Flying Camels: The Cultural and Technological Origins of Fourth Generation Fighter Aircraft
Through an examination of cultural artifacts (such as recruitment and promotional material, uniforms, architecture, curriculum, doctrinal statements, service journals, and oral histories), this paper will argue that the technological decisions that produced the F-15 and F-16 were expressions of a shift in institutional identity that occurred in the Air Force during and after the Vietnam War. Furthermore, these aircraft came to embody what historian David Nye called “systems of meaning” as symbols of a cultural narrative about the Air Force’s reformed identity and the type of rugged, masculine individualism that fighter pilots celebrated.[1] By applying the tools of cultural analysis, this work provides valuable context for a transformative moment in Air Force history. More broadly, this paper deepens our understanding of the aircraft development process, aiding our attempts to understand, critique, or justify the large expenditures involved in increasingly controversial military aviation projects.
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