Educate Advocate Support Air Force Association 1 Current State of our Air Force

Educate Advocate Support Air Force Association Who am I

Educate Advocate Support 3 What is Airpower? United States Air Force doctrine states: “Airpower is the ability to project military power or influence through the control and exploitation of air, space, and cyberspace to achieve strategic, operational, or tactical objectives” (AFDD-1, 129).

Educate Advocate Support Aircraft Inventory 1991 Total Aircraft active and reserve 9,369 – Fighters 3,936 – Bombers 290 – Tankers 633 – Cargo 1,213 – Active Duty Personnel 600,000 + or -

Educate Advocate Support Aircraft Inventory 2016 Total Aircraft active and reserve 5,433 – Fighters 1,962 – Bombers 159 – Tankers 497 – Cargo 762 – Active Duty Personnel 315,000

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War Desert Storm Began Jan Desert Storm different from Viet Nam – Precision and massed airpower Airpower growth - Norden Bombsight, to Radar, to Laser Guided Bombs. Carpet Bombing no more, pin point target attack Airpower now the key to almost all campaigns

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War BUT Defense spending is straining capability for mission success Budget Control Act of 2011 – Sequestration cuts mandated for 10 years In 2013 Air Force had to make severe cuts and ultimately stood down and laid off thousands of civilian employees. Depots hit hardest

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War Air Force inventory oldest and smallest since before WW II Aging aircraft fleet relies on sustainment and the Depots New systems on line F-35 –KC-46 – Long Range Bomber starting points only and are facing cuts if Sequestration continues Buying more RPAs than Fighters in last few years

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War Very turbulent and violent world now and into the future Global environment needs airpower to protect national interest with unknown threats on the horizon.

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War Current operations in unchallenged airspace, BUT must be able to operate and win in any environment including contested airspace. No American soldier has been killed by enemy air since the Korean War Army, Navy, and Marine operations depend on our Air Supremacy – Main mission of the Air Force

Educate Advocate Support 11Speed Vehicles operating in the air and in space can cover distances significantly faster than their maritime and ground-based counterparts.  Airpower provides the quickest way to deliver ground forces, proffer humanitarian aid, and strike ground targets.  Information that is critical to decision-making can be transmitted rapidly – especially through cyberspace.

Educate Advocate Support 12 Range Airpower can reach all corners of the world. Airpower’s range allows it to…  Strike anywhere.  Send information anywhere.  Deliver passengers and goods anywhere. Left: A map of the internet. (Image courtesy of The Opte Project)

Educate Advocate Support 13Flexibility “Air forces can be switched from one objective to another. They are not committed to any one course of action as an army is, by its bulk, complexity, and relatively low mobility. While their action should be concentrated, it can be quickly concentrated afresh against other objectives, not only in a different place, but of a different kind.” – B.H. Liddell Hart Military Theorist

Educate Advocate Support 14Responsiveness Airpower’s speed, range, and flexibility give it the ability to respond to a wide range of situations. Top Right: Air Force Forward Air Controllers. (Image courtesy USAF)

Educate Advocate Support Twenty Five Years of War Air power and its flexibility, mobility and lethality can deter and when called upon win. Only if our nation supports and sustains that capability

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