Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations

Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations PDF Author: Shaun Clarke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780642265470
Category : Air power
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Militarily subordinated by greater partners within the settings of colonialism, Cold War and UN coalition, small modern nations have developed offensive air power capabilities predominantly geared for the 'fielded' battles of land, sea and air. 'Strategic bombing' against the enemy's very will and capacity for war has remained the exclusive franchise of greater nations. Within superpower-led coalition, the traditional small nation focus arguably remains adequate. In the post-Cold War environment, however, as planners increasingly consider the absence of superpower intervention in regional dispute, attention must be directed at understanding the greater air power potentials of individual small nations and non-superpower coalitions. What is the essence of strategic bombing? Is it within the reach of small modern nation offensive air power? Or are the demands of mass, tempo and sustainability - so characteristic of the century's classic strategic bombing campaigns - disqualifiers for small players?

Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations

Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations PDF Author: Shaun Clarke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780642265470
Category : Air power
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book Here

Book Description
Militarily subordinated by greater partners within the settings of colonialism, Cold War and UN coalition, small modern nations have developed offensive air power capabilities predominantly geared for the 'fielded' battles of land, sea and air. 'Strategic bombing' against the enemy's very will and capacity for war has remained the exclusive franchise of greater nations. Within superpower-led coalition, the traditional small nation focus arguably remains adequate. In the post-Cold War environment, however, as planners increasingly consider the absence of superpower intervention in regional dispute, attention must be directed at understanding the greater air power potentials of individual small nations and non-superpower coalitions. What is the essence of strategic bombing? Is it within the reach of small modern nation offensive air power? Or are the demands of mass, tempo and sustainability - so characteristic of the century's classic strategic bombing campaigns - disqualifiers for small players?

Command Of The Air

Command Of The Air PDF Author: General Giulio Douhet
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782898522
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 620

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Book Description
In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

The Limits of Air Power

The Limits of Air Power PDF Author: Mark Clodfelter
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803264540
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Tracing the use of air power in World War II and the Korean War, Mark Clodfelter explains how U. S. Air Force doctrine evolved through the American experience in these conventional wars only to be thwarted in the context of a limited guerrilla struggle in Vietnam. Although a faith in bombing's sheer destructive power led air commanders to believe that extensive air assaults could win the war at any time, the Vietnam experience instead showed how even intense aerial attacks may not achieve military or political objectives in a limited war. Based on findings from previously classified documents in presidential libraries and air force archives as well as on interviews with civilian and military decision makers, The Limits of Air Power argues that reliance on air campaigns as a primary instrument of warfare could not have produced lasting victory in Vietnam. This Bison Books edition includes a new chapter that provides a framework for evaluating air power effectiveness in future conflicts.

Bombing to Win

Bombing to Win PDF Author: Robert A. Pape
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801471508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he argues that the key to success is attacking the enemy's military strategy, not its economy, people, or leaders. Coercive air power can succeed, but not as cheaply as air enthusiasts would like to believe.Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. In this now-classic work of the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps military strategists and policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates.

Decisive Force

Decisive Force PDF Author: Richard G. Davis
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788138146
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
Examines the U.S.Air Force strategic bombing campaign of Iraq & Iraqi armed forces occupying Kuwait from January 17th through February 28th, 1991 . Describes the aircraft & weapons, changes in technology & the reexamination & reapplication of traditional strategic bombing theory by USAF planning officers. Provides a chronological review of the campaign with an analysis of the results. Photos, maps, graphs & tables. Includes suggested readings.

Airmen and air theory a review of the sources

Airmen and air theory a review of the sources PDF Author: Phillip S. Meilinger
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428990321
Category : Aeronautics, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
This part of the book reviews the state of American airpower biography and autobiography. I have set certain parameters to define the boundaries of my discussion. I discuss biographies and autobiographies, anthologies, and oral histories of military officers who served in senior positions. Thus, although the stories of great aviators like Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh, and Chuck Yeager are important, those men did not command large forces either in combat or in peace; they had only a temporary effect on the development of strategy and doctrine. Similarly excluded are civilian political leaders and industrialists like Stuart Symington and Donald Douglas, even though they played key roles In their own spheres. What follows are the stories, some published, some not of America's greatest military airmen-some told by themselves, others by biographers. The order of presentation is roughly chronological, according to the time during which these men served. The fact that a surprising number of air luminaries do not appear here means that much work remains to be done.

The Future of Air Power in the Aftermath of the Gulf War

The Future of Air Power in the Aftermath of the Gulf War PDF Author: Robert L. Pfaltzgraff
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428992812
Category : Air power
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
This collection of essays reflects the proceedings of a 1991 conference on "The United States Air Force: Aerospace Challenges and Missions in the 1990s," sponsored by the USAF and Tufts University. The 20 contributors comment on the pivotal role of airpower in the war with Iraq and address issues and choices facing the USAF, such as the factors that are reshaping strategies and missions, the future role and structure of airpower as an element of US power projection, and the aerospace industry's views on what the Air Force of the future will set as its acquisition priorities and strategies. The authors agree that aerospace forces will be an essential and formidable tool in US security policies into the next century. The contributors include academics, high-level military leaders, government officials, journalists, and top executives from aerospace and defense contractors.

Air Power as a Coercive Instrument

Air Power as a Coercive Instrument PDF Author: Daniel Byman
Publisher: RAND Corporation
ISBN: 9780585245485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Coercion--the use of threatened force to induce an adversary to change its behavior--is a critical function of the U.S. military. U.S. forces have recently fought in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, and the Horn of Africa to compel recalcitrant regimes and warlords to stop repression, abandon weapons programs, permit humanitarian relief, and otherwise modify their actions. Yet despite its overwhelming military might, the United States often fails to coerce successfully. This report examines the phenomenon of coercion and how air power can contribute to its success. Three factors increase the likelihood of successful coercion: (1) the coercer's ability to raise the costs it imposes while denying the adversary the chance to respond (escalation dominance); (2) an ability to block an adversary's military strategy for victory; and (3) an ability to magnify third-party threats, such as internal instability or the danger posed by another enemy. Domestic political concerns (such as casualty sensitivity) and coalition dynamics often constrain coercive operations and impair the achievement of these conditions. Air power can deliver potent and credible threats that foster the above factors while neutralizing adversary countercoercive moves. When the favorable factors are absent, however, air power--or any other military instrument--will probably fail to coerce. Policymakers' use of coercive air power under inauspicious conditions diminishes the chances of using it elsewhere when the prospects of success would be greater.

Within Limits

Within Limits PDF Author: Wayne Thompson
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788140094
Category : Korean War, 1950-1953
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
Despite American success in preventing the conquest of South Korea by communist North Korea, the Korean War of 1950-1953 did not satisfy Americans who expected the kind of total victory they had experienced in WW II. In Korea, the U.S. limited itself to conventional weapons. Even after communist China entered the war, Americans put China off-limits to conventional bombing as well as nuclear bombing. Operating within these limits, the U.S. Air Force helped to repel 2 invasions of South Korea while securing control of the skies so decisively that other U.N. forces could fight without fear of air attack.

The Air Campaign

The Air Campaign PDF Author: John A. Warden, III
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788108093
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
One of the first analyses of the pure art of planning the aerial dimensions of war. Explores the complicated connection between air superiority and victory in war. Focuses on the use of air forces at the operational level in a theater of war. Presents fascinating historical examples, stressing that the mastery of operational-level strategy can be the key to winning future wars. 20 photos. Bibliography.