A trend in modern warfare is to conduct war both conventionally and unconventionally. This modern era sets high demands on conventional forces to face the contemporary threat. Most of the modern conventional forces conduct war through maneuver warfare and uses the practice of combined arms to organize and fight, but is the method of combined arms still a valid method? This study examines Robert Leonhard’s theory of combined arms in the Yom Kippur war 1973 and during the American Thunder Runs in Baghdad 2003. The research question that this study is trying to answer is how the combined arms theory can explain the tactical success in the two cases. Previous studies about the theory explains how it could be understood, not how it is used. The theory encompasses three principles which is applied to the two cases to allow a structured analysis. The results show that both the Israelis and the Americans use the combined arms theory to achieve tactical success. What the analysis also shows is that the theory is not the only element that achieved success, but also technical advantage, moral and experience made an impact on the outcome of the cases.

Theory of the use of air power in defensive operations is not as developed as in offensive operations. The purpose of this study is to examine if Papes strategies of air power and coercion can be used to analyze the use of air power and its effects in a defensive operation. The result shows that Papes strategies can explain the use of air power in the cases of the study but have difficulties in explaining the outcome of the conflict in a distinct and clear way. Papes Denial-strategy has the best explanatory power of the four (Punishment, Risk, Denial and Decapitation) for the outcome of the conflict. The result shows that the use of air power could not be used isolated to reach decisive effect. Only during joint operations was the decisive effects reached. The conclusions, however, are to be seen in the light of the interests of USA and the Soviet Union and their roles before, during and their influence in ending the conflict.