Effects-based Operations and the Law of Aerial Warfare

This article explores effects-based operations (EBO) to ascertain how they might affect the law of armed conflict. In light of the dominance of American military power, the U.S. approach to EBO, which is now reflected in the doctrine of other nations as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will serve as our model. Although EBO applies to every dimension of conflict, including the information sphere, it reaches its apogee in aerial warfare. Therefore, conflict in that medium will serve as the particular context of inquiry.