Page 46 - Williams Foundation Integrated Force Design Seminar

Designing the Integrated Force: How to Define and Meet the Challenge?

We've got several participants involved from the Wedgetail side: an electronic systems officer, a couple of
the air battle managers, we have a pilot, and they're all working as a team in the airborne early warning
and control space. During the course they will evolve AEW&C tactics, which are complementary to the overall
Air combat domain, and they will all graduate from the course as Air Warfare Instructors.

They are working that quarterback space, to understand the needs and opportunities of that network of
operators and how we can change our TTPs to make them more effective.

More broadly, we are focused on being an enabler not just for the air combat force but the joint force. For
example, we are working with the Navy and the Army with regard to supporting expeditionary blue water
operations and operating in concert with the new LHD and its evolving concepts of operations in the littoral
space.

The enabler function is the key Wedgetail strength in terms of supporting the joint and combined combat
force more generally.

Question: Wedgetail is a software upgradeable aircraft and is undergoing modernization along existing
lines but you have some expanded capabilities in mind as well?
Group Captain Bellingham: We are modernizing the aircraft to enhance current C2 capabilities but we are
looking at ways to exploit its extraordinary radar (via its scalability) to expand into the non-kinetic warfare
space.

And we will do that as well through the cross learning we talked about earlier. We are working really hard
at the moment in collaboration with our allies to get a team approach to accelerate our learning.

We are looking to build from the achievements we've done so far and build on that cooperatively with our
allies.

We're working to get to the next level, and we're looking at the next generation of E-7, based on our
operational experience and leveraging the collaborative networks we have established with allies moving
into the fifth generation enabled air combat force.

Question: A final thought suggests itself.

Without the global engagement of Wedgetail in operations and exercises, the entire development process
you described would not be possible.

And the Wedgetail would not be showing up if not for the presence of your KC-30A, a point that could
be missed.

How important has the new tanker been to enabling Wedgetail to deploy and to shape its combat
learning process?

Group Captain Bellingham: You have raised a very good point.

The two came into the force at about the same time. Without the tanker, we don't get the endurance and the
ability to stay on task. We would not have the reach and persistence.

And our part of the world we have vast distances and lots of open water, we need the expeditionary
capability that a tanker brings, and a good tanker that can offload a good amount of gas and has great
reliability.
Second Line of Defense

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