De amerikanske luftstridskræfters kamp for selvstændighed, resulterende i dannelsen af USAF i 1947

Dr. Greg Zacharias, former Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force (2015-18), explores next steps in autonomous systems (AS) development, fielding, and training. Rapid advances in AS development and artificial intelligence (AI) research will change how we think about machines, whether they are individual vehicle platforms or networked enterprises. The payoff will be considerable, affording the US military significant protection for aviators, greater effectiveness in employment, and unlimited opportunities for novel and disruptive concepts of operations. Autonomous Horizons: The Way Forward identifies issues and makes recommendations for the Air Force to take full advantage of this transformational technology.

Winner of the 2019 William E. Colby Award "The book I had been waiting for. I can't recommend it highly enough." —Bill Gates The era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty nations have weapons that can search for and destroy enemy targets all on their own. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in next-generation warfare, describes these and other high tech weapons systems—from Israel’s Harpy drone to the American submarine-hunting robot ship Sea Hunter—and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. “A smart primer to what’s to come in warfare” (Bruce Schneier), Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to explore the implications of giving weapons the freedom to make life and death decisions. A former soldier himself, Scharre argues that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but when the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.

The question of how best to organize the United States Army's air arm had been contentious from the time of the First World War. Legislation to give the air arm greater autonomy or even independence had been introduced in the Congress in the interwar years. Although independence would not be achieved until after World War II, the air arm during the interwar period made remarkable progress towards this goal. In 1926 the Army Air Corps was established, and in 1934 the Baker Board directed the formation of the General Headquarters Air Force, giving the Army air arm a measure of autonomy. On the eve of the Second World War, the War Department created the Army Air Forces. Although falling short of independence, these were important steps forward on the road to the creation of today's global Air Force. R. Earl McClendon's classic Autonomy of the Air Arm describes the Army air arm's struggle for autonomy over almost forty years, from 1907 to the close of World War II McClendon's narrative details the contentious evolution of the Army Air Forces (AAF) in March 1942 as a fully coequal branch with the Army Ground Forces (AGF). Following the end of the war, President Harry S. Truman firmly positioned himself in favor of "air parity" and an independent Air Force. Mcclendon emphasizes that "for the first time in the history of American aviation the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces definitely took a stand in favor of an independent military air arm." Truman's firm leadership on this issue ultimately resulted in passage of the National Security Act of 1947. After four decades of prolonged gestation, the United States Air Force was born.