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Weekend Reads
To deter or defeat modern adversaries like the People’s Republic of China, the United States Air Force needs to do more than simply scale up its current force or look for a new “tech surprise.”
In a new policy memo, Bryan Clark and Dan Patt propose a three-part force design that would augment the USAF’s core capabilities with an “edge force” and a “pulse force” that can better address a new generation of threats. A breakdown of this proposed force design is below.
Key Insights
1. Edge force.
Small road- or barge-mobile launchers for tactical one-way-attack uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and surface-to-air missiles would largely comprise the Air Force’s edge force. By exploiting small footprints, frequent relocations, and simple camouflage, these units could survive inside an adversary’s lethal ring of precision weapons, forcing the opponent to devote inordinate resources to finding and neutralizing them.
2. Pulse force.
Pulse force units would surge briefly to launch precision munitions and then return to defensible bases. Consisting mostly of B-21, B-2, B-52, and B-1 bombers as launch platforms, the pulse force may also include cargo aircraft rigged for palletized munitions delivery. The unifying theme is that each platform can strike at long ranges, using advanced standoff weapons and networked kill chains, thereby minimizing the exposure window to adversary defensive salvos.
3. Core force.
Almost all of today’s Air Force falls into the new design’s core force. In conflict, core force units would operate with allies and partners from a mix of forward, intermediate, and distant airfields, and core force aerial refueling and airlift aircraft allow US forces to maneuver in the air and on the ground. Armed with conventional and tactical nuclear weapons, core force units support homeland defense, strategic deterrence, and power projection.
Go Deeper
A one-size-fits-all US military cannot keep up with China, warn Bryan Clark and Dan Patt. In a Hudson report, they propose a new operational approach to sustain conventional deterrence: a “hedge force” that relies primarily on affordable uncrewed systems to complement traditional forces.
Major General Joseph Kunkel, the Air Force’s director for force design, integration, and wargaming, joined Dan Patt and Timothy A. Walton to discuss how the USAF can generate combat-effective, agile, and adaptive airpower at scale.
Watch the event, listen to the podcast, or read the transcript here.
In a conflict with China, protecting American air assets on runways and at bases will be crucial. Timothy A. Walton and Thomas H. Shugart explain how the US military can organize and resource its forces and infrastructure to sustain air operations while under attack.
