Airpower, provided by the French Air Force as well as Army and Navy aviation, has always been an important component of the French armed forces; but in the current context, it is proving to be an even more critical tool than ever before.
Americans love aircraft. They captivate us, from the crowds that throng to airshows to the children in the airport lounge to the toddler whose finely-cut dinner is “flown” noisily into her mouth on Air Fork One. The Union Army saw its first aviation advantage with the balloon corps in 1861, and the Wright Brothers built and flew the first controllable, powered heavier-than-air airplane some forty years later. Since that fateful day in 1903, aircraft and later spacecraft firmly embedded themselves in our national character, as American aviators accomplished a long string of first-ever accomplishments with ever-improving machines, pushing to the absolute limits of aerodynamic flight and beyond.
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter’s recent remarks on the efficacy of Iraq’s army reflect the fact that, despite years of training by thousands of U.S. and coalition forces, the army has not been able to halt Islamic State aggression. What makes anyone think that a few more months of similar training will yield success?
No, this isn’t a call for the resurrection of “cranium” and “container” (if they ever really went away). Nor is it a discourse of the pregame compliments shouted at opposing teams by fans of the Eagles or Raiders. This is a Leading Edge series where we collectively examine those words we airpower advocates employ that…
Sharing a rich history and close friendship, the French Air Force, Royal Air Force and United States Air Force signed a Tri-Lateral Strategic Initiative Charter in 2013. The Charter was intended to aggregate the world’s pre-eminent airpowers into “three air forces capable of rapid, cohesive and effective coalition operations across the full spectrum of conflict.”[1]…
One of the most interesting ideas in French military historian Laurent Henninger’s theory of fluid and solid spaces is its relationship to air operations. This relationship has significant consequences for not only the theory itself, but also on airpower concepts which play such a specific role in the use of military force. Airpower’s main characteristic…
One of the most vexing strategic problems facing airmen is how to succinctly articulate their inherent value to national policy and military strategy. In the battle of narratives and enduring strategic discussions, Airpower’s single most significant capability is still too often understated if not underestimated: the ability to break from the surface of the earth to furnish…
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