Anti-access/area denial

Common card · No. 413531

Anti-access/area denial (or A2/AD) is a military strategy to control access to and within an operating environment. In an early definition, anti-access refers to those actions and capabilities, usually long-range, designed to prevent an opposing force from entering an operational area. Area denial refers to those actions and capabilities, usually of shorter range, designed to limit an opposing force's freedom of action within the operational area. In short, A2 affects movement to a theater, while AD affects movement within a theater. A2/AD typically refers to a strategy used by a weaker opponent to defend against an opponent of superior skill, although a stronger opponent can also use A2/AD.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0