MAKING THE WEASELS WILD AGAIN: ENSURING FUTURE AIR DOMINANCE THROUGH EFFECTIVE SEAD TRAINING
Abstract
The US military's dominance in the aerial warfare arena is well established, as no US aircraft has been lost to an air-to-air engagement since 1991. All US combat aircraft losses since Operation Desert Storm (ODS) have been to enemy integrated air defense systems (IADS), and it is predicted that most countries will use surface-based IADS to challenge US air superiority in the future. Over the past decade, the US has been focused on close air support (CAS) missions in the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR) with a permissive air environment and a minimal surface-to-air threat. This has resulted in a generation of military aviators ill-versed in the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) mission and unequipped to deal with a significant IADS threat as training efforts have largely ignored SEAD. Current SEAD training is insufficient, as it does not adequately prepare US forces to face the advanced long-range and mobile SAM threat in existence today. The USAF must increase both multi-mission design series (MMDS) and joint SEAD training as well as improve the capabilities of its electronic warfare (EW) ranges in order to correct SEAD training deficiencies. This paper will use the scenario-planning framework to postulate future SEAD requirements and analyze current SEAD training deficiencies that may preclude successful SEAD operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1040654
Entities
People
- Jonathan M. Ballard
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College