airstrike

The first large scale air raid occurred during World War I in 1915, when London was bombed by 15 German Zeppelin dirigibles at night. Since the residents of London, and many of its defenders, were asleep, a loud warning system for air raids made sense, leading to the creation of the air raid siren.{{cite web | url=https://www.history.com/news/londons-world-war-i-zeppelin-terror | title=London's World War I Zeppelin Terror | date=2 June 2014 | publisher=History Channel }}

File:London Blitz 9 September 1940.jpg

It was not until World War II that the Oxford English Dictionary first records usage of the term "air strike",{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/4366?redirectedFrom=airstrike#eid7952116|title=air, n.1|work=oed.com}} which remained two separate words for some time thereafter. The Second World War also saw the first development of precision-guided munitions, which were fielded successfully by the Germans, and contributed to the modern sense of air "strike", a precision targeted attack as opposed to a strafing run or area bombing.

The importance of precision targeting cannot be overstated: by some statistics, over a hundred raids were necessary to destroy a point target in World War 2; by the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. Air Force was able to release to media precise footage of television- or radar-guided bombs directly hitting the target without significant collateral damage (using, for example, the LANTIRN pod). Paul Fussell noted in his seminal work The Great War and Modern Memory the popular 20th century tendency to assume an errant bomb hitting a church, for example, was completely deliberate and reflective of the inherent evil of the enemy; over time, expectations for reduced collateral damage have increased to the point that developed countries engaging in war against less technologically advanced countries approach near-zero in terms of such damage.

File:Aspecto do avanço da infantaria paulista no setor sul na Revolução de 1932.jpg]]

In the Malayan Emergency of the 1950s, British and Commonwealth Avro Lincoln heavy bombers, de Havilland Vampire fighter jets, Supermarine Spitfires, Bristol Brigands, de Havilland Mosquitos, and a host of other British aircraft were used in Malaya in operations against guerillas. However, the humid climate played havoc with the Mosquito's wooden airframe, and they were soon deployed elsewhere. This period also marked the last combat deployment of British Spitfires.

File:Korean War bombing Wonsan.jpg A-26 Invader airstrike on warehouses in Wonsan during the Korean War]]

During the Vietnam War, airstrikes and their doctrine were adjusted to fit the jets, like the North American F-100 Super Sabre, Republic F-105 Thunderchief, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which were entering the U.S.A.F. and U.S.N. inventory. These aircraft could fly faster, carry more ordnance, and defend themselves better than the F-4U Corsair and North American P-51 Mustang fighters that fought during the Korean War, albeit at the cost of the R&D of the aircraft itself, the weapons, and, most important to the man on the ground, fuel and loiter time, though this situation was slightly alleviated with the introduction of aircraft like the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, LTV A-7 Corsair II, and Lockheed AC-130 gunships.

Today, airstrike terminology has extended to the concept of the strike aircraft, what earlier generations of military aviators referred to as light bombers or attack aircraft. With the near-complete air supremacy enjoyed by developed nations in undeveloped regions, fighter jets can often be modified to add strike capability in a manner less practicable in earlier generations.

Airstrikes can be carried out for strategic purposes outside of general warfare. Operation Opera was a single eight-ship Israeli airstrike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor, criticized by world opinion but not leading to a general outbreak of war. Such an example of the preventive strike has created new questions for international law.

Airstrikes, including airstrikes by drones, were extensively used during the Gulf War, War on Terror, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War, First Libyan Civil War, Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War, Yemeni Civil War, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza war.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/25/world/middleeast/airstrikes-iraq-syria-civilian-casualties.html |title=U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Have Killed Hundreds, Maybe Thousands of Civilians |first=Sarah |last=Almukhtar |date=25 May 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=24 November 2019 |editor-first=Tim |editor-last=Arango |editor-link=Tim Arango |editor2-first=Michael |editor2-last=Gordon |editor2-link=Michael Gordon (journalist) }}

{{main|Aerial bombardment and international law|Civilian casualty ratio|Collateral damage}}

File:Dormitory in Chernihiv after Russian airstrike on 13 March 2022 (09).jpg, Ukraine after a Russian airstrike during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, March 2022]]

Airstrike campaigns often cause the deaths of non-combatants, including civilians.{{cite news |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/03/pentagon-in-denial-about-civilian-casualties-of-u-s-airstrikes-in-iraq-and-syria/ |title=Pentagon in Denial About Civilian Casualties of U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria |journal=Foreign Policy |first=Chris |last=Woods |date=3 December 2014 |access-date=24 November 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/airstrikes-launched-amid-intelligence-gaps/ |title=Airstrikes launched amid intelligence gaps |work=PBS NewsHour |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=24 November 2019 |location=Washington |first=Ken |last=Dilanian |publisher=PBS}} International law apply the principles of military necessity, distinction, and proportionality. These principles emphasize that an attack must be directed towards a legitimate military target and the harm caused to non-combatant targets must be proportional to the advantage gained by such attack.{{cite web |url=https://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cha_chapter4_rule14 |work=Customary IHL |title=Practice Relating to Rule 14. Proportionality in Attack |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=24 November 2019}}{{cite news |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m6007/is_56/ai_n14700122/pg_16 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629124928/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m6007/is_56/ai_n14700122/pg_16 |archive-date=29 June 2012 |title=Collateral damage on the 21st century battlefield: enemy exploitation of the law of armed conflict, and the struggle for a moral high ground |date=Winter 2005 |first=Jefferson D. |last=Reynolds |work=Business Library |publisher=CBS Interactive |via=Find Articles |access-date=24 November 2019}} Many modern military aircraft carry precision-guided munitions, which military sources promote as decreasing civilian deaths.

• Aerial bombing of cities
• Aerial warfare
• Strategic bombing
• Time on target

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