European Airpower in a New Age of Air Policing

<p>When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created over 50 years ago its mission was to be a ready deterrent to the Warsaw Pact nations capable of thwarting the Soviet Union should they bring their massive armies into Western Europe in a force-on-force war. To meet the Cold War threat Europe's air forces did not have to be particularly deployable agile or interoperable. However the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s changed the security landscape to a more unpredictable global threat. The missions Europe's air forces are now required to perform have tenets similar to air policing which the Royal Air Force used in British protectorates during the 1920s. Specifically European air forces must be capable of strategic airlift ISR precision engagement tactical mobility and persistent presence. The conflicts in the Balkans and Afghanistan demonstrated that European air forces were not prepared to execute air policing operations without significant US airpower contributions. European nations have recently embraced transformation for their air forces but serious gaps in strategic airlift and accessible ISR still exist. European nations must continue to maximize common budgets and cooperative funding for needed capabilities. Until Europe is capable of leading air policing operations the United States must be willing to fill capability gaps where necessary. In addition less stringent restrictions on US technology transfer will decrease the time Europe needs to fill those gaps. A more capable air policing force in Europe is in the best interest of all parties in the transatlantic alliance.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>