Air Base Defense in the Twenty-First Century: Ground Defense Dilemma, Army Air Force, British Royal Air Force and German Luftwaffe in World War II Studies - Korea and Global War on Terrorism Issues

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Through its history, the United States Air Force has struggled with the most efficient and effective way to provide for its own air base ground defense. This monograph submits a solution intended to end the debate. In an effort to provide the most comprehensive answer possible, the method used to develop this monograph contains two key aspects. The first of these aspects is a historical study of the Air Force's air base ground defense dilemma. Included is a look at the US Army Air Forces' attempts to solve the problem in World War II. The initial history is followed by a study of the US Air Force's continuing efforts to solve the dilemma starting with a study of air base defense issues in Korea and continuing through the current Global War on Terrorism. The second key aspect is a historical case study of two Air Forces that faced similar issues. The first of these is the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the second is the German Luftwaffe of World War II. Each employed different methodologies and subsequently achieved different results. The results of the analysis contained in this monograph provide a clear answer. To finally solve the air base ground defense problem, the US Air Force will have to accept risk with regards to resource constraints in order to mitigate risk to expeditionary operations. Failure to embrace the capability necessary to engage and defeat threats to deployed airmen and resources in the future will have a direct impact on the US Air Force's ability to sustain global reach and global power in the Twenty-First Century.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

At issue is the fact that today's military planners have grown accustomed to American air superiority as a given in the current operating environment. Furthermore, the increasing sister-service reliance on joint fires places air power at a premium. These factors, together with a potential adversary's inability to compete with American airpower, highlight the increasing vulnerability of airpower assets while on the ground. As Italian Army General Giulio Douhet observed in 1921, "It is easier and more effective to destroy the enemy's aerial power by destroying his nests and eggs on the ground than to hunt his flying birds in the air." Subsequently, the need exists to solve the expeditionary base defense problem currently facing the USAF.