In "Command of the Skies" (Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2019), Richard Saunders and I introduce an air power dataset.   Our dataset contains information on the number, type and technological characteristics—including weaponry, avionics, speed, maneuverability and stealth characteristics—of each country’s fighter and attack aircraft for the period 1973–2013 (now updated through 2019). We also introduce two new air power variables based on this data. The first is Country Air Power, a country-year measure of air power. The second is Expected Air Superiority, a dyad-year measure of which actor is likely to achieve air superiority in a military conflict. We illustrate the utility of this dataset by examining the relationship between air power and militarized dispute initiation, the duration and success of coercive bombing campaigns, and coercive behavior more generally. We find that command of the skies significantly affects conflict and coercive behavior.

In "Air Superiority and Battlefield Victory" (Research & Politics, 2021), Richard Saunders and I introduce a dataset on air superiority in interstate wars. We consulted over eighty sources to identify which side, if any, achieved air superiority in the decisive battle of conventional wars between 1932 and 2003.   We find that air superiority is a better predictor of winning a war than other well-known factors such as adoption of the modern system, regime type, civil–military relations, and a general measure of military power.