Airpower theorists through history have by one or another reason chosen not to use wars or conflicts between India and Pakistan. Both the war 1965 and 1971 had the use of airpower, especially the war 1971 where India was victorious. This study examines India’s use of airpower against Pakistan in the war of 1971. The theories that are chosen for the examination is coming from the airpower theorist Robert Pape. Pape presents four different coercion air strategies, by them ‘coercion by denial’ and ‘coercion by decapitation’ are chosen for this study.
The purpose of this study was to give more explanation and understanding of the war between India and Pakistan in 1971 and more closely India’s use of airpower. Because of the lack of airpower studies between the countries mentioned above, this study will also give some insight into why previous airpower theorists may have chosen to look past wars between India and Pakistan.
The results show that Pape’s different theories gave a good overall explanation of India’s use of airpower in the war of 1971. This study also indicates and points a direction to which airpower theory is most likely to explain India’s use of airpower. It also gives some possible alternatives to why previous airpower theorists chose not to study the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971.