Originally Posted by
Ninthace
Can you have an Air War when only one side has an Air Force?
Of course there can. Half of the point of Air Power is to deny the enemy the capacity to operate in the air. Trying to achieve Air Superiority/Air Supremacy is part of any air campaign. (Off Topic: that aspect is one of the big downfalls of the Russian air campaign in Ukraine since Feb of 2022. Neither side has it at the moment, and that has a significant impact on using air power both offensively and defensively).
Also, defense in the air war matters. See my post a few back about MANPADS. (Surface to air missiles carried by a soldier/fighter).
More flying artillery at the moment I would have thought
There is a lot more to the air war than flying artillery. As but one example, the leaflet drops are an aspect of airpower that supports the information war (or tries to).
Still it makes a useful place holder in case Israel's Air Supremacy over Gaza is ever challenged. Who could or would?
As I noted above: defense matters in the air war. See again MANPADS.
For the moment, I think you are correct in characterizing Air Supremacy as the position that the IAF is in. That means that they have the edge in using air. With that said, MOUT with tight RoE puts its own constraints on air power.
I am not sure what level of Air Defense Hamas would need to have or obtain to challenge that. We'll see.