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Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century a Basic Primer

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Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century a Basic Primer Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century A Basic Primer Clayton K. S. Chun United States Air Force Academy in cooperation with Air University Press Colorado Springs, Colorado and Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama July 2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chun, Clayton K. S. Aerospace power in the twenty-first century : a basic primer / Clayton K.S. Chun. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-58566-091-4 1. Air power. 2. Space warfare. 3. Air power—History—20th century. 4. Astronautics, Military. 5. United States. Air Force. 6. Military doctrine—United States. I. Title. UG630 .C52 2001 358.4’00973—dc21 2001034104 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. ii Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii FOREWORD . xi ABOUT THE AUTHOR . xiii PREFACE . xv 1 Aerospace Concepts and Definitions . 1 Aerospace Power Defined . 1 Characteristics of Aerospace Power . 4 Aerospace Power in War . 14 What Aerospace Forces Can Accomplish . 23 The Aerospace Environment . 27 Aerospace Elements . 29 Summary . 33 2 Aerospace Power Theory . 35 What Is Theory? . 35 What Should Aerospace Power Theory Do? . 37 Giulio Douhet: The First Airpower Theorist . 39 Billy Mitchell: America’s First Airpower Theorist . 45 Sir Hugh Trenchard: An Independent Air Force for Britain . 50 Jack Slessor: Support for Ground Forces . 53 Claire Chennault: Pursuit-Aviation Enthusiast . 56 William A. Moffett: Father of Naval Aviation . 59 Alexander P. de Seversky: Airpower Advocate . 63 John Warden: The Five-Ring Model . 66 Space Power Theory . 69 Summary . 72 iii Chapter Page 3 Functions and Capabilities of Aerospace Power: Air and Space Superiority/Strategic Attack . 75 Air and Space Superiority: The First Order of Business . 77 The Battle of Britain: The Luftwaffe’s Failure to Control the Skies . 79 Total Air Domination: The Six-Day War . 86 Air Superiority and Operation Overlord . 92 Defeating the Enemy through Strategic Attack . 99 Japan’s Hawaii Operation . 100 Slamming Saddam: Operation Desert Storm . 108 The Eighth Air Force in the Combined Bomber Offensive, 1943–45 . 119 4 Functions and Capabilities of Aerospace Power: Interdiction/Close Air Support . 131 Interdiction: Striking the Enemy Before He Can Attack . 131 Operation Strangle: Korea, 1951 . 133 The Easter Offensive: Airpower Halts the North Vietnamese . 139 Interdiction at Sea: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea . 145 Supporting the Troops with Close Air Support . 151 Airpower Fails at Kasserine Pass . 153 Gunships for Close Air Support in Vietnam . 159 Close Air Support in the Korean War: A Navy and Marine Corps View . 165 5 Functions and Capabilities of Aerospace Power: Rapid Mobility/Space and Information . 175 Mobility Operations: Moving Manpower, Munitions, and Machines . 175 Failure at Stalingrad: Air Supply Falls Flat . 177 iv Chapter Page Transporting an Army: Operation Desert Shield . 184 Airlift Saves Berlin: Operation Vittles . 190 Space and Information: The Enabler of Operations . 196 Finding a Needle in a Haystack: The Great Scud Hunt . 198 Corona: The First Space-Reconnaissance System . 205 Information Averts a Nuclear Showdown: Cuba, 1962 . 210 6 Functions and Capabilities of Aerospace Power: Airpower Unleashed . 221 At the End of Empire: The 1982 Falklands War in the Air . 222 Eighty-Five to Zero: Israel’s Bekaa Valley Campaign . 240 Stopping the Luftwaffe Cold: The Soviet Tactical Air Effort in World War II . 251 Summary . 260 7 Planning for Aerospace Operations . 263 Air Campaign Planning Concepts . 264 A Framework for Air Campaign Planning . 270 Researching the Combat Environment . 270 Determining Air and Space Objectives . 272 Determining Centers of Gravity . 275 Determining Air and Space Strategy . 276 Putting the Campaign Together . 278 Air Campaign Planning Concerns . 279 Air Campaign Planning: National Implications . 283 8 Taking Off into the Wild Blue Yonder . 289 Strategic or Ground-Operations Support? . 291 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the Future of Aerial Warfare . 295 v Chapter Page The Advancement of Space Forces: An Independent Force? . 297 Building a Mobile Force . 301 Information: The Key to Victory . 305 Technological Solutions for an Unknown World . 310 Fighting Jointly . 317 Summary . 319 GLOSSARY . 323 INDEX . 327 Illustrations Figure 1 Warden’s Basic Five-Ring Model Used in Desert Storm . 68 2 Egypt . 87 3 Overlord Theater of Operations . 96 4 Pacific Area . 102 5 Desert Storm Theater of Operations . 109 6 Korean Conflict . 134 7 New Guinea . 147 8 Tunisia . 156 9 Southeast Asia . 162 10 The Eastern Front . 180 11 Berlin Airlift . 193 12 Cuba . 212 vi Figure Page 13 Argentina and the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) . 223 14 West Falkland and East Falkland . 224 15 Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley . 242 Photo C-5 cargo aircraft . 2 Global Positioning System satellite . 5 C-17 enhances global mobility . 6 Peacekeeper ICBM . 8 Tomahawk cruise missile . 9 Titan III . 10 B-17 destroyed at Hickam Field . 13 B-17 bombing a ball-bearing plant . 16 P-47s in World War II . 17 Aircraft provide a wide variety of capabilities . 18 Air Force B-66 Destroyer leads F-105 Thunderchiefs . 19 Destroyed MiG-25 during Operation Desert Storm . 21 F-15 air superiority fighter . 22 Minuteman III ICBM . 24 Precision-guided attacks . 25 Navy F-18s . 28 Logistics is one of the keys to airpower . 31 vii Photo Page World War I German aviator . 41 Trench warfare in World War I . 42 Destroyed German city in World War II . 44 Brig Gen William “Billy” Mitchell . 47 Carrier aviation supports operations in Kosovo . 60 Eddie Rickenbacker . 78 Bombing of Britain . 84 MiG-21 . 89 American troops invade Normandy . 98 Air raid Pearl Harbor . 105 USS Arizona burning at Pearl Harbor . 107 Army Apache attack helicopters . 113 Cruise missile launched from a B-52 . 114 F-111 strike aircraft . 115 F-117 aircraft over Iraq . 116 Destroyed Scud missile storage facilities . 117 Destroyed Iraqi aircraft shelters . 118 B-17 bomber attacks Focke-Wulf plant . 121 Adolph Hitler inspects bomb damage . 125 US Navy fighter in the Korean War . 132 B-29 bombers over Korea . 136 F-4E fighter . 140 viii Photo Page A-10s providing CAS in Kosovo . 152 Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox . 154 AC-47 gunship in the Vietnam War . 161 CAS from Navy Corsairs in the Korean War . 169 Air mobility in World War II . 176 German forces in the Soviet Union in World War II . 179 Civilian airliners support deployment of troops in Operation Desert Shield . 184 C-47s provide invaluable service during Berlin airlift . 192 Scud missile that failed to reach its target . 199 Defense Support Program satellite . 201 Patriot missile battery . 203 F-15E . 204 Minuteman ICBM force . 209 Nuclear warhead bunker at San Cristóbal, Cuba . 215 HMS Broadsword . 232 F-16s providing air superiority . 267 B-29 bombers destroy Chosen oil refinery . 268 AWACS aircraft . 282 Damage from air interdiction mission . 283 B-2 refueling . 286 Predator UAV . 296 ix Photo Page Communications satellites . 300 C-17s transport combat equipment and personnel . 303 Space power in the field . 307 B-2 Spirit bomber . 314 x Foreword Developing future aerospace leaders is the key to ensuring the national security of the country. Such development is based on a firm understanding of the theory, principles, and applications of aerospace power. Without this foundation, aerospace and military leaders would have a difficult time deploying and using air and space forces in today’s dynamic world. With the end of the Cold War, the United States military has been challenged by a series of world events that have forced aerospace leaders to apply air and space power in many innovative ways. They have had to focus on and question many previously held beliefs about air and space power. Future leaders will need to be well grounded in the capabilities and limitations of aerospace power to envision how to plan, operate, and build aerospace capabilities. Dr. Chun’s Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century: A Basic Primer is a great start towards understanding the importance of aerospace power and its ability to conduct modern warfare. Aerospace power is continually changing because of new technology, threats, and air and space theories. However, many basic principles about aerospace power have stood the test of time and warfare. This book provides the reader with many of these time-tested ideas for consideration and reflection. Although Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century was written for future officers, individuals desiring a broad overview of aerospace power are invited to read, share, and discuss many of the ideas and thoughts presented here. Officers from other services will find that this introduction to air and space forces will give them a good grasp of aerospace power. More experienced aerospace leaders can use this book to revisit many of the issues that have affected air and space forces in the past and that might affect them in the future. Air Force officers will discover that Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century xi is a very timely and reflective resource for their professional libraries. JOHN R. DALLAGER, Lieutenant General Superintendent United States Air Force Academy xii About the Author Dr. Clayton K. S. Chun, a 1978 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, holds an MA in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an MS in systems management from the University of Southern California; and a PhD in public policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School. He is professor of economics at the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, where he is an instructor for the Department of Clayton K.
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