Lt. Gen. William H. Tunner, USAF (Ret.) Former Commander, Military Air Transport Service TACTICAL RECONNAISSANCE Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Ford, USAF DCS/O, Hq Ninth Air Force, TAC 53 59 74 89 69 104 120 OPERATIONAL POSTURE OF THE AEROSPACE FORCE Maj. Gen. John K. Hester, USAF Deputy Director of Operations, DCS/O, Hq USAF COMMAND AND ORGANIZATION OF AEROSPACE OFFENSE AND DEFENSE. Chief, Force Plans Branch, Directorate of Plans, Hq SAC Col. James W. Bothwell, USAF Director, Plans and Development, DCS/Plans, Hq ADC EFFECTIVE Aerospace POWER 1. DETERRENCE: THE HARD QUESTIONS Brig. Gen. Noel F. Parrish, USAF 2. COUNTERFORCE Assistant for Coordination, DCS/P&P, Hq USAF 152 MANNED CRAFT AND THE BALLISTIC MISSILE. Maj. Gen. James Ferguson, USAF Vice Commander, Air Force Systems Command MILITARY USES OF MAN IN SPACE. Col. John P. Stapp, USAF (MC) Assistant for Aerospace Medicine, USAF Aerospace 251 . 257 Brig. Gen. Ralph L. Wassell, USAF Director of Research and Technology, DCS/D, Hq USAF CONTRIBUTORS 294 Address manuscripts to Editor, Air University Quarterly Review, Headquarters Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Use of funds for printing this publication has been approved by Headquarters United States Air Force, 4 December 1958. Printed by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Price, single copy, 50 cents; yearly subscription, $2, from Air University Book Department, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Properly credited quotations are authorized. USAF RECURRING PUBLICATION 50-2. The Aerospace GENERAL THOMAS D. WHITE TODAY ODAY the military forces of the great nations of the world are in the midst of an explosive technological revolution. The compression of time and distance resulting from the many technical advances is having a profound impact upon the concepts, weapons, and force structures of modern land, sea, and air forces. Nowhere, however, is the influence of this rapid change being felt as drastically as in aerospace. The term "aerospace" portrays the true nature of the medium which is the operational environment of the Air Force today. Air and space are an entity-and not identifiable as two separate and distinct areas. They comprise a single, continuous field of operations, with no barriers or boundaries to break this continuity. Physically-and in the military sense-the step from operations in the lower atmosphere into space activities is natural and evolutionary; it represents a continuous and homogeneous advance in the techniques of propulsion, ballistics and aerodynamics, servomechanics, electronics, and human survival. The idea of complete continuity in the word aerospace is extremely im portant in all phases of Air Force operations. Aerospace must be recognized in its entirety when analyzing our concepts, when examining the performance capabilities of our weapons, and when determining the structure and disposi tion of our forces. The basic characteristics we have associated in the past with air powerrange, mobility, flexibility, speed, penetrative ability, and firepower deliverycontinue to apply in aerospace power. The Air Force must exploit these characteristics to the fullest-in the design and development of new weapons, in our concepts, and in our organizational structures—as our proper contribution to national security. Since the frontiers of military weapon technology lie primarily in aerospace, the forces designed to operate in this medium will constantly reflect dynamic and substantial changes in quantity, quality, and character as we move into the future. Because aerospace forces, by their very nature, are inherently capable of operating anywhere at any time, the entire structure of nations is exposed to the influence of their operations. The weapons which will present the most serious and immediate threat to our Nation's security during the coming years -as they do today-will be aerospace weapons as represented by aircraft, ballistic missiles, and manned and unmanned advanced aerospace vehicles. The |