Post by ngatimozart on Mar 2, 2013 18:16:57 GMT 12
"The United States has enjoyed global air dominance for many decades. No U.S. soldier on the ground has been killed by hostile aircraft since the Korean War, and no U.S. pilot in the air has been killed by hostile aircraft since the Vietnam War. U.S. air dominance has been preserved by pouring vast amounts of money into technology and training, far surpassing the efforts of other nations. The scale of this funding was driven by an awareness of how crucial air dominance was to other facets of warfighting, plus the fear that a few mis-steps might result in America losing its edge in the air.
However, since the Cold War ended, modernization efforts in the Air Force and Navy — the main providers of U.S. air dominance — have lagged. Plans to replace Air Force bombers, tankers and reconnaissance aircraft were canceled or delayed, while programs to recapitalize tactical air fleets in both services were repeatedly restructured. In addition, efforts to develop next-generation intelligence, navigation, communication, missile-warning and weather satellites have fallen far behind schedule. As a result, the joint inventory of fixed-wing aircraft and orbital systems enabling air dominance has aged considerably. Unmanned aircraft are an exception to this trend, but their utility in contested airspace is unproven.
The Lexington Institute embarked on a year-long inquiry into the requirements for maintaining U.S. global air dominance. The inquiry focused on the four core components of air dominance: intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance; air superiority; long-range strike; and mobility. In each area, the inquiry sought to understand the current force structure and modernization programs being funded, and then identify gaps in future capabilities that need to be addressed. It also examined alternative approaches to satisfying operational requirements, and explored how those alternatives might be implemented in varying fiscal circumstances."
This is an interesting discussion on US air dominace and what may happen in the future. There is a link to the report which is a pdf file of 17 pages.
However, since the Cold War ended, modernization efforts in the Air Force and Navy — the main providers of U.S. air dominance — have lagged. Plans to replace Air Force bombers, tankers and reconnaissance aircraft were canceled or delayed, while programs to recapitalize tactical air fleets in both services were repeatedly restructured. In addition, efforts to develop next-generation intelligence, navigation, communication, missile-warning and weather satellites have fallen far behind schedule. As a result, the joint inventory of fixed-wing aircraft and orbital systems enabling air dominance has aged considerably. Unmanned aircraft are an exception to this trend, but their utility in contested airspace is unproven.
The Lexington Institute embarked on a year-long inquiry into the requirements for maintaining U.S. global air dominance. The inquiry focused on the four core components of air dominance: intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance; air superiority; long-range strike; and mobility. In each area, the inquiry sought to understand the current force structure and modernization programs being funded, and then identify gaps in future capabilities that need to be addressed. It also examined alternative approaches to satisfying operational requirements, and explored how those alternatives might be implemented in varying fiscal circumstances."
This is an interesting discussion on US air dominace and what may happen in the future. There is a link to the report which is a pdf file of 17 pages.