PhD defence Alsu Saitova: The Political Economy of Combat Aircraft

On Wednesday 21 January, Alsu Saitova will defend her dissertation ‘The Political Economy of Combat Aircraft: Strategic Drivers in the Post-Cold War Aircraft Industry’. In this thesis, Saitova examines the international market for manned, fixed-wing combat aircraft in the post-Cold War aircraft industry — a market that, in financial terms, is the largest among all major weapon systems. 

The life cycle of combat aircraft

To better understand how this combat aircraft market works, Saitova looks beyond existing academic sources and brings together new information from governments and commercial organisations. All of these materials are combined into one clear framework that allows us to provide insight into the production of combat aircraft, transfers between countries, inventory in national fleets, and eventually decommissioning.

Saitova also introduces a new way to measure the capability of combat aircraft, known as airpower, which makes it possible to assess different types of aircraft—such as fighters, bombers, attack aircraft, and light combat aircraft—in a consistent way. 

The combat aircraft market

By analysing carefully checked information with mathematical methods, Saitova identifies the most important factors that influence why countries buy combat aircraft and in what numbers.The results show that national industrial policies and the degree to which countries depend on foreign suppliers play a major role in shaping the global market for combat aircraft.

Prior to the defence, Saitova will give a layman’s talk starting at 16:00.