U.S. Air Power Is Formidable and Improving
Persian Gulf War, including about 70 F-15E strike fighters, about 250 F-16 multimission fighters, and 200 F/A-18 fighter and attack aircraft. Changes in inventory levels by aircraft model are shown in appendix II.
Some important capabilities are being retired as these older aircraft are removed from the inventory. For example, the Navy will lose the payload, range, and all-weather capability of the A-6, and the Air Force will lose the speed and nighttime-precision bombing capability of the F-111. DOD believes, however, that it can do without these assets, given the dangers it expects to face and the high costs of upgrades, operations, and support that it can avoid by retiring these aircraft.
Attack helicopter inventories have fallen only 4 percent-1,811 to 1,732. Many of the older helicopters in the 1991 inventory have been replaced by newer more capable ones. The Army has added about 150 AH-64A Apache attack helicopters and nearly 300 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters to its fleet, and the Marine Corps has added over 70 AH-1W Cobras to its fleet. At the same time, both services have retired nearly 600 older AH-1 Cobras. Figure 2.2 shows attack helicopter inventory changes.
Long-Range Missile
Inventories Increasing
From fiscal years 1991 through 1996, about $4.5 billion was appropriated
to acquire long-range missiles, and the combined inventories of these
missiles more than tripled from 1,133 to over 3,750. (This does not include
conventional air-launched cruise missiles as inventory data on those
weapons is classified.) The Navy Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile and
the Army tactical missile system (ATACMS) have been used to attack a
variety of fixed targets, including air defense and communications sites,
often in high-threat environments. The Gulf War and subsequent
contingency operations, including, most recently, September 1996 attacks
on Iraqi military installations, have demonstrated that long-range missiles
can carry out some of the missions of strike aircraft while they reduce the
risk of pilot losses and aircraft attrition.
U.S. Air Power Is Formidable and Improving
Although the number of ships (including attack submarines) capable of
firing the Tomahawk grew only slightly-from 112 to 119-between 1991
and 1996, the Navy's overall ability to fire these land-attack missiles has
grown considerably. This is because a greater number of the ships capable
of firing the missile are now surface ships and surface ships are able to
carry more Tomahawks than submarines. The Navy has also demonstrated
that the ATACMS can be fired successfully from surface ships. This offers
the possibility of future enhancements to the Navy's long-range missile
capabilities.
Specialized Aircraft
Inventories Have
Experienced Varying
Changes
DOD has not reduced its inventories of combat support aircraft used for
nonlethal suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and air refueling to the
same extent as its fixed-wing combat forces. Inventory levels of
specialized surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft have been reduced
significantly but will be replaced by other reconnaissance assets.
Figure 2.3 shows the changes in the inventory levels for these type of
specialized aircraft.
U.S. Air Power Is Formidable and Improving
Figure 2.3: Fiscal Year 1996 Specialized Aircraft Inventories as a Percent of Fiscal Year 1991 Inventories
The 5-percent reduction in specialized nonlethal SEAD aircraft reflects a
decline of 10 aircraft (from 188 in fiscal year 1991 to 178 in fiscal year
1996); the 16-percent reduction in air refueling aircraft reflects a decline of
171 aircraft (from 1,046 to 875); and the 44-percent reduction in
surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft reflects a decline of 415 aircraft
(from 943 to 528). Most of the latter decline was due to the retirement of
184 Air Force RF-4C penetrating reconnaissance aircraft and 159 Navy P-3
antisubmarine warfare aircraft. The Air Force is making a transition to
greater use of unmanned aerial vehicles to provide reconnaisssance over
enemy airspace and is equipping some F-16 fighters with sensors for such
missions. The submarine threat to U.S. forces has diminished since the fall
of the Soviet Union, reducing the need for antisubmarine warfare assets.
U.S. Air Power Is Formidable and Improving
Combat Air Power Capabilities Continue to Be Improved
Navigation, Night Fighting, and Targeting Capabilities of Combat Aircraft Continue to Be Enhanced
Though DOD's aviation force is smaller today, many of the combat aircraft
are newer and more highly capable, allowing for greater flexibility in the
employment of force across a broader range of operating environments.
Acting on lessons learned from the Persian Gulf War and
recommendations made by organizations such as the Defense Science
Board, DOD has taken steps to make many of the remaining combat aircraft
more capable, to include improvements such as autonomous navigation,
night fighting, target acquisition, and self-protection and the employment
of advanced munitions. Based on aircraft performance during the Gulf
War, DOD has identified these capabilities as vital to the efficiency and
effectiveness of attack aircraft. Advances in miniaturizing and
modularizing subsystems have allowed DOD to enhance aircraft capabilities
within existing airframes, overcoming concerns about space and weight
limitations. Theater air defense systems are also being improved as
concern increases about cruise and ballistic missiles armed with weapons
of mass destruction. Similarly, DOD has enhanced the capabilities of
specialized support aircraft and long-range missiles and plans further
improvements to these systems.
Congress has mandated that all DOD aircraft be able to use the global positioning system by the end of fiscal year 2000. This system allows for precise positioning and navigation across a broad range of missions, contributing to better situational awareness and more efficient use of forces. It also can be used to deliver munitions accurately in all weather conditions.
The number of aircraft with night fighting and target acquisition capabilities—both critical to the flexibility and effectiveness of combat aircraft-has increased significantly since fiscal year 1991. What constitutes a night fighting capability varies between platforms. During the Gulf War, night capability for the F-15E consisted of LANTIRN (low altitude navigation targeting infrared for night) targeting pods1 only. These pods give pilots the ability to accurately target weapons day or night in adverse weather. Night-capable F-16s used during the Gulf War had LANTIRN navigation pods only. Today, F-15E and F-16 night capability consists of aircraft using both LANTIRN targeting and navigation pods. Gulf War night capability for the F/A-18 consisted of either a navigation or targeting forward-looking infrared pod and/or night vision goggles. No night-capable
'Pods are detachable compartments that house electronic equipment used for such functions as targeting, navigation, and self-protection.
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