Synopses & Reviews
What influences have shaped air power since human flight became a reality more than a hundred years ago? Global Air Power provides insight into the evolution of air power theory and practice by examining the experience of six of the worlds largest air forcesthose of the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, Russia, India, and Chinaand of representative smaller air forces in Pacific Asia, Latin America, and continental Europe. The chapters, written by highly regarded scholars and military leaders, explore how various nations have integrated air power into their armed forces and how they have applied air power in both regular and irregular warfare and in peacetime operations. They cover the organizational, professional, and doctrinal issues that air forces confronted in the past, the lessons learned from victory and defeat, and emerging challenges and opportunities. Further, Global Air Power supplements the traditional military perspective with examinations of the ideological, economic, and cultural factors that give air forces their distinctive characters. Chapters show how the interplay among these internal factors, together with external challenges, determines the structure, role, and effectiveness of air forces. Together, these chapters illuminate universal trends as well as similarities and differences among the worlds air forces. Its combination of military history and sociopolitical analysis makes Global Air Power especially valuable to a broad range of historians, air power specialists, and general readers interested in national defense and international relations.
Review
and#8220;Col. Professor John Olsen has done a great service to all serious students of air power by bringing together the thoughts, perspectives, and opinions of air force leaders and other air power experts of the early twenty-first century. Whether we agree with the different positions or not, we need to understand the arguments as we make our own decisions going forward.and#8221;and#8212;Gen. Joseph Ralston (Ret.), USAF, former supreme allied commander Europe, NATO
Review
and#8220;An interesting and provocative exploration of the roots, the present, and the future of European air forces. . . . John Andreas Olsen brilliantly manages to bring together expert analysis and diverse views that provide stimulating food for thought about how we might learn from the past and shape our air forces for the future. A great read.and#8221;and#8212;Gen. Denis Mercier, chief of staff, French Air Force
Review
and#8220;With the geo-political shift of the United Statesand#8217; interest towards Asia-Pacific, John Olsen presents a timely analysis of the implications for European air forces which seek to understand their contributions to national defence and security objectives, often in the context of alliances and partnerships. His deliberate emphasis on the need to cultivate the intellectual acumen of airmen is well made and lies at the heart of developing and delivering relevant air power for the Royal Air Force and, indeed, for all air forces. I commend it to you.and#8221;and#8212;Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, chief of staff, Royal Air Force
Review
andquot;Every air power historian as well as those involved in the deciding the future of air power acquisitions will gather incredible insights from the difficult decisions these medium and small air power nations have made and will need to make in the future.andquot;andmdash;Mel Deaile, Journal of Strategic Security
Synopsis
Presents a regional, national, and global overview of air power; Written by a cadre of military specialists who offer global perspectives; Assesses its cultural as well as military influences
Synopsis
European Air Power examines the current state of eight separate European air forces and their prospective air power capabilities in a manner that will appeal to a wide audience of air force enthusiasts. Included are perspectives from independent air power experts reviewing the air forces of France, Germany, Turkey, and Great Britain as well as from the leaders of the air forces of the Nordic nations, including Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.and#160;
Within the national security framework of threats and challenges, and against the seemingly universal backdrop of lower budgets for defense, the contributors present varying views on the types of air power capability a state should have and those it does not need. The contributors consider each air force separately and how each is structured to remain sustainable and efficient in accordance with its national strategic infrastructure.
About the Author
COL. JOHN ANDREAS OLSEN is currently assigned to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and is a visiting professor of operational art and tactics at the Swedish National Defence College. His previous publications with Potomac Books include
John Warden and the Renaissance of American Air Power,A History of Air Warfare,Global Air Power, and
Air Commanders.