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Air-sea battle concept critical to future plans

With U.S. acquisition and operations spending facing cuts in the years to come, the imperative among the military services is more cooperation.

That’s sometimes easier said than done.

To be clear, the services’ ability to work together is the secret of the military’s power, and jointness — thanks to legislation and combat necessity — has dramatically improved capabilities over the decades. But rivalries and historical grudges have hampered deeper collaboration.

The complex threats facing the U.S. are why Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently directed the Air Force and Navy to more closely cooperate. It’s a welcome move that shows Gates is focused on the current wars, but not at the expense of readying for future challenges.

Theorists have long urged the Air Force and Navy to adopt an Air-Sea Battle partnership that mirrors the Air-Land Battle concept used so effectively by the Air Force and Army to counter the Soviet Army in Europe during the 1980s. That cooperative effort generated a massive increase in combat power.

Sadly, the Air Force-Navy rivalry often simplistically pits Air Force land-based aircraft against the Navy’s carriers. In the late 1940s, the young Air Force convinced defense leaders to cancel the Navy’s large-deck carrier and instead buy giant B-36 nuclear bombers, fostering resentment and suspicion that continues to this day.

Yet it is aircraft around which more extensive cooperation can be forged.

Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, wants deeper cooperation on unmanned aerial vehicles like the Global Hawk and the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System, which both services plan to buy.

The two already cooperate extensively, with the Navy relying on the Air Force for refueling, airlift, communications and intelligence support.

Officials stress the new concept is not aimed at China, but emerging threats. That said, China makes a representative case where the deterrent advantages of greater cooperation are quite clear. China’s rapid military rise, combined with its unclear regional intentions and penchant for capabilities that undermine U.S. military advantages, remain troubling.

Prudence demands strategic planning. China’s long-range mobile missiles, such as the DF-21, hold U.S. land bases and aircraft carriers across Asia at risk. And the U.S. Navy and Air Force share vulnerabilities. The Navy lacks stealthy long-range strike aircraft to operate from its carriers, while the Air Force has only 20 B-2 bombers with the range and stealth necessary to operate effectively in high-end combat.

More broadly, a joint stealth task force composed of the Air Force’s F-22 and B-2 aircraft and the Navy’s attack and guided-missile submarines would prove a formidable challenge to any potential foe.

As would a more integrated, joint theater forced-entry force that weaves Air Force, Navy, Marine and Army units into a more powerful group than any of the services could field alone.

The immediate task is combining Air Force and Navy operations centers that are key to how the services do business.

Myriad technical, architectural and cultural challenges lie ahead, but success will hinge on leadership and building the most critical element — trust.

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