The US Air Force Could Have a New Strategic Doctrine Soon

Brandon J. Weichert

Sorce Link

General David A. Harris wants decentralized, more survivable airfields—a virtual necessity in a future conflict in which large, sophisticated airbases would probably be destroyed in the opening hours.

A recent essay by United States Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Harris, the deputy chief of staff for Air Force Futures, outlines the way in which the US Air Force will prepare itself to fight what is likely to be the next great power war. For Harris, the key is reverting the air branch to a more agile, expeditionary mindset.

Hasn’t that always been the mindset of the United States Armed Forces? Sure. But Harris elaborates in his Defense One article by explaining that USAF operations the last 30 years or so had been underpinned by assumptions, such as the need for large, fixed airbases in distant lands.

Is this the best that the United States can do, though?

The Air Force Needs to Make Changes for a Contested Environment

Harris thinks that because of modern threats—notably from anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD), the Air Force must abandon its commitments to accoutrements such as large, lavish airbases. And he’s right on that count. The Air Force needs to get used to operating from austere environments while employing smaller footprints to deter and defeat peer rivals.

For Harris, the operations of the US military during World War II are instructive. Harris believes that the Americans back then had to operate in similarly contested environments as what the Air Force will operate inside of during the next great power war. Essentially, his call is one for a return to basics.

Should Harris’ vision be completed, the Air Force would have an increased emphasis on operations from austere airfields, dispersed basing, and would enjoy greater integration with allied nations, while utilizing much leaner, simpler logistical chains. All this is music to my ears. Indeed, investments will correspondingly be made to shift toward mobility, rapid deployment, forward positioning, training of expeditionary units, and infrastructures that support small-footprint operations.