By
WGCDR David Thiele
Looking to the skies during an air show, the audience is always
fascinated by the speed of jet aircraft, especially fighters.
The ability of aircraft such as the US SR-71 Blackbird to travel
three times the speed of sound remains a marvel of modern technology.
In the operational use of aerospace power the ability to go fast
in itself does not produce an advantage; it must be matched to
the desired objectives.
Speed of an aircraft gives it the flexibility to move in to, out
of and within a battlespace quickly and to cover long distances
in a relatively short time.
Aircraft that are on patrol in one part of the battlespace can
be re-tasked to another area to apply force with minimum delay.
Speed also allows missions to be achieved in relatively short
time and therefore a large number of complementary tasks to be
undertaken in a set period of time.
The speed of an aircraft also reduces the amount of time that
the platform is exposed to hostile fire and increases its survivability
in battle.
Related to the speed of an aircraft is its reach. Unconstrained
by natural physical barriers, the aircraft has the ability to
reach and engage targets well beyond the front lines of battle,
arguably out to any point in the battlespace.
This characteristic enables the concept of “strategic bombing”
where the reach of aircraft allows them to be used to take the
battle beyond the immediate lines of the enemy and into the homeland
where targets of strategic importance could be struck.
While aircraft are limited by their endurance, modern air-to-air
refuelling can greatly increase the radius of action (or reach)
of any suitably equipped aircraft.
As an example, B-2 bombers are operating out of the United States
in support of the war on Iraq.
These aircraft, flying non-stop sorties of up to 30 hours, are
refuelled numerous times before touching down back in their home
bases in the US.
