The Air Force

Highly illustrated, The Air Force includes 200 photographs from World War I up to the present, with a particular focus on recruitment, weaponry and modern training methods, as well as the USAF on deployment across the globe today.

The Air Force is a colorful guide to an elite military service that plays a key role in US overseas operations and US foreign policy. The US Air Force is the largest, best- trained and best-equipped air arm in the world today. Deployed in every theatre, it manages everything from intercontinental ballistic missiles to X-37 space planes to A-10 Thunderbolt tank killers. The USAF coordinates military space launches, airdrops of US Army paratroopers and carries out ground-attack missions against ISIS insurgents.
From bases across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and continental United States, the USAF operates 5,600 aircraft of all types, including F-22 Raptors, F-15 and F-16 fighters. It deploys B-2, B-1 and B-52 strategic bombers, as well as C-5, C-17 and C-130 airlifters. The USAF was the first to fly fifth-generation fighters, and the first to commit to an all-stealth combat aircraft force, in the shape of 1700 F-35 Lightning II multirole combat aircraft.
The book includes photographs from World War I up to the present, with a particular focus on recruitment, weaponry and modern training methods, as well as the USAF on deployment across the globe today. Highly illustrated with more than 200 photographs, The Air Force is a colorful celebration of the world’s most powerful air arm.

Jason C. Engle is a historian at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.