DoD plans to spend over $43 billion from FY 1996-2001 to acquire weapon systems to equip & modernize forces for the air superiority missions. This report evaluates air superiority missions to identify the overlap among the military services' planned capabilities & to determine whether the joint warfighting assessment process relating to air superiority was useful in making program & budget decisions about these programs. Identifies several concerns that should be addressed: joint warfighting assessment needs to cover a longer period, include cost-effectiveness analyses of alternative means to achieve U.S. objectives, & identify overlap. Charts & tables.

DoD plans to spend more than $200 billion on interdiction weapons over the next 15 to 20 years to add to their extensive capabilities to interdict an enemy. Modernizing U.S. forces is vital to preserving DoD's combat edge, but it also challenges DoD to make investments only "where there is clearly a substantial payoff."This report evaluates the military's current and future aggregate interdiction assets for striking enemy targets, and the effect of the planned modernization programs on total interdiction capabilities and alternatives to those programs.

Air power for warfighting is a story that's been told many times. Air power for peacekeeping and UN enforcement is a story that desperately needs to be told. For the first-time, this volume covers the fascinating range of aerial peace functions. In rich detail it describes: aircraft transporting vital supplies to UN peacekeepers and massive amounts of humanitarian aid to war-affected populations; aircraft serving as the 'eyes in sky' to keep watch for the world organization; and combat aircraft enforcing the peace. Rich poignant case studies illuminate the past and present use of UN air power, pointing the way for the future. This book impressively fills the large gap in the current literature on peace operations, on the United Nations and on air power generally.

This book examines the security dynamics of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, concentrating upon an analysis and evaluation of the air power capabilities of the various powers active in the two regions. The volume is designed to help improve understanding of the heritage and contemporary challenges confronting the global community in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, as well as to illuminate the policies of the various powers involved in the affairs of these regions, and the military capabilities that are available in support of those policies. The 16 individual chapters examine both the traditional and the non-traditional threats that confront the various Indian Ocean and Western Pacific powers, and assess the roles played by land-based and naval, fixed-wing and rotary-wing, manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as by offensively and defensively capable ballistic and cruise missiles in addressing these challenges. In doing so, the various chapters analyze and evaluate the air power doctrine, capabilities, deployment patterns, and missions of the respective states. In addition, they assess the future issues, challenges, and responses involving air power as it, acting in concert with other military instruments, seeks to contribute to securing and promoting the interests of the state. This book will be of much interest to students of air power, strategic studies, Asian and Middle Eastern politics, and International Relations.

Control of the air is the foundation for all conventional military operations against an adversary with an air defence capability. In future warfare, will it be possible for Unmanned Combat Air Systems to undertake the tasks and accept most of the risks that, until now, have been the lot of military aviators?

Airpower remains the cornerstone of NATO’s military advantage, so maintaining the ability to win air superiority over peer opponents in a conflict is key to long-term deterrence stability in both Europe and the Pacific. This Whitehall Paper examines the various modernisation and future capability development efforts being undertaken within NATO, and analyses the major threat systems and overall modernisation trends of the West’s main peer-competitors – Russia and China. US airpower capability development efforts are increasingly focused on countering the growing challenge from the Chinese military in the Pacific. To meet this challenge, the Pentagon is planning to transform the way it operates across all domains over the next 15 years. New platforms, weapons systems and increasing automation of command and control threaten to leave NATO allies behind. Current acquisition and modernisation plans of European air forces may eventually close the capability gap with current US theatre entry standard capabilities, but by then the US will have leapt ahead once more. Furthermore, many of the airpower capabilities which the US is pursuing for the Pacific theatre are significantly less relevant for the demands of deterrence against Russia in Europe. Given continuing dependence on US enablers on the part of other NATO members, a significant divergence in capability plans threatens to undermine crucial Alliance interoperability if not recognised and managed early.

An ideal textbook for classes on modern airpower and joint operations.