[20211026]IF10546_防务基础：美国空军.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated October 26, 2021Defense Primer: United States AirpowerAlmost since the invention of heavier-than-air flight, control of the air has been seen as a military advantage. Over time, the United States has come to treat air superiority as a necessity, and built such capable air forces that no enemy aircraft has killed U.S. ground troops since 1953. Modern airpower is able to provide a full range of effects, from strategic operations at intercontinental ranges to direct support of troops in combat. Today, every branch of the U.S. military employs air forces for various purposes, employing nearly 14,000 aircraft. Figure 1. U.S. Air Forces, 2019-2028 Source: Department of Defense, Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding Plan, Fiscal Years (FY) 2019-2048, March 2018. DOD has not been required to submit subsequent plans. The United States Air Force The bulk of U.S. airpower resides in the U.S. Air Force (USAF). With 511,500 active and reserve personnel and more than 5,000 aircraft, the USAF provides the capability to reach, observe, strike and/or carry people and materiel to any point on the globe. Four of the Air Forces five core missions directly involv