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This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Beyond Close Air Support Forging a New Air-Ground Partnership Bruce R. Pirnie, Alan Vick, Adam Grissom, Karl P. Mueller, David T. Orletsky Prepared for the United States Air Force Approved for public release; distribution unlimited The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract F49642-01-C-0003. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beyond close air support : forging a new air-ground partnership / Bruce R. Pirnie ... [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. “MG-301.” ISBN 0-8330-3741-2 (pbk.) 1. Close air support. 2. Military doctrine—United States. 3. United States. Air Force. I. Pirnie, Bruce, 1940– UG700.B48 2005 358.4'142—dc22 2004030608 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2005 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2005 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface Although airmen have been providing close air support (CAS) to friendly ground forces since World War I, recent operations in Af- ghanistan and Iraq have brought renewed attention to the unique demands of this mission. The Army increasingly views air power as indispensable to its future warfighting concepts and seeks mecha- nisms to ensure that it is available and responsive to the needs of the land forces. For the Air Force, counterland operations are becoming more important, but airmen remain concerned with ensuring that air power’s unique ability to mass rapidly is not lost in efforts to provide on-call fires to small ground elements spread across a large battle space. To address these and related policy challenges, Project AIR FORCE conducted a study of close support on the future battlefield. The study addressed three major policy questions: (1) How should air attack and ground maneuver be integrated? (2) How should the CAS terminal attack control function be executed? (3) How should ground maneuver/fires and air attack be deconflicted? This research builds on work done in Project AIR FORCE over the past ten years to provide a better understanding of the air-ground partnership as well as to en- hance the Air Force contribution in operations against enemy land forces. Previous RAND reports in this area include: • The Stryker Brigade Combat Team: Rethinking Strategic Respon- siveness and Assessing Deployment Options, by Alan Vick, David T. Orletsky, Bruce Pirnie, and Seth G. Jones, MR-1606-AF, 2002. iii iv Beyond Close Air Support: Forging a New Air-Ground Partnership • Aerospace Operations Against Elusive Ground Targets, by Alan Vick, Richard M. Moore, Bruce Pirnie, and John Stillion, MR-1398-AF, 2001. • Aerospace Operations in Urban Environments: Exploring New Concepts, by Alan Vick, John Stillion, Dave Frelinger, Joel S. Kvitky, Benjamin S. Lambeth, Jefferson P. Marquis, and Matthew C. Waxman, MR-1187-AF, 2000. • Enhancing Airpower’s Contribution Against Light Infantry Targets, by Alan Vick, John Bordeaux, David T. Orletsky, and David A. Shlapak, MR-697-AF, 1996. The research reported here was sponsored by the Director of Operational Planning, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, and was con- ducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE. RAND Project Air Force RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corpo- ration, is the U.S. Air Force’s federally funded research and develop- ment center for studies and analyses. PAF provides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future aerospace forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Aerospace Force Development; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine. The research reported here was prepared under contract F49642-01-C-0003. Additional information about PAF is available at http://www. rand.org/paf. Contents Preface ...................................................................... iii Figures ...................................................................... ix Tables....................................................................... xi Summary .................................................................. xiii Acknowledgments......................................................... xxi Abbreviations .............................................................xxv CHAPTER ONE Introduction.................................................................1 Background ..................................................................1 Purpose and Organization of This Report...................................4 CHAPTER TWO The Evolving Relationship Between Air Power and Land Power .......7 Air Power Against Armies: Counterland Operations ........................7 The Spectrum of Counterland Missions..................................8 Differences Among the Counterland Missions ......................... 10 Operational Conceptions of Air Power and Land Power.................. 13 Air Power Augments Land Power ...................................... 14 Air Power Complements Land Power .................................. 15 Air Power Partners with Land Power ................................... 16 Air Power Dominates Land Power ..................................... 18 Air Power Trumps Land Power......................................... 19 The Air-Land Partnership in Perspective ............................... 20 v vi Beyond Close Air Support: Forging a New Air-Ground Partnership Envisioning Air Power and Land Power on Future Battlefields ........... 21 Counterland Operations Are Critical to U.S. Strategy ................. 21 Air Power Is Increasingly Effective Against Land Forces ............... 22 Land Forces Provide Unique and Essential Capabilities................ 25 Land Forces Are Increasingly Reliant on Aerial Firepower ............. 26 Enemy Reactions Reinforce the Need for Air-Land Integration........ 27 Why Forge a New Air-Land Partnership? ................................ 28 CHAPTER THREE Trends in Counterland Operations...................................... 31 Introduction ............................................................... 31 Land Forces Are the Critical Target Set ................................... 32 Joint Action Is Improving Counterland ................................... 33 Jointness Is Descending to Lower Echelons ............................... 36 Kosovo (Operation Allied Force) ......................................... 38 Strategy.................................................................. 38 Operations .............................................................. 41 Insights.................................................................. 44 Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) ............................. 46 Strategy.................................................................. 46 Operations .............................................................. 50 Insights.................................................................. 56 Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) .......................................... 61 Strategy.................................................................. 61 Operations .............................................................