How the Six-Day War Became the Modern Standard Bearer for Air Superiority

Air superiority, also called aerial supremacy, is a concept in warfare in which one side in a conflict controls the airspace against the other. Western nations, such as the United States and the UK, along with the entirety of the NATO military alliance, have a doctrine of controlling airspace within the first 24 hours of any conflict.

The first two World Wars would start the concept of aerial supremacy, but one could argue the Six-Day War was the ultimate standard-bearer of controlling the airspace. The conflict was so lopsided, despite Israel being numerically outnumbered by multiple nations, that the 1967 war became one of the significant turning points in modern warfare and the overall Cold War and geopolitical shift of the Middle East.

What was the Six-Day War?

The Six-Day War was fought between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. It occurred when tensions arose after false Soviet intelligence told then Egypt President Abdel Nasser that Israeli troops would imminently invade Syria. Even though Israeli soldiers had not amassed at the Syrian border, Nasser’s paranoia and geopolitical tensions with the nation were too much to qualm him, and he ordered the Strait of Tiran closed and UN peacekeepers out of Egypt.

Closing the Strait of Tiran was an act of war as Israel, which didn’t have the best relations with the West then, needed shipping lanes to trade with the East. The United Nations attempted to stop the conflict, but both sides knew the war was inevitable.

Egypt held a unified command over Jordanian and Syrian troops, while Israel called up all male reserves from 18-50 to military service. The United States was at a crossroads—if Egypt, heavily backed by the Soviet Union, attacked first, America would’ve intervened for Israel. Still, if Israel attacked first, they would receive no military support.

How Israeli Air Superiority was Decisive in the War

American intelligence and Israel’s General Staff had concluded the looming war would be decisive in the matter’s favor, even if Egypt’s military struck first. Nonetheless, generals in Tel Aviv argued the longer Israel would wait to hit, the higher the military casualties the nation would face as Nasser had moved brigades into readiness from the former UN peacekeeper positions in the Sinai Peninsula.

Israel’s Defense Ministry designed a complex preemptive strike to cripple Egypt’s Air Force, one of the strongest in the region. By doing this, the less experienced Egyptian ground forces would be unable to match an Israeli advance, and the incompetent Syrian and Jordanian armies would be deterred.

The preemptive strike would be known as Operation Focus, with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) taking the lead. Operation Focus and the beginning of the war started against Egypt. Israel saw it as a war only between them and initially tried to avoid other theaters.

Egypt, who expected to attack first, was caught off guard. Egyptian officers panicked, and Abdel Nasser was frozen. He could not believe Israel had surprised them—but they did.

Israel had the advantage due to numerous reconnaissance flights since the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956, in which the IAF captured large swaths of the Sinai, becoming familiar with the terrain before their withdrawal.

Egypt’s Air Force had been annihilated within a few hours, and the ground forces, in disarray, fled in a disorganized retreat. The disorderly retreat was ripe for the Israeli Air Force, who picked off 10000 plus Egyptian troops in the Sinai. Egypt was forced to capitulate, and Israel could now target the Syrian, Iraqi, Lebanese, and Jordanian Air Forces.

Syrian and Jordanian ground forces were no match for the Israeli Ground Forces and aerial supremacy. The Six-Day War saw Israel capture the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, and West Bank, changing the geographic landscape in the region to this day.

Overall, Israel lost only 19 aircraft in Operation Focus, while Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon lost a combined 452 aircraft.

Israeli soldiers, who captured the Old City from the Jordanians during the Six-Day War, carry a confiscated portrait of Jordan’s King Hussein through East Jerusalem, June, 1967.PHOTOGRAPH BY LEONARD FREED / MAGNUM

Becoming the NATO Doctrine

NATO Air Command (AIRCOM) established air superiority as a central doctrine. AIRCOM, headquartered in Rammstein, Germany, oversees the various missions the alliance has taken to develop aerial supremacy in various NATO-led missions.

Air superiority was established in the former Yugoslavia, especially during the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars. It was also implemented in Afghanistan and the First Libyan Civil War.

Russia Struggles Without Aerial Supremacy in Ukraine

Aerial supremacy and the lack thereof have been critical regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War. Like Israel in 1967, Russia sought to catch Ukraine off-guard by attempting a quick decapitation strike and war in early 2022.

Russia’s Aerial Forces had failed to decimate the Ukrainian Air Force in the first week of the war, and the latter is still actively firing sorties daily. Lack of air control has haunted Russian Forces in the war as Ukraine has been supplied with Western air defense systems, making close air support for ground forces scarce. During Ukraine’s Kherson Offensive, Russian Aerial Forces could not supply the logistically cut-off city if they were targeted.

To this day, Russia has failed with Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), which directly correlates with their 200000 plus casualties as the lack of close air support leaves their ground forces ever more vulnerable.

Aerial supremacy and Israel’s decisive actions during Operation Focus of the Six-Day War is the textbook standard of air superiority. The ability to degrade enemy air defense and aircraft is what Western nations and their allies excel in, while countries such as Russia will only struggle with it.