This is the second part of a two-part article on French airpower in current contingencies. For a country like France, the strategic context in the short- to mid-term will probably be the continuation of the current era of protracted interventions, necessary but unfortunately non-decisive, in Africa (as leading nation) and the Middle East (as part…
When we first took to the air, it was not to attack—it was to gather. It was to find. The first military use of aircraft occurred during the French Revolutionary Wars. In June 1794 the French used a tethered hydrogen balloon to observe the movements of the Austrian army during the Battle of Fleurus. The…
One of Japan’s most important military modernization efforts is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) replacement of its F-4 fleet with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Although the F-35 acquisition requires considerable funding, the JASDF also has plans to acquire new tankers and airborne early warning platforms. Furthermore, the JASDF needs to reinforce its intelligence,…
Leading Edge 