Defence and National Strategy Research Paper

Introduction

National strategy is the art and science of development and usage of informational, diplomatic and economic powers of a country in union with its armed forces for purposes of securing national objectives during war and peace times. National strategies are a key delivery mechanism for several new and existing nations. It was first introduced in the year 1998 with the aim of assisting in developing educational settings to improve the standards and life expectancy of children. Troops in the Air Force have today become experienced exceptional at applying space, air and cyber powers to achieve operational and tactical objectives (Bush, 2002). The Air Force plays a big role in national security. Some of the critical capabilities that determines what the Air Force is able to provide for a nation include: action freedom in air, space and cyberspace; power projection; air diplomacy; global situational awareness; and military support to civil authorities. The above mentioned capabilities are divided into three parts; one that defines it, one that develops a national strategy vision and one that describes its shocks – highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each capability (Gates, 2009).

Certain recommendations have been made to help the Air Force achieve national strategic vision. The Air Force has strong ties to technological developments. Therefore, failure to anticipate the future proves more detrimental than inaccurate predictions. The technological advancements between now and vision 2030 can cause the Air Force to develop gradually from air, space and cyber force to cyber, space and air force (Bush, 2002).

Air Force Capabilities

Capabilities of the Air Force involves the study of its potential and what the nation requires of it by 2030. A scenario-planning approach has been used to describe the national strategic challenges that some of the most powerful countries in the world are likely to face while approaching 2030. Defending a nation’s interests can double the physical distance the Air Force needs to fly to reach a particular region. Therefore, new approaches and innovative ideas become a necessity. Five critical capabilities are derived from the analysis of the current Air Force – power projection; action freedom in air, space and cyberspace; air diplomacy; global situational awareness; and military support to civil authorities (Gates, 2009).

Power Projection

Power projection is the ability of a nation to apply its economic, political, military or informational elements of national power to effectively and rapidly deploy forces to respond to crisis to enhance regional stability. Since some countries are likely to face terrorism; humanitarian disasters; and resource, peer and small-scale conventional conflicts in the near future, success can be critically proven only with a flexible power projection (Crane, 2000). It mostly occurs in instances where certain countries operate at greater distances from targets, hence increased demand in power projection options the Air Force provides. Air, space and cyber are key elements of power projection. Therefore, the success of a mission can be enhanced through the deployment of air, space and cyber force capabilities on a single system (Bush, 2002).

There must be visionary changes in the structure and development programs of the Air Force as it moves towards the future. The changes emphasize on the integration of space, cyber, and manned and unmanned power projection capabilities. This indicates that forces should provide proposals that fully integrate air, space and cyber capabilities. The Air Force must present operational and strategic options together with the capability to operate in environments meant to deny access to striking forces. This technique can play a major role in the success of Air Force battles (G Bush, 2009).

If the Air Force can adopt the vision as described above, success of the implementation process would be exposed to vulnerability to future shocks such as high impact or low probability, factors usually hard to predict once they occur. There are three major potential shocks that embody the concerns to the future of power projection. First, aerial refueling, nuclear deterrence and long-range strike platforms must be recapitalized. Second, changes must occur in the security, political and economic circumstances of a nation mainly due to increase in costs. Third, dramatic increase in the cost of fuel based on petroleum products and decline in the availability of fuel and thus peak oil prices are expected by 2030 (Barnett et al., 1984).

The Air Force must start to fuse air, space and cyber capabilities into existing and future systems. The service must refine a power projection capability that is flexible and adaptable to any situation. Defensive and offensive cyber capabilities must also be fused into air and space platforms to help encounter the problems projected into the future (Bush, 2002).

Freedom of Action in Air

Freedom of action in air is the degree of dominance of the air medium, allowing air, land and water force operations at a given place and time without any interference of the enemy. It also denies the enemy freedom of action. All the five capabilities are complementary to each other. Access to air, space and cyber is critical to national security. Its objective focuses on limiting access to the air domain at places and in any way that can put a nation at the mercy of its enemies (Sokolovskii et al., 1963). Air superiority has two main important roles; provides access to the air domain for forces and restricts access to adversaries.

Visionary advances in air superiority are of significance, especially in areas of human performance and autonomous systems augmentation. Augmenting human performance through increased efficiency of man power and reduced human needs can foster cost savings and improve capabilities. This especially proves useful as weapons grow increasingly complex and dependent on advanced machine/man interfaces. Improvements in man/machine interfaces enhance performance, speed, range, decision making, information processing, and sensor capabilities (Bush, 2002). On the other hand, two shocks or downside developments are likely to pose a challenge for air superiority. First, the proliferation of airborne and surface-based dews. Second, holding targets using hypersonic…

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…to meet the 2030 national strategic challenges. The five Air Force capabilities include: power projection, freedom of action in air, space and cyber, global situational awareness, military support to civil authorities and air diplomacy (Bush, 2002; Sokolovskii, 1963).

Power projection effectiveness can be increased in the 2030 threat environment through the integration of air, space and cyber capabilities, focusing on strategic implications. Integration of these capabilities is expected to multiply in the coming years. For effective execution of the global situational awareness, the intelligence community of the Air Force must conduct surveillance and reconnaissance. Air diplomacy is the employment of power through deterrence, humanitarian assistance and power projection, taking advantage of inherent power capabilities. Even today, freedom of action in air, space and cyber encounters direct threats. The Air Force must therefore develop resilience in space and cyber systems for the creation of an effective deterrence system. Military support for civil authority is mainly focused on the management of natural and man-made disasters (Sokolovskii, 1963; Crane, 2000).

In the future, nations will rely on the Air Force to provide action freedom in air, space and cyber; air diplomacy; global situational awareness; power projection and military support for civil authority to meet strategic challenges nations are bound to face. Maintenance of these five capabilities requires ongoing investment and attention from the affected nations. Therefore, focusing on these capabilities guarantees that the Air Force makes and will continue to make a huge contribution to national security as nations move towards 2030 (Crane, 2000).

Conclusion

Examining the most important functions of Air Forces in each scenario, within the next decades, is necessary. The Air Force capabilities include military support to civil authorities, air diplomacy, global situational awareness and action freedom in air, space and cyber. Speed and range are the two main features that distinguishes the Air Force from other services. In the world today, globalization has led to geographic diffusion of nations’ interests, and strategic shifting of security concerns towards the role of air, space and cyber. In the growing world, speed and range have become important aspects of Air Force capabilities.

Limiting funds, manpower and service capabilities threatens the Air Force’s ability to provide distinct strategic options. The Air Force must focus on defeating adversaries as one of the most dangerous scenario. The increasing challenges and their complexity require forces to create integrated and comprehensive air, space and cyber capabilities concept. The Air Force is tied to technological advancements more than any other service. It is, therefore, important to note the trends leading to changes in security environment. With the current changes, Air Force service might evolve from air, space and cyber capabilities to cyber, space and air capability come year 2030.

Rapid changes in technological advancements require the Air Force to prepare for a future where competitors would find themselves at war, but in the space and cyber domains. By 2030, certain powerful nations will ignore all conflict potentials between them and nations with great…