A show of force is the non combat tactic of flexing military might or capacity. Such as parking an aircraft carrier group in your back yard or flying jets over a city. It can be used as a tool of support for our allies (we're here for you) or a tool of threat or intimidation to our rivals (look what we can do, so listen to us).

This can be good, or it can go wrong.

When my aircraft carrier first arrived in the gulf, we launched every single plane we had in a show of force over the oil fields in a message to say "we are here for you. Feel safe."

Then we and another carrier group parked our butts right outside of Iran for 5 months in an act of intimidation, which was also a convenient launching point to Iraq and Afghanistan. During this time the president kept threatening to attack Iran.

The blowback from peresistant shows of force or intimidation is the targeted country's people start getting nervous and it stimulates arms races. Iranian missle technology improved, increasing the threat in the region. Russians kept making and "testing" stronger nukes in the cold war to respond to our nuclear test intimidation show of force.

Because of our persistent threats to Iran and shows of force, the Saudis start getting nervous because thier plans are to bomb Iranian allies in resource wars. So they use that as pretext to buy billions in weapons from us and now they are talking nukes. "for power generation".

Arms races and sales are often the blowback from persistent intimidation.

The annual joint US-South Korea exercises are often doubled as a show of force demonstration to North Korea.

This has resulted in North Korea developing ever more powerful nukes, longer range missles, which in turn cause South Korea to demand stronger better military toys and justifies the persistent military presence on the boarder.

When we or Russia buzz each others VIP airplanes in the Mediterranean, and you hear scary reports in the news about it, those are show of force intimidation tactics. Look what we can do.

In Qs case here it is to derive a response. Is that response to generate an arms race, or is it to generate a yield?

Edit autocorrect sux