United States Air Force: Air Doctrine – Provide Global Capability

Objective:Know how the United

States Air Force is structured in terms of missions and roles

Describe the characteristics, objectives and aircraft used to provide the United States Air Force a rapid global mobility capability

Joint Task ListAirlift Capabilities

Berlin Airlift

Air-Refueling CapabilitiesSpacelift CapabilitiesAEF Capabilities

United States Air Force: Air Doctrine – Provide Global Capability

PROVIDE AIR AND SPACE SUPERIORITY

PROVIDE COUNTER AIR CAPABILITIE

S

PROVIDE COUNTER SPACE

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE PRECISIONENGAGEMENT

PROVIDE LETHAL

PRECISION ENGAGEMENTCAPABILITIES

PROVIDE NON-LETHAL

PRECISION ENGAGEMENTCAPABILITIES

PROVIDECSAR

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE INFORMATIONSUPERIORITY

PROVIDEINFORMATION OPERATIONS

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE GLOBAL ATTACK

PROVIDE STRATEGIC

ATTACK CAPABILITIE

S

PROVIDE COUNTERLAND CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE COUNTERSEA CAPABILITIE

S

PROVIDE SPECIAL FORCES

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE RAPID GLOBAL MOBILITY

PROVIDE AIRLIFT

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE AIR REFULEING

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE SPACELIFT

CAPABILITIES

PROVIDE AEF

CAPABILITIES

Joint Task List

Global Capability - Airlift

Airlift is the transportation of personnel and materiel through the air that can be applied across the entire range of military operations in support of national objectives.

Airlift missions are typical divided into 2 categories: Intra-Theater Lift (Strategic

Lift) Inter-Theater Lift (Tactical Lift)

Intra-Theater

Inter-Theater

In 2010, the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) flew more than 153,000 sorties and about 529,000 flight hours. AMC delivered about 2.24 million passengers and 827,000 tons of cargo –more than the combined population of Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

Global Capability - Airlift

C-130

C-17

C-5

Berlin Airlift (1948)Post war Germany was divided into three sections--

the Allied part was controlled by the United States, Great Britain and France and other part by the Soviet Union. The city of Berlin, although located in the eastern Soviet half, was also divided into four sectors

Global Capability – Airlift: Case Study

Berlin Airlift In June 1948, the Soviet

Union attempted to control all of Berlin by cutting surface traffic to and from the city of West Berlin.

Surviving a harsh German winter, Allied airlift carried over two million tons of supplies in 270,000 flights. The blockade of Berlin was finally lifted by the Soviets on May 12, 1949.

Global Capability – Airlift: Case Study

Air Refueling is an integral part of US airpower across the range of military operations. It significantly expands the employment options available to a commander by increasing the range, endurance, payload, and flexibility of air forces.

In 2010 alone, Air Force tanker aircraft offloaded more than 1.58 billion pounds of fuel to 115,000 receiver aircraft.

Global Capability – Air RefuelingKC-135 KC-10

Spacelift programs enable the delivery of satellites, payloads, and materiel into or through space. Often the Air Force will work alongside NASA in a joint partnership.

Air Force spacelift operations are conducted to deploy, sustain, or augment satellite constellations supporting national security objectives.

Global Capability – Spacelift

Space Operations CenterMonitors military satellite activityIdentifies and tracks all the space debris orbiting the planet

Global Capability – Spacelift

So what is an AEF? The term AEF stands for Air Expeditionary Force and is basically how the Air Force is organized to train and deploy its forces across the world.

The Air Force is divided into 10 AEFs of roughly the same operational capability.

Global Capability – AEF Support

AEF1

AEF2

AEF3

AEF4

AEF5

AEF6

AEF7

AEF8

AEF9

AEF10

To support the 10 AEFs requires significant resources and personnel from engineers to administration to everything in between. Each airbase on foreign soil is like a city with all the municipal support requirements you would normally find; police, fire, services etc.

Global Capability – AEF Support

United States Air Force: Air Doctrine – Provide Global Capability

Objective:Know how the United

States Air Force is structured in terms of missions and roles

Describe the characteristics, objectives and aircraft used to provide the United States Air Force a rapid global mobility capability