Page 31 - Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Enters the Combat Fleet

The Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Arrives into the Combat Force

He noted that if we held this conference 12 years ago, and the room was filled with Marines we would hear
about all the things the Osprey could not do and why we should not go ahead. “If we brought those same
Marines into the conference room now, they would have amnesia about what they thought then and press me
to get more Ospreys and leverage it even more.”
But it is not just about technology – it is about “equipping Marines, not manning the equipment.” His point was
that you needed to get the new equipment into the hands of the Marines at the earliest possible moment,
because the young Marines innovate in ways not anticipated when the senior leadership gets that equipment
to them.
He provided several examples, but one was about the F-35. He argued that there was no doubt that the F-
35 is the right plane for the USMC. Now that it is in the hands of Marines, they are innovating in ways which
the leadership really did not anticipate and much more rapidly than might be imagined.
He described an event where the Commandant was going witness a Yuma to Nellis scenario in which F-35s
would be used to support Marines in the maneuver space. He went to the Marines working the exercise and
asked was everything ready for the Commandant?

FIGURE 6 F-35B ABOARD USS WASP DURING DT-2 TRIALS MAY 2016. CREDIT: SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

The answer was: “Sir we are not going to do exactly what you asked for and are not ready to do it that
way?”
Davis commented: “The Commandant is just about here, what are you talking about?”
The Marine answered: “Frankly, the scenario you suggested was not tough enough for we wanted to take our
F-35s into a more advanced SAM belt to get through and then support the Marines on the ground.”
Davis was a bit taken aback, but the innovation already evident by the squadron pilots was rewarded with a
demonstrated success on the Nellis ranges.
The Commandant was impressed, and although a ground combat Marine, he argued “we need to get that
plane into the hands of Marines as fast as we can.”
The DCA noted throughout that the RAAF focus on bottom up innovation with the Plan Jericho processes was
what the Marines felt was central to real combat innovation. And shaping the way ahead was really about
leveraging the new platforms, shaping key enablers and then ensures that whatever follow-on platforms are
bought that they build upon but push the innovation envelope.

Page 30