It can demonstrate both by stationing at F-35As at Misawa as soon as possible.The Hineri-Komi was an aerial maneuver that was used by Japan during WWII. The Air Force continues to preach the value of the F-35 and that of forward presence. It should also catalyze investments in expeditionary capabilities required to sustain F-35A operations beyond a main operating base, a challenge highlighted during recent deployments to Europe. That’s why stationing F-35As at Misawa should be accompanied by accelerated investments in ACE enablers in the Indo-Pacific, such as near-term fielding of Regional Base Cluster Pre-Positioning kits across Japan. In this sense, Misawa represents a “position of advantage” for the Air Force - a robust main operating base in allied territory (roughly the same distance from Taiwan as Guam) that can support dispersion to smaller contingency locations available across Japan while maintaining mission generation, command and control, and base operating support functions. Instead, the ACE scheme of maneuver calls on the Air Force to operate forward from “a network of smaller, dispersed locations that can complicate adversary planning and provide more options for joint force commanders.” But as the Air Force has already recognized, the answer to this threat is not to hide fifth-generation aircraft across an ocean. The principal objection to stationing F-35As forward is the vulnerability of regional airbases to China’s missile arsenal. Persistent presence in Japan would accelerate fifth-generation crisis response and reduce reliance on scarce tanking resources to gain theater access.
The aircraft’s advanced sensors and weapons would provide a capability upgrade over Block 50 F-16s currently stationed at Misawa. and Japanese F-35As at Misawa could yield infrastructure and maintenance efficiencies.įorward-stationed F-35As would enhance the combat credibility of U.S. It would deepen integration of fifth-generation capabilities into theater exercises such as Keen Sword. F-35As at the base would increase the frequency of combined fifth-generation operations not only with Japan, but also with F-35 operators South Korea and Australia. Navy, and the Japanese Air-Self Defense Force, which began stationing F-35As at the base in 2018. Misawa is the only combined base in the western Pacific, hosting aircraft from the U.S. Stationing F-35As at Misawa would boost military cooperation with U.S. Sending F-35s forward to the Indo-Pacific now would be a powerful demonstration of that. troop deployments to Europe say America can walk and chew gum at the same time. With war raging in Ukraine, stationing F-35As in the Indo-Pacific would send a clear signal to Beijing and regional capitals that America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific endures. Misawa Airbase, Misawa, Japan, as viewed from a P-8A during a mobility flight. A second became operational earlier this year. For example, despite having far fewer F-35s than the Air Force, the Marine Corps’ first forward operational F-35B squadron arrived in Japan in 2017. The Air Force holding back its most capable platforms from the Indo-Pacific stands in contrast to other military services. A fourth Guard base will begin receiving F-35As in 2024 with several others under consideration to receive the aircraft. In addition to the active component, the Air Force has stationed F-35As at no less than three Air National Guard bases and one Air Force Reserve base in the continental United States.
Evidently, the Indo-Pacific doesn’t just trail Europe as a posture priority. The closest fifth-generation aircraft are stationed in Alaska and Hawaii, east of the international date line and thousands of miles away from key terrain in the first island chain.īy contrast, the Air Force selected RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom as the first F-35A base in Europe back in 2015. Today, the Air Force stations exclusively fourth-generation fighters (F-16s, F-15s, and A-10s) at six bases west of the international date line - three in Japan, two in South Korea, and one in Guam.
0 kommentar(er)
