Offensive counter air attack

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Offensive Counterair [OCA] operations include attacks on air bases. Aircraft on air bases are often more concentrated and vulnerable than they are in flight, and destroying them at their bases may be much easier than destroying them in aerial combat. Attacks on bases crowded with aircraft can have devastating results in the struggle for control of the air. After the Six-Day War in June 1967 where Israel destroyed much of Egypt's air force on the ground, most air forces have provided protection, such as bunkers for their aircraft to prevent wholesale destruction of their aircraft. Even if the attacker does not catch aerospace forces on the ground, destruction of critical base facilities can still be decisive. When air bases or space launch facilities cannot provide landing, launching, or critical support (e.g., maintenance, fuel, munitions), aerospace forces are effectively grounded.