Innovate to Survive: Vietnam Air Combat Perspectives Part 1 — Ep. 286

Episode Summary: The air war over Vietnam represents one of the most dynamic, evolutionary periods of airpower innovation. The U.S. entered the conflict optimized to execute strikes against the Soviet Union, defend the homeland as part of Air Defense Command, and a host of other roles. Few of these missions matched the operational demands of what unfolded over Vietnam. Airmen had to rapidly adapt and innovate. This impacted tactics, operational concepts, training, and technological developments. Some of the most important lessons from Vietnam didn’t take hold in the Air Force until the conflict’s conclusion, when a generation of combat-proven airmen pushed for enhanced training via concepts like an enhanced Fighter Weapons School, Red Flag, and the Adversary prorgam. They also pushed for an entirely new generation of aircraft that took form in types like the F-15, F-16, A-10, E-3, KC-10, B-1, F-117, and more. This episode seeks to learn more about this era by speaking to two legendary Vietnam veteran airmen: Col. Leonard “Lucky” Ekman, USAF (Ret.) and ace Col. Chuck DeBellevue, USAF (Ret.). Credits: Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Col. Leonard “Lucky” Ekman, USAF (Ret.) Guest: Col. Charles DeBellevue, USAF (Ret.) Guest: John "JV" Venable, Senior Fellow for Airpower Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Links:

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Innovate to Survive: Vietnam Air Combat Perspectives Part 1 — Ep. 286 is an episode from The Aerospace Advantage by The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

This episode is 58:06 long.

This episode was published on Apr 18, 2026.

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