Air Force Philosophy Shift - Fortified Airfields in Limited-Access Nations
Abstract
As President Barak Obama directed the Department of Defense to reduce defense spending by about $487 billion over the next 10 years to meet the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, our strategic leaders must find ways to conduct all military operations in a more fiscally efficient manner, all while still meeting the security needs to protect US interests. Due to the new fiscally constrained environment for future military operations, it is time to explore the benefits of building a fortified air base of operations within a limited-access country vice the status quo philosophy of long-range air operations from distant, secure bases. Current United States Air Force philosophy bases Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and aerial refueling assets at locations far from the Area of Operations due to force protection concerns. This paper explores the operational and strategic benefits of early commitment to building a fortified air base with appropriate force protection measures for flight operations to eliminate the billions of dollars in wasted transit costs, reduce fatigue on aging aircraft, decrease over-extension of aircrew, reduce opportunities for attacks on deployed forces, build partner capacity and show US resolve towards the security of the host nation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 19, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA561291
Entities
People
- Robert A. Mallets
Organizations
- United States Army War College