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How airpower should be utilized for best effect in counterinsurgency operations is widely debated. According to David Jordan the most important contribution of airpower abilities in these situations is through assisting roles. Such as providing enhanced mobility, better observation and a third category including the importance of presence, harassment and the delivery of direct force.

This thesis aims to investigate if those abilities proves to be a significant contribution to a modern counterinsurgency in accordance with a theoretical framework based on papers written by Jordan and Derek Read. It does so through a case study research on operation Atalanta.

The result of the study indicates that airpower did support the operation in a way that was critical for success in deterring pirate attacks. The most prominent attributes are those of the third category: presence, harassment and the delivery of direct force. The second category was vital as well, the use of airpower provided the operation with intelligence and information through its capability for observation. There is not, however, enough material to completely support the theoretical framework that airpower was crucial in enhancing the operations mobility in operation Atalanta.