March 2016/$10 Tuskegee Airmen Lessons of the F-22 High-Altitude ISR at Risk Horner on the Gulf War March 2016, Vol. 99, No. 3 28 16 42 FEATURES 4 Editorial: Following the Money to 42 High-Altitude ISR at Risk Europe By Aaron M. U. Church To deter Russia, the US will dramati- The future of the U-2 and Global cally increase its forward presence Hawk missions are up in the air. in Europe. 47 Hypersonic Weapons Come of Age 16 Critical Ingredient in Short Supply By Mark J. Lewis By John A. Tirpak Will the US—or some other nation— USAF’s biggest problem with the be first to field these game-chang- F-22? There aren’t enough to go ing weapons? around. 52 Lifesavers Along the Trail 22 Horner’s Gulf War By Brian W. Everstine By Rebecca Grant Eric Roberts and Ronald Brodeur The air commander calls Desert Storm have now received Silver Stars they a hard-fought win for airpower. earned 46 years ago, for heroism in Vietnam. 28 Toward a Total Force By Jennifer Hlad 56 DOD Photochart The integration seen on deployment Compiled by Chequita Wood still isn’t natural at home station. DOD’s top leadership in Obama’s second-term Administration. About the cover: A 1943 poster that 34 Red Tails served as a war bonds ad and a symbol of Photos from USAF, the Air Force 60 All Eyes on Khe Sanh pride for the Tuskegee Airmen. See “Red Historical Research Agency, and Toni By John T. Correll Tails,” p. 34. Frissell via the Library of Congress Day by day, the world followed the They were pilots, maintainers, news. LBJ had a scale model of weathermen, and administrators. the besieged outpost in the White They were Tuskegee Airmen. House. AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016 1 Publisher: Larry O. Spencer Editor in Chief: Adam J. Hebert Managing Editor: Juliette Kelsey Chagnon Editorial Director: John A. Tirpak News Editor: Amy McCullough Senior Designer: Heather Lewis Deputy Managing Editor: Frances McKenney 5 10 Senior Editors: Aaron M. U. Church, Jennifer Hlad Digital Platforms Editor: Gideon Grudo DEPARTMENTS Pentagon Editor: Brian W. Everstine Designer: Kristina Parrill 5 Action in Congress: The Warthog 10 Air Force World Lives On Associate Editor: June L. Kim 15 Verbatim 6 Letters Production Manager: Eric Chang Lee 33 Flashback: Lucky—and Good Photo Editor: Mike Tsukamoto 6 Index to Advertisers 66 Keeper File: Sijan, by McCain Media Research Editor: Chequita Wood 7 Senior Staff Changes 76 Airpower Classics: B-2 Spirit 8 Aperture: Back to full spectrum; Contributors: Walter J. Boyne, John T. Correll, Keeping the A-10; Arsenal plane; Robert S. Dudney, Rebecca Grant, Mark J. Lewis, Warming up for future fi ghts .... Evan McCauley, Megan Scully, Berry Vissers Advertising: Scott Hill, James G. Elliott Co., Inc. WINGMAN (312) 348-1206 67 Wingman Cover 72 Chapter News [email protected] Photo by Kristina Parrill 1501 Lee Highway 74 Reunions 68 Five for the Force Arlington, VA 22209-1198 By Gideon Grudo Tel: (703) 247-5800 AFA’s summer 2016 internship Telefax: (703) 247-5855 program begins soon. Here’s a look at last year’s interns. [email protected] 70 Thunderstruck By Evan McCauley The cadets were surprised by the chance to work an air show. The chapter was surprised that so many volunteered. AIR FORCE Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) March 2016 (Vol. 99, No. 3) is published monthly by the Air Force As- Read the Daily Report sociation, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Phone (703) 247-5800. Perodical postage paid at Arlington, www.airforcemag.com Va., and additional mailing offi ces. Membership Rate: $45 per year; $30 e-Membership; $110 for three-year membership. Life Membership (nonrefundable): $600 single payment, $630 extended payments. Subscription Follow us on Rate: $45 per year; $29 per year additional for postage to foreign addresses (except Canada and Mexico, which are $10 per year additional). Regular issues $10 each. USAF Almanac issue $20 each. Change of address requires four weeks’ notice. Please include mailing label. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Air Force Association, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. facebook.com twitter.com fl ickr.com/photos/ Trademark registered by Air Force Association. Copyright /airforcemag @airforcemag 133046603@N02 2016 by Air Force Association. 2 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016 CONFERENCE AND EXPOSITION - SAVE THE DATE SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2016 I NATIONAL HARBOR, MD AFA.org Editorial By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief Following the Money to Europe t has now been two years since Russia illegally seized the our commitment to NATO Allies and the security of Europe,” ICrimean Peninsula from Ukraine and began a low-level, stated EUCOM. destabilizing “hybrid war” in Ukraine’s east. With these visible airpower commitments as the baseline, DOD Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty came after Russia is really ramping things up now. “2017 ERI funding strengthens had previously battled with and occupied territory belonging to deterrence through measures that provide a quick joint response Georgia and allegedly sponsored severe cyber attacks targeting against any threats made by aggressive actors in the region,” NATO member Estonia. budget justification documents explain. The message Vladimir Putin sends his neighbors is clear: More than a half-billion dollars would be committed to establish- Toe Russia’s line or pay the price. ing an Army armored brigade combat team in Europe. These Russian attacks and provocations have had many Planned air initiatives include new pre-positioned equipment nations in Central and Eastern Europe on edge. In February, to support forward flight operations. DOD seeks to put aircraft as part of the Defense Department’s Fiscal 2017 budget re- maintenance vehicles, forklifts, crash recovery vehicles and fire quest, US leaders announced a quadrupling of funding for the trucks, and runway snow removal equipment at numerous for- European Reassurance Initiative (ERI), a US program designed ward locations to allow for quick and dispersed flight operations. to reassure, bolster, and defend the European nations most It’s not just logistics. The plan also calls for “deferring previously threatened by Russia. planned force reductions” at RAF Lakenheath, UK. The base This is an extraordinary uptick in funding: a more than $2.5 will keep a full complement of 20 air superiority F-15C fighters billion increase in a single year to enhance “ready for operational patrols and joint what was already a high-profile defense and To deter Russia, the US will exercises” through 2017. engagement program. ERI includes Opera- These defense measures send a tion Atlantic Resolve, a series of US-led dramatically increase its powerful message to America’s allies measures to expand Allied training exer- forward presence in Europe. that the US stands with them against cises, make infrastructure improvements, aggression and intimidation. In a re- and create a larger rotational presence in Europe. flection of the tension on the continent, Russian, NATO, and US “We share a commitment to promoting a Europe that is officials repeatedly exchanged blunt words during last month’s whole, free, and at peace,” read an end-of-2015 US European Munich Security Conference in Germany. Command release. Atlantic Resolve is a response to “Russian “We have to take these threats from Moscow seriously,” said intervention in Ukraine specifically.” Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. “We have to be Many of the nations with the most to fear are NATO members, wise before the event, not wise after the event.” and the Alliance—led as always by the United States—continues Criticism angered prominent Russians in Munich. “NATO’s to increase its support of their freedom and security. Make no policy with regard to Russia has remained unfriendly and mistake: “We will defend every inch of our NATO territories,” opaque,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complained, adding, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, EUCOM commander, said “One could go as far as to say that we have slid back to a new in February, Stars and Stripes reported. Cold War. Almost on an everyday basis we are called one of the This past year saw several notable US deployments and most terrible threats either to NATO as a whole or to Europe, or military engagements. To cite just a few of 2015’s air-centric to the United States.” operations, there was: But Russia is still illegally occupying Crimea and covertly sup- A six-month A-10 theater security package that saw a dozen porting a separatist war in Eastern Ukraine. These facts were Warthogs and 300 airmen from Moody AFB, Ga., operate out not lost on Breedlove, who said, “Our actions are defensive, and of bases in Estonia, Hungary, and Romania. they are proportionate in size and capability.” A three-week, five C-130 detachment deployed to Powidz NATO is bolstering its reassurance efforts because it spent AB, Poland, to train with the Poles for skills including night vi- 20 years trying to build a partnership with Russia, a nation that sion goggle operations and fighter intercept training. “does not want to be a partner,” Breedlove said. An Oregon Air National Guard deployment of a dozen F- And so, to demonstrate commitment to those threatened by 15Cs to Campia Turzii Air Base in Romania to train with allies Russia, USAF will vigorously bolster its European capabilities. and “strengthen interoperability.” Airpower is fast, flexible, and highly visible when needed. A deployment of eight New Jersey ANG F-16s to Graf Ig- One final example: As part of the 2017 budget request, USAF natievo AB, Bulgaria, for the two-week Thracian Star combined seeks infrastructure improvements at Spangdahlem to support air operation exercise.