Features:
Description:
The three hour-long programs on this disc 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
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