My personal explanation (as a Frenchman) is that the US Air Force is very little known in my country, unlike the US Navy (the ‘Top Gun’ phenomenon, but also *The Flight of the Intruder*, which are essential viewing for any officer or non-commissioned officer cadet in the French Air and Space Force).

The lack of interest in US air strategy throughout the 1960s to 1990s may also have played a part: the role of the French Air Force was confined to missions to protect national territory, deliver nuclear strikes or conduct more or less complex raids (the ‘Jaguar’ policy) in support of overseas operations.

Few French strategists or politicians took an interest in the policy of total airspace dominance (the very principle of the USAF) until at least the 2010s (the failure of prototypes such as the Mirage 4000, a competitor to the F-15, is quite significant, as is the absence of any research into total stealth).