The Airpower Advantage in Future Warfare

support the individual services. As a consequence, there is a
widespread lack of appreciation of the scope of the problem
that drives this study. Specifically, it seeks to understand and
advance America’s airpower advantage in future warfare. It
may have escaped the notice of many defense analysts and
commentators, but every major element of, or geographical dimension
to, US military power is facing deep uncertainty over
its roles and relative significance. The study is primarily about
airpower, but its argument, analysis, and conclusions cannot
be thus narrowly restricted. In summary form, the strategic
condition of America’s geographically specific military power,
plus the nuclear element, is as follow.
1. Landpower knows that it must be dominant in irregular
warfare, but it is under increasing challenge from airpower
in regular combat. Since a regular style of warfare is the
US Army’s far preferred modus operandi, this menace
from altitude has some unwelcome implications for favored,
very expensive high-technology transformation
plans. Is landpower theory, with its devotion to operational
art, essentially obsolete now that non Army-organic airpower
can maul, and perhaps defeat, enemy regular forces
in the deep battle? 21
2. Seapower is not threatened so directly by the recent evolution
of, or revolution in, US airpower, but it is vulnerable
to the charge that it plans to retain a blue-water focus,
even though future combat is expected to be confined to
green or even brown water. Tomorrow’s enemies may not
contest US control on the high seas, but rather seek to
deny access to Eurasian geography. Does the US Navy feel
confident that it comprehends its roles and its necessary
capabilities in future warfare? The author thinks not.
3. Spacepower has evolved, system by system, to answer
particular needs. Quite literally, there is no theory of
spacepower worthy of the title. Is Benjamin S. Lambeth
correct when he anticipates a functional, effective merger
of airpower and spacepower, despite the contrasting geophysics
of the atmosphere and space? 22 Or, are the “space
cadets” thinking soundly when they argue that for space
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