About the Forum

The Biennial Aerospace Power Forum hosted by The University of Manitoba's Centre of Defence and Security Studies (CDSS), brings together a group of distinguished international scholars, air force officers and interested members of the public to discuss issues surrounding the application of aerospace power. The 2007 Forum, entitled “Aerospace Power and Counterinsurgency” will be held at the Hotel Fort Garry in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November 27-29, 2007.

The 2007 Forum brings together two prominent elements in current international affairs: aerospace and counterinsurgency. Given the dominance of aerospace to the projection of armed force and the centrality of counterinsurgency operations in the current geopolitical environment, the 2007 Forum examines one of the most significant issues regarding defence and security affairs in the 21st century.  Specifically, the 2007 Forum involves discussions regarding counterinsurgency and armed force, counterinsurgency in airpower thought, the experiences and lessons of aerospace power application from Afghanistan and Iraq, aerospace counterinsurgency roles and missions, Air Force re-structuring and counterinsurgency, Aerospace technologies and Counterinsurgency and the Allied Experience and Challenge

The 2007 Forum is structured into seven panels with one speaker per panel. A guest speaker will deliver the introductory remarks and a keynote speaker will present at the banquet dinner, resulting in nine academics and professionals each contributing their knowledge and expertise. The presentations or papers will be available on the Centre's website a week prior to the Forum. The proceedings of the Forum will be subsequently posted on-line, followed by their release in the Centre's “Silver Dart: Studies in Canadian Aerospace” publication series.

The 2007 Forum promises to be a signature event in the history of the Aerospace Forum. We are building on past successes from the first two biennial Forums. Indeed, the highly successful first biennial Aerospace Power Forum, Beyond One Hundred Years of Theory and Practice, held in November 2003, discussed basic issues surrounding the application of aerospace power. The 2005 Forum, entitled The Demand-Resource Dilemma: The Experiences of 2nd and 3rd Tier Air Forces, examined how various air forces, outside the world’s 1st tier player, the USAF, are coping with the ongoing and growing gap between what is technologically possible and needed versus what is nationally affordable.  The 2005 Forum examined the resource strategies and initiatives undertaken by a select sampling of 2nd and 3rd tier air forces from around the world for the purpose of identifying their key successes in closing the gap.

We believe that the 2007 Forum will garner much interest to Conference attendees and the interested public due to the centrality of the subject matter and the prominence of our invited speakers. As you will note from the attached agenda, we have already confirmed five of the nine speakers. These speakers are among the world’s experts in their respective fields. Through their knowledge and expertise, we look forward to engaging discussions and debates centering on the key issues involving aerospace and counterinsurgency.