The Cassandra Effect: Future Perceptions on Air Power

Air power has been an element of military power for just over a century. However, its ability to project power as part of a nation’s quest for security and protection has now been acknowledged as second to no other element of national power. Air power’s efficacy has been demonstrated time and again in the past few decades.

Technology is the fundamental factor around which the development, application and sustainment of air power is built. This fundamental fact will hold true for the future. This book is a look at the possible future developments that could take place in air power. It provides considered perceptions of how air power will be driven forward by technology and examines the possibilities and pitfalls that will come with its inexorable movement forward. The only surety is that air power will continue to be a critical element of national power well into the foreseeable future. 

Vij Books
  • Pages: 126
  • 9789385563812 • HARDBACK • Sep 2016 • Rs.550
  • 9789385563324 • PAPERBACK • Oct 2016 • Rs.350
  • 9789385563829 • EBOOK • Oct 2016 • Rs.350
  • Subjects: Air Power, Air Technology
  • The Cassandra Effect: Future Perceptions on Air Power
author details

Dr Sanu Kainikara is an ex-fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force and currently a practising Military Strategist residing in Canberra, Australia. He holds a Master of Science degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras, and his PhD in International Politics was awarded by the University of Adelaide in Australia. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales and the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Regional Security.  

Dr Kainikara is the author of 11 books on national security and strategy, military forces and air power. He is a keen student of Indian history and is in the process of writing the history of India in a series of books titled From Indus to Independence: A Trek through Indian History. The first three volumes of the series have already been published and the fourth is nearing completion. He has also published a collection of political essays titled The Asian Crucible. He is a regular contributor to the Eurasia Review. 

Sanu is the author of numerous papers on international politics, national security issues, and security strategy that have been published in reputed international journals; and has presented papers, on invitation, in a number of International Conferences around the world.



Author’s Preface, Introduction, Chapters 1. Air Power and the Evolving Character of War, 2. Politics and Air Power, 3. The Challenge of Cutting-Edge Technology, 4. Air Power Systems—Inhabited, Uninhabited and Autonomous, 5. Air Force: Future Focal Points, Conclusion, Selected Bibliography, Index