a journal of air power strategy
There’s no such thing as war in space; there’s just war. General John Hyten, USAF[1] Deterrence, as it applies to the space domain, presents some interesting challenges as more countries recognize the benefits of and from space, but they are far from new. History shows us the way. The United States has been here before […]
The 23d Bomb Squadron has a long and storied history marked by incredible achievements and amazing displays of airpower. It is one of the original Aero Squadrons, with more than a century of service. The squadron distinguished itself with valor and heroism throughout the Pacific theatre at legendary battles. They were at Guadalcanal, Leyte, Luzon, […]
With the recent push for hypersonics, and the associated “breakthroughs” in their development, one could be forgiven for thinking hypersonics is something new. It isn’t. The United States had boost-glide hypersonic aircraft in the mid-60s. The USAF made a conscious decision to NOT field hypersonic aircraft decades ago. So why bring it back now? What […]
I was honored this past weekend to be invited by VFW Post 3000 to speak at their Veterans Day event. The Antelope Valley of Southern California is chock full of Veterans, and they’re all amazing people with amazing stories. While it doesn’t have anything to do with airpower, here’s the transcript of the speech: […]
With North Korean missiles on everyone’s mind, it’s no wonder Americans and their elected representatives are searching for a solution. While Secretary Mattis has (so far) been successful in convincing a public and a Congress that any military solution to North Korea is messy at best, every time Kim tries something else, we publicly go […]
The United States’ goals in North Korea sometimes confuse the international audience. However, the current objective is clear: remove all nuclear weapons and proliferation capability from North Korea. It’s that simple. Secretary Tillerson provided what was sorely missing, clarity of purpose. North Korea can continue to be international pariahs, so long as they do not […]
Deterrence exists in the mind, not necessarily the battlefield. Nations posture against each other attempting to influence actions and perceptions. For many years, airpower has been a powerful tool of deterrence strategies. But what happens when it doesn’t work. What happens when deterrence fails? Deterrence is the art of influencing adversary actions before they occur, […]
The United States Air Force has struggled lately in resourcing its National Command Authority assigned missions.[1] While the immediate focus tends toward material and equipment, a potentially more troubling problem facing the Air Force may be the ever-increasing gap caused by poor pilot retention across multiple platform specialties.[2] Under-resourced and losing talent, the Air Force […]
More than nine years since have passed since Operation BURNT FROST. I hadn’t thought about the event in a long time. While it was the highlight of my newly-minted weapons officer career at Cavalier AFS, ND, after it was over there was little more said about the event. However, the strategic implications from BURNT FROST […]
Tactical Fighter Experimental The Air Force and the Department of Defense were created amid a time of massive military drawdowns and shrinking budgets. However, nuclear weapons, nuclear strategy, and their associated systems were impervious to this drawdown. In the 1950s and 1960s, nuclear strategy permeated every area of the military, as the services must train, […]
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