Offensive Counter Air

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Offensive Counter-Air (OCA) is a military term for the suppression of an enemy's military air power by destroying or disabling the aircraft on the ground and/or destroying or crippling the runways and other infrastructure necessary to operate them. Operations include attacks on air bases. Aircraft on air bases are often more concentrated and vulnerable than they are in flight, and destroying them at their bases may be much easier than destroying them in aerial combat. Attacks on bases crowded with aircraft can have devastating results in the struggle for control of the air. After the Six-Day War in June 1967 where Israel destroyed much of Egypt's air force on the ground, most air forces have provided protection, such as bunkers for their aircraft to prevent wholesale destruction of their aircraft. Even if the attacker does not catch air forces on the ground, destruction of critical base facilities can still be decisive. When air bases cannot provide landing, launching, or critical support (e.g., maintenance, fuel, munitions), air forces are effectively grounded.