Page 56 - Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Enters the Combat Fleet

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

The F-35 is an ISR, C2, Electronic Warfare asset that can see around itself with 360-degree precision at
significant distance. Operating as a wolfpack, it can cover a significant swath of territory, and can work
among the F-35 fleet, or engage with other assets to provide the kind of ISR and targeting coverage crucial
for extended operational space.

It is an interconnected combat asset, which can operate effectively with other F-35s – of all of the F-35s of the
allies engaged in the mission – or work with other combat assets, to provide for protection, or offensive
support as needed.

It is about providing for fifth-generation enabled combat capabilities. And rather than focus on stealth, the
practitioners of fifth generated enabled forces are already reshaping concepts of operations.

For example, at the Trilateral Exercise held at Langley AFB with the British Typhoons, the French Rafales, and
the F-22s, Air Combat Commander “Hawk” Carlisle highlighted one of the impacts of fifth generation
enablement – reshaping how the entire combat force operated.

If the exercise had been held 12 years ago, not only would the planes have been different but so would the
AWACS role. The AWACS would have worked with the fighters to sort out combat space and lanes of
operation in a hub spoke manner.

With the F-22 and the coming F-35, horizontal communication among the air combat force is facilitated so
that the planes at the point of attack can provide a much more dynamic targeting capability against the
adversary with push back to AWACS as important as directed air operations from the AWACS.

As General Hawk Carlisle put it:

“The exercise was not about shaping a lowest common denominator coalition force but one able to fight more
effectively at the higher end as a dominant air combat force.

The pilots learning to work together to execute evolving capabilities are crucial to mission success in contested
air space.”

The centrality of fifth generation or what we are calling a first generation information warfare air combat
asset was highlighted by the RAF at the Trilateral Exercise.

One British pilot on the exercise described modern air warfare as an information war. “Whoever can gather,
process and exploit the most information in the quickest time will win the information war and ultimately the
fight. With fifth generation aircraft being able to instantly share data with their fourth generation cousins, the
Typhoon can become and an even more effective and capable jet fighter.”

It can be deployed to a crisis, or engage in the defense of national territory, but not simply as and of itself
asset but one which provides significant interlocking coverage, protection and striking power as well.

The evolving strategic environment clearly is one where flexibility and agility are crucial for the combat assets
of a nation, and the need to operate in coalitions in most circumstances. The ability to provide agile and
scalable force is a key element for information age combat assets crucial to shape evolving concepts of
operations to deal with evolving or pop-up threat scenarios.

For example, the Russians after their seizure of Crimea have clearly threatened the Baltic states. How would
an F-35 enabled defense force deal with the Russian threat to the Baltic states?

Second Line of Defense

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