Contact Dr Matthew Powell
- Email: Matthew.Powell@cranfield.ac.uk
- Twitter: @tac_air_power
- ORCID
Background
I joined Cranfield University as a Lecturer in Defence Acquisition and Logisitcs in November 2026. Prior to this I was a Teaching Fellow in Air Power and Strategic Studies as part of the University of Portsmouth Military Education team based at RAF Cranwell between July 2017 and October 2026. Between 2012 to 2015 I held a number of teaching roles at the University of Birmingham. I undertook a PhD at the University of Birmingham, supervised by Air Commodore (ret’d) Dr Peter Gray, with my thesis focusing on the development of tactical air power in Britain during the Second World War through the study of the RAF’s Army Co-operation Command. I also hold an MA in Intelligence and Security Studies and a BA (Hons) degree both from the University of Salford. My first book, entitled The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1940-1943: A History of Army Co-operation Command was published in 2016 by Palgrave Macmillan. I am the lead editor of the Routledge Handbook of Professional Military Education and have published widely on historic and contemporary warfare. I am also in demand as a media expert providing commentary on global conflict for outlets such as the BBC TV, BBC radio, TVP World, The Conversation and the British Forces Broadcasting Service.
Research opportunities
I am currently researching and writing a book that investigates the relationship between the RAF and the aviation industry between 1919 and 1939, looking at not only the decisions made by the Air Ministry and technological developments but the political, economic, diplomatic and foreign policy aspects of the period into account.
I also have an interest in contemporary defence procurement, particularly the role that risk plays in the relationship between government and industry and how risk can be better shared to improve procurement outcomes. My other research interests include the use of air power as a strategic and political instrument and the development of tactical air power between 1914 and 1945.
I am also interested in the pedagogy and delivery of professional military education in the UK and worldwide.
I am an experienced supervisor at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and I am happy to receive informal enquiries relating to doctoral degree (Ph.D) supervision on any air power topic but particularly in the areas of Air/Land Integration, historic and contemporary military procurement and the utilisation of air power as an instrument of strategy and professional military education.
Current activities
I am a member of the editorial boards of Air and Space Power Review, Defense and Security Analysis and Military History Chronicles and an external examiner at the University of Wolverhampton.
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Powell M. (2026). Commissioned Book Review: Terence Casey, Forging the Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, the 1970s, and the Origins of Neoliberalism Forging the Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, the 1970s, and the Origins of Neoliberalism by CaseyTerence. London; New York: Routledge, 2025. i-xi, 1-465 pp., £ 36.99, ISBN 9781032660851 (paperback).. Political Studies Review, 24(1)
- Williams N & Powell M. (2026). Risk and retention: learning from Heathrow Terminal 5 for defence procurement. Defense & Security Analysis, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print)
- Powell M & Townley D. (2025). The challenges and opportunities for academics in professional military education. Defence Studies, 25(3)
- Powell M. (2024). The British Aircraft Industry During the First World War: The Dope Scandal. First World War Studies, 15(2)
- Powell M. (2023). Defence procurement in perspective: what the history of the aircraft industry can tell us about UK defence procurement. Defense & Security Analysis, 39(1)
- Powell ML. (2023). Book Review: When Men Fell from the Sky: Civilians and Downed Airmen in Second World War Europe. British Journal for Military History, 9
- Powell M. (2021). Debate, Discussion, and Disagreement: A Reassessment of the Development of British Tactical Air Power Doctrine, 1919–1940. War in History, 28(1)
- Powell M. (2021). Royalties, Patents and Sub-Contracting: The Curious Case of the Hawker Hart. Air and Space Power Review, 23(1)
- Powell M. (2021). Civilian Specialists at War: Britain’s Transport Experts and the First World War. By Christopher Phillips. Twentieth Century British History, 32(2)
- Powell ML. (2020). Book Review: RAF on the Offensive: The Rebirth of Tactical Air Power. British Journal for Military History, 6
- Powell ML. (2019). Book Review: Air Officer Commanding: Hugh Dowding Architect of the Battle of Britain. Journal of Military History, 83
- Powell M. (2018). Capacity for War: Preparing the British Aviation Industry in the 1920s. The RUSI Journal, 163(3)
- Powell ML. (2017). Reply to: The Battle of France, Bartholomew and Barratt: the creation of Army Cooperation Command. Air and Space Power Review, 20
- Powell ML. (2015). The Battle of France, Bartholomew and Barratt: the creation of Army Co-operation Command. Air and Space Power Review, 18
- Powell ML. (2015). ’The RAF must fly the flag’: the British Army’s interpretation of tactical air power during the Battle of France, 1940. University of Sussex Journal of Contemporary History, 16
- Powell ML. (2015). Re-discovering the operational level: Army Co-operation Command and tactical air power development in Britain, 1940-43. British Journal for Military History, 2
- Powell ML. (2014). A forgotten revolution? Army Co-operation Command and artillery co-operation, 1940-1942. Canadian Military History, 23
Books
- Powell M. (2026). The Continuity of Challenges: Historic and Contemporary Defense Procurement in Perspective In Advanced Topics in Defense Project Management. BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS.
- Powell M. (2023). Open Access: Defence procurement in perspective: what the history of the aircraft industry can tell us about UK defence procurement In The Economics of Defense Industry. Routledge.
- Powell ML. (2023). Defence procurement in persepctive: what the history of the aircraft industry can tell us about UK defence procurement In Young T-D(ed.), The Economics of the Defence Industry. Routledge.
- Powell ML. (2021). Partners in name only: the Royal Air Force and the Armee de l’Air during the Battle of France, 1940 In Paget S(ed.), Allies in Air Power. University Press of Kentucky.
- Powell ML. (2016). The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1940-1943: A History of Army Co-operation Command (1)