Theory, Implementation, and the Future of Airpower
Abstract
Since the dawn of civilization, people have tried to predict the future of war. Twenty-four hundred years ago, Thucydides addressed many enduring aspects of conflict in his great History of the Peloponnesian War, noting that fear . . . honor and interest will always motivate humans to fight. At the same time, the Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu also expressed his thoughts on war s constant attributes, highlighting deception and the indirect approach as the best means for success.1 Of course, no discussion of military theory would be complete without mentioning Carl von Clausewitz, whose trinity serves as a foundation for forecasting how the various elements of war s nature may relate to one another in a specific conflict.2 Clausewitz also tried to decipher the constantly changing elements of war that comprise its character, emphasizing the degree of social involvement and downplaying the role of technological advances. For the great airpower theorists, technological change was the essence of their ideas about the future of war. To individuals like Giulio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, Billy Mitchell, and John Warden, aircraft have revolutionized warfare, and the theories that they developed detail how conflict will differ from its previous forms. Without a doubt, the continuing development of airpower will affect how future war is waged. Airpower has become part of what Clausewitz called the grammar of war an element that has its own unique characteristics. Yet, whether its use in the years ahead plays out according to the theories predictions depends upon many factors: why people use airpower that is, the desired political and military objectives they ask it to achieve; the perceptions of those who apply airpower, of those on the receiving end of its application, and of those on the rest of the planet; the type of conflict in which it participates; and the capabilities that it possesses, which stem from the funding it has received.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA610318
Entities
People
- Mark Clodfelter
Organizations
- Air University