It was not for nothing that the 20th century was dubbed the “CENTURY OF AVIATION” - in just a hundred years it has come a colossal path from the first timid flights, which lasted a few minutes, to complete dominance in the air and the status of the new “Goddess of War”. How did this transformation from an auxiliary branch of the military into a determining factor in combat operations take place? How was it possible to create the perfect “air blitzkrieg” mechanism - despite the fact that the German aces themselves considered air support for Guderian’s tanks to be a secondary task that prevented them from waging a “correct” war? Why was the age of dive bombers so short? Who wins the age-old confrontation between the Air Force and Air Defense? And what allows combat aviation to maintain dominance over the battlefield even in the era of air defense missiles, nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles? Tracing the entire history of the Air Force from the first “sky slow-movers” to the latest fifth-generation combat systems, the leading military historian identifies hidden patterns and possible alternatives, the main lessons past and forecasts for the future. The book was also published under the title “XX Century Air Force. War of aircraft designers."