I’ve been thinking. Usually that’s a dangerous thing, mostly because my ideas are met with such sarcastic criticism from my classmates. I still get ridiculed for liking the F-16 more than the F-22. But I’m hoping what I’ve been trying to piece together will make some sense. So instead of getting scoffed for having different views, I’ll put it in a blog that nobody reads. Thanks blogosphere!
So here’s the lead-in: the USAF’s doctrine department has been out to lunch since 1947 as far as I can tell. Despite the obvious leaps in technological advancement, the general construct of how we plan to win wars has changed little, if at all. It hinges around blowing up any enemy air assets and anything on the ground that isn’t ours as well. Quite 2nd Generation/Attritionist. Today’s doctrine is no different from that of decades ago, the only changes being the addition of radar, missiles, and other technological advancements. Same package, different wrapping.
The questions I’ve been trying to get help with are as follows: First, are there ways to incorporate 3rd Generation Maneuver Warfare thinking into a conventional air war scenario? Do we really need to destroy everything the enemy has in order to break their will to resist? What kinds of tactics can we employ that might break from the “hey-diddle-diddle-straight-up-the-middle” method? How can we better manage the air war from a bottom-up perspective, or is that even possible?
One scenario I’ve been rolling around in my head has to do with classic Sun Tzu cheng and ch’i setups. Despite the Air Force wanting to replace its F-15’s with F-22’s and its F-16’s and A-10’s with the F-35, it’s not going to happen. It’s a given that we’ll still rely on our trusty 4th-generation fighters for the reason of numbers alone. Couple that with their COMBAT PROVEN EFFECTIVENESS and it’s obvious they won’t be going anywhere. That said, we can still find a niche for the F-22’s and F-35’s, probably more in the ch’i section supposing we accept their stealth capabilities. The overall goal here would be to fix the enemy’s attention on our conventional fighters while slipping the smaller contingent of 5th-gens to their objectives. Or, if on the same counter-air mission, have the 5th-gens come around the back door, putting them outside the limits of the enemy aircraft’s radars and sensors. Makes more sense than flying straight at them and hoping they can’t see you.
Of course, this is a rough construct. Much like Sun Tzu’s observation that with only five colors one can produce all the hues that can be seen, same here. It’s an idea, work around it to fit your situation. I’m still learning about how we conduct the air war here at ABM school so I’ll be updating this as more things pop into my head.
To be continued when more ideas solidify…
