scope:

This publication will address the fundamental factors that influence the employment of air and space power and the key aspects of the associated Command and Control (C2) mechanisms. It will explain the stages in the development of air and space operations and their subsequent execution from the command perspective. It will address the doctrine associated with each of the roles of air and space power in Article 5 and non-Article 5¹ situations, and the role of air and space power in Crisis Response Operations (CRO). Its primary concern is with the employment of those air forces assigned to the Air Component Commander (ACC)². However, the principles espoused concerning the employment of air power are equally applicable to the air assets assigned to any force component commander (CC)^3.

¹ North Atlantic Treaty, signed 4 April 1949. The Treaty came into force on 2 August 1949.

².Within this AJP, the term ACC is a generic term. In the NATO static command structure the ACC is the Regional Air Commander (RAC) whilst for the CJTF the ACC is the Combined Joint Force Air Component Commander (CJFACC).

^3. Within this AJP, the term 'force component' refers to the major force elements of the NATO static command structure and to the components of a CJTF.