Contents

Feature Articles

A Range-Balanced Force:
An Alternate Force Structure Adapted to New Defense Priorities
Lt Col Peter Garretson, USAF
This article argues that external forces will drive the US Air Force to procure a very different force structure than the one currently postulated for the early 2030s. Specifically, the service will eventually settle on a “range-balanced force” for its combat air forces (CAF) dominated by longer-range strike platforms capable of remotely piloted (Read More)
Nowhere to Hide:
The Growing Threat to Air Bases
Col Shannon W. Caudill, USAF
Maj Benjamin R. Jacobson, USAF
This article examines growing threats to both air bases and air and space operations. It argues that the risk to air and space assets will become exponentially more complex and that the cost of countermeasures will increase due to the promulgation of technology, the abundance of open-source information, and the advancement of enemy expertise. (Read More)
Lt Gen Frank Andrews and the Role of Airpower in Hemispheric Security
Johannes R. Allert
Why was Lt Gen Frank Andrews, an Army Air Corps officer, selected for a job that encompassed a vast area surrounded by water—a task traditionally performed by the Navy? Andrews demonstrated the value of airpower as a force multiplier in World War II by conducting operations with airpower as a primary asset, thereby protecting the Panama Canal and (Read More)
Realizing Operational Planning and Assessment in the Twenty-First-Century Air Operations Center:
How a Refined Planning Construct and Semantic Technologies Can Enable Delivery of the AOC's Last Unsupported Functions (Part 2)
Wg Cdr Redvers T. Thompson, Royal Air Force, Retired
Operational planning and assessment, conducted at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of civil-military operations, provide Air Force commanders and their air operations centers (AOC) with significantly increasing analysis, data capture, and visualization challenges. These must be overcome to ensure the successful execution of (Read More)

Selected Air University Research

Fast Transients:
Closing the Loop on Air Force Professional Military Education
Capt Walter Darnell, Capt David Gorman, Capt John Hamilton, Capt Matthew Hammerle, Capt Devin Ivy, Capt Julie Janson,Capt James Ketterer,Mr. Scott Knuteson, Capt Marcus McWilliams,Capt Gregory Tengco
This study intentionally limited its scope to address the Basic Developmental Education (BDE) portion of PME. Though findings and recommendations of this study could be partially extrapolated to address Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) and Senior Developmental Education (SDE) courses, we recommend further study in order to more (Read More)

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Tanker Acquisition:
A Systems Engineering Perspective
Maj Sarah Lynch, USAF
Dr. Alan R. Heminger
Lt Col David D. Mattioda, PhD, USAF
This article highlights the need for a sound systems-engineering approach to tanker acquisitions. It first outlines the history of air refueling—specifically, the creativity and willingness to take risks exhibited by our forefathers in the field—and then compares the current tanker-procurement process with accepted tenets of systems engineering. (Read More)

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