For years, military theorists and political scientists have argued that airpower is overrated and, in some ways, outmoded. Some point to the proliferation of small, cheap unmanned drones as evidence that traditional air superiority—the ability to control the skies—has been rendered obsolete. According to this view, technological innovation has made “air denial”—merely restricting an adversary’s ability to operate freely in the air—a sufficient replacement. Others cite a “ smart bomb trap ,” the