Air Power and International Security

What can be done to punish Russia's illegal war against Ukraine? How extensive are the war crimes being committed by Russian forces? These are just some of the questions that Dr Frank Ledwidge (University of Portsmouth) answers in this episode. Frank is a former barrister and military intelligence officer, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, and has also been involved in the prosecution of Serbian War criminals. He’s also been out to Ukraine to speak on the issue of International Law, so he's the perfect person to have on the show!

In today’s show we have Dr Jim Beach talking about the role aircraft played in intelligence gathering during the First World War. From as early as September 1914, aerial reconnaissance was playing a significant role in finding the German army on the Western Front, and by 1918 aerial photography was capturing around 20,000 images per month, which is a truly staggering figure. Dr Beach previously served as an Officer in the Royal Marines, before ending his military career as an Army Education Officer. Jim now works as senior lecturer in history at the University of Northampton. Jim’s research focuses on military intelligence during the First World War, so he’s ideally placed to tell us about the early uses and significance of aerial ISR.

In today's show, we have Dr Pablo Brauer talking about information operations and how they’ve been employed during the war in Ukraine. With the prevalence of disinformation and misinformation, information operations have never been more important than there are today. We'll be asking Pablo how information operations are employed, what types of info ops exist, and how Russia has been utilising the information environment to aid their military efforts in Ukraine and beyond. Dr Brauer has an extensive background in cyber security and information technology having served in the US Navy. His tours included the U.S. Special Operations Command, the National Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. He has also taught at the US Naval Academy, the California State University at Monterey Bay, and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr Brauer also founded the DISARM foundation which aims to combat the spread of disinformation. You can find their work here: https://www.disarm.foundation/

In this episode, we're exploring the limitations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in making or advising on command decisions in war. With many advocates of AI suggesting that it will transform war, it's worth going back Clausewitz and what he teaches us about the nature of war. War cannot be reduced to algorithms, says Clausewitz, and so AI will only ever have a limited role in war - unless there's a major paradigm shift in how AI is developed. To explain this argument further, we have Dr Cameron Hunter (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) on the show to tell us that, at present, AI can only do deductive and inductive reasoning, and so will never be able to grapple with the nuances of policy, strategy, and command. Because AI can only look for patterns in the available data, it cannot predict how the enemy might adapt and respond, nor can it account for chance or other intangible factors that shape war.

Today we have Dr Harry Raffal on the show to tell us all about the role of air power during Operation Dynamo, more commonly known as the evacuation from Dunkirk, in 1940. Harry is the resident historian at the RAF museum, and did his PhD on this very subject. The role of the merchant navy rescuing the trapped soldiers has become the defining image of Dunkirk, for obvious reasons. But air power played an important, yet somewhat forgotten, role. So we'll be asking Harry how both the Royal Air Force and Luftwaffe were used during the operation, the challenges of employing air power in northern France, and the effect that air power had for both British and German forces in May 1940.

UN Peacekeeping missions have a long history. Although these operations play a vital role in international security, there have been various mistakes and failures associated with them. In today's show, we have Dr Margot Tudor (City University London) explaining the origins of Peacekeeping, what the UN's early objectives looked like in relation to these missions, and what often constrained their effectiveness. Dr Margot Tudor has just published a book on the early history of Peacekeeping missions, so she is the ideal person to give us an introduction into the history of these operations and their contribution to international security.

In this show, we ask Aleix Nadal about what the UK is doing in the space domain. It's no secret that the UK isn't exactly a major player in terms of space power, so we'll be asking Aleix about the types of capabilities the UK has access to, the strategies and structures that govern UK space power, and what the future of UK space power looks like. Aleix is currently doing his PhD on the history of space thought and policy within the UK armed forces at Kings College London, where he is also part of the Freeman Air and Space Institute. And he has also worked at the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna.

In today’s show, we'll be discussing why Russia has resorted to using an attritional approach against Ukrainian forces given the huge costs that attritional warfare often incurs. Such a strategy is completely unlike how a NATO army would choose to fight – they would preferably use what the British Army refers to as the manoeuvrist approach. Given that NATO hasn’t fought any major conflicts for sometime now, the difficulties in manoeuvre warfare – even despite the major technological developments of recent years – needs to be fully understood. And so there is much to learn in looking at how these two sides have been fighting this war. We have on the show with us today Professor Mark Galeotti, an honorary professor at University College London and senior associate fellow at RUSI. Professor Galeotti is an expert on Russian affairs, and has written over twenty books covering Russia's recent political and military history.

Welcome to series three of the Air Power and International Security Podcast! Today we have a fantastic episode dedicated to General Giulio Douhet, one of the most important figures in the conceptual development of air power, and his ideas regarding the employment of strategic bombing. General Douhet is known for his advocacy of bombing civilians, so we're asking how these ideas were formed, and how this extreme approach was justified by Douhet. Professor Thomas Hippler (University of Caen) joins us on the show today. Professor Hippler is a renowned scholar who has published widely on the use of strategic bombing. He has also written the most authoritative book on Douhet to date. Thomas' extensive research examining Douhet's early work means that he is ideally placed to discuss Douhet's thinking about warfare during the 20th century and the role of air power within it.

On this show we’ve talked a lot about strategy – whether that’s national strategy, military strategy, or how air, space, and cyber power contribute to strategy. But we’ve not really addressed the issue of strategy itself, which is as complex as it is important. Today we’ll be tackling some of this complexity with Paul O’Neill (RUSI), who talks us through the different types of strategy that exist, the purpose of strategy, how strategy can be developed and implemented, and how all this relates to the conduct of war and the running of military organisations. Paul has extensive experience in the world of strategy making. He retired from the RAF as an Air Commodore and was part of the team that wrote the SDSR in 2015. He also served as the Senior Advisor on strategy and policy to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Paul is currently the Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.

In today’s show, we’re going into more detail about why Argentina failed to defend the Falklands Islands in 1982, and how poor leadership and command ultimately hindered their military effort. Dr Ben Jones will be telling us all about the ill-preparedness of Argentine forces, the lack of jointery and integration between the three services, and the structural issues within Argentine command and control. Although capturing the Islands was relatively easy, defending them was a whole other matter. Something that Argentina's military leadership was not equipped or prepared for.

Today's episode features a discussion with Colonel Professor John Andreas Olsen about his latest book, Air Power Pioneers from Billy Mitchell to Dave Deptula. Colonel Olsen talks us through the reasons for writing a book about the individuals that have shaped the development of air power, why he chose those individuals in particular, and what we can learn from the study of air power pioneers. Colonel Olsen has written numerous books on air power history and theory, and currently serves in the Norwegian military at NATO HQ.

Ever wondered how air campaigns are commanded? In today's episode, Air Marshal (retd) Greg Bagwell talks us through his deployment as the UK Air Component Commander during Operation ELLAMY. In 2011, the UK and a coalition of the willing intervened in the Libyan Civil War to protect civilian lives against the aggressive actions of Libyan Security Forces. ELLAMY saw the UK deploy various surface and sub-surface vessels, as well as a comprehensive air package to the theatre of operations. We'll be asking Air Marshal Bagwell how air campaigns of this scale are managed, how command is conducted in a multinational operation, and how effective air power was during this mission.

In February 2022, Russia inexplicably invaded Ukraine and attempted to decapitate the Ukrainian political leadership. Alongside its military advances towards Kiev and into the Donbas, the Russian invasion also involved a major cyber offensive against Ukrainian infrastructure. So in today's episode, we have Dr James Lewis on the show to tell us more about the ways in which Russia utilised cyber space to enhance their invasion, how effective offensive cyber has been during this conflict, and the lessons we can learn for future cyber warfare. Dr Lewis is a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. Before that, he was a member of the US Foreign Service and Senior Executive Service, where he focused on international diplomacy and cyber security. To view Dr Lewis' report on Russian cyber operations in full, follow this link: https://www.csis.org/analysis/cyber-war-and-ukraine

ISIS - otherwise known as ISIL or Daesh - rose to prominence in 2013-14 after they became a significant force in the Syrian civil war, and began launching several successful offensives against Iraqi security forces. By the end of 2015, ISIS controlled territory stretching from western Iraq to eastern Syria. They gained notoriety for imposing an incredibly brutal interpretation of Sharia Law on the people under its control, which was estimated to be between eight and twelve million people. The creation of an Islamic Caliphate threatened stability in the Middle East unlike anything that came before it, whilst its unprecedented use of social media established ISIS as the leading jihadist group world wide. But was the emergence of ISIS as a regional and global threat a strategic surprise? Dr Aviva Guttmann (Aberystwyth University) is on the show today to talk about the factors behind this success. Dr Guttmann is a specialist in counter terrorism studies and has recently written an article in which she describes the rise of ISIS as a 'partial surprise'. So we'll be asking Aviva what was surprising about ISIS, and why was it difficult for analysts to fully predict?

With the Integrated Review 'Refresh' published last month, we thought now would be a good opportunity to reconsider some of the impacts that the Integrated Review, and by extension, the Defence Command Paper, has had on the UK's air mobility force. Given that air mobility is an often neglected role of air power, we'll be asking Andy Netherwood why air mobility is important and it should be taken very seriously. Following the publication of the Integrated Review in 2021, the Ministry of Defence cut the RAF's Air Mobility Force by almost 30%, so we'll be asking what this has meant for the UK's warfighting capabilities, interoperability with international allies, and global influence more broadly. Andy served in the RAF for over twenty years as a C-130 and C-17 pilot. He also worked at Air Mobility Force HQ, where he was responsible for developing air mobility capability. He is now the Air and Space Power editor at the Wavell Room.

In this episode, Dr Cassandra Steer gives us an incredible overview of how International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) affects operations in space. Dr Steer is a global authority on this subject. She is the deputy director of the Australian National University’s Institute for Space, and has published widely on the application of LOAC and the use of force in space. This is a brilliant episode that provides much needed detail on the regulations currently in place, what sorts of norms exist in space, and the challenges that law makers face in securing the space environment.

Today is all about the US Army Air Force's approach to strategic bombing in the run up to, and during the Second World War. Unlike the RAF, which very much focused on indiscriminate area bombing, the Americans - led by a group of air minded thinkers based at Maxwell airfield in Alabama, sometimes nicknamed the 'Bomber Mafia' - developed ideas and approaches focused on precision bombing. Intended to target key economic nodes or choke points in enemy infrastructure, precision bombing has often been described as a more humane way of conducting a strategic air offensive. However, such ethical considerations were not what motivated the 'Bomber Mafia', who were simply focused on the most effective way to use air power in the pursuit of strategic goals. Moreover, given the operational difficulties of flying over Germany and Japan, the actual practice of strategic bombing differed greatly from the theories developed during the interwar period. We have on the show today Professor Alan Allport (Syracuse University, New York), a renowned historian who discusses the bomber mafia in great depth and brilliantly places the US bomber offensives into the wider context of the Second World War.

In today's episode, Dr Patricia Shamai (University of Portsmouth) discusses the mechanisms and regulations that the international community have in place to stop the development and spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. While Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) works to stop states from using nuclear weapons against other nuclear armed states, this doesn't apply in the same way against chemical weapons, for instance, that don't necessarily cause the same degree of mass destruction. Dr Shamai points to the stigma that has developed in response to chemical and biological weapons, in particular, which has led to their limited use. However, she also contends that this stigma is being eroded, much to our detriment. So, check this episode out to learn all about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and how the international community can continue to keep the world safe from their devastating effects.

The Chinese Air Force, or to use it's proper name, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), was officially founded in July 1949. Since then, it has largely relied on Soviet or Russian made aircraft and has only been involved in two major conflicts: the Korean War in the 1950s, and the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979. Over the past 20 years, however, China has been quickly expanding and enhancing its air capabilities, most notably with stealth aircraft like the J-20 and J-35. So this episode considers how capable the PLAAF currently are, and to what extent they pose a threat to the US Air Force, for example. In today's show, we have Dr Brendan Mulvaney talking about the PLAAF's aircraft, capabilities, training, doctrine, and preparedness. Brendan was a pilot in the US Marine Corps, has a PhD in international relations from Fudan University in Shanghai, and currently serves as the Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute at the Air University* in the US. * Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of the Air University, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government agency.