The Transformation of American Air Power

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...

Benjamin S. Lambeth is a senior staff member at RAND. He is the author of Russia's Air Power in Crisis.

Lambeth's book is a synthetic and interpretive narrative that insightfully illuminates in a controversial way the numerous uses and misuses of US airpower during the last 35 years.... This seminal work is written at many levels and will be of particular use to military professionals and civilian policy makers.

General Ron Fogleman:

Ben Lambeth's new book, The Transformation of American Air Power, is destined to join the 'must read' list. At a time when air and space power is becoming a dominant force in peace and war in a global society, Lambeth provides a book which strips away much of the smokescreen invoked by those who would be threatened by a straightforward documentation of the failures and the most recent successes of air power since the Vietnam War.... The Transformation of American Air Power should be read by all military professionals and interested citizens who want to know more about the forces that will shape and dominate the Twenty-First Century commercial and military battlespace. Anyone called on to explain what air and space power means to all the United States will find this book a rich source of history and vision.

A good description of weapons development and a current air force structure and mission is made even more valuable by a concluding chapter about air force philosoply, air power theory, and the battle over resources and doctrine.... Recommended as a good introduction to air power technology and ideology.

This work is important for its historical research and for its policy relevance and should be read by students of the history of warfare and of American military policy.

Dr. Mark D. Mandeles, The J. de Block Group:

The Transformation of American Air Power, like Lambeth's other research published by RAND, is reasoned and informed. It should be read and thought about by all who are interested in questions of roles and missions and air power in its various manifestations.

Leslie H. Gelb, President, Council on Foreign Relations:

While most people involved in national security problems have been worrying about money issues, American forces have been sent off to fight and die all around the world in unprecedented and very difficult situations. Because of the great reluctance to expose ground troops to danger, the US has increasingly relied on air power. Benjamin Lambeth has produced the best research and thinking to date on what the role for US air power should be. This is the best work on the subject.

General W. L. Creech, USAF (Ret.), commander, Tactical Air Command, 1978-1984:

Tremendously impressive in every respect. Exhaustive research, sage reasoning, and cogent explanations all come together in Ben Lambeth's deft hands. Best read yet on the air power story.

General Russell E. Dougherty, USAF (Retired), commander in chief, Strategic Air Command 1974-1977:

Ben Lambeth's skillful blending of historical background, current facts, expert opinions, fascinating anecdotes and illuminating vignettes provides a remarkable written brief in support of his thesis that air power has 'come of age' in the past quarter-century. I have never read a more compelling argument nor a more reasoned series of conclusions.

General Chuck Horner, USAF (Ret.), commander in chief, U.S. Space Command, 1992-1994:

Ben Lambeth's gripping account shows, with a depth of understanding never before achieved, that it is not enough to know about the technology of modern aircraft and their weapons. His exacting research captures how airmen think, how traditional military planners fear the ascendancy of air power, and how all have failed to fulfill air power's real potential.

General David C. Jones, USAF (Ret.), chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1978-1982:

A must read for anyone interested in the remarkable transformation of our airpower. Superbly researched and written.