What do you think?
Rate this book
High Cold War: Strategic Air Reconnaissance and the Electronic Intelligence War
The underlying theme of this book is "now it can be told". It tells the inside story of aerial reconnaisance and electronic intelligence, from the post-war years through to the present day, complete with political skulduggery, and revelations such as the USSR's actual lack of military capability.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1998
About the author
Robert Jackson
239 books54 followersRobert Jackson was born in 1941 in the North Yorkshire village of Melsonby. A former pilot and navigation instructor, his active involvement with aviation lasted many years. Following his retirement from the RAFVR in 1977 as a squadron leader, he became a full-time aviation writer and aerospace correspondent and lectured extensively on strategic issues. He speaks five languages, including Russian, and has written more than forty nonfiction works on military affairs. He is also the author of the popular Yeoman and SAS fiction series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 13, 2024
If there is a black-magic equivalent in military technology then it is reconnaissance and especially electronic reconnaissance.
In this very informative book, author guides us through the early days of electronic warfare and optical photo reconnaissance. These very brave crews were (and still are) tasked with leading the attack with task of messing up the defenses and making sure that strike paths are fully explored and mapped.
We are given the brief, but yet very detailed, overview of ELINT and photo reconnaissance from WW2 'til 1997 (day of publication). Of course, western (NATO, particularly US and UK) technology and formations are described. Soviet technology and projects are given as more sea-based than air based. Only mention is of TU-95 and TU-22M recon flights in terms of aerial reconnaissance. For everything else Soviets seem to have used various spy ships.
One of the very interesting elements in this story is how prominent was the involvement of Taiwanese and Israeli crews when it comes to flying spy missions over China and Middle East respectively using classified airplanes (especially those developed under black programs with intelligence organizations like U-2).
I have to agree with the author that manned flights will not go anywhere, even in our days when the main buzz-word is drone. While automated systems - like satellites for example - can perform various reconnaissance missions, manned flights will remain active and required for real-time strike supports (for operations on ground, air, sea or space).
Thing that annoyed me a lot was constant we-against-evil-empire talk that was cliche years ago, but got old very fast especially in last few years. What is visible from description of all of the operations is that West was constantly pushing the envelope and once line was crossed operations would terminate for US but would be pushed to proxies to risk their lives (UK, Taiwan and Israel to name the few). That did not change at all after all these days, only way is to push, push, push and then let other people bleed to death.
Besides that, very good book with lots of information on operations, personnel and airplanes - especially less known planes (at least to me) like Constellation WV1/2/EC-121 or RB-57F.
Recommended.
In this very informative book, author guides us through the early days of electronic warfare and optical photo reconnaissance. These very brave crews were (and still are) tasked with leading the attack with task of messing up the defenses and making sure that strike paths are fully explored and mapped.
We are given the brief, but yet very detailed, overview of ELINT and photo reconnaissance from WW2 'til 1997 (day of publication). Of course, western (NATO, particularly US and UK) technology and formations are described. Soviet technology and projects are given as more sea-based than air based. Only mention is of TU-95 and TU-22M recon flights in terms of aerial reconnaissance. For everything else Soviets seem to have used various spy ships.
One of the very interesting elements in this story is how prominent was the involvement of Taiwanese and Israeli crews when it comes to flying spy missions over China and Middle East respectively using classified airplanes (especially those developed under black programs with intelligence organizations like U-2).
I have to agree with the author that manned flights will not go anywhere, even in our days when the main buzz-word is drone. While automated systems - like satellites for example - can perform various reconnaissance missions, manned flights will remain active and required for real-time strike supports (for operations on ground, air, sea or space).
Thing that annoyed me a lot was constant we-against-evil-empire talk that was cliche years ago, but got old very fast especially in last few years. What is visible from description of all of the operations is that West was constantly pushing the envelope and once line was crossed operations would terminate for US but would be pushed to proxies to risk their lives (UK, Taiwan and Israel to name the few). That did not change at all after all these days, only way is to push, push, push and then let other people bleed to death.
Besides that, very good book with lots of information on operations, personnel and airplanes - especially less known planes (at least to me) like Constellation WV1/2/EC-121 or RB-57F.
Recommended.
July 28, 2019
3.5 stars for the writing, an extra .5 for the quality of the pictures. This is a good summary of strategic reconnaissance but is lacking in focus. Some chapters are incredibly concise (U-2 shootdown, Cuban missile crisis) but others devolve into lists of personnel rotating through, interception reports, unit formations/re-designations, and similar information that doesn't add anything.
The good chapters establish the historical context, describe the various airframes and how they were used, the units involved, and how intelligence affected events. The best chapters also include the relevant imagery (Suez '56 is the best in that regard). I appreciated that this wasn't primarily dedicated to the U-2 with Powers and Cuba and the SR-71. There are plenty of other books that cover those aspects exhaustively, so it is nice to see the other forgotten aircraft types explored, no matter how briefly.
The good chapters establish the historical context, describe the various airframes and how they were used, the units involved, and how intelligence affected events. The best chapters also include the relevant imagery (Suez '56 is the best in that regard). I appreciated that this wasn't primarily dedicated to the U-2 with Powers and Cuba and the SR-71. There are plenty of other books that cover those aspects exhaustively, so it is nice to see the other forgotten aircraft types explored, no matter how briefly.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews