Coalition Joint Task Force Development and Allied Airpower: Pooling Assets for Cooperative Missions

As we have seen, air and space power have to play their roles in a changed security environment. This new security situation affects the armed forces in Europe and their method of military operation. Growing national pragmatism is observable with regard to participation or otherwise in an international operation. The result is that ad hoc coalitions are becoming a more frequent "modus vivendi." Often these involve combined and joint operations. Second, views with regard to the use of force are changing. The use of force is very restricted, especially during crisis management and humanitarian aid operations. The end certainly does not justify all the means. That extends both to inflicting unnecessary human suffering on the opponent as well as avoiding losses on one's own side. Given the attributes of airpower, such as speed and range, air forces are exposed to enemy action for only a brief period of time. The use of precision guided munitions enables air forces to avoid collateral damage to the extent possible. This means that airpower will frequently be deployed as the primary instrument in crisis management operations. Third, the endeavor to cash in on the so called peace dividend has led to shrinking defense budgets. As a consequence, practically all armed forces in Europe are having to cope with lower manpower levels and less materiel.