Tom Cooper (born 1970 in Vienna) is an Austrian military aviation historian, analyst, illustrator and investigative journalist. He has written several books on military aviation history and articles for various military aviation journals.
After working in the global transport industry, during which he undertook extensive travels in Europe and the Middle East, he became active as an investigative journalist and illustrator for specialized military aviation magazines. He focused on smaller, lesser-known air forces and air wars, primarily in the Middle East and Africa. His experiences and reports on these topics can be found in his books and articles. His interest in post-World War II military aviation led him to research in the field of air power in the late 1980s, especially air forces and regional conflicts between Iran and the Arab countries and the IranâÂÂIraq War (1980âÂÂ1988).
Cooper first gained attention in the late 1990s through his online publications on the ACIG (Air Combat Information Group) website. His first three books: Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980âÂÂ1988, Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat and Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat, offer insights into Iranian Air Force operations during the IranâÂÂIraq War and were all co-written with . While they garnered little interest in German-speaking countries, they triggered a wave of further publications in Iran and Iraq and attracted considerable attention in the United States. Two further book series followed: African MiGs (two volumes) and Arab MiGs (six volumes), which provide an overview of the operational history of MiG and Sukhoi fighter-bombers in 30 different countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Since February 2022, Cooper has been reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, first on Medium, then on Substack. He has been quoted by publications including Forbes, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and The New Voice of Ukraine.