Fall 2006 - Air & Space Power Chronicle - Air Force Link

76 AIR & SPACE POWER JOURNAL FALL 2006incorporating it into the developing GSTFconcept for the long term. The jet not onlylends required weapons and target flexibilitycurrently unavailable in General Jumper’s visionbut also promises unsurpassed flexibility.With just a couple of current-technology upgrades,the Nighthawk could leverage the envisionedGSTF C 2 ISR network to enable air-borne time-sensitive targeting and enhancedIADS penetration. Because any serious approachto the GSTF concept demands utilizationof the Nighthawk’s unique, worthwhilecapabilities, we should plan for this event, deferPBD 720’s proposed retirement of theNighthawk, and upgrade the F-117 to fill thestealth gap. qNotes1. Curtis Peebles, Dark Eagles: A History of Top SecretU.S. Aircraft Programs (Novato CA: Presidio Press, 1995),136–67.2. Briefing, Diana Filliman, Washington, DC, subject:F-117 Sustainment: Performance-Based Logistics, 15 November2005.3. Pamela Hess, “Air Force Cuts F-117, B-52, AddsF-22s,” 11 January 2006, National Guard Association ofthe United States, http://www.ngaus.org/ngaus/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000000821/UPI%20Reports%20PBD%20720%20Air%20Force%20Cuts.pdf#search=’pbd%20720%20f117.4. “F-22A Raptor Advanced Tactical Fighter Aircraft USAir Force, USA,” Airforce-technology.com, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/f22 (accessed 23 November2005).5. Briefing, Rick Hyde, Washington, DC, subject:JDAM, 15 November 2005.6. Dr. Cerrato, chief JDAM engineer, conversationwith the author.7. “Small Diameter Bomb / Small Smart Bomb,” GlobalSecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/sdb.htm (accessed 26 November 2005).8. “AF Officials Declare F-22A Operational,” Sunburst48, no. 50 (16 December 2005): 8, http://www.holloman.af.mil/sunburst/2005/12December/December16web.pdf.9. Christopher Bolkcom, F/A-22 Raptor, CRS Reportfor Congress RL31673 (Washington, DC: Library of Congress,Congressional Research Service, 3 March 2005),2–7, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL31673.pdf;and Hess, “Air Force Cuts.”10. “JSF (F35) Joint Strike Fighter, International,”Airforce-technology.com, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/jsf (accessed 25 November 2005).11. Ibid.; and Robert Wall, “F-35 In-Service Dates Slide,”Aviation Week and Space Technology, 13 June 2004, http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/search/autosuggest.jsp?docid=366670&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aviationnow.com%2Favnow%2Fnews%2Fchannel_awst_story.jsp%3Fview%3Dstory%26id%3Dnews%2F06144wna.xml.12. “JASSM Launch & Leave: Subsonic Cruise MissileDesign” (Eglin AFB, FL: Air Force Armament Team NewsConnection, 1999), http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/docs/990000-jassm.htm (accessed 27 November2005).13. “Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM),”Defense Update, 6 November 2005, http://www.defense-update.com/products/j/jassm.htm (accessed 27 November2005).14. “Global Positioning System Aided Munition(GAM) [GBU-36/B & GBU-37/B],” Federation of AmericanScientists: Military Analysis Network, 26 December 1998,http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gam.htm(accessed 1 December 2005).15. Adam J. Hebert, “Long-Range Strike in a Hurry,”Air Force Magazine 87, no. 11 (November 2004): 30, http://www.afa.org/magazine/nov2004/1104strike.pdf; and BruceRolfsen, “Battling Wear and Tear,” Air Force Times, 26 December2005, 18.16. Maj Hobart Alford, chief of weapons, 9th FighterSquadron, conversation with the author.17. Tom Wilson, Threats to United States Space Capabilities[prepared for the Commission to Assess United States NationalSecurity Space Management and Organization],2001, GlobalSecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/2001/nssmo/article05.pdf (accessed 21February 2006).18. Gen John P. Jumper, “Global Strike Task Force: ATransforming Concept, Forged by Experience,” AerospacePower Journal 15, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 30–31, http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj01/spr01/jumper.pdf.19. Laura Pellegrino, “A Nighthawk in Raptor’s Clothing,”Air Force Link, 9 December 2003, http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?StoryID=123006171 (accessed 5 December2005).20. Jumper, “Global Strike Task Force,” 29–30.21. Federation of American Scientists, “Air Force MissionSupport System (AFMSS),” 9 January 1999, http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/afmss.htm (accessed6 December 2005).22. Jumper, “Global Strike Task Force,” 30–31.