Aerial attacks during the Korean and Vietnam wars involved limited campaigns waged with conventional weapons. The vast formations of heavy bombers common during World War II were seldom used. These wars were fought mainly by Allied ground forces assisted by U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fighters and bombers, which provided close support and attacked enemy supply lines.

The helicopter came into its own during these conflicts. It excelled at evacuating wounded ground troops, and in Vietnam the Bell UH-1 Huey provided battlefield mobility in a new type of maneuver warfare. The Huey became the modern-day cavalry for the ground forces. Although air power did not play a decisive role in Korea or Vietnam, U.S. strategic air power did help deter the Soviet Union and China from expanding these wars into global conflicts.