The Quest for Relevant Air Power

INTRODUCTION │ 7
assets. Since it is not feasible to cover all Continental European air
forces in the required depth in this study, criteria for the choice of
air forces were devised. Foremost, it was decided to look at the
major Continental European players, of which there were several
at the outset of the post–Cold War era. In contrast to smaller
European air forces—primarily relegated to defensive counterair,
air policing, and airlift missions—the forces chosen offer a larger
air power spectrum for examination and are more comparable to
the major Anglo-Saxon players. Diversity in defence and alliance
policies, real operations, and air power hardware was another selection
criterion.
The air forces that best fit these criteria are the Armée de l’Air
(French Air Force), Luftwaffe (German Air Force), Koninklijke
Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force), and Flygvapnet (Swedish
Air Force). The study of these four air forces highlights the impact of
profoundly different defence policies upon air power and compares
NATO air forces with a non-aligned air force. Within the NATO air
forces, this choice also provides a broad range. At one end of the scale
is the Netherlands with its transatlantic orientation and its strong emphasis
upon NATO as its most important security pillar. At the other
end is France, which only recently reentered NATO’s integrated military
structure. France emphasises an independent European security
and defence policy, emancipated from American leadership. The air
forces selected also highlight the impact of professional and conscript
armed forces on air power. While France and the Netherlands professionalized
their armed forces in the 1990s, Germany has thus far retained
conscript armed forces with a professional core component. In
July 2011, however, Germany plans to implement “its biggest military
reform in more than 50 years” and go to an all-volunteer force. The
German chancellor also agreed to reduce troops from 250,000 to
185,000. 4 Sweden suspended conscription only in mid-2010, turning
its armed forces into all-volunteer forces. Regarding the challenge of
real operations, this discussion analyses air forces that have been
regularly deployed to missions abroad as well as those that have been
relegated to a rather defensive stance. At one end of the scale is the
FAF. During the Cold War, France was already mounting air campaigns
in peripheral conflicts in Africa and elsewhere. At the other
end is Sweden with its legacy of neutrality. Additionally, this study
encompasses the main types of modern combat aircraft available in