Wiktionary
n. 1 The waging of war in a manner which does not use nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. 2 The waging of war in set military battles, as opposed to waging guerrilla warfare or fighting insurgency.
Wikipedia
Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opponent's military. It is normally fought using conventional weapons, and not with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
The general purpose of conventional warfare is to weaken or destroy the opponent's military, thereby negating its ability to engage in conventional warfare. In forcing capitulation, however, one or both sides may eventually resort to unconventional warfare tactics.
Usage examples of "conventional warfare".
While this does not mean that the threat of conventional warfare has vanished, it does mean that the national leader intending to use major conflict to achieve political aims must carefully craft strategy that will avoid the opportunity for confrontation with a large coalition force lead by the United States.
He spent two hours staring at a map of Europe, and by sunrise was as certain as Kerensky himself that in terms of conventional warfare the plan would work.
Having barred their attack by illusion, the forces commanded by Scathfell and Damon-Rafael must turn, at least for now, to more conventional warfare.
We all got spoiled by the Eurasian War an' the run-up to it, bein' free to concentrate on conventional warfare.
He liked commanding troops in battle, and did a surprisingly good job of it, as long as they hewed to the tactics and maneuvers of conventional warfare, against similar opponents.
According to the Sodeskayans, the unorthodox tactics actually rattled Toronder crews, who were trained for more conventional warfare.
Before invention of the rider, the Estates had learned to fight with Quis, which could be sent through treacherous mountains far more easily than conventional warfare.
Since the foolproof Nuclear Shields, conventional warfare had evaporated.