Expecting the Desert Storm model to provide a quick victory is unrealistic against modern industrialized nations. A strategic interdiction strategy addresses operations against countries with advanced air defense systems but does not rely on deep penetration into defended airspace from distant bases, a significant force structure, and a design challenge that may be insurmountable. Instead it relies on capable air and naval forces to affect the most exposed and the most critical parts of a country’s “system.” The strategy has wide applicability for many crisis conditions and is well suited to an escalatory response because it contains nonlethal and reversible options. Moreover, elements of the strategy can be conducted on short notice with limited forces and undertaken from substantial distances.