Air University (AU) > AUPress > Articles - Category Papers

Oct. 1, 2012
Continued Optical Sensor Operations

The United States and other nations are developing laser (i.e., "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation") applications, including high-energy lasers (HEL) and low-energy lasers (LEL). While HELs will likely have military applications in ballistic missile defense (BMD),
July 1, 2012
Air Force Command and Control: The Need for Increased Adaptability

The study captures the results of a CSAF directed analysis on USAF command and control (C2). The study examined Air Force C2 in seven cases covering the spectrum of conflict to determine whether doctrine and organizational structures require change to fit uncertain and dynamic future scenarios. The
Feb. 1, 2012
The Next-Generation Expeditionary Air Force

On 20 November 2008, the CSAF tasked the Air Force Research Institute (AFRI) to determine if the current expeditionary air and space forces (EAF) construct is engineered to deal with current and future challenges facing the Air Force.* Specific elements for research were the need to meet the demands
Sept. 1, 2011
The Credibility of America's Extended Nuclear Deterrent

As Iran moves ever closer to a nuclear weapons capability, will other area powers such as Turkey decide to acquire their own nuclear weapons and embark on a crash nuclear weapons program to provide their own deterrent? Or will Turkey’s leaders trust in the United States’ extended nuclear
July 1, 2011
General McChrystal’s Strategic Assessment: Evaluating the Operating Environment in Afghanistan in the Summer of 2009 [ONLINE ONLY]

This narrative focuses on General McChrystal and his strategic assessment team’s analysis. It describes the assessment team and covers some of the early friction between the members of the team who had arrived with the new commander and the existing headquarters staff. It then dissects the
Feb. 1, 2011
Discord or “Harmonious Society”? [ONLINE ONLY]

With its ancient cultural roots intact, the government of China, regarded by many of its people as having a “mandate of heaven,” is leading China into the future at almost blinding speed. Within the time frame covered in this monograph, China will supplant the United States as the
June 1, 2010
On the Fly: Israeli Airpower against the Al-Aqsa Intifada, 2000–2005

Perhaps the greatest lesson the Israeli Air Force should have learned from the five-year campaign against Palestinian militants in the Occupied Territories was the danger inherent in planning from past success. It had long been accustomed to fight short, sharp, conventional wars. Operation Ebb and
May 1, 2010
AF Symposium Series 2010-2, Future Operator Symposium Proceedings

In July 2009 the Air Force Research Institute invited more than 270 active duty personnel, 14 general officers, and Department of Defense civilians to a “Future Operator Symposium” at Maxwell Air Force Base. The objective was to discuss what operators should look like in the future by
April 1, 2010
RPAs: Revolution or Retrogression?

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) are in a way merely the continuation of the old human longing for methods of striking or observing one’s enemies while remaining safe. This essay explores the advantages and disadvantages of the systems, and briefly speculates about the future of unmanned
Dec. 1, 2009
Reflections of a Middling Cold Warrior: Should the Army Air Corps Be Resurected?

The need for the justification of an autonomous Air Force seems to be increasingly questioned. This article will argue the issue arises from a bad case of “presentism” that will make it inevitable that we will again be accused of having prepared for the last war in future conflicts. In