The Quest for Relevant Air Power

360 │ CONCLUSION
Courtesy Gripen International; photo by Frans Dely
The ASC 890 Erieye is the SwAF’s NATO interoperable airborne early
warning and control aircraft, shown escorted by Gripen C and D fighter
aircraft.
of air power. Contrarily, the evidence suggests that adaptations to
the altered strategic environment and a nation’s willingness to share
risks across the spectrum of military operations have largely influenced
Continental European air power from 1990 to 2005. These
characteristics effectively offset economic and material limitations.
Political adaptations to the new post–Cold War realities could
potentially be realized faster than major development programmes,
which could not be so easily adjusted in this transition period.
Consequently, force size was not the predominant factor in producing
relevant European air power—as exemplified by the RNLAF.
Size will be more relevant once new capabilities have been
strengthened, particularly in the force-enabling areas.
It is in technology and operations where Continental European
air power has become most convergent. Combined operations
have required common doctrinal and technological criteria. Only
by meeting these criteria can an air force plug and play.
At the outset of the post–Cold War era, Desert Storm gave a
vivid demonstration of modern air power. According to their national
circumstances, the four air forces examined reacted differently
to the air war in the Gulf. Yet in the medium and long term,