CASE FOR USE OF AIR POWER

IN COUNTER INSURGENCY OPERATIONS

- By P.K. Balachandran

Modern democracies tend to be reluctant to use air power against insurgents because of the fear of causing collateral civilian damage and harming the bid to win the hearts and minds of the people. But that air power can play a critical role in counter insurgency warfare has been repeatedly proven both in the past and the present.

More precisely, air power can be an effective adjunct in a coordinated all-services engagement with deadly non-state actors.

Air Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, an Indian military commentator and historian, argues that use of air power is a must in counter insurgency operations and has cited, among other examples, the use of air power by the SLAF against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the Sri Lankan war. In his paper in the AIR POWER Journal Vol. 4 No. 2 Summer 2009 (April-June), Subramaniam asks: “What should be done when sub-conventional warfare escalates to levels wherein non-state actors use tactics and equipment that lend themselves easily to conventional warfare?” And his answer is, “use air power along with ground forces.”

Taking on the established military along conventional lines with sophisticated weaponry has become commonplace across the world. In South Asia, the LTTE had taken on all organs of the Sri Lankan State simultaneously with significant success over years, he recalls. The Sri Lankan State took years to realise that the ground war against the LTTE could be won only with active air support and finally crushed it without with an effective use of jet fighters, choppers and transport aircraft. The army on the ground felt reassured when it saw aircraft going ahead, pulverising the enemy even before they moved in.

Long History of Air Power Against Insurgents