Page 40 - F-35 and Transformation

The F-35 and The Transformation of the Power Projection Forces

Rear Admiral Manazir: That is a great way to put it. And this capability is crucial going forward.

We’re back into a scenario where lots of threats around the world require us to react to enemy learning.
Then, when they act in accordance to our reaction, we react again and so on. The enemy morphs to do X. We
have to react and we now do Y.

What is not widely realized is that the evolving air wing on the carrier and on the large deck amphibious
ships, is being shaped for a dynamic learning process. The F-35s will play a key role in this evolving process,
but we are already underway with this process as you mentioned with regard to Fallon.

With regard to the air war, where it’s either air-to-ground missions or air-to-air missions, we can share that
information and bring in more people into the discussion with our long-range information and communication
systems.

That kind of capability is foundational to the evolving air wing.

We’re also working on the capability to bring in national technical means into a cockpit where the synapses
that are required to do that are significant to be able to have something with a relatively low latency.

Imagine an off-board sensor that gives you a piece of information in the battle space that you can get into
the cockpit and adds to the information you already have. It’s about closing down the information deltas that
we have traditionally considered as a strategic national asset with a tactical naval asset.

And we’re closing down the connection lines between where we get that information and conveying to the
warfighter.

There is a constant effort to enhance the ability to get intel to the warfighter so he can act on it.

Question: What you are describing is the fighter wing as sortieing of information, and not only
weapons?

Rear Admiral Manazir: That is a good way to put it.

We are doing what Bayesian theory talks about, namely we are providing more and more information to get
closer to the truth in targeting or combat situation. One can reduce that fog of war by increased
understanding of what actual truth is, you’re going to have better effects.

This is why the technology that the F-35 brings to the fight is so crucial.

You have decision-makers in the cockpit managing all of this information.

With Block 3F software in the airplane, we will have data fusion where you transform data information to
knowledge enabling greater wisdom about the combat situation.

The processing machines in the F-35 provide enough of the fusion so that the pilot can now add his piece to
the effort.

This enables the ships to enhance their ability to operate in the networks and to engage with the air fleet in
dynamic targeting at much greater distance.

It is about reach not range for the honeycomb enabled expeditionary strike group. The F-35 is a key enabler
of this shift, but it is part of an overall effort to operate in the expanded battlespace.

Second Line of Defense

Page 39