Air Power

Combining conceptual insight with clear, readable descriptions of technology, Jeremy Black describes how air power evolved from modest beginnings into a major national instrument of both deterrence and compellence. By covering the societal and psychological aspects of air warfare as well as air power’s 100-year history of delivering air superiority, situational awareness, manoeuvre and strike, this excellent book fills a real void in the existing literature. Highly recommended. - Col. Prof. John Andreas Olsen, RNoAf

Jeremy Black’s Air Power is destined to be the go-to book on the subject. While inspiring in its breadth and scope, the work does not lose sight of the key issues that propelled the development of military aviation such as leadership, technological advances, and political considerations. Most important, Black does not fall victim to air power theorists’ propaganda, instead maintaining a clear-eyed focus on the limitations of air power and its integration with land and sea forces. - Jason W. Warren, U.S. Army War College

Abbreviations
Preface
1.Introduction
2.The Start of a New Arm
3.The First World War
4.The 1920s
5.The 1930s
6.The Second World War
7.The Early Cold War, 1946–1962
8.The Cold War: The Middle Period, 1963–1975
9.The Later Cold War, 1976–1989
10.Air Power and the Revolution in Military Affairs, 1990–2003
11.A Complex Reality, 2004–2015
12.Into the Future
13.Conclusions
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author