Unleashing the Beast: Using the USAF's Strategic Bomber Force to Shape the Fight on the Expanding Battlefield.
Abstract
Since the birth of the airplane, airpower has been used in an attempt to influence the outcome of ground battle. The effectiveness of the early aircraft in this role was limited by early aircraft design and the lack of standardized methods of applying this new technology. History has seen phenomenal changes in the aircraft and associated weapon technology, as well as changes on the battlefield. Ranges and lethality of battlefield weapons have increased, as well as the speed and ranges at which forces maneuver and can engage, serving to enlarge and empty the battlefield. What was once a corps commander's battlespace is now a brigade commander's battlespace, based solely on the ability to range more distant targets and command and control those weapons. This has allowed for more of a buffer between friendly and enemy troops, which has in turn, blurred the meaning of the term "proximity". This is a key term when discussing operations in the vicinity of the FSCL. Just as technological advances have spawned changes in weaponry and the battlefield, it also had a tremendous effect on the formation and modification to air support doctrine. The issue of proximity, and the argument over who controls the targeting and attack of the enemy in the different regions of this battlefield is at the heart of this problem and has caused changes to both procedures and doctrine. Air power is the most responsive, flexible, and versatile arm of destruction available to the ground commander in the vicinity of the FSCL. The expanding battlefield allows the Air Forces Strategic Bombers to perform the missions of CAS and XINT in the vicinity of the FSCL. This provides the ground forces commander with responsive, versatile, and persistent airpower in support of his ground campaign.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 16, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA366285
Entities
People
- Joel S. Westa
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College