Carrier Aviation in the 21st Century


Book Description

The modern aircraft carrier is without doubt one of the most exciting and hazardous operating environments in the field of warfare. The 'flattop' is a symbol of global military power without parallel, and it remains a capability beyond reach of all but the most well equipped navies. With the detail, precision and accuracy expected of Harpia Publishing, this latest volume provides a force report of the various air components and associated vessels fielded by those select nations that field fixed-wing-capable aircraft carriers.




A Century of Carrier Aviation


Book Description

It is now almost exactly a hundred years since a heavier-than-air craft first took off and landed on a warship, and from the very beginning flying at sea made unique demands on men and machines. As warplanes grew larger, faster and heavier, air operations from ships were only possible at all through constant development in technology, techniques and tactics. This book charts the progress and growing effectiveness of naval air power, concentrating on the advances and inventions - most of them British - that allowed shipborne aircraft to match their land-based counterparts, and looking at their contribution to 20th century warfare. Written by a retired Fleet Air Arm pilot and and award-winning historian of naval flying, this is a masterly overview of the history of aviation in the world's navies down to the present day. Heavily illustrated from the author's comprehensive collection of photographs, the book will be essential reading to anyone with an interest in navies or air power.




American Carrier Air Power at the Dawn of a New Century


Book Description

This report presents the highlights of the U.S. Navy's carrier air performance during the first two major wars of the 21st century: Operation Enduring Freedom against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 and the subsequent 3-week period of major combat in Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2003 that finally ended the rule of Saddam Hussein. The report also addresses ongoing modernization trends in U.S. carrier air capability. In the first war noted above, U.S. carrier air power substituted almost entirely for land-based theater air forces because of an absence of suitable shore-based forward operating locations for the latter. In the second, 6 of 12 carriers and their embarked air wings were surged to contribute to the campaign, with a seventh carrier battle group held in reserve in the Western Pacific and an eighth also deployed and available for tasking. The air wings that were embarked in the 6 committed carriers in the latter campaign flew approximately half the total number of fighter sorties generated altogether by U.S. Central Command. As attested by the performance of naval aviation in both operations, the warfighting potential of today's U.S. carrier strike groups has grown substantially over that of the carrier battle groups that represented the cutting edge of U.S. naval power at the end of the Cold War. The research findings reported herein are the interim results of a larger ongoing study by the author on U.S. carrier air operations and capability improvements since the end of the Cold War. They should interest U.S. naval officers and other members of the defense and national security community concerned with the evolving role of U.S. carrier air power in joint and combined operations. An extensive bibliography is included.




The Airline Industry in the 21st Century - Competition between Network Carriers and Low-Cost Carriers


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - General, grade: 1,5, Vienna University of Economics and Business (Dept. of English Business Communication), language: English, abstract: External shocks, such as terrorist attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the SARS epidemic and the worldwide economic downturn have hit the aviation industry badly. Many airlines have posted substantial losses (Lindstädt and Fauser 2003, 23). According to the chairman of Lufthansa’s supervisory board, Jürgen Weber (“Fliegen, bis der Geier kommt”: 58), about half of the [network] airlines are de facto bankrupt. Franke (2004: 15) argues that “the severe crisis of the global aviation industry has primarily struck the classical network carriers (NCs) with their complex hub&spoke [sic!] operation platforms”. Low-cost carriers (LCCs), however, were not hit by the downturn. With their lean business models they offered a good alternative at a time when passengers began to look for ways to avoid paying the high prices NCs demanded (Franke 2004:15). This paper analyses the competitive environment in the airline industry. I shall briefly describe the different business models in the industry: the LCC and the NC model. I will then analyze the role airports play. The main purpose however, is to identify possible future scenarios in the industry.




Air Transport in the 21st Century


Book Description

Airlines are buffeted by fluctuating political and economic landscapes, ever-changing competition, technology developments, globalization, increasing deregulation and evolving customer requirements. As a consequence all sectors of the air transport industry are in a constant state of flux. The principle aim of this book is to review current trends in the airline industry and its related suppliers, thereby providing an insight into the forces that are changing its dynamics. The factors that are reshaping the structure of the industry are examined with a view to identifying the key issues whose impact will be critical in the future. The book features two very distinct sections. The first contains short contributions from industry executives at CEO/VP level from airlines, aircraft/engine manufacturers, safety and navigational provider organisations, who have set out their take of where the airline industry is heading. This commercial input sets the scene for the book and provides the bridge to the second section, which is composed of 18 chapters written by distinguished academic authors. Each chapter presents a valuable insight into a specific area of the air transport industry, including: airlines, airports, cargo, deregulation, the environment, navigation, strategy, information technology, security and tourism. The shared objective of the authors is to describe and explain the core competencies that are determining the current shape of the industry and to examine the forces that will change its direction going forward. The book is written in a management style and will appeal to all levels of personnel who work for airlines across the world. It is also written for airport authorities, aerospace manufacturers, regulatory and government transportation agencies, researchers and students of aviation management, transport studies, tourism and the wider air transport industry.




The Airline Industry


Book Description

The debate on the future of the aviation sector and the viability of its traditional business practices is the core of this book. The liberalization of the EU market in the 1990s has radically modi?ed the competitive environment and the nature of airline competition. Furthermore, the new millennium began with terrorist attacks, epidemics, trade globalization, and the rise of oil prices, all of which combined to push the industry into a “perfect storm”. Airline industry pro?tability has been an elusive goal for several decades and the recent events has only accentuated existing weaknesses. The main concern of ind- try observers is whether the airline business model, successful during the 1980s and 1990s, is now sustainable in a market crowded by low-cost carriers. The airlines that will respond rapidly and determinedly to increase pressure to restructure, conso- date and segment the industry will achieve competitive advantages. In this context, the present study aims to model the new conduct of the ‘legacy’ carriers in a new liberalized European market in terms of network and pricing competition with l- cost carriers and competitive reaction to the global economic crises.




Naval Aviation News


Book Description




The 21st Century Fighting Navy


Book Description

This Special Report focuses on how the US Navy is reshaping its capabilities for the 21st century fight. The US Navy over the next decade will reshape its carrier air wing (CVW) with the introduction of a number of new platforms. If one simply lists the initial operating capabilities of each of these new platforms, and looked at their introduction sequentially, the "air wing of the future" would be viewed in additive terms - what has been added and what has been subtracted and the sum of these activities would be the carrier air wing of the future. But such a graphic and such an optic would miss the underlying transformation under way, one which is highly interactive with the USMC and the USAF.




British Aircraft Carriers


Book Description

“This superb book . . . will undoubtedly become the definitive volume on British Aircraft carriers and naval aviation . . . magnificent.”—Marine News This book is a meticulously detailed history of British aircraft-carrying ships from the earliest experimental vessels to the Queen Elizabeth class, currently under construction and the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. Individual chapters cover the design and construction of each class, with full technical details, and there are extensive summaries of every ship’s career. Apart from the obvious large-deck carriers, the book also includes seaplane carriers, escort carriers and MAC ships, the maintenance ships built on carrier hulls, unbuilt projects, and the modern LPH. It concludes with a look at the future of naval aviation, while numerous appendices summarize related subjects like naval aircraft, recognition markings and the circumstances surrounding the loss of every British carrier. As befits such an important reference work, it is heavily illustrated with a magnificent gallery of photos and plans, including the first publication of original plans in full color, one on a magnificent gatefold. Written by the leading historian of British carrier aviation, himself a retired Fleet Air Arm pilot, it displays the authority of a lifetime’s research combined with a practical understanding of the issues surrounding the design and operation of aircraft carriers. As such British Aircraft Carriers is certain to become the standard work on the subject. “An outstanding highly informative reference work. It is a masterpiece which should be on every naval person’s bookshelf. It is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to own.”—Australian Naval Institute




Russian/Soviet Aircraft Carrier & Carrier-borne Aviation Design & Evolution, Volume 2


Book Description

Russian/Soviet Aircraft Carrier & Carrier Aviation Design & Evolution Volume 2 In 2017, there were five Russian/Soviet designed and built aircraft carriers in existence, three of which were in operational service - the Project 1143.5 Aircraft Carrying Heavy Cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Kuznetsov in Russian Federation naval service, the INS Vikramaditya (formerly the Project 1143.4 Heavy Aircraft Carrying Cruiser Baku/Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Gorshkov) in Indian naval service and the incomplete former Soviet Project 1143.6 Aircraft Carrying Heavy Cruiser Varyag in service with the Peoples Liberation Army Navy of China as the Liaoning. The other two aircraft carriers, the Project 1143/.2 Kiev and Minsk Heavy Aircraft Carrying Cruisers had been decommissioned and formed museum exhibits in China. This two volume series sets out to detail the stable of Russian/Soviet designed and built significant aircraft carrying vessels and their respective shipborne aviation assets. Volume 1 focused on the design genesis of the major aircraft carrying vessels of the Imperial Russian and Soviet periods, which included Seaplane Carriers, the Project 1123 Moskva Class Anti-Submarine Warfare Helicopter Carrying Cruisers and the Project 1143-1143.4 Kiev and Improved Kiev Class Heavy Aircraft Carrying Cruisers, as well as a number of early and mid-20th century aviation carrying projects. This second volume focusses on the stable of conventional take-off and landing aircraft carriers of the late 20th century and early 21st century periods - the Project 1143.5 Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Kuznetsov, the Project 1143.6 Varyag, the nuclear powered Project 1143.7 Ul'yanovsk, as well as the unrealised concepts - the Project 1153 and Project 1160 nuclear powered conventional take-off and landing aircraft carriers and the projected 21st century Project 23000E nuclear powered anti-submarine warfare/attack carrier. Separate chapters deal with the various rotary wing and fixed wing aviation assets that would make up the air groups of the Project 1143.5 Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Kuznetsov and the modified Project 1143.4 INS Vikramaditya. All technical information regarding the warships, systems and weapons has been provided by the respective design houses, developers, builder/manufacturers and operators, as has much of the photographic and graphic material used throughout the volume. The volume is also supported by textual, photographic and graphic material from third party sources, including the defence and intelligence services of various NATO nations and the historical archives of various United States and United Kingdom government agencies.