Submission Guidelines

Air University Press is committed to advancing scholarly and professional discourse in support of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, and the broader U.S. Government. To align with this mission, Air University Press books and journals will prioritize the peer review and developmental editing of manuscript submissions originating from the following sources:

Air University programs and affiliated institutions
Department of the Air Force personnel
Department of Defense entities and personnel
Other US Government authors and agencies

This prioritization ensures that the research and perspectives of those directly contributing to national defense and security are promptly and effectively supported in the academic publishing process. While submissions from outside these categories remain welcome and will continue to be considered on their scholarly merit, those from the prioritized categories will receive expedited editorial attention to enhance the relevance and timeliness of their contribution to defense-related scholarship.

Contributions to Æther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower (Æther) will be original articles not under consideration for publication elsewhere or previously published, and will explore military, Air Force, and Space Force doctrine, force structure, readiness, innovation, and other matters of national defense related to air and space operations. 

Articles must be submitted in Microsoft Word, follow Chicago Manual of Style (18th ed.), and fall within the following range: 4,000–6,500 words, including footnotes.

To publish an article, please submit an abstract of no more than 150 words to aether-journal@au.af.edu for review by the editors. Abstracts must explicitly address these elements:

Thesis (1–2 sentences)
Research approach
Contribution to the field of study/issue (what is new?)
Relevance to the Department of the Air Force and senior Department of Defense and civilian national security decisionmakers

To check the status of your submission or if you have questions concerning our article review and publication process, please contact us at aether-journal@au.af.edu.

*Please note: the inbox with a .mil extension is not monitored. Emails must be sent to the email address with the .edu extension. 

2025 Publication Submission Deadline

Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
30 Dec 24	15 Mar 25	---	---

Human Research Disclaimer
If your submission contains human subject research (interviews, surveys, etc.), you must obtain a formal institutional review board (IRB) review of your submission indicating compliance or an exemption. If you are an active duty independent researcher, we recommend reaching out to your most recent Air University or other military PME program/school for their IRB POC. More information can be found here.
Security Policy
Æther publications must undergo security clearance and policy review to ensure that they contain no classified and sensitive information and do not misrepresent current Air Force policy. Normally, the public affairs (PA) office at Maxwell completes the review, but DOD-affiliated authors may have their manuscript cleared by their local PA office. If you do so, please provide us with the clearance/case number assigned by that office.

AI Policy
Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated submissions are not permitted. If AI is used to generate specific text in an article, it must be used sparingly, be treated as a direct quote, and be sourced accordingly, per Chicago Manual of Style guidelines for AI content. If it is used to create a graphic, it must also be sourced. Violators will be ineligible for future publication consideration. 
Contact Us
Please e-mail your comments, suggestions, or address change to
Aether-Journal@au.af.edu

Article Submission Guidelines

Downloadable Guides