The Fragility of Air Dominance
Abstract
Today the United States military is facing what is described as a budget "catastrophe" despite continued threats from asymmetric, conventional, and nonconventional forces. At the same time, the world is experiencing a shift to a "multi-nodal" world that challenges regional stability. The U.S. military is required to operate across the full spectrum of operations to meet National Military Strategy objectives in an environment that is experiencing a revolution in military technology. While the United States has enjoyed a technological advantage for decades, adversary transformation efforts are chipping away at our comparative advantages. The shrinking margins within air dominance may continue to decrease to the point that U.S. forces will be faced with a new and unacceptable level of risk in future operations. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether these decisions are undermining U.S. air dominance, and to question whether future joint forces will be able to operate across a full spectrum of possible conflict.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA561936
Entities
People
- Ralph J. Waite Iv
Organizations
- United States Army War College