Taming the Skies

This is an extract from the essay air power in the decades ahead written by Air Cmde Jasjit Singh

Too often, we are captivated by technology rather than its mastery. The reason is pretty simple. Air forces exist on technology. When I was a young cadet, my Chief Flying Instructor’s first lecture to us was: “Kindly remember that if God wanted man to fly, he would have given him wings.” You are actually operating in an alien environment and, therefore, you will have to not only survive in that alien environment but also achieve effects and results. Therefore, the theory and concept of use of force employment will become increasingly critical, not just technology. The way technology will be used is where the concept of force employment comes in. Therefore, people, leaders and intellectual power will assume great importance in the coming decades. It is not that it is not so today. Of course, the leaders are the ones who decide, who plan, give orders and do things. But then we see air forces being operated quite differently from each other when they could have been done quite differently otherwise. Technology may be similar. Do not forget that it was Germans who had the first jet aircraft operationally available, yet it could make no difference to the war and the context. If it is true that the concept of force employment will be critical, then we need to focus a great deal not only on technology and force but also on the people, leaders and the intellectual power that is generated. The number three factor is that all these factors — three factors or two factors — combined, increase the importance of command of the air. I am particularly choosing the term ‘command of the air’ because this actually has not been used for most of the last 19 years. In fact, it was seen as impossible. And it is a wonder why the Government of China (a country which is not transparent at all), in their official document, should lay down a policy statement that the future war will be done through command of the sea and command of the air. Either they are taking the world for a ride, misleading us, or they are actually beginning to believe it. It is not that the Chinese Air Force is anywhere close to this but even as an aspiration, it implies that this is what they are preparing for at a future date because linked to this is the second part of the statement that the army will be streamlined, and that announced at that time, in 2004, a reduction of 200,000 men. These point to the fact that the importance is shifting, at least in the Chinese military, from land forces to air forces, and the navy, combined with naval and air forces. On the other hand, there are lots of studies, and any number of them can be quoted to show that technology and force size are crucial in war; if you have superior technology, you are