British Airpower and Counterinsurgency

The UK, now more than ever before, finds itself having to consider the realities of a Global War on Terror that must address non-state actors, asymmetric threats and Fourth-Generation Warfare. With asymmetric means being practiced by insurgents in the Middle East, this paper specifically focuses on the British airpower contribution to Irregular Warfare. In particular, it examines two British campaigns, Malaya and Aden, to try and identify relevant airpower lessons that are applicable to today's counterinsurgency operations. Moreover, it takes a look at the situation today in Iraq and offers ideas on how airpower can better support ground commanders and security forces, namely in the ISR and anti-IED arenas. The paper attempts to demonstrate that there is inadequate Irregular Warfare education for the operational-level warfighter, that there is a major lack of airpower doctrine, and greater emphasis should be placed on counterinsurgency operations given the current campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, the paper argues that airpower is far broader than just kinetics, and seeks to ascertain whether airpower must be reconfigured to adapt to COIN operations.