Air Power and the Politics of Defence Dependence: Ethiopia’s Strategic Imperative

stlbeacon.org - 3/19/2026

In 2020, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in discussing his country’s fleet of American-made F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, revealed a constraint that most purchasing states accept but rarely articulate. Malaysia had been incapable of programming the aircraft for offensive operations without the involvement of the United States, and any military use required reverting to Washington.

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