August 2015/$10 Continuous Bomber Presence AMERICA’S BEST DESERVESERVE THE BESBEST. After all you’ve done to protect our country, you deserve the best. That’s why we created the Nissan Military Program—to help you get the best offer on a new Nissan. As part of this program, all active and reserve U.S. military, retired U.S. military, U.S. veterans discharged within the past year, and their spouses and partners can get the same pricing we give our Nissan friends and family. Just visit NissanUSA.com/military, grab your qualified proof of military service and your VPP Claim ID, then head to your local Nissan store1. Our best savings and most exciting innovations are waiting for you. 1For more details, visit: NissanUSA.com/military The Department of Defense does not endorse any company, sponsor or their products or services. Always wear your seat belt and please don’t drink and drive. Nissan, the Nissan Brand Symbol, Innovation That Excites, and Nissan model names are Nissan trademarks. ©2015 Nissan North America, Inc. All rights reserved. August 2015, Vol. 98, No. 8 20 26 32 38 FEATURES 4 Editorial: Major Powers, Back on 46 Volcanic Observatory Top By Amy McCullough By Adam J. Hebert AFSPC and AFRL track objects in Russia eclipses the threat from ISIS. the skies from a 10,000-foot dormant volcano on Maui. 20 Bombers on Guam By Amy McCullough 50 The View From Langley The continuous bomber presence By John A. Tirpak is a visible show of USAF’s commit- The ACC commander presented un- ment to Pacific security. varnished thoughts on war and the future at a recent Air Force Associa- 26 A Prelude to War tion-sponsored event. By Rebecca Grant Twenty-five years ago this month, 54 The Year of the Kamikaze the Air Force moved to save Saudi By John T. Correll Arabia and began tense prepara- The suicide pilots were sent to die tions for the first Gulf War. for the emperor—regardless of what the emperor thought about it. 32 Fifth Gen Flight Test By John A. Tirpak 60 The Goering Interrogation The F-22 and F-35 are put through By Frederick A. Johnsen the wringer at Edwards AFB, Calif. The captured Luftwaffe head was surprisingly open when questioned by Spaatz, Vandenberg, and other 38 ISR’s Iron Triad About the cover: Maj. Luke Dellenbach By Marc V. Schanz Air Force leaders just after VE Day. pushes the throttle of a B-52. See “Bomb- USAF is reorienting its ISR invest- ers on Guam,” p. 20. USAF photo by SrA. ments, but its “big wing” fleet isn’t 64 2015-16 AFA Nominees going anywhere. Candidates for national offices and Malia Jenkins. Board of Directors. 42 The Sequestration Zombie By Megan Scully If Congress doesn’t act, sequestration comes back to life. AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2015 1 Publisher: Mark A. Barrett Editor in Chief: Adam J. Hebert Managing Editor: Juliette Kelsey Chagnon Special Content Director: Michael C. Sirak Editorial Director: John A. Tirpak News Editor: Amy McCullough Senior Editor: Marc V. Schanz Senior Designer: Heather Lewis 8 10 Special Projects Manager: Gideon Grudo Designer: Kristina Parrill Assistant Managing Editor: Frances McKenney Associate Editors: Aaron M. U. Church, June L. Kim Production Manager: Eric Chang Lee Photo Editor: Zaur Eylanbekov Media Research Editor: Chequita Wood Contributors: Walter J. Boyne, John T. Correll, Robert S. Dudney, Rebecca Grant, Frederick A. 12 76 Johnsen, Megan Scully Advertising: Scott Hill, James G. Elliott Co., Inc. DEPARTMENTS (312) 348-1206 6 Letters 19 Index to Advertisers [email protected] 8 Action in Congress 55 Flashback: Scramble 1501 Lee Highway Arlington, VA 22209-1198 9 Verbatim 69 AFA National Report Tel: (703) 247-5800 10 Aperture: Long-Range Strike Telefax: (703) 247-5855 Bomber contract to be awarded; 73 Reunions Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s edge; [email protected] Northrop Grumman’s advantage .... 75 Books 12 Air Force World 76 Airpower Classics: Tornado 18 Senior Staff Changes AIR FORCE Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) August 2015 (Vol. 98, No. 8) is published monthly by the Air Force As- sociation, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Phone (703) 247-5800. Perodical postage paid at Arlington, Read the Daily Report: www.airforcemag.com Va., and additional mailing offi ces. Membership Rate: $45 per year; $30 e-Membership; $110 for three-year Follow us on: membership. Life Membership (nonrefundable): $600 single payment, $630 extended payments. Subscription Rate: $45 per year; $29 per year additional for postage www.facebook.com/airforcemag to foreign addresses (except Canada and Mexico, which are $10 per year additional). Regular issues $10 each. www.twitter.com/airforcemag USAF Almanac issue $20 each. Change of address www.fl ickr.com/photos/133046603@N02 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. Trademark registered by Air Force Association. Copyright 2015 by Air Force Association. 2 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2015 MetLife is proud to be the carrier for AFA’s life, accident and dental insurance plans. For more information, please visit www.afainsure.com or call 800-291-8480. ©2014 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY 10166. 1402-0434 L0314365494[exp0515][All States] PEANUTS © 2014 Peanuts Worldwide LLC Editorial By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief Major Powers, Back on Top he United States military has spent It went to war against neighboring ISIS is still not universally accepted. It Tthe past 15 years concentrating on Georgia, is believed to have orches- was therefore asserted at the confirma- primarily low-intensity wars in Iraq and trated major cyber assaults against tion hearings for the nation’s top two Afghanistan. Over the past year, much of NATO member Estonia, and continues military posts. the nation’s attention has been focused its conflict in Ukraine. It is in this context that Marine Corps on the threat from the ISIS international And it is not just Russia behaving Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., at his terror organization. badly. nomination hearing to become the next At the national level, threats from Communist China has aggressively Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, major powers such as Russia and China violated numerous international norms made news when he called Russia the were frequently afterthoughts. ISIS is in recent years. It is North Korea’s sole greatest threat to the United States. almost certainly not the greatest threat significant benefactor. It has thousands ISIS ranked fourth, also behind China to the United States, however. of missiles aimed at Taiwan. In 2013 and North Korea. Yes, ISIS must be watched, guarded Dunford noted Russia is a nuclear against, and attacked militarily as ap- Russia eclipses the power with the ability to destroy the US. propriate. But the organization does threat from ISIS. It has attacked its neighbors, and “if you not and has not represented the No. 1 look at their behavior, it’s nothing short danger to the United States. More dan- it unilaterally declared an air defense of alarming,” he said July 9. gerous are major powers that behave identification zone in international air- Less than a week later, Air Force aggressively, intimidate or attack their space, where it expects other nations to Gen. Paul J. Selva had his turn before neighbors, violate international norms, submit flight plans and follow Chinese the Senate Armed Services Committee, and in one case has the ability to destroy instructions. seeking confirmation as the next Joint the United States. China also continues to seek interna- Chiefs vice chairman. Thankfully, America’s recent fixation tional territory. “Its claims to nearly the Selva struck a similar note. Terror- on “today’s wars” is coming to an end entire South China Sea are inconsistent ist groups are “a threat we must deal and some long-held assumptions are with international law,” the strategy with,” he said, but they do not threaten being discarded as policy-makers come states. China continues “with aggressive the US homeland to the same degree to terms with the facts. Russia is not a land reclamation efforts” that will allow as nation-states. “Russia possesses peaceful democracy, China’s prosperity it to build air bases and shipyards in the conventional and nuclear capabil- is not leading to responsible international contested or international waters. ity to be an existential threat to this relations, violent Islamic fundamentalism Iran creates its own set of problems. nation, should they choose to do so,” has enduring appeal in Iran, and North “It is pursuing nuclear and missile de- he noted. Korea shores up its regime by creating livery technologies,” the strategy reads, ISIS, on the other hand, “does not conflict. and “is a state sponsor of terrorism that present a clear and present threat to Russia in particular is back at the top has undermined stability in many na- our homeland and to the existence of of the threat list. tions.” Iran exports terrorism to Iraq and our nation.” In late June, Air Force Secretary Syria, seeks the destruction of Israel, Selva’s list of threats to the US was Deborah Lee James said at the Paris Air and is believed to be seeking nuclear similar but not identical to Dunford’s— Show that Russia’s recent actions are weapons. and ran from Russia to China, Iran, and a “big part of why I’m here in Europe.” And don’t forget North Korea, where North Korea. The “biggest threat on my mind is “pursuit of nuclear weapons and bal- This seemed to surprise lawmakers what’s happening with Russia and the listic missile technologies … directly on both sides of the aisle, who must activities of Russia,” she said, describing threaten[s] its neighbors, especially the not have been paying attention to the the situation in Ukraine as “extreme- Republic of Korea and Japan.