Sean Carwardine - Australian Military History Investigations.
RAAF Airfield Defence, Ground Defence and World Wide Airfield Defence History.
It was not long after the invention of aircraft that they became powerful weapons in the third dimension, with the unrestricted ability to cross borders, over sea or land, and attack seemingly at will and with great devastation of any enemy target within its range. Aircraft are precision weapons of destruction in any battle and can be the turning point of any war. The majesty and power of these birds of war, and the claim of air power they bring, is an asset to any nation at war.
Yet, on the ground, these powerful machines become vulnerable, and it is in this form that they broadcast their fragility. They become thin-skinned, soft targets, lacking agility and ease of movement; in short, they become very easy targets themselves. Therefore, an enemy is more likely to recognise that the best way to gain air control is to destroy or at least harass these military machines on the ground.
For any military force, especially one with expensive war machines and large areas of land that are key tactical terrain, airfield defence cannot be overlooked. This vulnerability of aircraft and the network that surrounds them to ground or air attack has been recognised in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from as early as 1929. It was at that time that airfield defence first became a RAAF tasking and capability.
Dr Sean Carwardine, 2019.