An air-filled or pneumatic tire consists of an inner core that is filled with pressurized air and sealed airtight. Usually, a reinforced steel belted tread or other materials, provides the contact part with the road and seals this inner core.
The tire would remain inflated with all the vehicle's weight resting on it, because the pressure of the air in the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure. The pressure of the air inside the tire provides resistance against forces that attempt to deform the tire. This gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect when the tire hits bumps in the road. If you have ever taken a ride in an old-fashioned carriage that had wooden wheels, you know exactly how huge of a difference a set of pneumatic tires could make.
Pneumatic tires also come with drawbacks. Highly dangerous applications or high-performance situations for instance, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would lead to a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could result in a dangerous car crash. Military planners must take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or firing of guns. The worst nightmare of a vehicle crew is becoming trapped within a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these problems and hence, could be more suitable in certain applications.
Pneumatic tires have one more issue involving variations in tire performance and air pressure. Lower tire pressure could create increased comfort and improved traction. This is because of the fact that tires flatten slightly and more tread is touching the road. The pressure of the air inside of the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Hence, less air pressure enables the tires' sidewalls to flex. Unfortunately, this leads to poor handling. Within an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
Air pressure factors into other issues too. With regards to to maintaining correct air pressure, consumers are notoriously undependable. Wrong air pressure in tires could lead to very unsafe situations. It is important to keep in mind that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes too, that could be responsible for changing the internal tire pressure. It is very vital to consider the kind of settings you would be requiring your equipment to operate in so that you could frequently inspect the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.