Journal Evaluation - Airpower in small wars: Fighting insurgents and terrorists

Citation

Corum, J. S. & Johnson, W. R. (2003). Airpower in small wars: Fighting insurgents and terrorists. Off the Shelf, (37), .

Strategy

I found this article by searching in the UNC database, Academic Premier. In my search boxes I typed in “modern military aircraft,” and in the second box I typed in “war.” This came up with about five results, one of which was my article. I picked this article because it was the most modern article I could find that discussed how the modern aircraft worked in combat, especially in the combat and guerilla warfare of the twentieth century.

Evaluation

The intended audience for my article is those who are interested in the war in Afghanistan, combat, and how the modern aircraft was used in said war. The currency of this article is not a problem seeing as it was posted in 2001 on a subject, which did not change much in the future. The scope of this article is very specific, focusing on one conflict, and one aspect of that conflict. The authority of this article can be questioned, because there is no bio on either of the two authors, however, the fact that it can be found in a magazine, gives it some credibility. When the author’s names are googled, the results come up with several sites and magazines who host a plethora of different articles by the two, including “aremdforcesjournal.com,” which sounds very reputable.

Strategies Used

The article was very short so I was able to review the whole thing, in its entirety. This divulged some very useful information on modern aircraft and their uses in a war which is very “run and gun” and, at times, can be quite deceptive. Some of the pertinent information yielded by the article was that in many small conflicts, such as Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom, aircraft are used more for reconnaissance, support, and supply, rather than direct attacks. Also stated in the article, in many small conflicts, air superiority does not necessarily equal a victory in the conflict.

Question Revision

At this time I would like to alter my question slightly. My new question reads: how have the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Joint-Striker, and the Osprey affected guerrilla warfare and the modern battle of today.