The lessons learned during wars and armed conflicts indicate that the main factor
influencing the aerial defence of air bases were directly related to the rapid development
of the combat capabilities of aerial threats. Air bases have been lucrative targets for enemy
air strikes since the first documented attack by a British aircraft on a German airfield in
1914 and have remained so for contemporary military air operations. The article discusses
the evolution of concepts and lessons learned in the field of aerial defence of air bases that
resulted from armed conflicts and local wars. The analysis includes armed conflicts, which,
according to the author, have reflected the changes in the organisation of the aerial defence
of air bases, including the repulsion of air strikes against aviation on the ground. Attention
was paid to the conditions related to the aerial defence of aviation on the ground during
the First World War. A more thorough analysis was made of the Second World War period,
focused on the Western Front and the defence of Poland. Particular attention was paid to
the Battle of Britain, noting the importance of the organisation of the radar air surveillance
system in the context of the effectiveness of air defence. The focus of the analysis then
shifts to the aerial defence of air bases during armed conflicts after the Second World War:
the Vietnam War (1965-1973), the Yom Kippur War (1973), the defence of air bases in
the Yom Kippur War (1973), and NATO operations from the air against air bases during
the Deny Flight / Deliberate Force (1992-1995) and Allied Force (1999) operations. The
article also makes a preliminary assessment of the aerial defence of air bases during the
ongoing conflict in Syria.