Lens of Power: Aerial Reconnaissance and Diplomacy in the Airpower Century.

摘要

The United States and other nations pursue aerial reconnaissance daily. Thousands of sorties can be airborne simultaneously around the globe, all collecting vital information and providing different effects for authorities. Although the ability of aerial reconnaissance to find and fix targets and provide battle damage assessment in combat is well understood, its peacetime diplomatic impact is not. Absent an ongoing, large conflict to focus the reconnaissance enterprise, the goals of peacetime aerial reconnaissance, including collection and analyses become more complex and serve purposes beyond its ability to locate and analyze kinetic targets or military postures for combat. Historically, aerial reconnaissance in peacetime has proven politically useful and diplomatically versatile when employed independently of broader military operations.