IndexIntroductionBiographySun Tzu's doctrineStrategySun Tzu's impact on the conduct of warfareContemporary examplesConclusion IntroductionHistory testifies that science is a process of continuous improvement and technology erodes and becomes obsolete with the passage of time, but a work of genius is always universal. The power of the mind is such that a man, who lived in caves a few hundred years ago, is now planning to build colonies on the Moon and beyond. Thus it is thought that there is some parity between the mental abilities of the Stone Age generation and the Space generation. The same question arises when we compare ancient military strategists and modern military strategists. To discuss this question I will consider the fabulous work of Sun Tzu, the first known strategist in history with written military strategies in the form of "The Art of War", and see its applicability in modern air warfare. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The purpose of this article is to highlight the salient features of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and validate his ideas and strategies against modern daylight air warfare. Biography Touching briefly on the biography of Sun Tzu, he was a Chinese general who gave his military strategies about two and a half thousand years ago. He was also known as "Sun Wu" and "Sun Zi". In Chinese "Sun Tzu" means "Master Sun". Born in the 5th century BC, he was originally from the northern Ch'i state of ancient China. His date of death is not known, however it is estimated that he died before the year 473 BC. In fact, very little is known about his personal life. He belonged to a family with a rich military past; his father and grandfather were also generals. This gave impetus to his mind and he thoroughly studied and researched different aspects of the war. His vision and intellect have made his name immortal in the military field, as he is remembered in history for his magnificent inscriptions on "The Art of War", which has been accepted as the bible of warfare for centuries. His book is currently used as a text or reference book in numerous military academies, research institutions, and commercial enterprises around the world. Sun Tzu's Doctrine Sun Tzu's work is universal in nature. He said: "The supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." Sun Tzu also said, "The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a path to survival or ruin. Therefore it is obligatory that it be thoroughly studied." This speaks volumes about his foresight and vision on the art of war. Unlike other ancient doctrines, his work does not focus on specific tactics, techniques, or weapons systems; on the other hand it can be updated in all eras, as technology changes. Some of the fundamental principles of "The Art of War" are: - Prepare adequate defenses to repel any attack, Look for ways to defeat the enemy without engaging him in battle, Follow the enemy's situation to decide the battle. Tzu's statement that "the art of war is of vital importance to the state" is true even today, as nations continue to engage in wars to solve their problems that they are unable to resolve through political means. Therefore, to maintain sovereignty and safeguard borders, a nation must give vital importance to the art of war. Furthermore, in today's air warfare defense is of vital importance, both active and passive. No country without adequate defense will be able to resist an invader. Even the strongest air forces in the world and with the most powerful capabilitiesoffensive players place equal importance on their defense. Nearly every nation in the world keeps track of their enemies (or potential enemies) and builds their forces accordingly. This is done to maintain the balance of power so that war remains the last resort to resolve political issues. Stratagem Stratagem is something unique to Sun Tzu. It is a concept not found in Western theory of war. For Sun Tzu, violence in war was a last resort. He says: "In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy is not so profitable." Sun Tzu also said, "The skillful leader subdues enemy troops without fighting; captures their cities without besieging them, overthrows their kingdom without lengthy field operations... With his forces intact his triumph will be complete." He says this is the stratagem attack method. In modern air forces, with the invention of precision weapons, long-range aircraft and missiles, and satellite guidance, it has been made possible to locate and attack only those targets that are relevant and militarily important. In this way the economic, industrial and residential sectors can be easily isolated from war. So the outcome of the war, while capturing any country, remains profitable. Sun Tzu's Impact on the Conduct of War Sun Tzu's ideas have a profound impact on the conduct of war, ancient or modern, and air warfare is no exception. He implemented his ideas himself in various battles and these are still applicable to the current era. His ideas could be organized into seven categories. Doctrine: - Regarding doctrine, Sun Tzu stated that each state must have its own military doctrine to defend itself from external aggression. Sun Tzu rightly says: "It is a doctrine of warfare not to assume that the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on the willingness to meet him; not to assume that he will not attack, but rather to make oneself invincible." In this era, each nation with a credible force not only has its own military doctrine, but also has its own respective army, air force, and naval doctrines. Especially after the invention of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), no nation in possession of these weapons is held responsible without a complete and elaborate doctrine. Strategy: Sun Tzu was a strong advocate of formulating and maintaining strategy. He dictates that:-"when the enemy concentrates, prepare against him, where he is strong, avoid him". "Make his general angry and confuse him. Feign inferiority and encourage his arrogance so that he can be deceived." "Strain your enemy and wear him down." "When it is united, divide it by spreading suspicion." “Attack him where he's unprepared, move forward when he doesn't expect it.” Nowadays, to fight all wars a nation must devise a strategy so that it is always prepared for war. A force with unique characteristics, such as the Air Force, cannot prepare for and engage in war without well-defined and well-tested strategies. These strategies must be prepared and defined for all levels of warfare. Operations: - According to Sun Tzu, "Victory is the main objective in war. If it is delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed, when troops attack cities, their strength will be exhausted." Hence the emphasis on the fact that operations should have specific objectives. Speaking about war, Sun Tzu talks about: - Operational preparation, Rapidity of operations, Speed ​​and emphasizes that operations should have specific objectives. The above points can easily be defined as essential of a modern Air Force. AllThe world's air forces rely on peacetime preparedness, so that their operations can be conducted harmoniously to achieve their objectives as soon as possible. Tactics: - Sun Tzu talks about using forces in different numbers through various tactics. Dwelling on this he says:- When ten to one of the enemy surround him. When five times his strength attacks him. If it doubles its strength you divide it. If equally matched you can involve him. But if numerically weaker, they are capable of retreating. And if unequal, be able to escape it. In war, tactics and numbers matter a lot. Especially in air warfare, special tactics can be used to counter a numerically superior air force, in the same way a greater number of aircraft can be used to counter a technologically superior air force. So the importance of tactics and numbers matters a lot in air warfare. Deception: - Although deception can be considered a tactic, Sun Tzu attaches great importance to it and says that all warfare is based on deception, so deception is the hallmark of politics and war even today. It is said that there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests. No nation or army will ever reveal their cards until it is mandatory to achieve the set objectives. In air warfare, false attacks, false radio transmissions, electronic warfare and passive defense, etc. are used to deceive the enemy. An air force that fails to counter them effectively suffers a significant setback. Limited War: Sun Tzu advocates limited and short war and does not profess long-lasting wars. He writes: "When the army engages in prolonged campaigns, state resources will not be sufficient." Air warfare is intended to shorten the duration of war due to its inherent characteristics: height, speed and range. For this reason the ancient wars, which lasted decades, have been reduced to the present day in modern times. The Air Force, in addition to being the most powerful force, is also the most expensive force of all. So any prolonged war will represent a serious drain on a country's economic resources. Victory: - Sun Tzu says: "War requires victory, not prolonged operations", and therefore "the general who understands war, is the master of the people". destiny and arbiter of the nation". According to Sun Tzu, victory in war can be predicted by the following five circumstances: Sun Tzu's guidelines for predicting the outcome of war can also be easily applied to air warfare. To win a war, an air force must possess situational awareness at all levels of warfare, center of gravity identification, flexibility, force concentration, economy of force, coordination, unified command, morale maintenance, discipline and good leadership It can be stated accurately that an air force that possesses these qualities will be victorious against an adversary which does not have these qualities. Contemporary Examples I will now validate Sun Tzu's ideas and doctrine for modern air warfare with contemporary examples. To this end I will discuss some military encounters to highlight the applicability of his philosophies to modern warfare Pearl Harbor. Sun Tzu wrote, “When the enemy speaks in a humble tone, he continues his preparations and will advance.” On December 7, 1941, at 1 pm, Japanese diplomats would arrive in the United States for peace talks in the Pacific. At about the same time the Japanese began bombing Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had used Sun Tzu's deception tactics but at the same time they had violated his basic strategy, that is, "When you ignore the enemy but know yourself, the chances of winning or.