The introduction of aircraft into military warfare back in the early 20 century changed the manner in which war was strategised more than any other single event in history. The shift of focus from purely land based battles brought an entirely new feature into the concept of war between neighbouring and more importantly distant countries. The introduction of nuclear weapons may prove in the future to be more significant in that it will remove land based strategies completely from the equation but that would certainly be a backward step for humanity and not a form of progress by any stretch of the imagination.

The obvious advantage of military aircraft was that warring countries were now able to conduct major offensive strategies against their enemies both in the form of attacks against ground based targets and in air assaults against the opposition's air battalion. It also meant that offences could be launched from sea positions essentially extending the offensive range of battle cruisers while at the same time helping to preserve their own defensive positions.

The first aircraft to be introduced into military usage were nothing however compared to those used today. They lacked the technological capabilities and more importantly their fuel capacity was a good deal lower meaning that the time they could stay in the air or the distances they were capable of travelling before needing to refuel was significantly less. This factor ultimately defined the role and the limitations of the role of aircraft in warfare at this time. As technology has progressed the role of the aircraft has changed too. Today it is an indispensable part of any countries military offensive.