The Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies (RAF CAPS) is a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 sponsored think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 which engages in the study of air power.

The centre was launched on 23 August 2007 by Air Chief Marshal

Air Chief Marshal

Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Sir Glenn Torpy

Glenn Torpy

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a fast jet pilot in the late 1970s and 1980s, a senior officer in the early 1990s and a senior commander in the late 1990s and 2000s...

, Chief of the Air Staff. Based at the Royal Air Force College, this think tank and research centre claims to bring together academia

Academia

Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...

 with serving members of the RAF to analyse how air power has been used in the past and how best it might be used in a modern, complex world of increasing ambiguity. It aspires to act as the RAF’s centre for strategic

Strategy

Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...

 and conceptual thinking about air power, to "encourage and promote the study of air power, particularly within the Service and academia, but also throughout the broader intellectual community (including the media and think-tanks)". The centre hosts a website, runs major conferences, offers fellowships and, since 2008, publishes a journal called Air Power Review. Its board is headed by Air Vice-Marshal

Air Vice-Marshal

Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...

 M C Green

Mark Green

Mark Andrew Green is an American politician and a former United States Ambassador to Tanzania, a position he held from August 2007 until January 2009. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007, representing...

 CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, Air Officer Commanding

Air Officer Commanding

Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...

 No. 22 (Training) Group

No. 22 Group RAF

Number 22 Group is one of only three groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief in Air Command. Its current full title is Number 22 Group and it is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force College...

. Its staff consists of key members of the Royal Air Force, the Air Historical Branch (RAF)

Air Historical Branch

The Air Historical Branch is the historical archive and records service of the Royal Air Force.First established in 1919, the AHB was responsible for creating the Official History of British Air Operations in the First World War....

, and academics from King's College London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

's Air Power Studies Division. In 2009 the RAF CAPS worked with a King's College team of air power experts under the direction of Dr Joel Hayward

Joel Hayward

Joel S.A. Hayward , is a New Zealand-born "noted scholar of war and strategy" who has worked in the United Kingdom since 2004.He is best known for his published books and articles on military matters, including the use of air power, his 2003 biography of Horatio Lord Nelson, and his writing and...

 to develop the UK's first specialised master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

in air power studies.

External links

• Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies: official website.