| Summary/Abstract |
This article deliberates on some ‘disruptive’ issues that will affect employment, doctrine, force development and the very future of exclusive manned air power. Currently, causing asymmetry on the battlefield is considered a virtue rather than a weaker adversary’s option. Pakistan’s strategy against India and Chinese anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) are examples of cheaper but effective means. Driven by rapid advances in technology and confluence of emerging scientific capabilities, warfighting’s character is changing. The article discusses a myriad of issues, like risk-taking with manned/unmanned platforms, futuristic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) employment, effectiveness of traditional air support in battle, airspace control, applicability of the observe–orient–decide–act (OODA) loop and multi-domain and fresh doctrinal approaches, among others. The current imbroglio on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is also briefly explored for asymmetries that both sides, namely, India and China, will aim for in air power employment.
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