The helicopter innovation in Army aviation

Abstract

This study was performed to test competing theories of innovation for their explanatory power in describing the series of innovations in United States Army aviation centered on the helicopter. The theories of strategic threat, civilian intervention, and inter service rivalry were applied to the innovations of air mobility, the anti-tank helicopter, and recent developments in Army doctrinal thought. This study found that while strategic threat and inter-service rivalry theories provided adequate explanation for the developmental phases of the innovation, only civilian intervention could fully explain the implementation of these innovations into Army force structure.