Australian
aircraft were able to operate successfully during Gulf War II,
but this required host nations to support the operations by allowing
access to their airfields.
These operating bases formed the support infrastructure for the
aircraft and were an essential part of the projection of aerospace
power. Unfortunately, many critics look upon this reliance on
operating bases as a weakness of aerospace power. In truth, all
military forces require base support whether it is the Army’s
need for supply lines or the Navy’s need for harbour facilities
– the Air Force is no different.
Air bases are usually large and complex infrastructures which,
given their high value, also make them a focus of enemy intelligence
and attack. Hence, when setting up an air base, consideration
and planning must be included for the defence of that base and
the people employed on it. Some options for reducing vulnerability
to attack include:
- creating
a number of bases so that an attack on any single base does
not completely disrupt air operations,
- hardening
the base infrastructure so as to lessen the long term effects
of an attack, and
- employing
ground and air defence to protect the base.
Disrupting
or destroying aerospace power does not just mean attacking a base.
Attacks directly upon the aircraft, either on the ground or in
the air, can have disastrous consequences.
Not surprisingly, this is equally applicable to the Army and the
Navy but creates a greater problem for the Air Force.
Modern aircraft are sophisticated and often built from highly
stressed, lightweight materials. Hence, aircraft tend to be far
more fragile than their surface counterparts.
To further complicate things, aircraft are generally not repairable
in flight, requiring them to be returned to an operating base
before being used again.
Although fragile, aircraft are not necessarily vulnerable to attack.
By using speed and altitude and by manoeuvring the aircraft can
avoid being struck in the first place.
Also, modern technologies can be used to help defend the aircraft
through stealth and electronic self-defence systems. Careful flight
planning can also help keep the aircraft out of range of enemy
systems for as long as possible.
In the next issue, we will look at another characteristic of aerospace
power; that of technology.
- WGCDR
David Thiele is Deputy Director Aerospace Concepts at AeC.
The missing link
OWING
to a production error, the last line was omitted from the Watch
This Aerospace column of July 3. The last two paragraphs are reprinted
below:
“Yet the problem of maintaining a high tempo is that it creates
fatigue among air and ground crews, which if left unchecked can
reduce effectiveness, or worse, lead to accidents. The balance
between operational requirement and sustainment must always be
met.”
