Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing tcml-3

by Tom Clancy

  Part of that rationality was motivated by the advance of airpower (if we may include strategic missiles and orbital satellites in the definition), and the immediate future could well see a further application of the same principle. Thus, the mating of stealth technology and PGMs today means that the decision-makers who send young men off to die can now be targeted directly. No one is truly safe from such a precision attack, and personal vulnerability might well make a dictator think twice and then again before committing his country to war — if, that is, America develops the doctrine and installs the capability to target those who instigate war. Clausewitz liked to talk about an enemy's "center of gravity," meaning those things which a nation had to protect in order to survive. But the real center of gravity of any nation is its decision-makers, be they presidents, prime ministers, dictators, or juntas. No person becomes a chief of state, or group a leadership team, in order to suffer. The exercise of power, especially for despots, is heady wine indeed. Hiding in deep bunkers (which may no longer be safe in any case) cannot be fun. Nor is traveling about with the constant knowledge that a single enemy intelligence officer, or a domestic traitor, needs to finger the target only one time. What has emerged, then, is the ability to apply the well-named MAD principle of nuclear arms to conventional weapons, to fight a war with ultimate efficiency.

  This idea is still what some might call "blue-sky"; but it is a fact that the capability now exists (even though we never quite managed to turn off Saddam Hussein's personal radio transceiver). The ability to strike deep and strike accurately could well become the best excuse for people to find something other than war as an instrument of international policy.

  To use airpower effectively one must understand its limits, as well as it capabilities:

  • Airpower Is Costly. It is easy to be appalled by the notion of a twenty million dollar fighter, a fifty million dollar fighter bomber, or a five hundred million dollar stealth bomber. But the dollar cost of an aircraft does not even begin to measure the true cost of airpower. It costs thousands of dollars an hour to keep even the simplest jet trainer in the air. An effective air force requires a vast infrastructure of training, maintenance, and administrative support. It requires a whole range of specialized industries that draw talent and productive resources away from other sectors of the economy.

  • Airpower Is Fragile. On June 22nd, 1941, most of the Soviet "Frontal Aviation" tactical aircraft were caught on the ground and destroyed by the German Luftwaffe. Six months later, on December 8th, virtually the entire U.S. Army air force in the Philippines was caught on the ground and destroyed by Japanese air attacks on Clark Field. On June 5th, 1967, most of the offensive power of the Egyptian Air Force was caught on the ground and destroyed in a single morning's work by Israeli Air Force attacks. Even more fragile than the airplanes themselves is the network of radars, command centers, communications facilities, fuel systems, and munitions depots that make airpower possible. An entire air force can be wiped out in a few hours. As the Iraqis learned in the Gulf War, even the most strongly built shelters cannot protect an air force that has lost control of the air space above them.

  • Airpower Is Not a Substitute for Clear Military Objectives. Especially when it is used piecemeal, for limited political purposes. This was the clear lesson of Vietnam, where hundreds of American and South Vietnamese aircraft were shot down between 1964 and 1972 without inflicting strategically significant damage on the elusive enemy. Years earlier, political limitations on the use of airpower helped to turn the Korean War from a decisive Allied military victory into a protracted stalemate. Even the Israelis, so skillful in the political employment of airpower, have conducted hundreds of air strikes on "terrorist bases" without significant impact on the political base of the terrorist threat to the Israeli people. The "limited punitive air strike" may play well on the evening news to a domestic audience, but it generally only serves to solidify the enemy's will to resist. All too often, it also serves as a "hostage delivery system," leaving hapless downed aircrews as bargaining chips in the hands of the enemy. A good example was the 1983 raid by U.S. Navy aircraft on Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon. The result was two aircraft lost, another damaged, one pilot killed, and another captured by the Syrians, requiring the intervention of the Reverend Jesse Jackson to obtain his release. A lousy trade for a few AAA guns!

  Ironically, naval and land power can serve as limited political tools where airpower cannot, because an airplane does not establish presence. For decades, the presence of the U.S. Army in Europe and Korea deterred Communist attack, even when that Army turned into a hollow shell in the post-Vietnam period. The presence of the U.S. Navy in the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean has a similar stabilizing geopolitical influence.

  Consider the current attempts of the Western powers to influence events in the former Yugoslavia. NATO combat air patrols (Operation Deny Flight), airstrikes on Bosnian Serb military positions, and a multinational naval blockade in the Adriatic have failed to change the behavior of the Bosnian Serbs in any significant way, because they do not reach the Serbian center of gravity in Belgrade. But the token presence of a few hundred U.S. paratroops as a UN peacekeeping force in Macedonia has preserved the existence of that fragile republic. Even Serbs are not crazy enough to directly challenge United States ground forces. Symbolically speaking, when you shoot down my airplane, that is an unfortunate incident, but when you kill my soldiers or sink my ship, that is an act of war.

  Perhaps airpower will never conquer ground. Perhaps airpower cannot linger in place as long as ships. But airpower can take the fight to the enemy's heart and brain in a way and with a speed impossible for the more traditional fighting arms. It is, moreover, almost entirely an American invention which, like democracy, has changed the face of the world, and, as shown in Operation Iraqi Freedom, continues to shape and define the tactics and execution of modern warfare.

  GLOSSARY

  A-12 Lockheed high-altitude, high-speed, low-observable interceptor developed in the 1960s. Never went into service, but served as the basis for the development of the SR-71 Blackbird. Not to be confused with McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger, a 1990s Navy program for a stealthy carrier strike aircraft, canceled due to cost overruns and program mismanagement.

  AAA Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA), also called "triple-A" or "flak."

  Aardvark Nickname for the F-111 fighter bomber, derived from its large nose and ungainly appearance. The F-111 never received an official name.

  ABCCC Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center. An EC-130E aircraft equipped with communications equipment and staff.

  ACC Air Combat Command. Major command of the USAF formed in 1992 by the merger of the Strategic Air Command (bombers and tankers) and the Tactical Air Command (fighters).

  ACES II Standard USAF ejection seat built by McDonnell Douglas based on an original design by the Weber Corporation. ACES II is a "zero-zero" seat, which means that it can save the crew person's life (at the risk of some injury) down to zero airspeed and zero altitude, as long as the aircraft is not inverted.

  ACM Air Combat Maneuvering. The art of getting into position to shoot the other guy, preferably from behind, before he can shoot you.

  AFB Air Force Base. NATO or Allied bases are usually identified simply as AB (air base). The Royal Air Force designates its bases by place-name, i.e., RAF Lakenheath.

  Afterburner Device that injects fuel into the exhaust nozzle of a jet engine, boosting thrust at the cost of greater fuel consumption. Called "Reheat" by the British.

  AGL Above Ground Level. A practical way of measuring altitude for pilots, even though engineers prefer the more absolute measure ASL, "Above Sea Level."

  AI Airborne Intercept; usually used to describe a type of radar or missile.

  AIM-9 Sidewinder Heat-seeking missile family, used by the Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army, and many export customers. Variants are designated by a letter, such as AIM-9L or AIM-9X.

  AMC Air Mobility Command. M
ajor USAF command that controls most transports and tankers. Based at Scott AFB, Illinois.

  AMRAAM AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. First modern air-to-air missile to use programmable microprocessors with active radar homing (missile has its own radar transmitter, allowing "fire and forget" tactics).

  ANG Air National Guard. Air Force reserve units nominally under the control of and partially funded by state governments. Many ANG flight crews and ground crews work in the airline or aviation industries.

  Angels Altitude in thousands of feet. "Angels fifteen" means 15,000 feet.

  AOC Air Operations Center.

  API Armor-Piercing Incendiary. A type of ammunition favored for use against armored ground vehicles.

  Aspect The angle from which a target is seen. From the front an aircraft presents a relatively small target; from above or below it presents a comparatively large target.

  ATF Advanced Tactical Fighter. Original program name for the F-22.

  ATO Air Tasking Order. A planning document that lists every aircraft sortie and target for a given day's operations. Preparation of the ATO requires careful "deconfliction" to ensure the safety of friendly aircraft. During Desert Storm the ATOs ran to thousands of pages each day.

  Avionics General term for all the electronic systems on an aircraft, including radar, communications, flight control, navigation, identification, and fire control computers. Components of an avionics system are increasingly interconnected by a "data bus" or high-speed digital network.

  AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System. Specifically used to describe the Boeing E-3 Sentry family, but also used generically to describe similar types used by other Air Forces.

  Bandit Fighter pilot jargon for a confirmed enemy aircraft. An older term, still used by some English-speaking air forces, is "Bogey."

  Bar One sweep of a radar beam, typically a few degrees in altitude and 60 to 120 degrees in width.

  BARCAP Barrier Combat Air Patrol. A fighter operation intended to prevent enemy aircraft from passing through a defined airspace. A BARCAP is typically established along the most likely enemy area of approach, involving relays of fighters that are continuously relieved in place.

  BDA Bomb Damage Assessment. The controversial art of determining from fuzzy imagery and contradictory intelligence whether or not a particular target has been destroyed or rendered inoperative.

  Bingo The point when an aircraft has just enough fuel remaining to return safely to a friendly base. At this point, a rational pilot will attempt to disengage, unless there is an extremely compelling reason to put the aircraft at risk.

  BLU Air Force nomenclature for a "bomb" or "munition."

  Boresight Mode When a radar beam or electro-optical device is pointed straight ahead (12 o'clock).

  BVR Beyond Visual Range; usually used in reference to radar-guided air-to-air missiles. "Visual range" depends on the weather, how recently the windscreen was cleaned and polished, and the pilot's visual acuity, but against a fighter-sized target rarely exceeds 10 miles (16 km.).

  BW Bomber Wing (traditionally Bombardment Wing).

  C-130 Hercules Lockheed tactical transport. Four Allison T56 turboprops. Over two thousand of these classic aircraft have been built since 1955 and it is still in production. Hero of 1976 Israeli hostage rescue mission to Entebbe, Uganda. Many models and variants, including AC-130U gunship and EC-130H communications jammer. New C-130J under development has advanced avionics and new Allison T406 engine with six-bladed propellers. Standard transport has maximum takeoff weight of 175,000 lb./80,000 kg.

  C-141 Starlifter Long-range heavy lift transport, built by Lockheed, entered service in 1964. Four TF33 turbofan engines. About 227 remain in service, subject to weight restrictions due to airframe fatigue. Equipped for in-flight refueling. Maximum takeoff weight 325,000 pounds.

  C-17 Globemaster III Heavy-lift McDonnell Douglas transport designed for operation into short, unimproved runways. Four P & W F117 turbofan engines. Maximum takeoff weight 585,000 lb./266,000 kg. Advanced cockpit with flight crew of two plus enlisted loadmaster in cargo bay. Only forty aircraft currently funded.

  C-5B Galaxy Long-range Lockheed Martin heavy lift transport. Four TF39 turbofan engines. Maximum takeoff weight is 837,000 pounds. Nose structure swings up and tail ramp drops down for rapid loading and unloading. About eighty-two in service.

  C3I Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence; the components and targets of information warfare. Pronounced "see-three-eye."

  Call Sign (1) An identifying name and number assigned to an aircraft for a particular mission. Aircraft in the same flight will usually have consecutive numbers. (2) A nickname given to an aviator by his/her squadron mates and retained throughout his/her flying career, often humorous.

  Canard Small fixed or movable wing located forward of an aircraft's main wing. This is the French word for "duck," from an early French aircraft (c. 1910) that first used this feature and was nicknamed "the Duck." Canard-type designs are generally very resistant to stalling.

  Canopy The transparent bubble that covers the cockpit of an aircraft. Usually made of Plexiglas, or polycarbonate, sometimes with a microscopically thin layer of radar-absorbing material. Easily scratched or abraded by sand or hail. Ejection seats have a means of explosively jettisoning or fracturing the canopy to reduce the chance of injury during ejection.

  CAP Combat Air Patrol, a basic fighter tactic that involves cruising economically at high or medium altitude over a designated area searching for enemy aircraft.

  CBU Cluster Bomb Unit. A munition that is fuzed to explode at low altitude, scattering large numbers of "submunitions" over an area target. Submunitions can be explosive grenades, delayed-action mines, antitank warheads, or other specialized devices.

  CENTAF The Air Force component of U.S. Central Command, including units deployed to bases in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other states in the Gulf region. The Commander of CENTAF is an Air Force lieutenant general, who typically also commands 9th Air Force based at Shaw AFB, South Carolina.

  CENTCOM United States Central Command, a unified (joint service) command with an area of responsibility in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Headquartered at McDill AFB, Florida, and generally commanded by an Army four-star general. CENTCOM normally commands no major combat units, but in a crisis situation it would rapidly be reinforced by units of the Army's XVIIIth Airborne Corps, the U.S. Marine Corps, and Allied forces.

  Chaff Bundles of thin strips of aluminum foil or metallized plastic film that are ejected from an aircraft to confuse hostile radar. A chaff cloud creates a temporary "smokescreen" that makes it difficult for radar to pick out real targets. The effectiveness of chaff depends on matching the length of the chaff strips to the wavelength of the radar.

  Chop To assign a unit to the command of a different headquarters. For example, in a Middle Eastern crisis the 366th Wing might be chopped to CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command). Term is probably derived from Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese word for a seal used to sign official documents. "In-chop" and "out-chop" designate the official dates that a unit arrives in or departs a particular theater of operations.

  CinC Commander in Chief. Used to designate the senior officer, typically a four-star general or admiral in charge of a major command, such as CINCPAC (Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command).

  CMUP Conventional Munitions Upgrade Program. U.S. Air Force initiative to develop new families of low-cost improved conventional bombs.

  CONOPS Concept of Operations. The commander's guidance to subordinate units on the conduct of a campaign.

  CTAPS Contingency Tactical Air Control System Automated Planning System. A transportable network of computer workstations, linking various databases required for the generation of an Air Tasking Order.

  CVW Carrier Air Wing. A force of Navy aircraft organized for operation from an aircraft carrier. Typically includes one fighter squadron, two attack squadrons, and small units of helicopters and an
ti-submarine, electronic warfare and early warning radar planes. U.S. Marine Corps air units may be assigned to a carrier air wing.

  CW Continuous Wave. A type of radar that emits energy continuously, rather than in pulses.

  DARO Defense Airborne Reconnaisance Office. A Pentagon agency created in 1992, charged with fixing the mess in U.S. airborne recon.

  DMPI Direct Mean Point of Impact. The exact geographical coordinates of a target, used for mission planning. Pronounced "dimpy."

  Drag The force that resists the motion of a vehicle through a gaseous or liquid medium. The opposite force is lift. Also the practice of cross-dressing in clothing of the opposite sex for informal squadron entertainment events.

  DSCS Defense Satellite Communication System. A family of geosynchronous satellites and ground terminals ranging from 33-inch airborne antennas to 60-foot ground dishes. The current generation, DSCS III, includes five satellites, providing global coverage. Some earlier DSCS II satellites are still operational.

  E-2C Hawkeye U.S. Navy carrier-based twin-turboprop airborne early warning aircraft built by Grumman. Large radar in saucer-shaped rotating antenna housing. Entered service in 1964. Also operated by France, Israel, and Japan.

  E/O Electro-optical. A general term for sensors that use video, infrared, or laser technology for assisting navigation or locating, tracking, or designating targets.

  ECM Electronic Countermeasures. Any use of the electromagnetic spectrum to confuse, degrade, or defeat hostile radars, sensors, or radio communications. The term ECCM (electronic counter-countermeasures) is used to describe active or passive defensive measures against enemy ECM, such as frequency-hopping or spread-spectrum waveforms.

  EF-111 Raven Electronic warfare version of the F-111 fighter bomber. Nicknamed "Spark 'Vark."

  ELINT Electronic Intelligence. Interception and analysis of radar, radio, and other electromagnetic emissions in order to determine enemy location, numbers, and capabilities.