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The first large scale air raid occurred later in 1915, when London was bombed by 15 German Zeppelin dirigibles at night. For example, at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915, the British dropped bombs on German rail communications. The use of air strikes was extended in World War I. On November 1, 1911, Italian aviator Second Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti dropped four bombs on two Turkish-held bases in Libya, carrying out the world's first air strike as part of the Italo-Turkish War. In close air support, air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers on the ground for coordination with ground troops and intelligence in a manner derived from artillery tactics. Weapons used in an airstrike can range from direct-fire aircraft-mounted cannons and machine guns, rockets and air-to-surface missiles, to various types of aerial bombs, glide bombs, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and even directed-energy weapons such as laser weapons. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular usage the term is usually narrowed to a tactical (small-scale) attack on a ground or naval objective as opposed to a larger, more general attack such as carpet bombing. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The aftermath of an airstrike during the 2022 Russian invasion of UkraineĪn airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft.