Current engagements, future options

[unhappycamper]

Current engagements, future options
By Michael W. Wynne

A false perception has arisen in the press that the Air Force is being crafted for some long-distant future war against an unknown peer competitor. During my custodianship of the service, this is simply not the case.

As the first graduate of West Point to have been confirmed to serve as secretary of the Air Force, I have worked hard and long to engage the service in the ground fight. The Air Force is a multifunction force with global reach, which is central to today’s ground fight and evolving global hybrid wars. These wars are a mix of low- and high-intensity threats and challenges. The nation needs a force able to fight simultaneously across the conflict spectrum. My approach to the Air Force has combined several key elements.

First, we need to build and deploy capability to deal with peer weapons in the hands of non-peer competitors. The F-22 is one instrument which will prove essential to the deterrence of states such as Iran, which seek to deploy sophisticated air defenses. With our air superiority fleet aging rapidly, we clearly need to replace core competence in dealing with air denial threats.

Second, the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps have rapidly evolved ground-air integration capabilities. A mixed fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft provides today’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions, and such a mix is crucial to the viability of both. The ground-air partnership was enhanced by our deployment of systems such as Rover, which provide the ground forces with crucial links to air power, which can deliver both kinetic and nonkinetic capabilities.

Third, ground forces are not about ground platforms. Ground forces are about an ability to prevail in the type of mixed-intensity operations they face today, and air power is a crucial component.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_backtalk_21st_062308/



uhc comment: Wynne resigned as Secretary of the Air Force on 6.5.2008.