{"id":84864,"date":"2026-04-01T09:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T09:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/04\/01\/the-strait-of-hormuz-offers-a-lesson-in-air-denial\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:19:08","slug":"the-strait-of-hormuz-offers-a-lesson-in-air-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/2026\/04\/01\/the-strait-of-hormuz-offers-a-lesson-in-air-denial\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strait of Hormuz offers a lesson in air denial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIran\u2019s power is the Hormuz Strait.\u201d Those were Iranian foreign minister Abbas Aragchi\u2019s words on state television last week. He wasn\u2019t wrong. Four weeks into this conflict, the United States has struck more than 10,000 Iranian targets, destroyed roughly 80% of Iran\u2019s air defense capabilities, and eliminated its navy as a fighting force. Yet the strait remains effectively closed \u2014 and Iran\u2019s drones and missiles are keeping it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehran\u2019s goal is to impose persistent economic and political costs until Washington concludes that continuing the war is not worth it. To achieve that, Iran is exploiting a gap in U.S. Air Force doctrine \u2014 the distinction between air superiority and air denial, and between the blue skies and the air littoral. So far, it is working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air superiority \u2014 the control that permits operations at a \u201cgiven time and place without prohibitive interference from air and missile threats\u201d \u2014 is what the United States has achieved over southern and western Iran and is now working to extend eastward. That control allows large-scale strikes and freedom of maneuver at medium and high altitudes. As Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted on Tuesday<\/a>, \u201cGiven the increase in air superiority, we\u2019ve successfully started to conduct the first overland B-52 missions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By that measure, the campaign has been a success. But the strait is still closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\t