text: FM 7-100.1________________________________________________________________________________
  National-Level Air Force
  8-3. The State has subordinated air armies directly to the Supreme High
  Command (SHC) for strategic missions. Aircraft include bombers, interceptors,
  fighters, electronic warfare (EW) platforms, transport aircraft, and tankers.
  Some bombers can deliver long-range, air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs)
  with high accuracy and a standoff range of 3,000 km or more. Tankers
  provide a capability for air-to-air refueling of bombers. A national-level air
  army has the mission of inflicting losses on vital targets and conducting aerial
  reconnaissance in support of the strategic campaign. The SHC can also allocate
  these air armies to support a specific theater- or operational-level command.
  8-4. The size and composition of an air army can vary greatly. However, most
  air armies have one or more units each for
  • Fighter aviation.
  • Bomber aviation.
  • Reconnaissance aviation.
  • Mixed aviation (fixed- and rotary-wing).
  • Heliborne jamming.
  In addition, some air armies may have one or more units for
  • Ground-attack aviation.
  • Airborne jamming aviation.
  • Transport helicopters.
  • Air ambulance.
  Generally, units with the term aviation in their titles are either fixed-wing
  units or mixed aviation units with a mixture of fixed-and rotary-wing
  aircraft. During wartime, some aviation divisions and regiments may be task
  organized into aviation tactical groups.
  Theater-Level Air Force
  8-5. Theater air armies are subordinate to the theater headquarters (if
  created) and play a key role in all types of combat, from participating in
  theater-level campaigns to supporting low-level tactical units of the ground
  forces. In the former role, they complement national-level aviation, and in the
  latter, army aviation.
  8-6. High-performance fighters, interceptors, and some light bombers com-
  prise the air army of the theater. At theater level, the Air Force also controls
  a substantial number of fixed- and rotary-wing EW aircraft, as well as
  medium- and heavy-lift helicopters. Thus, a theater air army can have the
  same types of units as found in air armies at the national level.
  8-7. The size and composition of the theater air army vary greatly depending
  on the theater’s needs. Those aviation assets retained to provide fire support
  at the theater level are part of the theater’s integrated fires command (IFC).
  Theater headquarters may also use these assets to support high-priority
  operational-level actions.