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Airpower has shown its usefulness throughout many wars and was seen as a key instrument in the Libyan war 2011. However, the use of airpower and how it should be applied has been a highly debated topic for as long as airpower has been around. Two theorists, John A. Warden III and Robert A. Pape, have received a lot of attention and there is a debate regarding which one of these theorists has the best solution on how to use airpower.

The purpose with this essay is to apply some of the two theorists’ ideas on the Libyan war 2011 and investigate their explanatory power in the conflict. To reach an answer, a case study has been used with a theory testing method which would further seek to contribute to the debate that exists between the two theorists.

Results show that some parts of the theorists’ ideas have a high explanatory power in the conflict and some parts do not. As individuals, they cannot explain the whole war, but together their ideas have a high explanatory power in the conflict.

Based on the ongoing debate that provides two different ways of using airpower, the conclusions suggest that a combination of the two theorists’ ideas might be the answer to how airpower can be employed in the best way for future operations. Further research is required to investigate this thesis.