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Superior Airpower
The three hour-long programs on Superior Airpower provide a look at the people and technology that define American airpower in the modern era. The first program focuses on the role of the aircraft carrier, and some spectacular footage shot aboard the USS Constellation vividly illustrates how thousands of crewmen, from the all-powerful "air boss" to sailors laboring several levels below the flight deck, must carefully coordinate their efforts to launch and land jet fighters. An informative segment details the capabilities of all the various planes based on today's carriers, and of course there is plenty of heart-stopping action footage of jets taking off and landing. Another program follows the development of "stealth" aircraft, planes that are virtually invisible to radar, from the drawing board to deployment over Baghdad in the Gulf War. Interviews with engineers who labored to make what seemed a far- fetched fantasy into a very effective airplane provide a glimpse into the shadowy and super-secret world of designing modern weapons. A textbook study of how airpower is deployed on a modern battlefield is the theme of the third program, which details the American air deployment during the Gulf War. Interviews with veterans, including General Chuck Horner, who commanded American air operations in the Gulf, as well as a considerable amount of action footage shot from cockpit cameras, provide a look at the planning and execution of what is considered the most effective air attacks in history. These three programs offer a diverse but reasonably coherent look at how the modern American military can project its power virtually anywhere in the world. -- Robert J. McNamara Ultimate Dogfighting
Ultimate Dogfighting features two complete programs spanning the entire history of aerial combat. The first program tells virtually the entire story of fighter aircraft, beginning with the biplanes piloted by pioneering aces in World War I. Through archival footage and interviews with veterans, the evolution of fighter planes through the decades is detailed, and the pivotal role played by fighter pilots in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam is examined. The second program on the disc gives the viewer a look at the modern training programs for fighter pilots, with a particular focus on the intense training America pilots receive in air combat maneuvering (ACM) classes. Great fighter pilots hone their skills endlessly, and the cameras follow American fighter jocks who take to the air and engage in mock combat with instructors flying jets that mimic those of enemy powers. The cameras aboard a modern fighter provide a pilot's-eye view of the adversary, down to how an enemy jet would look while in the sights of the advanced electronic weapons system that would launch an air-to-air missile. These programs are intelligently assembled and very well photographed, and together they provide an entertaining and informative look at how fighter planes and tactics have developed over more than 80 years. --Robert J. McNamara
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