Penetration (warfare)
Encyclopedia
Penetration is a term in warfare referring to the breaching of, and moving past, a defensive military line. The term is associated with both ground and aerial combat.
military maneuver much like the pincer movement
with a few differences. The penetration attack goes straight through the enemy's flanks
and, once through, each flank turns and attacks the opponent's rear, similar to the Blitzkrieg
strategy
.
The penetration is carried out as part of a frontal attack when there is no assailable flank available. It takes the form of assaulting the enemy positions, creating a rupture, widening of the gap and finally breakthrough. Separate forces are earmarked for the assault and break-out stages of penetration. Penetration has the stages of break in, dog fight and break-out. There are no clear-cut demarcations between these stages and these tend to overlap.
Flank attack and other forms of maneuver are preferred to the penetration or frontal attack.
and attack aircraft. It indicates an ability to penetrate concentrated enemy defenses in enemy-held territory (and survive) in order to strike important military objectives unreachable by other means. Since the area to be penetrated is often heavily guarded by anti-aircraft defense
s that would easily and quickly destroy a normal aircraft flying a normal flight profile, penetration bombers use a variety of specific tactics to increase their survivability.
These include: extreme high-altitude (e.g., the SR-71 Blackbird
), extreme low-altitude (nap-of-the-earth
flight), tremendous speed (e.g., the afterburner
-equipped B-1 Lancer
and Tu-160 Blackjack
), stand-off weaponry to increase attack range (e.g., the AGM-84 Harpoon missile), and stealth
to increase survivability in these "high-threat" environments.
Ground combat
Penetration is a strategicMilitary strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
military maneuver much like the pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
with a few differences. The penetration attack goes straight through the enemy's flanks
Flanking maneuver
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...
and, once through, each flank turns and attacks the opponent's rear, similar to the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
.
The penetration is carried out as part of a frontal attack when there is no assailable flank available. It takes the form of assaulting the enemy positions, creating a rupture, widening of the gap and finally breakthrough. Separate forces are earmarked for the assault and break-out stages of penetration. Penetration has the stages of break in, dog fight and break-out. There are no clear-cut demarcations between these stages and these tend to overlap.
Flank attack and other forms of maneuver are preferred to the penetration or frontal attack.
Air combat
In air combat, penetration is a role applied to bomberBomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
and attack aircraft. It indicates an ability to penetrate concentrated enemy defenses in enemy-held territory (and survive) in order to strike important military objectives unreachable by other means. Since the area to be penetrated is often heavily guarded by anti-aircraft defense
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
s that would easily and quickly destroy a normal aircraft flying a normal flight profile, penetration bombers use a variety of specific tactics to increase their survivability.
These include: extreme high-altitude (e.g., the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
), extreme low-altitude (nap-of-the-earth
Nap-of-the-earth
Nap-of-the-earth is a type of very low-altitude flight course used by military aircraft to avoid enemy detection and attack in a high-threat environment....
flight), tremendous speed (e.g., the afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
-equipped B-1 Lancer
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
and Tu-160 Blackjack
Tupolev Tu-160
The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Although several civil and military transport aircraft are larger in overall dimensions, the Tu-160 is currently the world's largest combat aircraft, largest...
), stand-off weaponry to increase attack range (e.g., the AGM-84 Harpoon missile), and stealth
Stealth aircraft
Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to avoid detection by employing a combination of features to interfere with radar as well as reduce visibility in the infrared, visual, audio, and radio frequency spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during...
to increase survivability in these "high-threat" environments.
See also
- Breakthrough (military)Breakthrough (military)A breakthrough occurs when an offensive force has broken the enemy defensive line, and is rapidly exploiting the gap.Usually, large force is employed on a relatively small portion of the front to achieve this...
- Breakout (military)Breakout (military)A breakout is a military operation to end a situation of encirclement or siege. It is used in contexts such as: "The British breakout attempt from Normandy"....