Dr David Jordan
Co-Director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute
- Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies
Research interests
- Conflict
- History
- International relations
- Policy
- Security
Biography
Dr David Jordan is a Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies, based at the Defence Academy of the UK, and the Co-Director of the Freeman Air & Space Institute
David joined King’s in 2000, and has served variously as the Chair of the Exam Board, Director of Teaching, Academic Director for the RAF Division at the Defence Academy and as Air Warfare Historian to the Higher Command & Staff Course. He is currently the Academic Director (Air) for the Advanced Command & Staff Course.
David has written on a number of aspects of air and space power, including as one of the authors of Understanding Modern Warfare (Cambridge, 2016, 2nd Edition), and on British military history and contemporary military operations. He has appeared on various radio and television programmes as an expert commentator and historian, and commented on air power and defence matters in newspapers ranging from The Sunday Times through to Weekendavisen in Denmark.
He is a Director of the RAF Centre for Air & Space Power Studies (RAFCASPS) and a member of the Chief of the Air Staff’s Air Power Workshop. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts.
MA Special Subject:
- Development and Practice of British Air Doctrine 1912 to 1945
Research Interests
- Air and Space Power
- Air Power history
- First and Second World Wars
- British Military Operations since 1945
- Falklands War
- Air Power and the 1991 Gulf War
Teaching
David’s teaching includes modules on Air Power, the Falklands War, the history of the Royal Air Force and Air Power Theory and Doctrine.
PhD Supervision
He is happy to consider PhD applications from those wishing to study the history of the Royal Air Force; air power theory and doctrine; air power and joint operations/multi domain integration; contemporary uses of air power; space power, (particularly its relationship to national power and/or contribution to military operations) and British military history since 1914.
PhD Researchers:
Cliff ‘GSL’ Fletcher-Jones, ‘Tethered to Terra: A spacepower theory that explores the human-space relationship and, using strategic principles of Sun Tzu, considers the human response to actions taken in the space domain'
Duncan McCrory, ‘Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Anti-Access/Area-Denial Environments’
Julia Balm, ‘Maslovian Approaches to Space Strategy: A Strategic Theory on Thriving in the New Space Age’
Arun Dawson ‘Acquisition in the Royal Air Force: A Study in British Grand Strategy’
Richard Harrison, ‘The organisational and cultural challenges of maintaining the combat power of an air force during extended and high-intensity conflict.’
Robert O’Dell, ‘An analysis of Post-War Royal Air Force Maritime operations, examining the technical, operational, single-Service, Joint, political and economic factors which influenced the evolution of RAF Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) capabilities.’
JJ Stringer, ‘How and Why the RAF adjusted its posture from the strategic to the tactical: 1945-1995’
Aleix Nadal Campos (2nd Supervisor), ‘Understanding the development of British military thinking on outer space in the New Space age’
Recent PhDs include Dr John Shields (Air Power in the Falklands Conflict) and Dr Richard D Newton (The RAF and Tribal Control: Airpower and Irregular Warfare between the World Wars)
Publications
- Understanding Modern Warfare (Cambridge, 2016, 2nd Edition; 1st ed 2008; with James Kiras, Ian Speller, David Lonsdale, Chris Tuck & Dale Walton)
- ‘Royal Navy Concepts of Air Power’, in Greg Kennedy (ed), Britain’s War at Sea 1914-1918: The War They Thought and the War They Fought (Routledge, 2016)
- ‘The Defence Review Dilemma: The British Experience’, Freeman Paper No.5
- 'Invented and Predicted Futures: Britain and the Challenge of Air Defence', Freeman Paper No.4
- 'Britain's Air Defences: Inventing the Future?', Freeman Paper No.2
- ‘Air Power and Intervention: The Royal Air Force Experience in the Former Yugoslavia, 1992-1995’, The RAF Air Power Review. Vol 21: 3 (2018)
- Learning to Fly: The Royal Flying Corps and the Development of Air Power, British Journal for Military History, 4:2 (2018)
- 'In At The Deep End': RAF Harrier Operations During the Falklands War, RAF Air Power Review, Vol21:2 (with John Shields)
- The Most Daring Raid? The Royal Air Force, Operation Black Buck and the Falklands War, 1982, RAF Air Power Review, Vol21:2 (with John Shields)
Research
Cyber Security Research Group
CSRG promotes research into cyber security bringing together experts from diverse disciplines.
The First World War Research Group
The First World War Research Group brings together a wealth of expertise on military, diplomatic, social, and cultural aspects of the conflict.
The Second World War Research Group
Second World War Research Group
Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War
The centre promotes the scholarly history of war in all it's dimensions, trains research students and hosts research projects and conferences
Freeman Air and Space Institute
Freeman Air & Space provides independent, original knowledge and analysis of air and space power issues.
News
RAF needs to adapt as world becomes more unstable, says Chief of the Air Staff
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, speaking at a recent event at King’s, stated that the RAF needs to be "ready to do more" to combat future adversaries...
The Rt Hon Lord Willetts on space, sustainability and what the UK can do next
The Rt Hon Lord Willetts FRS joined the Freeman Air and Space Institute for their summer lecture where he reflected on how the space domain has evolved since...
Features
A nation stood still: How King's shared expertise following the death of The Queen
As news broke on 8 September 2022 of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, academics from King's offered their expertise to the media on what this...
Ambition versus Affordability: Tackling the Defence Review Dilemma
The desire of successive British governments to play a significant world role despite financial difficulties has led to an uncomfortable imbalance between...
Research
Cyber Security Research Group
CSRG promotes research into cyber security bringing together experts from diverse disciplines.
The First World War Research Group
The First World War Research Group brings together a wealth of expertise on military, diplomatic, social, and cultural aspects of the conflict.
The Second World War Research Group
Second World War Research Group
Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War
The centre promotes the scholarly history of war in all it's dimensions, trains research students and hosts research projects and conferences
Freeman Air and Space Institute
Freeman Air & Space provides independent, original knowledge and analysis of air and space power issues.
News
RAF needs to adapt as world becomes more unstable, says Chief of the Air Staff
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, speaking at a recent event at King’s, stated that the RAF needs to be "ready to do more" to combat future adversaries...
The Rt Hon Lord Willetts on space, sustainability and what the UK can do next
The Rt Hon Lord Willetts FRS joined the Freeman Air and Space Institute for their summer lecture where he reflected on how the space domain has evolved since...
Features
A nation stood still: How King's shared expertise following the death of The Queen
As news broke on 8 September 2022 of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, academics from King's offered their expertise to the media on what this...
Ambition versus Affordability: Tackling the Defence Review Dilemma
The desire of successive British governments to play a significant world role despite financial difficulties has led to an uncomfortable imbalance between...