congress|GNC's]] [[Wing Loong II]] [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle|UAVs]]; if true, this would represent the first known time a vehicle mounted combat laser was used to destroy another combat vehicle during genuine wartime conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Peck|first=Michael|date=2019-09-01|title=Did A Turkish Combat Laser Shoot Down A Chinese Drone?|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/did-turkish-combat-laser-shoot-down-chinese-drone-77286|access-date=2022-03-17|website=The National Interest|language=en}}</ref>
The future of projectile based weapons may be found in the [[railgun]]. Currently tests are underway on developing systems that could create as much damage as a [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk]], but at a fraction of the cost. In February 2008 the [[US Navy]] tested a railgun; it fired a shell at {{convert|5600|mi|km}} per hour using 10 megajoules of energy. Its expected performance is over {{convert|13000|mi|km}} per hour muzzle velocity, accurate enough to hit a 5-metre target from {{convert|200|nmi|km}} away while shooting at 10 shots per minute. It is expected to be ready in 2020 to 2025.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Modern Weaponry of the World's Armed Forces|last=Col. Y Udaya Chandar (Retd.)|publisher=Notion Press|year=2017|isbn=9781946983794}}</ref> These systems, while currently designed for static targets, would only need the ability to be retargeted to become the next generation of AA system.
== Force structures ==
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[[File:RIM-67 intercepts Firebee drone at White Sands 1980.jpg|thumb|A [[RIM-67 Standard|RIM-67]] surface to air missile intercepts a [[Firebee]] drone at [[White Sands, New Mexico|White Sands]], 1980.]]
Layered air defence in naval tactics, especially within a carrier group, is often built around a system of concentric layers with the aircraft carrier at the centre. The outer layer will usually be provided by the carrier's aircraft, specifically its [[Airborne early warning and control|AEW&C]] aircraft combined with the [[Combat air patrol|CAP]]. If an attacker is able to penetrate this layer, then the next layers would come from the [[surface-to-air missile]]s carried by the carrier's escorts; the area-defence missiles, such as the [[RIM-67 Standard]], with a range of up to 100 nmi, and the point-defence missiles, like the [[RIM-162 ESSM]], with a range of up to 30 nmi. Finally, virtually every modern warship will be fitted with small-calibre guns, including a [[Close-in weapon system|CIWS]], which is usually a radar-controlled [[Gatling gun]] of between
=== Army ===
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=== Air force ===
[[File:Aircraft Combat Archer (2565196807).jpg|thumb|A USAF [[Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22A Raptor]] firing an [[AIM-120 AMRAAM|AIM-120]] air to air missile
Air defence by air forces is typically provided by [[fighter jet]]s carrying [[air-to-air missile]]s. However, most air forces choose to augment airbase defence with surface-to-air missile systems as they are such valuable targets and subject to attack by enemy aircraft. In addition, some countries choose to put all air defence responsibilities under the air force.
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=== Air defence versus air defence suppression ===
[[File:AGM-88 and AIM-9 on Tornado.jpg|thumb|[[AGM-88 HARM]] under the fuselage ofn a [[German Air Force|''Luftwaffe'']] [[Panavia Tornado]]
===Insurgent tactics===
[[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger missiles]] supplied by the United States were used against the aircraft of the Soviet Union by the [[Afghan mujahidin|Afghan ''mujahideen'']] during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the Cold War. [[Rocket-propelled grenades]] (RPGs) can be—and often are—used against hovering helicopters (e.g., by Somali militiamen during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|1993 Battle of Mogadishu]]. Firing an RPG at steep angles poses a danger to the user, because the backblast from firing reflects off the ground. In Somalia, militia members sometimes welded a steel plate onto the exhaust end of an RPG's tube to deflect pressure away from the shooter when shooting up at US helicopters.{{
Another example of using RPGs against helicopters is [[Operation Anaconda]] in March 2002 in Afghanistan. Taliban insurgents defending [[Shah-i-Kot Valley]] used RPGs in a direct fire role against landing helicopters. Four rangers were killed<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stacked Up Over Anaconda|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/stackedupoveranaconda/|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Air Force Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> when their helicopter was shot down by an RPG, and SEAL team member Neil C. Roberts fell out of his helicopter when it was hit by two RPGs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sites.duke.edu/agsp/files/2013/11/Operation-Anaconda-Overview.pdf |title=Operation Anaconda Overview |access-date=27 January 2020 |archive-date=10 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010141500/http://sites.duke.edu/agsp/files/2013/11/Operation-Anaconda-Overview.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In other instances helicopters have been shot down in Afghanistan during a mission<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-10-14|title=Investigation Confirms RPG Downed Chinook|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/investigationconfirmsrpgdownedchinook/|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Air Force Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> in Wardak province. One feature that makes RPGs useful in air defence is that they are fused to automatically detonate at 920 m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/WEG/Asset/RPG-7_Russia_Rocket-Propelled_Grenade_Launcher|title = ODIN - OE Data Integration Network}}</ref> If aimed into the air this causes the warhead to airburst which can release a limited but potentially damaging amount of shrapnel hitting a helicopter landing or taking off.{{
For insurgents the most effective method of [[Offensive counter air|countering aircraft]] is to attempt to destroy them on the ground, either by penetrating an airbase perimeter and destroying aircraft individually, e.g. the [[September 2012 Camp Bastion raid]], or finding a position where aircraft can be engaged with indirect fire, such as mortars. A recent trend emerging during the [[Syrian Civil War]] is the use of [[ATGM]] against landing helicopters.<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Kaaman |first=Hugo |user=HKaaman |number=997447259150258176 |date=18 May 2018 |title=Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) strikes on helicopters during the Syrian Civil War - I made a short compilation detailing the 8 recorded ATGM strikes on helicopters in Syria. 3 strikes on parked helis, 2 on landing helis, 2 on helis after emergency landings & 1 on heli in-flight https://t.co/Za6azGABVV |language=en |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>
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