Flexible Precision: Air Force's Answer to Army Transformation and Intratheater Airlift on the 21st Century Battlefield

摘要

The changing operational environment has motivated the Army to undergo its largest transformation since WW II. The Army decision to procure the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) has rekindled the 'roles and missions' debate that first surfaced soon after the Air Force stood up as a separate service. Both the Army and Air Force have a legitimate requirement to recapitalize the average age of Army cargo aircraft is over twenty years old and the average age of active duty Air Force C-l30s are almost thirty-five years old. The significant increase in capability of the JCA, however, compared to current Army cargo aircraft (twice the range and three and a half times the payload capacity) is the source of the current 'roles and mission' debate. The purpose of this paper is to offer a solution to meeting intratheater airlift requirements that supports the Army's recent transformation. History is ft1ll of examples where the intratheater airlift community has embraced new technologies or modified operational procedures in order to overcome evolving threats and resupply troops in the field. The situation today is no different. Two examples of how the Air Force can adapt to support this Army transformation will be proposed. The first example involves using Joint Precision Air Drop System (JPADS) technology to resupply ground forces. The second involves On- Call Airdrop, a time-sensitive employment capability for airlift that adopts procedures currently used by the Close Air Support (CAS) community. Both JPADS and on-call airdrop represent a new distinctive capability-Flexible Precision- that the airlift community offers a joint force commander (JFC). The thesis of this paper is to add the concept of Flexible Precision as a USAF fixed-wing distinctive capability to enhance the JFC's ability to meet war-fighter logistical needs and allow the Air Force to continue as the intratheater airlift provider for the Army.