Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. Various guns and cannons have been used in this role since the first military aircraft were used in World War I, growing in power and accuracy over the years. Starting in the post-World War II era, the guns were joined by the guided missile, specifically the "surface-to-air missile", and today both are used in combination in most roles.

Adaptations of standard artillery systems were commonly used for most long-range anti-aircraft artillery, starting with standard pieces on new mountings, and evolving to custom guns with much higher performance prior to World War II. Their shells are usually fitted with different types of fuses (barometric, time-delay, or proximity) to send exploding metal fragments into the area of the target. The classic example of a large caliber, long-range anti-aircraft gun is the German 88 mm gun. Long-range weapons of this sort have for the most......

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Title: Anti-Air
Approximate Word Count: 569
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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