55 | Combating Hypoxia 52 | Coalitions in Space 34 | Building the Future Force 26 A Desert Storm Medal of Honor? AIR BASE DEFENSE Can the United States Catch Up to the Threat?|39 April 2021 $8 Published by the Air Force Association STAFF Publisher April 2021. Vol. 104, No. 4 Bruce A. Wright Editor in Chief Tobias Naegele Managing Editor Juliette Kelsey Illustration Mike Tsukamoto/sta ; Photos: Tsukamoto/sta Mike Illustration Archives USAF; National Chagnon DEPARTMENTS FEATURES A-10 pilot Ste- Editorial Director 2 Editorial: The 10 Q&A: Protecting the Homeland phen Phillis gave Best Fighter his life to save his John A. Tirpak in the World Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh on wingman. Now, News Editor By Tobias Naegele COVID-19, deployments to the Capitol, and more. 30 years later, a Amy McCullough move is afoot to Assistant 4 Letters upgrade his Sil- Managing Editor 34 Building the New Space Coalition ver Star Medal to Chequita Wood a Medal of Honor. 6 Index to Senior Designer Advertisers By Rachel S. Cohen See p. 55. Partnerships in space could build capabilities and save Dashton Parham 12 Airframes money for everyone. Pentagon Editor Brian W. Everstine 18 Strategy & Policy: Digital Platforms End of the High-Low 39 Defending Forward Bases Editor Mix? By Amy McCullough with Brian W. Everstine Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory 20 Verbatim China and Russia made huge strides in missile Senior Editor technology while U.S. air base defense languished. 21 World: Aerospace Rachel S. Cohen Warfare Now, the U.S. is playing catch-up. Production Symposium Manager coverage; Mishaps; Eric Chang Lee New TRANSCOM 44 Advancing U.S. Hypersonics Photo Editor leader; and more ... By John A. Tirpak Mike Tsukamoto As flight-tests begin, the military must overcome shortages 33 Faces of the Force Contributors of talent, test capacity, and supply. Lukas Autenreid, 62 AFA in Action: John T. Correll, Mitchell Institute’s Col. Mark Gunzinger, Aviation and Air 48 Building the Future Force USAF (Ret.), Power Book Series By Col. Mark Gunzinger, USAF (Ret.), and Lukas Autenreid Jennifer Hlad, Benjamin Lambeth, 64 Heroes and The next National Defense Strategy must mitigate against Amanda Miller Leaders: looming strategic risks. ON THE COVER Bernard Fisher 52 The Forensics of Flight Emergencies By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory ADVERTISING: How military researchers are working to understand—and Kirk Brown prevent—hypoxia-like events in Air Force aircraft fleets. Director, Media Solutions 703.247.5829 55 Above and Beyond Spc. Mustard/USA Derek [email protected] An impact site By Brian W. Everstine from the January Capt. Steve Phillis stayed on station in his A-10, putting himself 2020 missile SUBSCRIBE at risk to aid his downed wingman. The decision cost him his attacks at Al Asad & SAVE Air Base, Iraq. Subscribe to life. Does it also rate the Medal of Honor? See “Defending Air Force Magazine Forward Bases,” p. 39. and save big o 58 Air Power in the War Against ISIS the cover price, plus get a free By Benjamin Lambeth membership Strategy was lacking at the start. Then it made all the di er- to the Air Force ence. Association. 1-800-727-3337 Air Force Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) April 2021 (Vol. 104, No. 4) is published monthly, except for two double issues in January/February and June/July, by the Air Force Asso- ciation, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Phone (703) 247-5800. Periodical postage paid at Arlington, Va., and additional mailing o ices. Membership Rate: $50 per year; $35 e-Membership; $125 for three-year membership. Subscription Rate: $50 per year; $29 per year additional for postage to foreign addresses (except Canada and Mexico, which are $10 per year additional). Regular issues $8 each. USAF Almanac issue $18 each. Change of address requires four weeks’ notice. Please include mailing label. POST- MASTER: 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 2021 by Air Force Association. APRIL AIRFORCEMAG.COM EDITORIAL By Tobias Naegele The Best Fighter in the World Springtime in Washington. Pollen—and politics—is in the air. the bike, so will ultimately need another vehicle. It’s self-deception In the Battle of the Budget, the Air Force and its premier ac- to think otherwise. quisition program, the F-35 fighter, is under attack. House Armed Unlike a motorcycle, the magic of the F-35 is that it is far more Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith launched his than a one-for-one replacement. It buys more value for the money. opening salvo, calling the F-35 “a rathole” and saying he wants to Deterrence. The most cost-effective investments in defense are “figure out how we can get a mix of fighter attack aircraft that’s the ones that, through they’re very presence, change adversaries’ the most cost-effective.” plans and behavior. Why has China and Russia invested so much It’s a curious choice of words. While the projected life-cycle costs in air defense? Why are both pursuing stealth aircraft like the F-35? for all three versions of the F-35 over a span of nearly 40 years is It’s because they know that without them, they don’t stand a chance $1.6 trillion, the $80 million-per-copy cost to acquire these jets is against a U.S. Air Force fully equipped with F-35s. less than some last-generation aircraft—and a bargain consider- Stealth is a disruptive game-changer. It imposes costs on the op- ing the combat-multiplying effect of this vastly superior platform. position. That’s part of what makes it so cost-effective itself. Failing If the F-35 didn’t work—if it couldn’t evade radar, couldn’t fly to buy the full complement of F-35s therefore plays into their hands. in combat, couldn’t compete with the most sophisticated air Few know better than Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. defenses in the world—then it would be right to call it quits. But Brown Jr. how great a threat the U.S. faces from China and the staying the course on F-35 is not buying into a parallel threat he faces in Washington. He “sunk cost fallacy,” where one keeps doubling The radar-evading F-35’s very commanded Pacific Air Forces in his last down on a losing bet in the hopes that things presence changes the nature job before becoming Chief, so he knows the will turn around later. The F-35 is already a of battle. It’s a strategic area and the arc of challenges ranging from success, demonstrating combat flexibility China in the south through North Korea and delivering a decisive advantage in Red investment and combat tool, and Russia in the north. Brown recently Flag exercises. not a tactical one. asked for a review of “tactical aviation” Pilots have raved about the jet’s perfor- and dialed in the Defense Department’s mance. In its first Red Flag, F-35s scored a 20-to-1 kill ratio against Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office to help. a simulated enemy. In another, it flew 16 simulated offensive counter He believes an objective, credible study can help make his case air missions, eliminating 100 surface-to-air missile sites without to critics like Rep. Smith. losing a plane. That’s not just good performance—it’s unmatched The study could make a big difference, but it also involves risk. performance. Inviting CAPE to the party means bringing in long-time F-35 skep- There are at least three arguments for the F-35 as the most tics. And embracing the naval term “tactical aviation” to describe cost-effective fighter the Air Force can buy: combat aircraft devalues the fifth-generation, manned F-35 to be Stealth. When adversary forces turn on S-400 and future the equal of less-capable older platforms and yet-to-be proven Chinese- and Russian-made air defense systems, what will they unmanned alternatives. The Navy and Marine Corps use the “tac- see? An F-35 shows up on radar as the size of mosquito. It’s not air” term because they see jets as supporting elements to their quite invisible, but it’s too small to track effectively. Eliminate its aircraft carriers and Marine Expeditionary Units. low-observable features and sure, you save some money. You also In fact, however, the radar-evading F-35’s very presence changes give the enemy something they will recognize: targets. the nature of battle. That makes it a strategic investment and combat Suddenly, “cost-effectiveness” takes on a whole new light. What tool, not a tactical one. price shall we put on the lives of American pilots? Is America too Whatever we call it, this combat aviation review must be forward- cheap to put our sons and daughters in the best combat aircraft looking. There is little to be gained by dwelling on the compromises money can buy? wrought by making one airplane meet the competing visions of Mission efficiency. A pair of F-35s can strike multiple targets in three military services. Those decisions are done. If the study a contested environment with no support save, perhaps, a tanker. focuses on combat effectiveness and efficiency, on the cost not of To get two conventional fighter jets to a similarly contested target individual airplanes but of accomplishing the missions they must requires 10 to 20 additional aircraft. The strike jets must be accom- undertake, then the study will yield valuable results.