The task of drafting the AirSea Battle Concept has been left to a team of four officers from each service, none more senior than colonel or Navy captain, with no flag officer apparently involved.
No one mentioned the concept during the Feb. 14 defense budget briefings.
But the Pentagon has taken steps toward adding some of the capabilities needed to overcome the A2/AD threat.
In his Jan. 6 announcement of additional “efficiencies” in defense operations and organizations, and termination of several troubled weapons programs, Gates said much of the money saved would be invested in new programs that could counter A2/AD. Those included authorization for the Air Force to start developing a new long-range penetrating bomber, increased funding for the Navy’s nascent Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system and a new generation of airborne electronic jammers. There also would be additional funds for space-based communications and ISR systems.
Air Force officials said they wanted the new bomber to have an unrefueled range of more than 5,000 nautical miles and be able to operate independently inside enemy air defenses. With in-flight refueling, that range would enable it to operate from bases beyond the reach of most Chinese missiles and to join the existing B-2s in being able to penetrate advanced air defense systems.
In addition to a large load of weapons, the new bomber would be expected to carry sensors to conduct ISR and data links to share that intelligence in real time, and to perform electronic attack to help suppress the air defenses for other aircraft. It also would be “optionally manned.”
But, in recognition of the expected tightening of defense budgets, Schwartz said Feb. 9 that “we’re not going to be as ambitious as we perhaps were at one time,” in setting requirements for the new bomber. The bomber would have to use existing technologies.
Navy officials also point out their existing capabilities to counter China’s growing threat, including proven anti-submarine warfare assets using aircraft, surface ships, and perhaps the world’s best attack submarines; and the well-tested ballistic missile defenses based on the Aegis combat system and Standard Missiles.
The Navy had already ramped up the UCLASS program last year, adding $2 billion to its long-range budget. The aircraft, which is expected to have advanced stealth capability, would build on the Navy’s ongoing X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The stealthy X-47 had its first test flight Feb. 4, and is expected to begin testing the ability to operate a fighter-size drone from a carrier in 2013.
The follow-on UCLASS, if successful, would be able to conduct strike or ISR missions from a carrier far beyond the range of current Navy aircraft and perhaps beyond the effective reach of China’s missiles.
Other programs that would advance the AirSea Battle effort against A2/AD systems already are in the works.
To answer the growing cyber threats, the U.S. Cyber Command and commands in all four services were created last year.
The Air Force awarded a contract to Boeing for a new generation of airborne tankers.
The Navy and Army are cooperating on building a force of logistical support ships, called the Joint High Speed Vessel.
And research and development programs have started on “micro satellites” and cheaper launch rockets that could enable quick reconstitution of space assets lost in a conflict.
The Navy also is funding efforts to develop laser weapons powerful enough to destroy incoming missiles and an electro-magnetic railgun that could strike targets 200 miles away in minutes.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Navy recently awarded a $218 million contract to develop and test an experimental Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). The LRASM would have greater reach than current anti-ship missiles, such as the Harpoon, and would be able to hit its target even if GPS were jammed.
Navy officials also point out their existing capabilities to counter China’s growing threat, including proven anti-submarine warfare assets using aircraft, surface ships, and perhaps the world’s best attack submarines; and the well-tested ballistic missile defenses based on the Aegis combat system and Standard Missiles.
The Army also is improving its ability to protect land bases with the Patriot Pac-3 and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile systems.
All of those programs and increased cyber warfare capabilities would be funded in the $553 billion defense budget request the Pentagon released Feb. 14.
The Pentagon’s top budget official, comptroller Robert F. Hale, said the Air Force’s “family of long-range strike aircraft,” which would include the penetrating bomber, would be “key to the anti-access program.”
The budget offered no money for “hardening” U.S. bases in the Western Pacific or for building alternative facilities.
But the authors of CSBA’s report applauded the initiatives Gates announced on Jan. 6, which were supported in the budget.
“Secretary Gates’ program decisions reveal a pattern of divesting systems that depend on relatively benign conditions, while placing priority on those that are well-suited for operating in far less permissive environments,” said Jim Thomas, CSBA’s vice president and director of studies.
The challenge for the Pentagon and AirSea proponents, however, will be protecting those new efforts during the upcoming budget battle; the newly empowered Republican majority in the House is demanding deep cuts in the proposed budget, including defense, and many Democrats would prefer to take money from defense to minimize the deep cuts the Republicans are proposing in domestic programs.
This article first appeared in Defense: Spring 2011 Edition.