Decision from the Sky: Airpower as a Decisive Instrument of National Power.

Abstract

This paper explores airpower as a decisive instrument of national power and examines the key impediments that prevent it from reaching its full potential. The paper begins by examining the use of the term 'decisive' within the defense community and offers a definition. Next, three examples of the decisive use of airpower are explored: the Berlin Airlift, Operation Linebacker II, and Operation Deliberate Force. Emphasis is placed on how each operation helped to achieve the stated political objective. Succeeding sections include a look at the evolution of US airpower thinking, current and projected state of airpower capability and role of the decisionmaker in strategy development.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 15, 1997
Accession Number
ADA326954

Entities

People

  • Timothy D. Gann

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Bombing
  • Civil War
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Naval Warfare
  • New York
  • Tactical Air Support
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies