U.S. Requires Domestic Military Force Due to China's Missile and Aircraft Expansion
Hot off the Press: Grappling with China's Missile Ambitions
There's a looming shadow in the skies - China is stretching its missiles and aircraft further than ever before, creating a pesky problem for our Air Force. We've got to be smart about it, ensuring two key elements to tackle this threat effectively. First, we need to strengthen our agile combat employment strategy; second, we need an "inside force" to penetrate China's defenses.
At a recent gathering with AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, PACAF commander Gen. Kevin B. Schneider spilled the tea on China's growing ballistic missile momenta. He warned that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is pushing forward with its anti-access/area denial strategy, thanks to an ever-expanding missile arsenal. But the show doesn't stop there - China's air force and navy are becoming more audacious, venturing further from their homeland's shores. The air domain is still mostly confined to the first and second island chain, but as China boosts its air refueling chops, Schneider anticipates more frequent operations across the globe.
We've been questioning China's aerial refueling prowess for years. It seemed like a limitation in their quest for power projection, right? Wrong. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has a new toy: the YY-20 refueler - analysts' buzzword of the moment. What's more, the PLAAF is flexing its muscles in new arenas, partnering with the Russian military to ensure dominance across the Arctic and Western Pacific. In 2021, they even staged a joint bomber patrol near Alaska, and as November drew to a close, they marked another first with a joint patrol over the Sea of Japan.
The latter operation is particularly noteworthy as it featured an H-6N bomber, a nuclear-capable aircraft. China has been upping its game with this bomber, operating it both near Japan and South Korea - a move that Schneider sees as a direct attempt to "get after the fabric of the alliances and partnerships that give us strength."
When asked about the need for penetrating strike and air dominance aircraft, Schneider emphasized the importance of having the capability to access the most formidable targets, turn the flank, and deliver devastating fires on critical targets. This requires an "inside force," a crucial component that the U.S. Air Force must always have in its arsenal.
The discussion about the "inside-outside force" has heated up in the Air Force's corridors lately, especially since the service has shown some reluctance in committing to the Penetrating Combat Aircraft, a key player in the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems. The selection of a winning design has been delayed, with the Pentagon leadership delayed in making the decision.
The Chief of Staff, Gen. David Allvin, is eager to move past the inner-service debates and present a fresh "force design" to reset warfighting requirements. "The design is ... more conceptual," Allvin explained, "but we're designing the force to be adaptable to varying levels and densities of threat."
Schneider echoed Allvin's sentiment, stressing the Air Force's obligation to the joint force and its partners – to deliver precision fires and ensure air superiority. He warned that delaying the development of the Next-Generation Air Dominance or limiting the Air Force's ability to fight within enemy territory would diminish U.S. combat advantages and might be the result of a lack of will to invest in the necessary combat forces.
Socketed within PACAF's agile combat employment strategy, ACE aims to scatter forces from large "hubs" to remote bases as a countermeasure to China's A2/AD strategy. Schneider credits frontline units and Airmen for refining the concept; however, recent groundbreaking exercises like Mobility Guardian and the forthcoming Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) have highlighted the logistics and support aspects that were previously overlooked. These exercises stress the need for a more integrated approach to planning and executing large-scale operations.
REFORPAC, expected to unfurl in 2025, will involve a whopping 300 aircraft over 25 remote locations. If Congress is as generous as ever with budget approvals, the Air Force will pull off this massive undertaking. But, if history repeats itself, Schneider says the Air Force may need to cut back on the scale of the exercise to better reflect available funding.
To make ACE work seamlessly, the Air Force must accept that it can't count on just-in-time delivery during combat. Instead, more equipment needs to be prepositioned forward, minimizing the distances it needs to travel to the end user. "The air Force must look at our ability to pre-position as much forward across the spectrum as possible to take the burden off Transportation Command during times of crisis," Schneider advised.
Insight:
- China is aggressively expanding and modernizing its ballistic missile arsenal, posing a significant threat to U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Source
- As part of this modernization, China is developing its missile force, establishing a fractional orbital bombardment system, and increasing its nuclear warhead stockpile. Source
- China's growing missile capabilities serve to enhance its Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) strategy, requiring the U.S. Air Force to bolster its countermeasures and capabilities to operate within contested environments. Source
- The U.S. Air Force is focusing on technological advancements, including fifth-generation fighter jets, advanced sensors, and cyber warfare capabilities to maintain its edge against China's military modernization. Source
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- General Kevin B. Schneider, the PACAF commander, spoke about China's expanding missile arsenal at a recent gathering with the AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, warning that the PLA's anti-access/area denial strategy is becoming more formidable.
- China's air force and navy are increasingly venturing further from their homeland's shores, and their aerial refueling capabilities have improved with the introduction of the YY-20 refueler, allowing them to conduct operations across the globe.
- Schneider emphasized the need for a robust penetrating strike and air dominance capability to counter China's threat, stressing the importance of having the ability to deliver devastating fires on critical targets and operate within enemy territory.
- The development of the Next-Generation Air Dominance, a key player in the U.S. Air Force's Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, is currently delayed, with the Pentagon leadership yet to make a decision on the design.
- The Air Force's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy aims to scatter forces from large "hubs" to remote bases as a countermeasure to China's A2/AD strategy, but recent exercises have highlighted the logistics and support aspects that require a more integrated approach to planning and executing large-scale operations.
- To effectively implement the ACE strategy, the Air Force must pre-position more equipment forward to reduce the distances it needs to travel to the end user during combat, alleviating the burden on Transportation Command during times of crisis.
