USAF to Restructure to Face China
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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USAF to Restructure to Face China
https://www.twz.com/news-features/ai...ete-with-china
Air Force To Totally Revamp Its Structure To Compete With China
To counter the growing threat especially from China, the Air Force is undergoing major changes in how it operates and is organized.
Dubbed “Reopitmization for Great Power Competition,” details of the initiative will be unveiled Monday at the Air and Space Forces Warfare Symposium in Denver by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other senior leaders, an Air Force official told The War Zone.
The changes will run the gamut from how the Air Force organizes its operational units to how it acquires new weapons systems, Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, suggested on Friday…….
Last week, Politico offered a glimpse at what some of the specific changes might look like from major commands (MAJCOM) level down to the wing level.
“Within the next few weeks, the service will announce it is consolidating some of its major three- and four-star commands, integrating fighter jets and bomber aircraft into single units, and beefing up its budget and planning shop, according to six people familiar with the plans,” the publication reported…..
The Air Force has nine MAJCOMs. Some, like Air Mobility Command (AMC) are functional, providing lift and refueling capabilities across the services. Air Combat Command (ACC) provides air combat forces while Global Strike Command provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operation. Others, like U.S. Air Forces In Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa (USAFE) cover regional Air Force responsibilities.Some of those MAJCOMs could be merged, Politico suggested.
At the operational unit level, the Air Force is considering a "composite wing" concept, where aircraft capable of taking out enemy air defenses, participate in air-to-air combat, and refuel all operate under one command structure instead of several……
The current concept of changing the wing structure had not been briefed at the senior level, an Air Force official told Politico, which added that none of the suggested changes were set in stone.
Kendall offered similar insights about how the flying branch will change to Air & Space Forces Magazine in an interview that published Jan. 26.
“...if we’re called upon to support an operation plan in the Pacific or in Europe, say, against a great power, we need ready deployable units, that can go do that job,” Kendall explained. “And that’s not what we have right now. … The units themselves have got to be structured to have all the capabilities they need when they go, and you want to have unity of command for those units. We don’t have that right now.“…..
Air Force To Totally Revamp Its Structure To Compete With China
To counter the growing threat especially from China, the Air Force is undergoing major changes in how it operates and is organized.
Dubbed “Reopitmization for Great Power Competition,” details of the initiative will be unveiled Monday at the Air and Space Forces Warfare Symposium in Denver by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other senior leaders, an Air Force official told The War Zone.
The changes will run the gamut from how the Air Force organizes its operational units to how it acquires new weapons systems, Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, suggested on Friday…….
Last week, Politico offered a glimpse at what some of the specific changes might look like from major commands (MAJCOM) level down to the wing level.
“Within the next few weeks, the service will announce it is consolidating some of its major three- and four-star commands, integrating fighter jets and bomber aircraft into single units, and beefing up its budget and planning shop, according to six people familiar with the plans,” the publication reported…..
The Air Force has nine MAJCOMs. Some, like Air Mobility Command (AMC) are functional, providing lift and refueling capabilities across the services. Air Combat Command (ACC) provides air combat forces while Global Strike Command provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operation. Others, like U.S. Air Forces In Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa (USAFE) cover regional Air Force responsibilities.Some of those MAJCOMs could be merged, Politico suggested.
At the operational unit level, the Air Force is considering a "composite wing" concept, where aircraft capable of taking out enemy air defenses, participate in air-to-air combat, and refuel all operate under one command structure instead of several……
The current concept of changing the wing structure had not been briefed at the senior level, an Air Force official told Politico, which added that none of the suggested changes were set in stone.
Kendall offered similar insights about how the flying branch will change to Air & Space Forces Magazine in an interview that published Jan. 26.
“...if we’re called upon to support an operation plan in the Pacific or in Europe, say, against a great power, we need ready deployable units, that can go do that job,” Kendall explained. “And that’s not what we have right now. … The units themselves have got to be structured to have all the capabilities they need when they go, and you want to have unity of command for those units. We don’t have that right now.“…..
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I seem to recall the USAF doing this back in the 1990s. There were definitely composite wings bringing together different aircraft types with different capabilities.
Yes, the 366th Wing at Mountain Home rings a bell. Trouble is the logs support required for multiple types on one base proved really expensive IIRC.
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Salute!
Yeppers, reminds me of the Mountain "Goat" setup in the 90's. Had a neat flyby at USAFA for my 30th rejoin, and all the players particpated, but no tanker.
As Ops Plans for the 388th, I worked very closely with our own Logistics Plans dude as well as with various host base offices. If we had to go, then we used the host base for everything other than our pilots, maintenance and munitions. So a big deal was coordinating things and the various players were not under direct command of our wing. They were from another major air command - think legal, security, hospital, fuel, supply, pesonnel office and the beat goes on. Thank God the host base commander let us work directly with most of the other players, but one or two needed more control by him, like the security guys that had guns!
The Composite Wing at Mountain Goat was likely a nightmare from the logistics point of view, but not so hard for the mudbeaters, ECM and A2A squads. I don't know how Nellis did it, but I was a commander for only one big Red Flag mission and mainly did same as I did at Hill as far as support went. The base handled the details for the day's fuel and a lot of the munitions prep. But since we were not deploying, many folks were doing business as usual.
I like the employment concept of having Weasels, CAP and mudbeaters being together. And for awhile in '74-'75 our CSAR players were all together at Korat, but operationally were not all under our wing commander - the Sandy A-7's, F-4 A2A guys, the Jollies and the C-130 King bird plus Spec Ops 130s for refueling the Jollies and other stuff. Flight line looked like a base open house day.
Gonna be interesting, and I am glad the F-35's have decent legs.
Gums sends...
Yeppers, reminds me of the Mountain "Goat" setup in the 90's. Had a neat flyby at USAFA for my 30th rejoin, and all the players particpated, but no tanker.
As Ops Plans for the 388th, I worked very closely with our own Logistics Plans dude as well as with various host base offices. If we had to go, then we used the host base for everything other than our pilots, maintenance and munitions. So a big deal was coordinating things and the various players were not under direct command of our wing. They were from another major air command - think legal, security, hospital, fuel, supply, pesonnel office and the beat goes on. Thank God the host base commander let us work directly with most of the other players, but one or two needed more control by him, like the security guys that had guns!
The Composite Wing at Mountain Goat was likely a nightmare from the logistics point of view, but not so hard for the mudbeaters, ECM and A2A squads. I don't know how Nellis did it, but I was a commander for only one big Red Flag mission and mainly did same as I did at Hill as far as support went. The base handled the details for the day's fuel and a lot of the munitions prep. But since we were not deploying, many folks were doing business as usual.
I like the employment concept of having Weasels, CAP and mudbeaters being together. And for awhile in '74-'75 our CSAR players were all together at Korat, but operationally were not all under our wing commander - the Sandy A-7's, F-4 A2A guys, the Jollies and the C-130 King bird plus Spec Ops 130s for refueling the Jollies and other stuff. Flight line looked like a base open house day.
Gonna be interesting, and I am glad the F-35's have decent legs.
Gums sends...
the 366th had also the Thunderbird Squadron equipped with B-1B Bone geographically separated from based at Elsworth or Dyess??
cheers
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.af.mil/Reoptimization-fo...r-Competition/
Air Force & Space Force announce sweeping changes to maintain superiority amid Great Power Competition
The Department of the Air Force’s senior civilian and military leaders, Feb. 12, unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in those domains while also better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition.
Taken together, the changes made public Feb. 12 and endorsed by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Performing the Duties of Acting Under Secretary Kristyn Jones, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvinand Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman represent one of the most extensive recalibrations in recent history for the Air Force and Space Force.…..
USAF Case for Change:
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documen...for_Change.pdf
USSF Case for Change:
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documen...for_Change.pdf
Air Force & Space Force announce sweeping changes to maintain superiority amid Great Power Competition
The Department of the Air Force’s senior civilian and military leaders, Feb. 12, unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in those domains while also better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition.
Taken together, the changes made public Feb. 12 and endorsed by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Performing the Duties of Acting Under Secretary Kristyn Jones, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvinand Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman represent one of the most extensive recalibrations in recent history for the Air Force and Space Force.…..
USAF Case for Change:
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documen...for_Change.pdf
USSF Case for Change:
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documen...for_Change.pdf
