John Boyd

John Boyd (1927 to 1997) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant whose theories became influential in military, business and litigation strategy. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1944, was commissioned after college and flew 22 missions as an F-86 Sabre pilot in the final two months of the Korean War. As an instructor at the Fighter Weapons School he wrote the classified Aerial Attack Study of 1960, which became the official fighter tactics manual. With the mathematician Thomas Christie he created the energy-maneuverability theory of aerial combat, later the world standard for fighter design, and he led the Fighter Mafia whose advocacy is credited with inspiring the Lightweight Fighter program that produced the F-16. During the Vietnam War he commanded the 56th Combat Support Group in Thailand. He also developed the OODA loop decision cycle.