Air Power Development Centre #20: Air Power and Trans-national Terrorism: The Possibilities, Advantages and Limits to Using Australian Air Power In The 'War on Terror' (2005) By Sam Gray-Murphy
 
Since 11 September 2001, trans-national terrorism has assumed greater importance in the minds of defence planners. Subsequent events, such as the bombings in Bali, Jakarta and London, strongly suggest that the threat of terrorist attacks will be an ongoing issue for some time. Although conventional military forces, including air power, have been used in various ways to contribute to efforts to deal with terrorist threats, such forces have not been designed with the threat of terrorist attacks foremost in mind. This raises important questions about the applicability of contemporary air power capabilities to deal with such threats. After describing the nature and significance of threats to Australian interests posed by trans-national terrorism, this paper discusses the primary roles for, and limitations on the use of, air power in that context. Selected future air power systems are evaluated in that light. The paper concludes that a fundamental refocusing of air power capabilities is not appropriate, but recommends several practical measures to improve the performance of air power capabilities in counter-terrorism operations. This paper was drafted by the author to satisfy the requirements of an Australian National Internship Program placement with the Air Power Development Centre.
 
Soft Cover
41 Pages
In Fair to Good Condition