The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense has released the second in a series of essays by noted defense experts in the lead-up to the annual release of Heritage’s “Index of U.S. Military Strength,” Thursday, Oct. 5.

This second essay, authored by retired Air Force Col. Harry Foster, a noted airpower strategist, experienced combat pilot, and leading expert in competitive strategies and military-technical competitions, covers the air domain and the forces and operations shaped by it, and can be read here.

Each essay examines one of the crucial warfighting domains—land, air, sea, space, and cyber—which are essential to understand if one is to assess U.S. national defense requirements. The first essay, authored by Dr. David E. Johnson, addressed the land domain.

These essays define the most important and enduring characteristics of their respective domains, explain evolving trends, and apply the effects of these trends to the conduct of war in and through each of the various domains.

These essays will be contained in The Heritage Foundation’s “2018 Index of U.S. Military Strength,” the annual authoritative evaluation of the current state of U.S. military power and its ability to defend national security interests in an increasingly challenging world. Decision-makers across the U.S. political and defense establishments look to the "Index" for its unvarnished assessments based on unassailable facts and a deeply informed understanding of what is needed to protect our country.

2018 Index of Military Strength Air Domain Essay by The Heritage Foundation on Scribd