A strike package is a group of aircraft with different capabilities that are launched together to perform a single attack mission. It is a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

effort in the air. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

calls the same concept "alpha strike". The term is normally applied to

ground attack In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...

missions, where the strike package for attacking the primary target will include bombers, fighters to defend them from enemy aircraft,

wild weasel Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force (USAF) to an aircraft of any type equipped with anti-radiation missiles and tasked with the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD): destroying the radar and surface-to-air mis ...

s to defend against ground-based

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

weapons,

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

for pre-raid and post-raid reconnaissance and

tanker aircraft This is a list of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling of another aircraft whilst in powered flight. Refueling methods ;Looped hose: The first commercial method employed a hose which was held slack in a trailing half-loop behind both aircr ...

to extend the mission radius. AWACS and stand-off jamming aircraft may support the strike package without entering the most dangerous airspace. In some cases all of these roles can be carried out by a single aircraft type with different payloads, but it is more common to use a variety of different aircraft, launched from different locations and times. Strike packages are a tactical adaption to substantial threats (fighters, air defenses) and are less efficient than an all-strike fighter effort would be in face of little resistance. Often, only about 40% of the strike package aircraft are equipped to engage the primary ground targets. The strike package tactic gives up continuous air/ground operations over a target area in favor of discontinuous presence. This leaves periods of little air threat and thus relatively good freedom of movement to the opposing ground forces.

External links

Website written for wargamers, describing historical Vietnam War strike packages

References

Military aviation {{aero-stub