The Transformation of American Air Power

by Benjamin S. Lambeth

Since the unprecedentedly effective performance of the allied air campaign against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, the role of American air power in future wars has become a topic of often heated public debate. In this balanced appraisal of air power's newly realized strengths in joint warfare, Benjamin Lambeth, a defense analyst and civilian pilot who has flown in most of the equipment described in this book, explores the extent to which the United States can now rely on air-delivered precision weapons in lieu of ground forces to achieve strategic objectives and minimize American casualties. Beginning with the U.S. experience in Southeast Asia and detailing how failures there set the stage for a sweeping refurbishment of the nation's air warfare capability, Lambeth reviews the recent history of American air power, including its role in the Gulf War and in later conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia. He examines improvements in areas ranging from hardware development to aircrew skills and organizational adaptability. Lambeth acknowledges that the question of whether air power should operate independently or continue to support land operations is likely to remain contentious. He concludes, however, that air power, its strategic effectiveness proven, can now set the conditions for victory even from the outset of combat if applied to its fullest potential.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Aviation

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Trav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lambeth examines the transformation of US air power from the end of the Vietnam War through to the aftermath of Operation ALLIED FORCE in 1999. His central argument is that the transformation over the two and a half decades from the failures of Vietnam to the perceived triumphs of Kosovo was the result of technology, training, and doctrine. Although Lambeth's principal focus is clearly on the technological innovations in stealth, precision and information, he does a good job of highlighting how technology without training and conceptual development would be largely ineffective.

An underlying theme throughout the book appears to be Lambeth's effort to address the argument, most clearly put forward by Pape Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War, that air power advocates claim that air power can achieve victory without the need for operations in the other domains. Lambeth quote extensively key Air Force leaders who state, explicitly, that they do not see air power as a solo actor. The most powerful of these was that by McPeak in relation to the decision by the Clinton adminstration to rule out ground forces in the lead up to ALLIED FORCE:

"In major blunder, the use of ground troops was ruled out from the beginning. I know of no airman—not a single one—who welcomed this development. Nobody said, 'Hey, finally, our own private war. Just what we've always wanted!' It certainly would have been smarter to retain all the options…Signaling to Belgrade our extreme reluctance to fight on the ground made it much less likely that the bombing would succeed, exploring the limits of air power as a military and diplomatic instrument." (p.231)

Lambeth concludes that:

It would be a pointless exaggeration to suggest that air power can now win wars single-handedly as a result of such improvements. Short of that, however, recent developments have dramatically increased the relative combat potential of air power in comparison to that of other force elements. (p.297)

In summ: a good book to provide an overview of how air power has developed and been employed from Vietnam to Kosovo. Lambeth presents a relatively balanced perspective on the potential future of air power. A follow up work on the transformation from Kosovo to Kabul would be well-worthwhile.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

While an interesting read, I got tired having to continuously refer to the appendix to remember what all of the acronyms utilized stood for.