In March 2022, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall defined seven Operational Imperatives, the key areas he saw as requiring coordinated focus and investment in order to more rapidly deliver "meaningful operational capability to the warfighter.
August 2023
Vol. 106, No. 8
It’s impossible to overstate how central a role space plays in this whole conversation, whether you’re talking about the sensors, whether you’re talking about comms, space is going to play an extended role.
For the U.S. Air Force to maintain its kill chain advantage, it must evolve its kill chains to counter adversary strategies to break them.
Flying the Last Missions in Cambodia
50 years after the U.S. ended operations in support of Khmer allies, the last pilot out looks back.
AFA In Action: AFA Nominees 2023-2024
Candidates for National Officers and Directors.
Editorial: Build an Air Force
To achieve that, Congress and the Pentagon must make a strategic shift in priorities, providing an additional redirecting of $10 billion to $20 billion annually to the Department of the Air Force. This is the only way to remain ready today while modernizing for tomorrow.
Operational Imperative No. 1
Our terrestrial forces … cannot survive and perform their missions if our adversary’s space-based operational support systems, especially targeting systems, are allowed to operate with impunity.
Operational Imperative No. 2
We must identify and invest in the specific applications of ABMS that provide a measurable operational advantage to our warfighters.
Operational Imperative No. 3
There's a lot of technology out there to do moving target indication, whether it's airborne, you can get it from the ground and ground surveillance radars, you can do it from space to certain extent. But the reality is, you're going to need all of those to be able to do this, and each of them bring their own advantages and disadvantages.
Operational Imperative No. 4
Controlling the air domain is an imperative if the nation and U.S. allies are to be successful in future operations.
Operational Imperative No. 5
The general impression over the past few decades that U.S. air bases were somehow sanctuaries was a historical anomaly. The threat has grown qualitatively and quantitatively.
Operational Imperative No. 6
The Air Force’s primary platform for air attack against the most heavily defended targets will be the sixth-generation B-21 Raider, featuring a degree of stealth “orders of magnitude” stealthier than the B-2A Spirit it will replace.
Operational Imperative No. 7
We’re coming off a couple of decades of conflict in which all of our comms were essentially secured, we were not competing with a peer, and I think most of us in the room believe the next conflict will be quite different from that.
Faces of the Force
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Verbatim
A collection of quotes on airpower, spacepower, and national security issues.
Letters
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WORLD: Readiness
World-Readiness: Mobility Guardian 2023; Cuts to F-15E Fleet; A Look at Classified Information Regulations.
WORLD: Operations
World-Operations: Russian Fighters Interfere with US Drones.
WORLD: Leadership
World-Leadership: CMSAF Bass Letter to Airmen on Standards; Key Insights from Gen. Charles Brown, the next CJCS.
WORLD: Space
World-Space: New Space Force Four-Stars; Counterspace weapons needed for Space Superiority.
WORLD: Personnel
World-Personnel: KC-135 Crew Chief Marshals his daughters first KC-135 takeoff; Changes to Special Duty Assignment Pay.
AFA In Action: How AFA’s STEM Education Programs Can Help Grow Chapters
We promote and facilitate education for the next generation of leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). AFA’s premier STEM education programs, CyberPatriot and StellarXplorers, have inspired thousands of American students all over the world.
Heroes And Leaders: Bernard Schriever
Bernard Schriever was an effective organizer and manager, but also an adept leader who inspired loyalty among his subordinates.
