The role of the US warfighting centers at Nelllis, Fallon and Yuma MCAS have become increasingly significant as the US and the allies shape a new appraoch to Warfighting — the kill web.

The recent RAND report on the US dealing with adversary forces continues their long tradition of taking what the US and the allies used to do and comparing them against a projected enemy force and seeing how that turns out.

But this completely ignores how the US and the allies are significantly reshaping their combat forces, in part under the transformation of airpower association with fifth generation aircraft,

Fortunately, Nellis persists in.believing that real world innovation deters more than studies.

And we thank them for that.

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In two recent stories published by Nellis AFB, aspects of preparing for the next Red Flag have been highlighted.

The first story by Airman 1st Class Bryan Guthrie, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs was published March 20, 2019

The 726th Air Control Squadron (ACS) are providing comprehensive radar coverage on the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) for all the pilots flying in Red Flag 19-2 this month.

A team of Airmen from multiple career fields has come together at a mobile simulated forward operation base (FOB) to watch over hundreds on nautical miles of the NTTR.

“We’re the glue that binds everything together,” said Lt. Col. Richard Barber, 726th ACS commander. “When the tactical plan comes together, we are the one to orchestrate all the parts. We integrate with other Command and Control (C2) units to bring order to chaos and speed up battle management decisions.”

This is the first time the 726th ACS has brought the “Talk” to Red Flag and implemented it from the NTTR. The “Talk” is where all communication from the radar is brought in and dispersed to the pilots overhead. The overall affect is that it creates more realistic exercise for the 726th ACS.

A TPS-75 long range radar system is used to survey over 240 nautical miles and is one of the main pieces of equipment that gives the 726th ACS eyes over the NTTR.

When the radar is being used, its goal is to locate all aircraft in the air space around the FOB. Once an aircraft is located, personnel communicate with pilots and use data collected to distinguish aircraft between “Blue” and “Red” forces.

The 726th ACS is participating as the C2 function for Red Flag alongside the 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, 16th Air Combat Control Squadron and Marine Air Control Squadron 24 for Red Flag. They all come together to produce an accurate representation of what is going on in real time. 

The second is about a newbie coming to Red Flag for the first time.

This newbie is an F-35 pilot and even though he is a newbie, as a new fifth generation pilot he has the advantage highlighted in a comment made to an RAAF F-22 pilot earlier this decade:

He cited a comment made to him by a USAF F-15 C pilot:

“I have more SA with only 20 hours on the F-22A than I ever had with over 1500 hours on the F-15C.”

And more to the point, now the USAF as it has expanded significantly its fifth generation force needs to practice from that point forward and not continue to be dominated by legacy thinking.

And it is by such transformation that the USAF and their sister forces are working to prevail in any future air combat with a peer adversary.

The second story was also by Airman 1st Class Bryan Guthrie, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs and was published March 22, 2019.

Capt. Kyle Benham, 62nd Fighter Squadron F-35A Lightning II fighter jet pilot, participated in his first Red Flag March 8-22 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

 Benham is participating in Red Flag 19-2 to increase his experience with coalition forces from across the globe and improve on his skills in an F-35A in a mass exercise that pushes even the best fighter pilots to their limits, especially for those at Red Flag for the first time. 

“The goal for me in this exercise is to think beyond just my aircraft and get into the big picture of how I can help 60 plus aircraft in the mission,” said Benham.

 Benham discussed further how Red Flag itself could be a monster.

“Nellis is the location everyone talks about,” said Benham. “There’s a lot of history and tactics that come out of here. As far as Red Flag itself, it’s one of the premiere exercises that a pilot can participate in. If there is any intimidating part of Red Flag, it’s that you’re going to jam 60 to 70 aircraft in a confined space. Thus, forcing everyone to work as a team to solve whatever tactical problem presented.”

Ten other nations will make up all the aircraft in the sky for Rad Flag 19-2.

“The hardest factor will be that coalition partners bring something different such as tactics or the way they communicate them. Making sure that we are all on the same page so we can execute the mission in a real-life scenario.”

As Benham progressed through Red Flag, he noticed minor improvements as the U.S. and its partners worked together. 

“One of the areas I noticed an improvement in is the integration with other aircraft and platforms while airborne,” said Benham. “It is awesome to see the improvement in communication from day one to now, going into the second week, going from some miscommunication to being able to pass and receive information between aircraft for dynamic targeting in a short amount of time.”

Without a doubt, Red Flag has changed over the years, but some legacies have never changed. 

“I feel blessed to have the opportunity, especially because my grandfather was a fighter pilot and the legacy he carried,” said Benham. “Being able to see everything he experienced in his time compared to now. It means a lot to me that the Air Force would take the time and money to put an exercise together, such as Red Flag, so we can have the experience we need to prepare us for real life conflicts.”

Red Flag is conducted three times at Nellis AFB and enhances combat readiness of air forces around the world. The next Red Flag is scheduled for summer 2019. 

And published a decade ago, a response to a flawed RAND study then and Nellis is responding to the now.

I would encourage the Russian and Chinese military to take much more seriously what is going on at Nellis, Fallon and MAWTS-1 than what is being written by an organization like RAND.

That is if you wish to stay alive in combat.

Lt. General (Retired) Deptula put it well in his introduction to a set of case studies in the use of airpower which was published by USNI in 2017 and made it clear that these case studies were first rate, but airpower was moving in a very different direction.

What Deptula had to say is the baseline from how Nellis is training the 21st century fifth generation enabled Air Force.

Unfortunately, the legacy appraoch seen in the case studies in the book is where the head of too many “strategists” is still stuck while the warriors move on.

The Japanese along with the USAF and the USN are trained to operate the Osprey at the USMC’s New River Air Station.

The increased number of aircraft and partners is providing a welcome challenge to the Marines at New River.

In a recent visit to 2nd MAW, the training role was highlighted for the new partners.

During visits several years ago at New River, the Osprey training squadron was focused upon the Marines and the Air Force.

Now with the US Navy buying Ospreys as well as the Japanese, there are new stakeholders in the training process, and that training squadron has become a priority effort within MAG-26 for sure.

Given the concerns the Japanese have about public opinion, and the flawed public record with regard to Osprey safety, there is a challenge facing the Japanese forces to deploy and use the new aircraft in Japan.

An original way to address the challenge has been provided by working the CV-22 aspect of the Osprey within the Japanese force structure.

According to a story published on March 24, 2019 by The Japan Times, the Japanese government has decided to deploy CV-22s along with a revamped UH-60 as part of a rescue ops package.

The government plans to introduce a special operations variant of the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft for Self-Defense Forces to conduct dangerous and covert missions abroad, such as the rescuing of Japanese citizens, according to sources.

The Ground Self-Defense Force has a special anti-terror unit to carry out such operations. But the unit is still not fully capable and lacks specialized aircraft.

Under the government plan, the CV-22 Osprey, the special operations variant of the MV-22, will be deployed along with refurbished models of the GSDF’s UH-60 helicopter, the government sources said Saturday.

The CV-22 is widely seen as more capable of nighttime flying and its terrain-following radar enables it to fly at low altitudes, they said. The remodeled UH-60 is regarded as better armored and can be carried by the Air Self-Defense Force’s C-2 transport airplanes.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/24/national/japan-use-osprey-aircraft-overseas-rescue-operations-sources/?utm_source=Daily+News+Updates&utm_campaign=d46f281edb-Monday_email_updates25_03_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5a6080d40-d46f281edb-332756961#.XJeyjC2B1sY

In an article we published in 2014, we focused on the coming of the Osprey as part of the defense modernization effort by the Japanese.

That article follows:

When we wrote our book on Pacific strategy, a key element in considering how the key challenges facing the United States and its allies was how Japanese relationships with the US and the Pacific allies might evolve.

The entire second section of our book deals with Japan, and after a history of the relationship, which was largely, the work of Dr. Richard Weitz, we focused on where Japanese defense policy might evolve in the coming years. We argued that with the emergence of the “dynamic defense” approach Japan would reach out to shape new capabilities to provide for perimeter defense and to plus up its working relationships with allies in the region.

We argued that:

The Chinese seem bent on driving the two greatest maritime powers of the 20th century together into a closer alliance.

And at the heart of this alliance are key joint investments and procurement working relationships.

Japan is a key technological partner for the United States throughout. They are a founding member of the Aegis global enterprise.

They are an investor and operational partner in the SM-3 missile capability to enhance missile defense.

They are a major player in the F-35 program, which will allow the shaping of an attack-and-defense enterprise.

They are building a final assembly facility for the F-35, which will become a key element in the F-35 global procurement system, subject to Japanese
government policy decisions.

And they are keenly interested in seeing how the Osprey can shape greater reach and range for the “dynamic defense” of Japan.

Laird, Robbin F.; Timperlake, Edward (2013-10-28). Rebuilding American Military Power in the Pacific: A 21st-Century Strategy: A 21st-Century Strategy (The Changing Face of War) (Kindle Locations 3968-3969). ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition.

Hardly had the book been printed than the Japanese government moved forward on its “dynamic defense” policy.

Notably, the current Prime Minister has worked to reshape Japanese policy to allow it to become a more significant contributor for its neighbors and to provide a more significant contribution to the US and allied deterrence in depth strategy, which is emerging in this decade of the 21^st century.

With the decisions made to re-set Japanese defense policy, the Japanese government will clearly play a greater role in Pacific defense. 

And a recent piece in The Japan Times provides the following look at how the “new look” in defense policy might alter Japanese policies.

The Abe administration’s reinterpretation of the war-renouncing Constitution to allow greater use of military force in defending other countries is one of the biggest changes ever to Japan’s postwar security policy.

The administration has given a range of examples as to how the Self-Defense Forces might used when related laws are updated later this year. They include scenarios in which troops might:

Defend U.S. warships.

Troops could protect U.S. warships under attack from a third country near Japanese waters, before an imminent, direct attack on Japan, because cooperation with the U.S. military is considered essential to secure Japan’s own survival.

Intercept ships for inspection.

Troops might forcibly stop vessels for inspection when they are believed to be carrying weapons to a third country that is attacking U.S. warships in the region, when the battle seems likely to spill over to Japan — a step currently considered unconstitutional and prohibited as use of force.

Shoot down a missile fired at the U.S.

The SDF could intercept a ballistic missile that is flying over the Japanese archipelago heading toward Hawaii, the U.S. territory of Guam or the U.S. mainland, and when requested by America to do so.

Protect peacekeepers abroad.

SDF personnel could rescue civilians engaged in U.N.-backed peacekeeping operations that come under attack, using weapons if necessary to defend those civilians.

Minesweeping in the Middle East.

A plan still being contemplated would allow Japanese forces to participate in U.N.-led multinational minesweeping efforts to secure sea lanes in the Middle East, such as in the Strait of Hormuz, arguably crucial lifelines for resource-poor Japan.

For a look at the Japanese rethink on defense see the video below which was released by the Japanese MOD earlier this year, March 14, 2014: