October 21,
2008: Because fewer bombers are needed,
the U.S. Air Force is sending 323 warplanes (137 F-15s, 177 F-16s and 9 A-10s)
into early retirement. Smart bombs have enabled fighters to take out more
targets with far fewer bombs. The air force wants to save money so it can buy
more of the new F-35s, which are stealthy enough to reach well defended targets
without the assistance of electronic warfare aircraft. The early retirements
will save $3.4 billion in the next year, and enable the first F-35s to enter
service in two years. F-35s will initially be used for the initial strikes
against heavy air defenses, to take out radars and missile launchers.
The
campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan has redefined the use of airpower. Since
World War II, the air force increasingly emphasized their ability to hit
targets farther in the enemy rear, thus crippling the ability of the enemy
ground and air forces to continue fighting. But the recent introduction of
better, and cheaper, smart bombs and sensors, has changed the way air power is
being used. The ability to drop bombs with greater accuracy, in any weather,
has made it safer for both the bomber and friendly troops. The GPS JDAM or, in
clear weather, laser guided bombs, keep the bombers out of range of ground fire,
and put the bombs down with greater accuracy, more of the time, than ever
before. After nearly 70 years of fearing your own bombers, because of the low
accuracy pre-GPS bombs hitting the good guys, troops are enthusiastically
calling in air power more and more. It's gotten to the point where artillery
units are complaining that the air force is putting them out of work. That's
exactly what has happened, with many artillery units being converted to
infantry. This trend was accelerated by the introduction of GPS guided shells
and rockets.
In addition
to the large scale return of "close air support," there is also the
trend of turning bombers into reconnaissance aircraft. High resolution, all
weather, video cameras are not just letting the pilots know what's down there,
but giving the ground troops a better idea of what they are dealing with. Now
this video can be transmitted to the troops below, and new communications gear
makes this easier. The higher resolution vids are so large that the aircraft need
broadband (broader bandwidth) to send down the high definition video. But that
is being addressed, mainly because the video from the warplanes has proved
enormously useful on the ground. While the infantry have their own UAVs, in
combat you can never have too much of this new "live video from
above". The bombers not only provide an eye in the sky, but bombs on
demand and, if need be, a few low passes accompanied by 20mm or 30mm cannon
fire. New gun sights have made this kind of fire more effective, and the troops
on the ground are glad to have it. The pilots, despite the increased risk to
them and their aircraft, like the opportunity to get closer to the action.
The air
force, somewhat distracted by the scramble to find enough money to build more
of the new F-22 fighters, and looking over their shoulder at the new combat UAV
designs (that will put a lot of pilots out of work), are allowing these major
changes in air warfare to play out. The pilots aren't complaining, for they are
out doing what they have been trained to do; fight. The navy and marine pilots
are even more into it, since they always had a greater attachment to getting
involved with the ground battle. But
now, technology and circumstances have combined to make warplanes, although far
fewer warplanes, part of the battle more than they have been for decades.
