This book, in two volumes, attempts to explain the technology developments that evolved in the period from 1900 at Kitty Hawk through the ensuing seventy-five years leading to the development of the United States F-16 Multinational Weapon System in the mid-1970s. By 2017, 4,550 F-16s, all with the first all-electric, fly-by-wire flight control system have been manufactured for use by twenty-six countries. Awestricken birds undoubtedly ask themselves, How do humans do that? as an F-16 streaks by at over two hundred times the airspeed of the bird. This book strives to provide the how-and-why answer to that fascinating story.

This book starts with an overlap of the period from 1963 to 1975, described in final chapters of the “Inside History of the USAF Lightweight Fighters, 1900 to 1975”. The next major portion of this book then describes the Transition Contract to “missionize” the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17 designs into a USAF Air Combat Fighter (ACF) and also to “navalize” both ACF designs for potential procurement as the USN Air Combat Fighter (NACF). The latter portion of this book describes the early F-16 Full Scale Development activities and then describes the numerous Block changes made to increase the capabilities of the production F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. In the concluding chapter is captured the very purpose for the development of “the fighter pilot’s fighter” – the use of the F-16 in operations world-wide. The F-16 Fighting Falcon Multinational Weapon System became the cornerstone of the fighter inventories of over 25 free-world countries for the past forty years and remains in their future plans for a few decades. F-16C/D service life extensions and upgrades continue to be made.

Flying Camelot brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an era when debates about aircraft superiority went public—and these were not uncontested discussions. Michael W. Hankins delves deep into the fighter pilot culture that gave rise to both designs, showing how a small but vocal group of pilots, engineers, and analysts in the Department of Defense weaponized their own culture to affect technological development and larger political change. The design and advancement of the F-15 and F-16 reflected this group's nostalgic desire to recapture the best of World War I air combat. Known as the "Fighter Mafia," and later growing into the media savvy political powerhouse "Reform Movement," it believed that American weapons systems were too complicated and expensive, and thus vulnerable. The group's leader was Colonel John Boyd, a contentious former fighter pilot heralded as a messianic figure by many in its ranks. He and his group advocated for a shift in focus from the multi-role interceptors the Air Force had designed in the early Cold War towards specialized air-to-air combat dogfighters. Their influence stretched beyond design and into larger politicized debates about US national security, debates that still resonate today. A biography of fighter pilot culture and the nostalgia that drove decision-making, Flying Camelot deftly engages both popular culture and archives to animate the movement that shook the foundations of the Pentagon and Congress.

This book starts with an overlap of the period from 1963 to 1975, described in final chapters of the "Inside History of the USAF Lightweight Fighters, 1900 to 1975". The next major portion of this book then describes the Transition Contract to "missionize" the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17 designs into a USAF Air Combat Fighter (ACF) and also to "navalize" both ACF designs for potential procurement as the USN Air Combat Fighter (NACF). The latter portion of this book describes the early F-16 Full Scale Development activities and then describes the numerous Block changes made to increase the capabilities of the production F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. In the concluding chapter is captured the very purpose for the development of "the fighter pilot's fighter" - the use of the F-16 in operations world-wide. The F-16 Fighting Falcon Multinational Weapon System became the cornerstone of the fighter inventories of over 25 free-world countries for the past forty years and remains in their future plans for a few decades. F-16C/D service life extensions and upgrades continue to be made.

General Adams reflects on his experiences in the cold war, during which he served in both manned bombers and missile silos. He tells stories of famous and not-so-famous cold warriors, including some from the US Navy. Some stories are humorous; some stories are tragic. Having traveled extensively in Russia and some former Soviet Union states after retirement, General Adams tells us about his former adversaries, the Soviet cold warriors. In the process, he leaves no doubt about his respect for all who served so valiantly in the "strategic triad"-- the strategic command, the ICBM force, and the submarine Navy.

This collection of essays reflects the proceedings of a 1991 conference on "The United States Air Force: Aerospace Challenges and Missions in the 1990s," sponsored by the USAF and Tufts University. The 20 contributors comment on the pivotal role of airpower in the war with Iraq and address issues and choices facing the USAF, such as the factors that are reshaping strategies and missions, the future role and structure of airpower as an element of US power projection, and the aerospace industry's views on what the Air Force of the future will set as its acquisition priorities and strategies. The authors agree that aerospace forces will be an essential and formidable tool in US security policies into the next century. The contributors include academics, high-level military leaders, government officials, journalists, and top executives from aerospace and defense contractors.