A recent study reviewed 21 American crisis deployments since World War II and analyzed the type of forces sent and eventual outcome with the goal of figuring out which forces worked best to convince an aggressor state to back away from the table before escalating the situation to a full-blown clash. The results are quite interesting.
If one overall concept drives national security decisions in Washington, it is that technology in the form of highly complex, and thus massively expensive, weapons along the lines of the F-35 stealth fighter, the B-21 Raider long-range strike bomber, and Ford-class aircraft carriers are needed to accomplish our strategic goals. We saw this with the president’s $705.4 billion defense budget request that includes $2.8 billion for the new bomber and $11.4 billion for the troubled fighter.
The advocates of these programs often justify the cost associated with them by saying that their mere existence holds our potential adversaries at bay. Record defense budgets are often sold in such terms and prompt headlines like, “Pentagon’s proposed 2021 budget focuses on future weapons to compete with Russia, China.”
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WNU Editor: Boots on the ground will always send a bigger message to the opposing side.
1 comment:
The advocates of airpower have always overestimated its importance as an INDEPENDENT or STRATEGIC force. The best impact of airpower has always been in the ground support role. This is not to say that strategic use of airpower doesn't have a role, or is not important. It's just that ground support is more important. There's just too many limitations of what an air force separated from ground forces can do.
But the ground support role is not glamorous, and the Air Force generals hate the idea they need to serve another service.
If I could do one major reform of the US armed forces, it would be to restore an organic air component to the US Army by reactivating the US Army Air Corps. I would transfer all ground support aircraft to the army as well as a significant number of fighter aircraft to protect them. I'd leave the bombers and other fighters to the Air Force. Graduates of the air force academy would have the chance of entering the Air Force or Army Air Corps like graduates of the Naval Academy have the choice of entering the Navy or Marine Corps.
Chris
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