From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
An airstrike is a military strike by air forces on an enemy ground position, which depending on the selected tactics may or may not be followed up by artillery, armor, or infantry units. Airstrikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as bombers, ground attack aircraft, or strike fighters. Weapons used in an airstrike can range from machine gun bullets, to missiles, and to various types of bombs such as nuclear bombs. They are often used in strategic bombing.
The United States code for calling in all available aircraft for an airstrike was "Broken Arrow", and was used during the movie We Were Soldiers, depicting the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War.
Bombing by aircraft is sometimes used in peacetime to break ice dams that form in big rivers, to prevent disastrous flooding.
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