Articles Published Between 2002 and 2013 on Strategic Issues

BUILDING THE OCEAN SENTRY

http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=9101

A new Ocean Sentry being built for the U.S. Coast Guard as seen in The Ocean Sentry production process takes approximately 40 days.
May 2010. Photo credit: SLD Photo credit: SLD

On May 18, 2010, SLD visited the factory in Spain Third, the factory uses modern production
where the CN-235 is built. The USCG variant is techniques, as one would expect, notably lean
called the Ocean Sentry and two planes were being manufacturing techniques.
built on the 4 station line in Seville at the time. Fourth, the CN-235 is built with a mature, multi-
Prudencio Escamilla, site manager as well as the national supply chain.
Head of the Light and Medium aircraft Final The origin of the CN-235 was a joint program
Assembly Line (FAL) for Airbus Military, provided between Spain and Indonesia, which the N
the tour of the FAL. represents. There are separate series numberings
Several things were evident from touring the represented the Spanish and Indonesian based
factory. production runs.
First, the USCG has bought an aircraft from a During the visit, Ocean Sentry 10 was viewed
mature production facility. The heritage company and this represented series production 183 in
has built more than 300 light and medium aircraft. the Spanish production run. The Indonesian
Second, the CN-235 has been purchased by many numbering is more than 50 and is numbered as
countries, several of which are partners with the such.
USCG in providing for security in the Caribbean. The day of the visit there were two Ocean Sentry’s
Indeed, the first Mexican CN-235 Maritime Patrol in the bays being worked on. The production
aircraft was parked on the tarmac outside of the rhythm is 10 days on the line after which the planes
FAL. This aircraft is virtually similar to the Ocean move to the flight test lines for testing and then
Sentry with the obvious exception of the mission preparation for customer acceptance. The entire
systems. process takes approximately 40 days.

"'

THE NEW U.S. COAST GUARD CUTTER:
A “CHAOS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”

In June 2010, the Second Line of Defense team visited the latest National Security
Cutter, the USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751). The team toured the vessel while it was
ported in San Diego for a training and repair mission. Captain Lance Bardo, the
Commanding Officer of the Waesche, who retired in late 2010, provided an overview
on the ship, its con-ops and missions.
EADS provides a significant piece of the Cutter’s capabilities, namely the shipboard
multimode acquisition radar, the TRS-3D radar. As of August 2010, a total of three
National Security Cutters had been outfitted with the TRS-3D radar for air and
surface search operations, with another two systems in the process of integration.
The TRS-3D is also aboard the Lockheed Martin version of the U.S. Navy’s
Littoral Combat Ship – a fast, agile platform designed for operation in near-shore
environments with additional aptitude for open-ocean missions. It is designed to
defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and
fast surface craft.
The new U.S. Coast Guard cutter is a significant improvement over the existing
legacy cutters, and is designed to provide capabilities, which allows the service to
operate fewer cutters.
The new cutter includes significant C4ISR capabilities, digital capabilities for
operations and maintenance, an ability to operate much larger helicopters on its
decks, an ability to operate remotely piloted vehicles, significant endurance, and an
ability to operate for extended period of time at sea.
In crises such as Hurricane Katrina or the Gulf oil spill, the new cutter brings
significant command and control capabilities to any task force managing a
disruptive event.

SLD: Can you summarize what sets this Coast day and a half and when I arrive I have the ability
Guard asset apart? to make my own water. I have three months worth
Captain Bardo: When you have an event like of food on board. I can talk to anybody in the
Katrina, you don’t have power lines. I can push world, literally, continuously. I can fly helicopters.
through the Panama Canal and be up there in a I can launch boats. I can rescue people.
I can coordinate significant numbers of aircraft

"(

because I’m basically a miniature airport with a When the sea is tossing the ship around, I have the
control tower. stability to allow helicopters and UAVs to operate.

In a crisis you need to build and coordinate a On a 378, I had to make really hard decisions by
coalition of different agencies in a scenario where taking saltwater into my fuel tanks; it took three
there is no power, which means there’s no ability days to get rid of that water when you wanted to
to communicate. The cell towers are down so you then fill up the tanks with fuel. With this ship
have to figure out how to communicate with other I don’t have that problem because I have a
folks. We can easily move this platform to the area segregated tank.
to manage a crisis event, so it’s a chaos management I don’t know what helicopters we will have in the
system. future but I can tell you this, I can operate with a
This asset is large enough with enough capability lot more flexibility with the 751. I always had to
built into it actually to manage the response. I manage my fuel on a 378; for aviation I had eight
mean that literally. We have nothing else in the thousand gallons of fuel. I’ve got a 35,000 gallon
Coast Guard or the Navy, for that matter, to aviation fuel capacity on this ship, so I can fly those
manage domestic response the way this platform helicopters for a long, long time on four times the
can. The Coast Guard has demonstrated over and amount of fuel. This really gives us a tremendous
over again -- as recently as the current Deepwater amount of flexibility; it’s definitely not a platform-
Horizon oil spill and the Haitian earthquake -- that for-platform replacement for a 378. It’s a tremendous
we are at our best when we respond to domestic leap ahead in terms of growth capability as well.
emergencies, and a major offshore cutter is often the SLD: How would you summarize the impact of the
center of that. The Navy is a great partner in those new cutter on operations?
emergencies but it’s just not their primary mission. Captain Bardo: We can be fifteen hundred miles
SLD: What are the unique features of the ship you from where a crisis is occurring and be there in a
would underscore? matter of two days. We have the ability to talk to
Captain Bardo: Endurance; if you have endurance anyone anywhere in the world. We have the ability
you’ve got stability. You’ve got command to organize a lot of different agencies because of
capabilities. You’ve got a lot of flexibility inherent in the ability to communicate. We have the ability
the ship itself and the crew. The platform enables to put people on the scene with boats and aircraft.
this kind of tool set; the toolset synergistically We have the ability to remain on station for up to
interacts with the platform. ninety days. We can make our own water; we make
SLD: What other capabilities would you emphasize? our own electricity; we’re essentially a small city and
Captain Bardo: Our flight deck is literally twice as a small commanding tool that can function as a
big as our older cutters; four-thousand square feet global command and control platform.
versus twenty-three hundred on a High-endurance
Cutter (378), and I can land a “sixty”. I can land all http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=10225
variety of helicopters on the 751 that I can’t on the 378.

")

THE U.S. COAST GUARD:
7,000 FOOT RESCUE SHOWS IMPACT OF NEW

EQUIPMENT ON LIFE SAVING CAPABILITIES

In March 2010, Second Line of Defense talked Amphibian helicopters were phased out with the
with the current Executive Officer of the USCG transition to the HH-60 for medium range search
Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC) at and recovery. This created a need for the rescue
the Elizabeth City USCG facility about a dramatic swimmer program made famous by hundreds of
rescue conducted three years ago at 7,000 feet on real-life dramatic rescues, as well as Kevin Costner’s
the West Coast, in which he played a key role in movie, The Guardian.
hoisting an injured climber to safety.
On May 27th, 2007, the Coast Guard hoisted a The Dolphin’s weight grew over the years because
person off of Brother Mountain in Port Angeles, of mission changes. More powerful engines were
Washington, after local authorities notified Coast required, and the Turbomeca 2C2 engine was
Guard Sector Seattle that a 64-year-old male had selected: two were installed on each Dolphin
been injured and was immobile on the summit. A helicopter with funding from the Deepwater
HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Program.
Air Station Port Angeles hoisted the injured male
from an altitude of just over 7,000 feet, the highest Coast Guard helicopters routinely respond to land
altitude rescue ever performed by the Coast Guard emergencies. The higher-powered engines provide
in the region. vital extra margins of safety should there be a
This rescue demonstrates the synergy between man problem during critical evolutions, such as hoist
and machine in delivering capability for public operations. While the Dolphin’s new and more
safety and security. For many years the U.S. Coast powerful engines enabled this miraculous 7,000-
Guard have operated helicopters and fixed wing foot rescue, the skillfed Coast Guard crew — with
aircraft capable of water landings under certain nerves of steel — made it happen.
conditions. Advantages for this capability and its
limitations are obvious. A senior USCG official added further insight into
During the early 1980s, the Coast Guard selected the significance of the modernization effort:
the HH-65 Dolphin as its short-range recovery
helicopter, and it has been the workhorse of the The difference between the Alpha and Charlie model
services short-range fleet for years. More than 90 and putting new engines is this: in the old days when
HH-65s are currently in service. we used to do hoists and the engine failed, we knew we
Before the recent introduction of the National were going in the water, period. There was no chance
Security Cutter produced by the Deepwater that we were going to swim out of this. And now if the
Program, the Dolphin was the only Coast Guard engine fails, you have a 50/50 or better chance that
helicopter capable of routine operations from its you are going to fly it out on a single engine. That is
ships. It has an empty weight of slightly more than the difference in the C model aircraft versus the old
6,000 pounds and a maximum gross weight of more engines. You could not do that with an A model. With
than 9,000 pounds. It was the first of the service’s the A model, the crew died if you lost an engine. And
helicopters that did not have the ability to land on we lost engines routinely.
the water.
The issue of hoisting at 7,000 feet, I do not know how
many rescues we actually do with that altitude. But
every day we go out and we hoist with that aircraft low
over the water.

http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=6680

#*

THE CHALLENGE OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Dr. Robbin F. Laird

Publisher: Second Line of Defense
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Robbin F. Laird
Managing Editor: Jean Campbell Tullier
SLD Web Editor: Murielle Delaporte
Senior Art Director: Glenn Gemmell

Art Director: Ruth Gemmell

#!

Meeting the Challenge of Maritime 200910 - 01/2011
Security is a publication of Second
Line of Defense, a dynamic web site
that focuses on the development and sustainment
of U.S. and allied military and security
capabilities in shaping a global security enterprise
within which growth and stability are possible.

WWW.SLDINFO.COM

#"

Search and Rescue: Why the Coast Guard Needs Help 6/18/11 3:18 AM
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Search and Rescue: Why the Coast Guard
Needs Help

By Robbin Laird

Published: June 15, 2011

Text Size 9 7 4 20 1

In this article

Tags

Budget
Coast Guard
Cutters
helicopters
Policy

The Coast Guard plays important roles combating piracy and keeping Air
America's shores safe, but unless the President is an alchemist and can turn U.S. Navy Version of Lockheed Martin F-35
words into money, the service soon won't be able to do what Congress says Makes First Flight
it must do.
See More Featured Videos
There is no military area where gap between words and deeds yawns wider
than in the Coast Guard. Recently, President Obama noted "we know that Ask Us About Defense
the complex missions asked of our Coast Guard have never been more
important. Around the world, we need you to partner with other nations to Type your question here...
secure their ports, protect the vital shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf, Get Answers
combat piracy off the Horn of Africa, and help train foreign partners from
the Americas to Africa to Asia. Here at home, we need you to stop those Recently Asked
smugglers, and protect our oceans, and prevent terrorists from slipping Who's in charge of space?
deadly weapons into our ports." Why is Congress worried about our ability to build
tanks?
He pledged the nation would "do everything in our power to help you Marines vs. Army Budgets
succeed. That's why we're investing in the new ships and national security
cutters and aircraft that you need to get the job done. It's why we're adding View Related Questions
new inspectors and investigators and support personnel to keep pace with
today's missions." Upcoming Events

But the Obama Administration is retiring ships and other key assets more Jul Quantico-Potomac Industry Mixer
quickly than it is building new ones. The Obama Administration is making Quantico, VA
it difficult for the Coast Guard to build new National Security Cutters and it 13

http://defense.aol.com/2011/06/15/search-and-rescue-why-the-coast-guard-needs-help/ Page 1 of 4

Search and Rescue: Why the Coast Guard Needs Help 6/18/11 3:18 AM

is resisting building the Offshore Patrol Cutters which are to compliment Jul Summer Tech Expo
the NSCs. And the Obama Administration is not supporting fully funding Ramstein AB, Germany
the new maritime patrol aircraft. 19

The Obama Administration is not providing the money or the policy to deal Jul PDC Committee Meeting
with the core Arctic challenges facing the nation, where the five claimants to VA
significant resources are increasingly meeting toe to toe. The administration 20
has talked of working collectively on Arctic search and rescue but without
building new icebreakers it is difficult to understand how the Jul AFCEA Annual Golf Tournament
Administration will do this. There are no shore assets to do Search and Ramstein AB, Germany
Rescue; you need the icebreaker as the command and implementation 21
asset.
Jul Cloud Computing: What does it
And the task of providing security for offshore drilling is difficult to meet
without new regulators, new equipment and new capabilities to operate 21 mean for your business and how
offshore. A core provider of equipment to the Coast Guard – Eurocopter --
is building a whole new class of copters to deal with offshore challenges, but to decide if it's right for you
it would be difficult to find the program put in place to acquire these new Metairie, LA
assets.
More Industry Events
At the heart of the difficulties facing the Obama Administration's approach
is where the Coast Guard sits. Although both a military and civilian service, Latest Defense News
it is found in a civilian agency, the so-called Department of Homeland
Security. The approach of the current Secretary of DHS is more upon Navy opposes unified medical command
security at home than projection outward to provide for homeland security. Source: The Daily Herald - Everett WA
The focus is more upon shaping capabilities inside the U.S. to deal with
threats than engagements outside the U.S. to deter threats. Trauma, PTSD Rates Especially High for African
American Vets
As a result, the Coast Guard's ability to fulfill its obligations under Title X – Source: The Skanner
its military obligations – have suffered. The DHS and Office of Management
and Budget of the Obama Administration have resisted supporting the NMSC Sailors, Civilians Celebrate Hospital
National Security Cutter in part because it is not simply an inland waterway Corps Birthday
or harbor asset. It is designed to operate in international waterways to Source: U.S. Navy
engage threats outside of the 200-mile limits.
Military to deploy multiple Army Tacti..
For the Obama administration's homeland security team, such capabilities Source: Seoul News
are expensive and unnecessary. As one DHS official told me: "This is the US
Navy's job." To say the least, this is an interesting interpretation of the Video: 2008 Memorial Day Tribute to Vets and
Coast Guard's Title X obligations. Marine Larry Noon
Source: Kings Park Patch - Kings Park NY
The President mentioned that he recently met a Coast Guard officer
stationed in Afghanistan. One is tempted to ask the president if he Most Popular Tags
understood why the Coast Guard operates abroad and how much support
DHS is providing for its foreign missions. military technology

The other difficulty is not simply lack of support or real understanding for security missile
the USCG global engagement but the lack of understanding in the Obama
Administration and Congress about the central importance of new F-35JointStrikeFighter conference
equipment to play the game.
business luncheon
The "bad guys" can buy and build stealthy airplanes, fast boats, submarines
and have access to state of the art communications equipment. The Coast government navy
Guard continues to operate equipment that was operated when "I love
Lucy" dominated the airways. This is a joke. Why we ask 21st century Page 2 of 4
professionals to operate second-class equipment is beyond me. Why doesn't
the President fly around in 1950s aircraft with communications equipment
from the same era and see how he likes it!

http://defense.aol.com/2011/06/15/search-and-rescue-why-the-coast-guard-needs-help/

Search and Rescue: Why the Coast Guard Needs Help 6/18/11 3:18 AM
Page 3 of 4
Where are the congressional hearings on why the Obama administration
and Congress can not deliver support a 21st-century Coast Guard?

Examples abound of the ways new equipment can improve the Coast
Guard's ability to protect the homeland, secure our coastal waters and save
lives.

A stunning example was the impact of the new C-130J mission systems on
saving a life in early January 2010,a dramatic rescue effected by the USCG
was done in cooperation with the US Navy to save a man's life at sea. This
rescue involved key C4ISR assets on the new USCG MC-130Js

The impact of modernization on operations could not be clearer than in this
case of rescuing a sailor at sea. Not only did the new mission systems and
C4ISR assets play a central role in allowing the USCG professionals to save
this man's life, it would have been unlikely that either the effort or the joint
team communication involved in the effort would have been possible.

Here the redundancy of the new mission systems allowed the crew to
operate in extremely challenging conditions. The systems allowed them to
locate the man miles before they would have been able to with the old
systems; time was of the essence and the new systems gave them that time.
And when the MC130J became mission critical with regard to fuel, they
were able to hand off through the C4ISR systems, the data that they had
generated to the replacement MC130J. This allowed for continuity at a
crucial moment. http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=5533

But it's not just its ships, planes and helicopters that need replacing. Coast
Guard shore facilities are crumbling before our eyes. For example, the
Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station in North Carolina is the base from
which much of the East Coast operations for the Air Arm are supported and
operated. Yet the floor is crumbling in the main warehouse where parts for
all Coast Guard air assets are stored at what its recently retired commander
Capt. FIRST NAME Bennett calls this this "vintage World War II base.".

A typical example of the problem on the base is its aircraft maintenance
facility.

"This is the hub where it all happens, all the spare parts, all major
maintenance comes through here -- Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

And currently our warehouse, which has a lot of these spare parts, is in
need of great repair; we have a crumbling floor right now, which we're
buttressing up. This part of the country, we're close to the Dismal Swamp,
we have a lot of underground water.

Actually, the warehouse is on top of kind of an underground river.

So the floor is sagging, so we're looking forward to getting a new warehouse
so we can adequately house all of the spare parts and get a state-of-the-art
warehousing.

Because if we have a failure here within Elizabeth City for the aircraft
maintenance, it'll affect the whole fleet throughout the Coastguard. We are a
single point of failure.

So that's a huge infrastructure issue that we're looking forward to working

http://defense.aol.com/2011/06/15/search-and-rescue-why-the-coast-guard-needs-help/

Search and Rescue: Why the Coast Guard Needs Help 6/18/11 3:18 AM
Search AOL Defense
through.
But right now, we kind of a bridging strategy with a temporary fix on the
floor, if you will." http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=10783

While we bailed out GM and other large companies, we have provided
piteously little to modernize the Coast Guard, or to recognize its global
mission. This is a game with consequences.

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Huge Paris Air Show Looms As Defense Companies Watch Their Spending (6/16/2011)
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How the Defense Industry Will Deal With the Coming Cuts (6/15/2011)
LID Breakfast Brief (6/14/2011)

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Walter
i spent 22 years in CGR, we didn't qualify some years cuz of the shortage of bullets. Its better now but this has been
aproblem with the CG for many years. Hand me down crap, and OH yes and keep it running
4 hours ago Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

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I FUTURE ARCTIC I by Robbin Laird

Shaping Arctic Strategy Arriving at Yellowknife airport,
Northwest Territories, from left:
General Charles Jacoby on the General Walt Natynczyk, Canada’s then
Arctic Perspective Chief of the Defence Staff; U.S. Army
General Charles H. Jacoby; Chief War-
rant Officer Gilles Larouche, Joint Task
Force North; and JTFN Commander,
Brigadier-General Guy Hamel.

The Arctic is a region of growing global sig- 2012 PHOTO: SGT FRANK HUDEC, CF CANADA COMMAND
nificance. With global warming and pres-
sures on global resources, the region is of Overall, he underscores the need to mercial or environmental issues alone. But
increasingly strategic importance. The main concentrate resources on the priority tasks without security in the Arctic, one cannot
current claimants on the Arctic – Russia, emerging in protecting North American have sound commercial or environmental
Canada, Norway, Denmark and the United arctic interests. He believes the Canadian- development.
States, have formed an Arctic Council to American relationship provides the clear
manage their interests. bedrock for doing so, including the need to And it is important for us to get out in
share resources, and develop thinking and front on the Arctic, because if we don’t,
But all are not equal in terms of com- plans to leverage resources in the security, other nations will define our Arctic future
mitting resources to protecting those inter- commercial and defense domains. for us. And if we make smart investments
ests or shaping proactive policies. The Rus- over time in security and defense for the
sians are clearly the leaders in this domain, General Jacoby echoes recent state- Arctic, we can get ahead of the game.
in part because of the clear understanding ments by the USMC Commandant that
of the strategic impact of the region on “according to our allies, virtual presence is As I look at the Arctic, I think of it in
their future. actual absence.” He recently met with terms of where there is key terrain that we
Robbin Laird at the Pentagon to candidly must be prepared to defend. Just like I look
As the Northern Route opens up, they discuss, for a FrontLine article, the current at where our key terrain is in the homeland
will be able to connect their Atlantic and situation and the evolution of the Arctic. – Washington, D.C., or the New York
Pacific fleets for the first time. They will be Stock Exchange, for example – I need to
able to shape an air capability covering Question: How important are security and defense know where the key terrain is in the Arctic.
their Atlantic and Pacific interests. They considerations to the future of Arctic development?
will add to their significant position as a The Bering Strait, for instance, has the
commodity producer and have access to a They are very significant. For some, the potential to become another Strait of
number of rare minerals and other assets. development of the Arctic is about com- Malacca. As the ice melts, it will take on
significant and global economic impor-
Over time, Northern Europe will
become more closely linked to the Pacific
powers. The shift already seen within
Europe whereby the North-South divide is
growing could be accelerated as the “Arctic
century” unfolds.

Although the United States has been a
more reluctant Arctic power, General
Charles Jacoby, the dual hatted NORAD
and NORTHCOM commander seeks to
rectify this. A key theme for the General is
the need to build capabilities and presence
over time, and to do so with the coopera-
tive engagement of U.S. allies, and with
clear headed thinking about how to evolve
capabilities over time.

16 I FrontLine Defence I Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com

tance. There are also locations where are working with our components, espe- whether they’re icebreakers or hardened
mining or energy extraction will take place. cially the Navy and Air Force, to help build Arctic-capable ships, are going to be
to those capabilities. And because we are required to do our most basic missions of
Capability gaps create vulnerabilities. I taking an allied and whole-of-government safety, security and defense. You won’t be
have direction in the Unified Command approach, capabilities can be leveraged not able to do it completely from shore-based
Plan to look carefully at what these might just from the services, but from other agen- facilities.
be, and advocate for ways to fill them. Of cies, from the commercial sector, or from
course, we will not do this alone. Our prin- allies like Canada. Question: Canada is a crucial partner in all of
cipal ally in the Arctic is Canada, and we this. How would characterize the Canadian role
have a shared stake with them in the Question: Do you see a significant uptake in activity from your perspective? It will be important to
peaceful development of the Arctic. by countries like Russia and China in the Arctic? leverage one another’s investments and capabili-
ties, I would assume?
But it’s important to remember that the We do. The Chinese are building icebreakers,
Bering Strait is not the Strait of Hormuz. which clearly are not for operation in the It will be critical to do so. We will need
This is an evolving issue, not a today issue. South China Sea. Russia is the most active. better satellite coverage of the region. But it
We need to make advances over time that There are concerns about freedom of navi- doesn’t have to be a DoD satellite, or even
allow us to stay ahead of evolving prob- gation in the Northern Sea Route. an American satellite. There are invest-
lems, with a solid strategic direction ments that all the stakeholders can make,
defined and in place. These developments do not have to be whether they are the U.S. government,
contentious, but it is foolish to think that Canada, the State of Alaska, or commercial
There is a school of thought that says economic and resource competition won’t enterprises. One of the things we’re doing
we can have competitive commercial and lead to occasional disagreements. And as as part of our Arctic campaign plan is we’re
economic interests in the Arctic, but not there starts to be more human activity in forming an Arctic board with the Univer-
have any associated security challenges – the Arctic, for us it will require communi- sity of Alaska at Fairbanks to bring together
that’s simply not the way the world works. cations, domain awareness, infrastructure all of the stakeholders to talk about this.
and presence of some sort.
Economic opportunities and challenges With such an approach we can leverage
shape or imply security interests. We need We could wait and be behind the curve and share resources. For example, we might
to not only be prepared to take advantage in the Arctic. But in a harsh climate like learn through these discussions that we
of and exploit the economic opportunities that, when you’re behind, you’re way need a piece of concrete within 200 miles of
in the Arctic, but also be prepared to behind. By not rolling out capabilities on a the North Slope. And if so, who are the dif-
address security challenges. steady basis, at any given time we’re not ferent partners who can use that and invest
just one season away, we’re three seasons in that so we can share the capability.
Question: The environment is a difficult one away from having that runway, that
and shaping a proper infrastructure to support hangar, that piece of concrete, or that pier And Canada will be represented in that
Arctic operations both now and in the future is that we might need to support operations. process. There’s a natural affinity between
complex. What are your thoughts on how to deal NORTHCOM and the new Canadian Joint
with the infrastructure challenge? Question: Also on infrastructure, what is your Operations Command, and between Joint
thinking about offshore and shore based infrastruc- Task Force Alaska and Canadian Joint Task
The Arctic is a challenging environment in ture requirements for an Arctic presence? Force North, and we’re trying to enhance
which to work and for which to plan. A cooperation among those groups.
key element is to shape a flexible, agile and A key element is to shape forward oper-
responsive approach with our mission part- ating bases in Alaska and the Arctic. There With my NORAD hat on, I have the
ners. Instead of having separate bases and are going to be several stakeholders in the ability to help both the U.S. and Canada
facilitates in the region, we are looking to area. We need to be willing and looking at plan together and say, okay, ‘what do we
have a consolidated approach. ways to share amongst all stakeholders. need in the Arctic in terms of presence,
Shore-based facilities might need to be in terms of domain awareness, in terms
We simply cannot afford to have complemented with offshore facilitates. of communications ability for our joint
unnecessarily redundant facilities in the defense?’ FL
Arctic region. The different stakeholders Even in the warm season – in fact, espe-
need to work together to share in building cially in the warm season – hardened ships,
these capabilities. We need an inclusive
approach to this challenge, and in this case, Clearly, the Arctic is both an emerging opportunity and challenge. It requires vision. We
an opportunity as well. need to see past the near term. If we wait for the first oil gusher, the first cruise ship to
run aground, the first environmental catastrophe, or the first security challenge to arise
Earlier this year, (U.S. Coast Guard before we start investing in these capability gaps, we will be too late. That’s why we
Commandant) Admiral Papp and I identi- are working with all of the stakeholders today to start meeting this challenge.
fied four key capability gaps in the Arctic.
Those are: communications, domain In short, Jacoby’s approach is clear: we need to map a strategic direction and invest
awareness, infrastructure, and presence. to meet core needs. There is a clear need to fill core capability gaps, identified in terms
We need to focus our investments in of communications, ISR, presence and infrastructure. This is a clear warning as well,
enhancing capabilities in each of those as the US continues to loose icebreakers and the Chinese add them. “Virtual presence
areas over time. is actual absence.” . FL

We are using our exercise programs to Robbin Laird is...
explore capabilities gaps, and look for high-
payoff investments that we can make. We

Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com I 17

Policy

Bold Alligator 2012: Re-Shaping Maneuver Warfare
from the Sea

By Dr. Robbin Laird

Off the shores of Tripoli, the U.S. and the allies began the process a resource constrained environment, because they are a cost ef-
of shaping a post-Afghanistan military. After a decade of land fective option for accomplishing a wide range of military opera-
warfare, the challenge of strategic redesign and reshaping is a tions,” said Adm. John C. Harvey, commander, USFF.
major one. And doing so in a fiscally strained environment in Eu-
rope and the United States augments the challenge. The units involved include the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group
(CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group 2 (ESG-2), 2d Marine Expedi-
In the Libyan operations, the U.S. and its allies leveraged both tionary Brigade (MEB), Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG),
land and seabases in dealing with the defeat of Gaddafi’s forces. 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Naval Expeditionary Com-
The Libyan operations demonstrated how the sea base can be bat Command (NECC) as well as various other ships and units.
integrated into an overall strike and sustainment operation. At
the heart of the new approach is the ability to engage and to Nine countries are participating in exercise BA12, providing mari-
dominate through SUSTAINED operations. Such operations will re- time, land and air units or observers. The countries participating
quire forces able to strike, to control the battlespace and then to with the U.S. forces are Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Nether-
prevail through the necessary period of the operation to achieve lands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom.
strategic and tactical objectives.
One of the exercise’s priorities is to incorporate lessons learned
To sustain will mean that the sea bases will not just show up for a over the past 10 years of challenging combat operations, over-
show of force, but be part of a sweep and sustainment operation. seas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance/disaster
This will mean that the ability to operate from land, whether in relief (HA/DR), noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO) and
close proximity or distance will be integrated into the thinking homeland defense.”
about the USN-USMC strike force.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=64978
Early in 2012, the largest amphibious exercise in more than a de-
cade was held off another coast, this time the East Coast of the A Coalition Perspective
United States. According to an official press release:
Several allies were involved in the exercise and indeed contrib-
“Amphibious forces are a critical element of maritime power uted capabilities to the effort. Among those allies participating
projection that ought to be a high priority for support, even in were the following:

5 Common Defense Quarterly

Policy

• The UK provided 120 Marines, fleet diving unit and staff In an interview after the exercise, Pastoor emphasized that prob-
augments; lems with translation of information from SIPERNET to CENTRIX
posed a problem during the exercise but that the will to share
• Italy provided staff augments and observers; information was central to the exercise’s success. Pastoor under-
• France provided 1 LHD, 1 escort, 21 LCMs, 1 EDA-H, 300 scored that planning needs to be done in CENTRIX so that there is
a seamless flow to exercise and operational collaboration.
landing troops, Navy Commando Group, 6 Helos, 50 staff
augments; Another observer from the U.S. side emphasized the need to make
• Spain provided staff augments and observers; the information sharing crucial to the way ahead. This source un-
• The Netherlands provided 100 Marines, Boat Platoon, Fire derscored that on many of the U.S. ships there was not a widely
Support Team and Staff Augments; available CENTRIX capability.
• Australia provided staff augments and observers;
• Germany provided staff augment and observers; Pastoor highlighted the centrality of shaping a new approach to
• Canada provided 2 MCM and EOD capabilities maneuver warfare. “We had Dutch observers in the raid 165 miles
• New Zealand provided staff augments and observers. inland to Fort Pickett and the Canadians inserted forces along
with the Americans. The Osprey allowed the range and speed to
The chief exercise planner who is a Dutch Naval officer provided do deep penetration raids and this was an eye opener for many
a broad perspective on the coalition engagement. allies. But at the heart of the new approach is the ability to
insert forces where the enemy is not and to move those forces
Lieutenant Commander George Pastoor is a Dutch Naval Officer over the chessboard at several miles at a time, which the Osprey
with Expeditionary Strike Force 2 and functioned as the lead plan- facilitates.”
ner for Bold Alligator.

“I’m basically on the inside, as I am a Naval Officer embedded in
the Expeditionary Strike Group 2 staff, as well as coalition mem-
ber, and so I’m seeing the process from both sides. I’m on the
receiving end on one side, and I’m on the giving end on the other
side as being the developer of the operations and the plans.

Coalition is a key part of Bold Alligator. It’s been there from
beginning. From the very first concept development conferences
in the beginning a year ago, coalition engagement was central.

Nowadays operations aren’t done without coalitions. The Bold Al-
ligator process is U.S. and coalition as one team from beginning
onwards. It ís really working well, getting to the same goals, do-
ing the planning process together, working in close coordination
with the French Task Group, having their planís over, having 6 to
10 officers from New Zealand flying in for planning conference.

We have a lot of coalition participants in our staff for the opera-
tion itself really emphasizes the importance of coalition.

A challenge throughout was C2 in the sense of bringing forces
from the ships to the shore and sorting out where the C2 element
was to be focused. On the U.S. side C2 shifts from the fleet to the
ground commander at a point of transition; when the French who
led the major allied insertion went ashore there was the double
problem of shifting C2 from the French Navy to the French Army
and then from the French Army which then went under the com-
mand of the 2nd MEF commander, Brigadier General Owens.

Another aspect of C2 in the exercise was that much of the C2
remained aboard the ships. This was a force insertion and extrac-
tion exercise and highlights possible future requirements as well.

Pastoor argued that the new maneuver concept from the sea is
about power projection that can go where the enemy is not and
to be able move more rapidly than the enemy in the battlespace.

Common Defense Quarterly 6

Policy

The French Engagement after the infiltration forces and the last to leave the shore (just
before the latter) making sure all vehicles are safely landing and
The French were a major ally engaged in the exercise. The French going back to the ship once the mission is achieved.
and the USN-USMC had worked closely in the operations off of
Libya and the French Army has worked closely with the USMC in Helicopters were extensively used during BA12 as a complement
Afghanistan. This cooperation continued in the Bold Alligator ex- to sea rotations and a potential substitute in case of inclement
ercise. This was not a NATO exercise, but a bilateral one from the weather. Amphibious operations are extremely difficult to plan as
point of view of the USN-USMC and French team. so many factors such a the weather and sea conditions have to be
taken into consideration: several backup plans are more than ever
The key asset engaged in the exercise was the Mistral. This sea required in such a context.
base has been built around commercial practices and costs ap-
proximately 300 million Euros. The third Mistral built for the
French forces is currently being delivered to the French navy.
During the Libyan operations, the new Tiger attack helicopter was
used as a lead element for French operations and ground attack
in Libya. During Bold Alligator the Tiger was not there due to its
operational use in Afghanistan.

The key helos operating off of the Mistral were the Pumas and
Gazelles. The Pumas were part of a special Army group to support
the insertion of the artillery for forward deployment. The Pumas
either carry the artillery externally for rapid deployment or inter-
nally for assembly on the battlefield. The Gazelles are used for
either reconnaissance or close air support. Both were involved in
the Libyan operations as well.

The exercise functioned as an opportunity for US-French training. During Bold Alligator, the Pumas were used as logistic assets in-
The Mistral was certified with US amphibious vehicles and ships, cluding for an artillery raid exercise (RAID AR) conducted the day
such as the air cushioned LCAC. Additionally, the Marines and US after “D-Day” as part of continued bilateral training with the
Navy got a close up look at the new French landing vehicle, the American forces. Two Pumas carried two 120mm mortar on site
EDAR. The EDAR was delivered to the French navy in November for the Marine artillery troops to unload in specific delays and
2011 and this was the first time this craft has been deployed with operate.
the BPC class of ship (the Mistral).
This artillery raid exercise involved the 3rd RAMA and was con-
Capitaine de Vaisseau Emmanuel Gué, Captain of the French Am- ducted on February 7th, 2012 in the context of bilateral training
phibious Task Group, on board the Mistral, underscored: “This with the Americans nearby. The 300 kilos mortar is already a lo-
kind of operation goes well beyond a simple disembarking: it is gistical challenge on its own and can be delivered fully mounted
a large-scope military action from the sea to the land and it re- as sling loads or in several pieces inside a helicopter. This was the
quires a multitude of technical know-how one has to coordinate method selected for this exercise, two mortars being carried by
in an optimal manner.” two pumas in three major 100 kilos pieces.

On February 6th, D-day of Bold Alligator 2012, 300 men of the The rules of engagement can also differ among coalition partners,
6th BLB (6e brigade légère blindée or Light armored brigade) and the French preferring to first use lightning mortar ammunition
some 80 vehicles were brought from sea to shore in a matter of before shooting.” In the case of an exercise on the US soil, anoth-
six hours via about twenty sea and six air rotations in accordance er logistic challenge had to do with legal safety issues, whether
with the initial scenario planned on a multilateral level during the transporting and stocking French ammunition from the BPC to the
previous months (compared to 400 men and 90 vehicles during US territory or regarding individual safety protection required by
rehearsal the week before). US laws for such shooting to occur on US bases.

The 6th BLB has been deployed on various fronts – from Bosnia, Command and control are key in any operation, but especially in
Kosovo, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Lebanon, the Central African this kind of training exercise, as three factors tend to complicate
Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Republic of matters :
Chad. But for many of these young soldiers, BA12 is their first am-
phibious experience of this scale and the first time they got to live 1. In a French amphibious operation, given the fact that
on a French Navy ship for such a long period of time (the Mistral both the Navy and the Army are involved, a Transfer of
left Toulon on January 5th). This was a common feeling shared Authority (TOA) must take place when the ground forc-
with their fellow U.S. Marines es are not subordinated to the Navy Command author-
ity anymore and when in this case the Mistral supports
The last French amphibious operation happened off the coast of the ground forces in a sea-basing function : the TOA took
Lebanon in 2006 to evacuate French citizens. Part of the 1st For- place on February 6th at 23:00.
eign Engineer Regiment, crews of the TRM10000 CLD and EGAME –
Engin du Génie d’AMEnagement du terrain - are the first to beach

7 Common Defense Quarterly

Policy

2. Contrary to a Franco-French operation, in Bold Alligator, of the key conservative Arab states is significant. Who will the
the French troops passed under US Command authorities West be aiding and abetting if the Arab Spring continues to pull
: one of the main objective of BA12 is to develop the the rug out from under the de facto Conservative Arab, Israeli and
best channel of communications possible for current and Western alliance?
future joint operations.
Will Western states be able and willing to deploy land based forc-
3. BA12 relied as well on simulation assets being injected in es, whether ground or air, on Arab soil? And given uncertainties
real life forces : the difficulty is to have the proper inter- even in key Arab allied states, how might the West best defend its
face to conduct such a mission within a coalition. interests, and to ensure energy security in the region?

Before any land insertion, ground elements must come ashore The answer in part is provided by the BA-12 exercise. In the
ahead of time for reconnaissance purpose. An amphibious opera- exercise, Harriers based on the USS Kersarge worked closely with
tion is in many ways a race against the clock, and in this case the land-based air to provide for a significant air combat capability
window to secure the landing craft was 45 minutes because of to shape the battlespace. This model can be followed with Arab
the tide. But it can be a truck stuck in the sand, a tank stuck in Air Forces, the Israeli Air Force or Western Air Forces deployed
the water and the whole synchronization of the operation can be temporarily on Arab soil.
called into question, hence the need for quick decision-making on
which plan B to activate… or not. The point is that the organizer of the spear is on the sea-base,
and this capability can be conjoined with the various air combat
In an amphibious operation, one of the keys to success is to re- centers extant or being developed in the region.
duce the transit time on water as well as the time necessary to
load and unload people and equipment. These are all periods of In short, re-shaping maneuver warfare from the sea by encom-
high vulnerability for the troops, hence the major role of all those passing allied and US land-based air and other support and strike
involved in such tasks. The navigator of the EDAR (the newest capabilities is a crucial element of the way ahead.
French landing craft of interest to the USN and the USMC) had a
specific challenge during BA12, as it was the first time the latter New uses of the sea base, new capabilities deployed from the sea
was used outside the French waters. base will allow the U.S. and its allies to deploy scalable forces and
to shape a force appropriate to the mission. An economy of force
The Way Ahead approach can be shaped to ensure that mission and forces match,
but with scalability other capabilities can augment the force to
Bold Alligator is part of a re-shaping of U.S and allied forces mov- ensure mission success.
ing forward into the next decade of the 21st century. Learning
how to leverage the sea base to find ways to provide for new ca- Dr. Robbin F. Laird is an analyst of European, U.S. and Asian
pabilities and new power projection approaches is central. strategic affairs. He has worked in three Administrations
on intelligence and policy issues. He is the co-founder of
An example is the impact of the new Middle East in terms of le- Second Line of Defense (http://wwwsldinfo.com)(http://
veraging the sea base to be able to work with coalition partner’s wwwsldinfo.com) and has published several books leveraging
land based capabilities. the interviews and analysis on the website. The most recent
are Re-Norming Air Operations, The Challenges of Maritime
With the Arab Spring, the security and defense framework, which Security and 21st Century Air Capabilities. Dr. Laird lives in
the West has underwritten over the past thirty years, is shat- Paris, France, as well as Arlington, VA. He travels regularly
tered. The Arab Spring states are in upheaval, the Iranians are in the United States and abroad and has extensive knowledge
preparing to enter the stage as a nuclear power, the Conservative of US and Allied militaries as well as defense industrial
Arab states have to prepare to defend themselves against Iran, capabilities.
and the interaction between Arab Spring forces and the stability

Common Defense Quarterly 8

0827_SPN_DOM_00_019_00 (READ ONLY) 8/24/2012 11:39 AM Page 19

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 19

August 27, 2012

The Space Impact of the Euro Crisis

The European sovereign debt crisis < >ROBBIN LAIRD and HARALD MALMGREN
is not simply a bump in historical
progress; it is the end of a period Europe will now be challenged in the ing to hide the reality of European bank of the savings of millions of European
of history and a critical point in Euro- form of rollbacks of the many inter- weaknesses. The main reason is that eu- citizens.
pean and global transition in the 21st twined strands of integration, fraying rozone economies are far more bank-
century. what has been an intricate but incom- dependent than economies like those in European leaders are also attempt-
plete tapestry. It is questionable whether the United States or United Kingdom, ing to initiate a more comprehensive fis-
The confluence of several trend lines Europe will be able to prevent stalling of where substantial nonbank financing al- cal union, with new decision-making
— the unification of Germany, the end the integration process in the face of ternatives exist for the corporate sector. mechanisms that transfer sovereignty in
of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the widening gaps among the interests of parallel with the new banking union. We
Berlin Wall, the expansion of NATO, each nation and even within each nation. In the eurozone, banks are the fi- do not believe that any of the eurozone
the expansion of the European Union nancial markets; in the U.S., banks are governments are ready for such a politi-
(EU) and the creation of the single cur- Since the birth of the euro, the but one segment of a multifaceted fi- cal transition in which citizens in each
rency — constitutes a unique period in French and Germans were in the lead in nancial market. Eurozone govern- nation must agree to be under leader-
modern European history. ship of people appointed or elected in
The weight of Germany in shaping European space policy some other nation among the European
The trend line was also defined by and business approaches will clearly go up. And the role Union members.
moving the borders of Europe eastward of Germany already in the launch side of the business
with the expectation that an expanded The way ahead in dealing with the
Europe would manage its own internal within Europe was on the ascendency prior to the crisis will have a significant impact on
dynamics well and provide stability in a highly visible euro crisis. the space business in Europe and be-
historically unstable region of the yond. A key element will be reshaping
world. resisting transfer of national regulatory ments and their politicians simply do the euro around the German policy
power to the European Central Bank or not want to risk collapse of their na- agenda. The Germans will be key players
However, the European crisis is also some other eurozone-wide entity. Other tional economies through full revela- in reshaping the euro and downsizing
gradually revealing serious flaws in the euro governments have also insisted on tion of the weaknesses of their banks. the eurozone to what might be called
functionality of both the European keeping local supervision of banks. Thus, this is not solely an issue of the Ger-Euro. The economic and politi-
Union and NATO. The two decades of What really lies behind this continuing whether or not to yield national sover- cal weight of Germany will go up as the
European consolidation and expansion resistance is that national governments eignty. A true banking union based on euro crisis goes on, and the weight of
are now confronted with new centrifugal and their banks do not wish to reveal the transparency would necessitate a redef- German influence will be to reshape the
forces that are again widening political, true leverage and the weakness of capi- inition of all European banking against eurozone into a more cohesive, “re-
social, economic and security differ- tal among European banks. a backdrop of hundreds, even thou- sponsible” and integrated “core.”
ences within the EU and among its sands of bank failures and decimation
neighbors. Deepening recession and the Eurozone governments are still try- But this is a united Germany, which is
severity of its impact on employment shaping a European-cohesive process, not
and the well-being of citizens are in- a divided Germany, which had to accept
creasing these differences and encour- the dictates of smaller European powers
aging re-energized nationalism and re- to gain an end of national division.
newed political localization.
The weight of Germany in shaping

SEE LAIRD PAGE 21

50 Years after Mariner 2: Exploration at a Crossroads

Solar system exploration is charged particle environment < >ROGER D. LAUNIUS the same steamy atmosphere spacecraft on Jan. 2, 1963, and it
approaching a major turn- and looked for a magnetic field could be a possibility.” is now in orbit around the sun.
ing point just as it is sur- similar to Earth’s magnetos- Earth’s turn, this pop culture
passing a major milestone. Fifty phere (but found none). Most belief suggested that Mars had Mariner 2 helped to deter- This important milestone in
years ago, on Aug. 27, 1962, important, it found that the once been habitable and that mine that none of these specu- planetary exploration signaled
NASA launched the first suc- planet’s surface was a fairly uni- life on Venus was now just be- lations was true. The second in a by Mariner 2’s mission to Venus
cessful planetary probe, form 460 degrees Celsius, ginning to evolve. Beneath the series of planetary exploration is an appropriate cause for cele-
Mariner 2, which visited Venus thereby making unlikely the clouds of the planet, the con- spacecraft, this was the world’s bration. It is also an ideal time to
later in that same year. Regard- theory that life existed on cept offered, was a warm, wa- first fly-by of a planet. Part of a reflect and take stock of U.S. ef-
ed as both the evening and the Venus. tery world and the possibility of 1961 NASA planetary explo- forts to understand our solar sys-
morning star, Venus had long aquatic and amphibious life. ration initiative that took some tem because the planetary ex-
enchanted humans, and all the There had been longstand- “Mariner: Mission to Venus,” a of its design from the Ranger ploration program is stalling
more so since astronomers had 1963 NASA publication about through a lack of resources and
realized that it was shrouded in technology necessary to ad-
a mysterious cloak of clouds This important milestone in planetary exploration signaled by Mariner 2’s vance it. Unfortunately, after
permanently hiding the surface mission to Venus is an appropriate cause for celebration. It is also an years of success in planetary ex-
from view. Mariner 2 was a tri- ideal time to reflect and take stock of U.S. efforts to understand our ploration, NASA’s efforts are be-
umph in helping to reveal the solar system because the planetary exploration program is stalling ginning to wane. Since the
closest planet to ours, and a through a lack of resources and technology necessary to advance it. 1990s NASA has sent an armada
near twin in terms of size, mass of spacecraft to the red planet,
and gravitation, to the billions ing speculation that life might the Mariner 2 mission, noted, program, Mariner 2 bore a strik- of which the Curiosity rover is
on Earth. be present on Venus. In the “It was reasoned that if the ing resemblance to the basic the most recent, and two outer
first half of the 20th century, a oceans of Venus still exist, then framework, solar panels and an- planetary missions — Galileo
Although Mariner 1 was lost popular conception held that the Venusian clouds may be tennas of its Ranger predeces- and Cassini-Huygens — have
during a launch failure, its the sun had gradually been composed of water droplets; if sor. Its controllers, numbering opened the jovian planets to
twin, Mariner 2, flew by Venus cooling for millennia and that Venus were covered by water, it roughly 75, worked from study. The New Horizons space
on Dec. 14, 1962, at a distance as it did so, the terrestrial plan- was suggested that it might be NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora- probe to Pluto and the Kuiper
of 34,800 kilometers. A 204- ets of the solar system had a inhabited by Venusian equiva- tory in Pasadena, Calif. Al- Belt at the outer reaches of this
kilogram spacecraft, it carried turn as a haven for life of vari- lents of Earth’s Cambrian peri- though Mariner 2 did its job system promises to do the same
six scientific instruments, a two- ous types. Although it was now od of 500 million years ago, and well, NASA lost contact with the in the coming years. Not to be
way radio, a solar-power system outdone, Messenger has ex-
and assorted electronic and panded knowledge of Venus
mechanical devices. Mariner 2 and the inner solar system. A
probed the clouds, estimated range of smaller and less-com-
planetary temperatures and
pressures, measured the SEE LAUNIUS PAGE 21

0827_SPN_DOM_00_021_00 (READ ONLY) 8/24/2012 11:43 AM Page 21

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 21 HoOn Trhe izon

August 27, 2012 www.spacenews.com ADVERTISEMENTS
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LAIRD FROM PAGE 19 ened to ensure that core Euro- AUGUST OCTOBER
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and heliophysics (seven) Curiosity’s landing is only the
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Pure numbers of missions wrong, I am concerned that
are not the key criteria for as- there may not be many more 48 Boulevard Jean-Jaures, OCTOBER Northrop Grumman 24
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V-22 OSPREY Getting it Right

Expanding the One difficulty with any complex multi-
Operational Space mission system is that it takes time to get
it right in the development, production
As Canada considers its search and rescue Afghanistan, the plane can cover the and manufacturing process. In today’s
options, the V-22 is an obvious candidate entire operational battlespace. As such, internet age, however, those critical
to be in the mix. “Too expensive” will be costly and dangerous forward operating stages are being negatively affected, as
the immediate response from those who bases have been obviated. The V-22 has blogs and articles at various phases of
have not seriously looked at the opera- been able to operate from single opera- that evolution become “google finds” for-
tional flexibility that such a platform tional bases to facilitate support and ever, and “growing pains” receive more,
offers. The range and speed of the V-22, maintenance, and has proven it can cover and repeated, attention than in the past.
coupled distinct possibilities for increased the entire operational territory.
acquisition numbers all make it a player. The problem is that context is lost
It is a plane, not a rotorcraft. It is a tilt- and operational experience is negated.
Looking at Canada’s defense capa- rotor airplane and has confounded com- Many examples abound: from the A380,
bility enhancements for the decades mentators as to how to classify it or how to the 787, to the A400M, the V-22 and
ahead, it is crucial to consider value to assess its operational impacts. the F-35. These platforms are significant
propositions. The off-the-shelf price of a enhancements over what came before,
platform is neither indicative of its full Fortunately for Canada, extensive use but all have been deemed “troubled pro-
mission value nor does it accurately rep- of the Osprey by both the USAF and the grams”, which simply reminds us that
resent potential hidden costs or savings USMC has answered many of the ques- evolution takes time – but transformation
as it impacts across the entire military tions about its utility, operational impact takes time and effort.
mission spectrum. and durability.
Today, the Osprey has progressed
For instance, the V-22 has opera- And with the evolution of Arctic mis- from a “troubled program” to an opera-
tionally demonstrated a number of cost- sions clearly expanding, a capacity to tional reality which is transforming Air
avoidance impacts on U.S. Marine Corps operate with greater range and speed is Force and Marine Corps operations. Its
operations. Notably, in both Iraq and an obvious necessity. demonstrated use in Iraq, Afghanistan, in
Operation Odyssey Dawn, and worldwide
at this point, is transforming the way the
USMC operates, and with it the U.S.
Navy-USMC team.

It has gone from “troubled” to “trans-
formational” – but only the operators
seem to have noticed.

22 I FrontLine Defence I Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol helicopter awaits passengers as a Navy MV-22 Osprey The V-22 was used for assault opera-
tilt-rotor aircraft lands in the background near the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The tions from the beginning but, over time, the
U.S. military is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation role would expand as the support structure
Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in Haiti, Jan. 12. matured, readiness rates grew, and airplane
availability become increasingly robust.
U.S. NAVY PHOTO: MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS CANDICE VILLARREAL
From the beginning, the aircraft
The Osprey at 5 years range of the aircraft in covering the vast impressed and foreshadowed later devel-
countryside. As one Marine commented: opments. With the withdrawal of U.S.
The V-22 has completed its first five oper- “The MV-22 in the AO was like turning the forces from Iraq there was a roll up of
ational years with the USMC. Over those size of the state of Texas into the size of forward operating bases. This meant the
five years, I have interviewed operators, Rhode Island.” remaining forces had to cover more ground
maintainers and many Osprey squadron and provide protection at greater distance.
commanders. During this time, the plane It was the only “helicopter” that could Enter the Osprey, which did not require
has gone through various phases of deploy- completely cover Iraqi territory. In this role, FOBs to provide lift and support to forward
ment evolution – and with that evolution, however, the testing of support and opera- deployed forces.
the Marines have worked with the con- tional capabilities was somewhat limited as
tractors to evolve the support capabilities Marines tested out capabilities and dealt Next on the agenda was the beginning
for the plane. with operational challenges. The plane was of deployments to Afghanistan, which
largely used for passenger and cargo trans- of course continue. The Afghan phase of
In September 2007, the Osprey was port in support operations in difficult ter- deployments has seen the aircraft and its
deployed for the first time to Iraq. USMC rain and operating conditions, yet its operators transition to more assault combat
Commandant General James T. Conway, impact was immediate. As Major General operations over time – to the point where
and Deputy Commandant of Aviation Walsh, now Deputy Commander of the the latest Osprey squadron just came back
LtGen John Castellaw announced a deci- USMC Combat Command, and then the from Afghanistan with record setting
sion to deploy the Osprey into combat in air boss of Marine Air in Iraq, commented: assault operations for the platform.
spite of the fact that virtually all public
commentators thought this was too early “With the CH-46s in Iraq, I had to put A metric to measure the transition can
for what they deemed an “untested” aircraft. out Forward Arming and Refueling Points be seen in the number of named operations
(FARPs) to support them. This meant the Osprey squadron participated in in
The plane has not only performed well, sending convoys, equipment, and Marines Afghanistan. Over time, the Osprey
but in five short years has demonstrated its out to operate and secure the FARPs. This squadrons have significantly increased their
capability to not only have a significant also required protecting the FARPs after they involvement in what the military calls
impact on combat ops but to re-shape were in place. “named operations” (air assault operations
thinking about concepts of operations. in support of U.S. and coalition forces). The
“With the Osprey, I could simply leap latest squadron VMM-365 (the Blue Knights)
The evolution of the con-ops sur- past all of that. The Osprey completely conducted nearly 200 named operations –
rounding this aircraft provides a solid foun- changed how we operated. The demand a 20-fold increase over the preceding
dation for innovation and transformation became to use the Ospreys throughout Iraq squadron in Afghanistan.
of operational concepts for the USN-USMC because it could go through Iraq in one day
team – if boldness can overcome timidity. easily, and just run around the battle space. But it took a while for the concepts of
It changed completely how we used our operations to change and for commanders
The plane started in Iraq, built around heliborne assets.” to understand fully that they didn’t have
a famous diagram showing the speed and to operate in the constricted operational
box of a couple of hundred miles for the
ARG-MEU, and could instead consider a
1,000 plus operational area.

Suddently the situation in Libya hit the
news, and linking the Osprey to the USN-
USMC Gator navy opened up a whole new
capability. The ability to seamlessly link
support services ashore with the deployed
fleet via the Osprey allowed the Harriers
aboard the USS Kearsarge to increase their
sortie rates dramatically. By providing a
whole new speed and range enablement
of the strike fleet aboard a large deck
amphibious ship, the future was being
re-defined by the Osprey.

And now fast forward to Bold Alligator
2012, the largest amphibious exercise held
since 1996. A major difference from 1996
to 2012 was the appearance of the Osprey.

Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com I 23

Indeed, the existence and deployment mately damage the enemy’s will to fight. said LtCol Boniface. “We have an excellent
of the Osprey changed the entire Let’s not just move 50-100 miles ashore, but mission computer but it is largely designed
approach to thinking about let’s move 200-500 miles ashore, and do it to operate the plane and is not designed to
amphibious assault. at an increased speed, range and lethality.” link either as a fleet or with the force. We
need to modify the mission computer to be
While observers stood on the There is change, not just for the network enabled. This will be especially
beach waiting for the assault, Ospreys USMC, but other U.S. services as well. The important as the F-35 Bravo joins the fleet.
were already part of taking an impact of putting F-35Bs and Ospreys We will have a significant C5ISR asset and
“enemy” fort deep in the terrain. And aboard the new USS America class assault we need to ensure that it has seamless con-
not only that, one of the Ospreys had ship will transform that new large deck nectivity with the Osprey.”
deployed from a supply ship! amphibious ship into a significant strike
asset. And with the retirement of the USS The USAF Special Operations forces
Over this 5-year period, the Enterprise, provides a new “aircraft carrier” (AFSOC) using the Osprey have already
Marines built up a significant and capability for the USN-USMC team. The invested in various specialized elements
growing number of “Osprey Nation” Osprey is clearly a key enabler of this aboard the Osprey which can facilitate its
members, and these folks then gener- evolution. expanded operational envelope.
ated further capacity to learn and
change. For Canada, this “Osprey The USN itself is considering a major According to the USAF:
Nation” would be a key asset as part buy of Ospreys for its large deck carriers. “The CV-22 can perform missions that nor-
of its solution set to Search and The Osprey can replace the C-2 Grey- mally would require both fixed-wing and rotary-
Rescue. hounds and provide combat capability in wing aircraft. The CV-22 takes off vertically
place of simple transporters. It can also be and, once airborne, the nacelles (engine and
The US Army, which does not modified to become an air-refueling asset. prop-rotor group) on each wing can rotate into a
operate Ospreys has often, asked the Currently, the USN is hampered by using forward position.
Marines to operate MEDEVAC missions F-18s to refuel F-18s, which certainly limits “The CV-22 is equipped with integrated
for them in Afghanistan. As Lt.Col. Chris- carrier operations. With the Osprey as an threat countermeasures, terrain-following radar,
tian Harshberger, Commanding Officer of air refueler, whole new possibilities are forward-looking infrared sensor and other
VMM 365, the Blue Knights, commented opened up for USN aviation as well. advanced avionics systems that allow it to
about the US Army and the Osprey in operate at low altitude in adverse weather con-
Afghanistan: To date, the Osprey has limited ditions and medium- to high-threat environ-
connectivity and C2 functionalities. This ments.”
“They became very interested in working clearly will change as the Marines bring on And over time, the USAF is likely to
with us on Medevac missions. They would the F-35B and rethink connectivity in the expand the mission sets of the Ospreys,
pop their equipment modules into the Osprey battlespace. And clearly the USN and notably in conjunction with other deploy-
and have us fly to where the injured soldier USMC will invest in evolving C2 capabili- ment packages. Recent dynamics in Beng-
was operated throughout the AOR. There ties for the fleet; this is another develop- hazi and Gaza underscore the need for
were a couple of times we got to the action so ment from which Canada might benefit. insertable and tailorable force packages,
quickly that the Army was bringing the and for the USAF, their Ospreys could well
wounded up to the Forward Operating Base “Clearly, the number 1 change next up be in the mix.
and we were arriving. What would take a for the Osprey is to get significant upgrades
helo 35 minutes to do we could do in 13.” in capability to work with other assets,”

Expanding Mission Options

Lieutenant Colonel Boniface led and wit-
nessed the impact of the Osprey on U.S.
operations in Odyssey Dawn. he also led the
Ospreys in Bold Alligator 2012, and from his
perspective, the dynamics of change are
simply beginning.

“There is a tsunami of change coming when
we talk about the ability to fight an enemy
and to support Marines ashore. We can
increase our area of operations (AOR) expo-
nentially because we can spread out our
ships; now we have an aviation connector
that can move Marines a tremendous
amount of distance and in a very short
amount of time. We can also use this capa-
bility to leverage our other aviation assets
like our AV8-Bs, CH-53’s, AH-1Ws and
UH-1Ys to support the MAGTF and ulti-

Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com I 24

Global Strike Integrated

The U.S. may need a ready “global strike Cockpit Solutions
force”, able to insert within a very short
period of time to go up against the kind of Delivering Innovative Cockpit Systems
enemy the West may face, on a very reg- Integration and Avionics Solutions
ular basis, and in so doing the Osprey con- to Customers Worldwide.
tribution would be highlighted.
t 0QFO BSDIJUFDUVSF
The focus on global strike has largely t 0GG UIF TIFMG UFDIOPMPHZ
been on a peer competitor; but the lessons t 5SBJOFST
IFMJDPQUFST
of the last decade highlight the need for
insertion forces which can do some of BOE USBOTQPSU BJSDSBGU
what was done in Iraq and Afghanistan
without rolling out half of the deployable .0/53&"- t 055"8" t $)*$"(0
U.S. military. www.cmcelectronics.ca

The recent Israel test of an offense Issue 6, 2012 I www.frontline-canada.com I 25
defense enterprise against the Hamas and
Iranian power projection included several
elements: defensive anti-missile systems,
strike systems against missiles and tunnels,
and the targeting of Hamas leadership.

The Israel version of insertable strike
was demonstrated in Gaza as a key ele-
ment of the package. Perhaps the USAF
and related elements can craft such a rele-
vant capability.

Bundling Ospreys and fighters into an
insertable strike package could prove a
useful asset, but the organization needs to
incorporate such a capability in its plan-
ning. UAVs require long periods of prepa-
ration for target determination, however,
rapid reaction needs appropriate tools in
place and someone in the cockpit.

This is more Special Forces or USMC,
but the recrafting of USAF air capabilities
into small tailored strike packages able to
scramble from anywhere in the world on
short notice might well be a core capability
to deal with a range of threats to be met in
the period ahead.

Rather than baptizing the term “global
strike” with ICBMs, why not focus on tai-
lorable Osprey/fighter/tanker packages?

In short, the Osprey is having a
growing impact on US military operations
across the board. These roles will make the
Osprey a very viable program for a long
period to come.

For Canada, this means that there is a
core community of a wide range of Osprey
users in the United States, which can be
leveraged. What may have looked like a
gamble 10 years ago is now a sure bet for
performance and evolution of capability
based on a transformational program. FL

Robbin Laird is...

0625_SPN_DOM_00_019_00 (READ ONLY) 6/22/2012 4:15 PM Page 19

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 19

June 25, 2012

Shaping Redundant Response U.S. Military Space Capabilities

In a recent report by the U.S.-China < >ROBBIN LAIRD and ED TIMPERLAKE
Economic and Security Review Com-
mission, the evolving threat to U.S. tary can be built around three principles: any Chinese thought of a first strike on able to network and direct engagements at
space capabilities was highlighted. “China presence, economy of force and scalabili- U.S. military space systems. It makes such more than 1,200 kilometers in 360 degrees
is pressing forward with an ambitious ty. Presence refers to having U.S. forces a strike significantly less effective and use- of three-dimensional space out to all con-
counterspace program, including a present and interdependent with allied ful to Chinese military planners. From the nected platforms.
ground- and space-based space surveil- forces in the Pacific. Economy of force is outset, the deployed fleet and space sys-
lance systems, electronic warfare capabili- built around not having to bring over- tems forge a powerful deterrent capability. A fleet of F-35s will be able to share
ties, and kinetic kill vehicles,” the report whelming force to presence. But that only their fused information display at the
said. works if the force is scalable and has the ca- To understand how the F-35 can inter- speed of light to other aircraft and other
pability to reach back and up to a surge of sect with the deployed C5ISR systems and platforms, such as ships, subs, satellites
As the United States shapes an Asian capability to provide for overwhelming provide robust redundancy for military and land-based forces, including
pivot, the ability to network U.S. and allied force as necessary. space, it is important to understand briefly unmanned aerial vehicles and eventually
forces is growing in importance. The Chi- what the F-35 actually is. The F-35 is often robots. Tactically, “Aegis is my wingman,”
nese understand this, and their counter- The key linchpin to do this is the C5ISR simply referred to as a tactical aircraft, and “SSGN is my fire support” will be devel-
space program is designed precisely to de- enterprise in the Pacific. With robust and a replacement for fourth-generation or oped for conventional warfare.
grade such U.S. and allied capabilities and redundant ISR, the enterprise enables a legacy aircraft. It is really something quite
to undercut confidence in what the U.S. distributed force presence to be honey- different. This enables a “tactical” aircraft to
and its allies can do to deal with threats in combed. That is, the network is not about evolve into a key technology for strategic
the Pacific and beyond. hierarchy and the ability of an adversary to It represents a dramatic shift from the operations and impacts.
past. Individual F-35 pilots will have the
The answer to such a challenge is The F-35 is known as a fifth-generation
clearly robust and redundant space-en- “No platform fights alone” is a key point in understanding the player in the state-of-the-art for both the
abled C5ISR(command, control, commu- design of the attack and defense enterprise of the 21st century. air-to-air fighter and air-to-air attack com-
nications, computers, combat systems, in- bat roles. It also adds an electronic warfare
telligence, surveillance and whack the head of the hierarchy; it is about best database of real-time knowledge in component to the fight.
reconnaissance) capabilities. But the re- a honeycomb of deployed and distributed the history of combat aviation. And all of
sponse is not simply in terms of space capability that no adversary can cripple this is internal to their cockpit and en- Electronic warfare is a complex subject
platforms, it is about building from the with a single or easy blow. abled by advances in computer processing with many discreet but also connected ele-
recognition that air breathing systems be- and sensor information fusing. ments. It was designed inherently into the
ing deployed and about to be deployed A key element for shaping a robust and F-35 airframe and C5ISR-D (for decision)
into the Pacific provide crucial building redundant ISR system in the Pacific is the Each F-35 pilot combined with human cockpit.
blocks for robust redundancy. F-35, a tactical aircraft with strategic im- sensing (seeing visual cues outside the
pact. The new aircraft is a flying combat cockpit) will be enabled by machine-driv- Electronic warfare can include offen-
“No platform fights alone” is a key system that has C5ISR built into the cock- en sensor fusion to have combat situation- sive operations to identify opponents’
point in understanding the design of the pit. As a fleet, the F-35s provide a critical al awareness better than any opponent. emissions in order to fry, spoof or jam their
attack and defense enterprise of the 21st layer in shaping a robust and redundant systems. In successful electronic war, often-
century. Space platforms are not being ISR system, which is both synergistic with Concurrent with their ability to look- kinetic kill weapons can be fired. An F-35
tasked to provide the only response to a space systems and complementary to those see, which is limited by physical realities, can be a single sensor/shooter or offload
Chinese counterspace threat. Rather, systems. the F-35 pilots will be able to “see” using its track to other platforms such as planes,
the entire C5ISR enterprise built into a cockpit electronic displays and signals to ships and subs and eventually unmanned
honeycomb is the correct response and A deployed fleet of F-35s — allied and their helmet allowing them not to just aerial combat systems.
approach. U.S. — provides a powerful deterrent to fight with their individual aircraft but be
The kinetic kill shot is usually a high-
The Pacific capability of the U.S. mili- speed missile designed to home on jam. It
has been said on the modern battlefield —
air, sea or land — if not done correctly,

SEE LAIRD PAGE 21

The Last Compact Disc and Digital Assurance

One of us, on a visit with his < >STEVEN M. HUYBRECHTS and JEFFRY S. WELSH
daughters (ages 6 and 8)
to their grandparents pact of increased interconnectivi- And therein lies an enormous slide rules, is essentially a paper decisions in the modern age.
who still own such things, showed ty, have radically changed an in- opportunity. process that scales poorly as sys- We believe that a significant
them a cassette tape. With only dustry — everything from how we tem complexity goes up. Over-
slight interest, they stared at the experience music to how execu- Spacecraft engineers, man- head transparencies may have portion of the troubles in recent
bizarre contraption wondering tives profit from it. We have gone agers and corporations are notori- been replaced by thousands of space acquisition can be traced to
what such an odd thing could be. from shelves full of 33 rpm ously conservative people — and projected PowerPoint charts, but a paper systems engineering
records to carrying our entire mu- rightly so. These billion-dollar ma- as a decision-making experience, process that is straining under the
Back in 1984, CDs were new sic collection on our cellphones. chines are unique in that they be- a three-day PowerPoint design re- stress of space systems that are be-
and wondrous, their shiny sur- come almost untouchable well be- view session is not much different coming more complex with every
faces and digital perfection al- If information technology fore they are ever turned on in from staring at transparencies, or generation. Additionally, the de-
most magical. This year, the mu- (IT) has swept radical change their harsh operating locations. At paper copies, for those same velopment of these systems is in-
sic industry may well produce the across the entertainment content the dawn of the Space Age, smart days. Essentially, we have incul- creasingly becoming about the
very last mass-market CD. An era delivery business, its impact on people set about developing a cated a paper decision-making software — which the paper sys-
that began with Thomas Edison the newspaper business has been process to manage this risk that to- and review process that is frozen tems engineering process of re-
— when music went from some- a tidal wave. Almost overnight it day we call systems engineering. in time. The main contribution quirements decomposition and
thing that was live to something wiped out well over half of an av- Requirements are painstakingly of IT has been a dramatic in- testing addresses poorly.
etched into a physical item you erage newspaper’s revenue decomposed by hand to their low- crease in the ability to generate
could buy in a store — will soon stream, leading a once fiercely lo- est component level. Compo- paper for this process. Witness, In the late 20th century, music
be behind us. Walking down a calized industry to collapse to a nents are painstakingly tested to before it was canceled, the pro- recordings, which were essential-
cold, wet street in Stuttgart, Ger- handful of global brands whose those requirements as they are la- posals submitted for the U.S. Air ly Edison’s needle and groove
many, last year under the perpet- news is increasingly co-mingled boriously connected together into Force’s T-Sat program that had to idea, got better and better — un-
ually gray sky, one of us heard a on tablet apps and websites ever more complex assemblies — be delivered in semi-trucks. til they hit a wall. A sea change
song playing from a fruit ven- rather than delivered on cold until a spacecraft is born. Every was needed to progress, first to
dor’s store that he hadn’t heard winter mornings to your front bolt has a pedigree and we have As a method of describing sys- digital on CDs, which eventually
in 15 years. Within minutes, four door. It has radically and forever built a vast army of quality assur- tems of ever-increasing complexi- led to direct content streaming.
different remixes were down- changed publishing, the way we ance professionals to ensure the ty, paper proposals are a highly in- We believe that space acquisition
loaded from iTunes and added to use libraries, the Post Office, integrity of the process. It works, efficient mechanism. Similarly, similarly needs a sea change. The
his favorites playlist. communications, Christmas no doubt, but it is very expensive PowerPoint — with its associated systems engineering process
shopping and, certainly, how we and represents a large part of a abstraction, necessitated simplifi- should be modernized and be-
Thus Moore’s Law and the net- will fight future wars. But one satellite’s cost. cation and the power of the mes- come a digital assurance process.
work effect, the exponential im- place it has barely touched is sage primarily in the hands of the
spacecraft development. The systems engineering presenter — is a lousy way to make With the world changing
process, developed in an era of
SEE HUYBRECHTS PAGE 21

0625_SPN_DOM_00_021_00 (READ ONLY) 6/22/2012 4:15 PM Page 21

www.spacenews.com SPACE NEWS 21 HoOn Trhe izon

June 25, 2012 www.spacenews.com ADVERTISEMENTS
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LAIRD FROM PAGE 19 gets goes down to the Chinese or JUNE SEPTEMBER
whomever, and diversification VICE PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER
“you emit and you die.” provides significant enhance- June 26 - 28, 2012 September 17 - 19, 2012
Defensively in electronic war- ment of deterrence as well. Paul F. McPherson, Jr. 1st International Space Station
01-703-750-8651 Research and Development Conference Air Force Association’s Air & Space
fare there are a lot of other In short, in rethinking the way Email: "Results and Opportunities: Conference
issues, such as electronic coun- ahead with regard to military The Decade of Utilization" National Harbor, Maryland
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and not well understood. organizing the space enterprise NORTH AMERICA four parallel technical sessions and two Seoul, Korea
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Electromagnetic pulse con- enabled by a honeycombed fleet ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, opportunities in physical sciences, life OCTOBER
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What is necessary to succeed war, author after author refer to July 1 - 8 , 2012 GEOINT 2012
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feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

Pivot point:

Re-shaping US maritime strategy to the Pacific

US Navy: 1482129 A multinational armada seen underway
during the RIMPAC 2012 exercise. RIMPAC
and similar regional exercises will take on
an increasing importance as the US seeks
to improve interoperability and strengthen
engagement with partners across the
Pacific region.

The strategic pivot toward the Asia-Pacific region is intended to rebalance the
projection and focus of US military power in the years ahead. However, it will not be
without its challenges. Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake offer this analysis

During the past 18 months President The strategy will be remade by responses to in the Pacific, but also their major strategic
Barack Obama’s administration has events, and leveraging new technologies in challenge. The issue facing the United States
put in motion a set of policy changes the Pacific as US forces work with allies and and its allies is how to shape a strategy that
that will re-shape US strategy in the Pacific. other partners to deal with various threats allows robust economic collaboration with
The challenge in successfully implementing and challenges as they emerge across the China, while simultaneously developing a
this is that, after more than a decade of war region. A new Pacific strategy will only be capacity to constrain Chinese ambitions and
in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US military is successful if based on partnership. influence in the Pacific and beyond. To retain
confronting a depleted set of key capabilities. the upper, the United States has postulated
Strategic challenges a new and inherently scalable concept that
New defence guidance, maritime strat- combines forward presence with high levels of
egy and shaping capabilities are essential to The challenges currently confronting the US interoperability with regional allies.
ensuring a successful transition in the Pacific. armed services in the Pacific are far different
However, in the presence of looming resource than those of 2001. Not only have conflicts Another significant strategic challenge is
constraints, how will this happen and what in Afghanistan and Iraq consumed US defence the rapid emergence of the Arctic Ocean areas
kind of innovative thinking might drive a investment and taken critical thinking away as key drivers of global economic and energy
shift in Pacific strategy? If ‘hollow thinking’ from air-sea maritime theatres such as the development, as well as opening up new,
goes along with hollowing out the force, no Pacific, but new threats and challenges have shorter transit routes to European markets
‘Pivot to the Pacific’ will actually succeed. substantially re-shaped the theatre. from Pacific ports. This will additionally
enable Russia, should it require to do so, to
Furthermore, there will not be a set of The most obvious change has been the rise coalesce its European and Pacific maritime
briefing charts that can express what a of China and its emergence not only as the key forces. China will also be able to use transit
successful Pacific strategy might look like. economic partner of the major trading nations

22 | Jane’s Navy International April 2013 ihs.com/janes

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

routes in the Arctic and be a key player in the strategic problem of presence and access. but it’s also Air-Sea Battle lines of effort to
economic development of Arctic areas where Nonetheless, the document contains a very break the adversary’s kill or effects chain. We
it can exert strategic influence. Meanwhile, clear statement regarding what it believes is want to disrupt the C4ISR piece of it; deci-
the five-nation “Arctic 5” group – Canada, the focal point of the Air-Sea Battle concept: sion superiority.
Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United “The intent of Air-Sea Battle is to improve
States – will seek to shape a strategic agenda the integration of air, land, naval, space, “How do we get into that information
at the top of the world. and cyberspace forces to provide combatant superiority area? Defeat of weapons launch,
commanders with the capabilities needed to get to the archer, or defeat the weapon
In additional to the new strategic dynamic deter and, if necessary, defeat an adversary kinetically to defeat the arrow?
is the role of nuclear weapons in what employing sophisticated [A2/AD] capabili-
defence strategist Paul Bracken calls the ties. It focuses on ensuring that joint forces “Looking at those three lines of effort, kind
‘second nuclear age’. Any realistic US strategy will possess the ability to project force as of summarises how we approach that? Air-Sea
for the Pacific has to be built around nuclear required to preserve and defend US interests Battle is a subset of a broader presence and
deterrence as a bedrock element, but increas- well into the future. engagement challenge.”
ingly some strategists in the US wish to rule
nuclear weapons ‘out of the equation’. “However, it is important to note that If China and North Korea are the foci, then
Air-Sea Battle is a limited operational concept re-enforcing the entire US precision strike
The strategic reality is quite different. that focuses on the development of inte- enterprise is the priority. The objective is to
Deterrence in a region like the Pacific will grated air and naval forces in the context of have as many forces as possible that can be
be significantly shaped by the presence of [A2/AD] threats. The concept identifies the deployed forward to strike Chinese or North
nuclear weapons. China is strengthening and actions needed to defeat those threats and Korean assets in time of war.
diversifying its nuclear force, while North the materiel and non-materiel investments
Korea is building and expanding. required to execute those actions.” Precision strike coming by air, ground,
and sea forces would be the means to target
Another dynamic is the growing military The capacity to work more effectively as many aim points as possible to create
capability of key allies in the Pacific such as across the US military services in delivering escalation dominance and to win the Air-Sea
Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Each of capabilities to the combatant commanders to Battle. In a more traditional mindset sense,
these is building specific capabilities to secure support operations is central to the Air-Sea the onus falls on carrier strike groups, air/
their national interests, and the challenge Battle concept. As then Chief of Staff of the expeditionary strike groups, and systems like
for the United States will be to work more USAF General Norton Schwartz commented long-range bombers that can deliver large
effectively with those allies in constraining in the JOAC document: “Our testing last strike packages.
China’s rise. year of an [Lockheed Martin] F-22 [fighter]
in-flight, re-targeting a Tomahawk cruise However, what if the Air-Sea Battle really
In effect, the United States will need to missile that was launched from a [USN] sub- is more about shaping a presence with reach
shape a new strategy in the Pacific. Any marine, is an example of how we are moving back to other capabilities to support a differ-
US-China rivalry in the region will revolve closer to this joint pre-integration under our ent kind of force architecture and a different
around who has the most effective allied Air-Sea Battle concept.” set of objectives? If so, deploying precision
strategy, and whether or not the United strike on as many platforms as possible is not
States delivers what the allies are looking for. Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval the means to the end. Rather, a different set
In short, presence, engagement and effec- Operations, provided another characterisa- of ends could well drive a new approach.
tive capabilities to deflect Chinese efforts to tion during the same presentation, observ-
dominate in the region. ing: “Air-Sea Battle uses integrated forces Maximising presence forces able to operate
for what we like to think as three main lines across the entire spectrum of security and
Integrated approach of effort. It’s integrated operations across military operations then becomes the focus.
domains to complete, as I said, our kill chain, These forces need to be effective, agile, and
Accordingly, the US Navy (USN) and US scalable with both significant interoperability
Marine Corps (USMC) – complemented by in the region and reach-back to surge forces
the US Air Force (USAF) and the US Coast operating on the fringes of the Pacific.
Guard (USGC) – are having to think afresh to
shape a different approach in the Pacific. One US Navy: 1482128 US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus meets with Chinese officials in Beijing in November 2012.
expression of such ‘integrationist’ thinking Mabus visited China as the United States is rebalancing its maritime force towards the Pacific.
has been the Air-Sea Battle construct.

The Air-Sea Battle is ultimately about the
future of power projection in the region, and
overcoming the challenges posed by China’s
growing anti-access/area denial (A2/AD)
capabilities. The objective of the Air-Sea Battle
is clear: to enhance conventional deterrence in
the Pacific to offset the rise of Chinese politi-
cal, military and economic influence.

For the authors of the Pentagon’s Joint
Operational Access Concept (JOAC), the
Air-Sea Battle is a subset of the broader

ihs.com/janes April 2013 Jane’s Navy International | 23

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

Assuming the approach is not primarily National Security Cutters will be procured. implications are also about innovative new
about striking Chinese and North Korean This concern was matched by worries about ways to work with allies. Gen Hostage said:
assets, but to constrain adversary operations the numbers of amphibious ships. “The F-35s are central to the transition. We
in the Pacific and beyond, the tools needed are operating in contested air space and need
are presence, partnership building and opera- In all discussions, the demand on resources to shape a distributed air operations capability.
tions – and an ability to put in place distrib- was highlighted. For example, Marine Forces
uted, forward-deployed capabilities that can Pacific conducted more than 100 exercises “The F-22s aggregated in appropriate
be rapidly augmented. and events during 2012, spread across 48 numbers can do some amazing and essential
countries, both inside and outside the AOR. tasks, and with a significant number of F-35s,
Indeed, USN and USMC leaders are discuss- This included deploying the first marines to we can reshape the operational space.
ing presence in terms of the Single Naval start a more permanent presence in Australia.
Battle. Rather than a monolithic strategy, it “The ability of the planes to work with each
is a mindset about how to shape templates for Through the training efforts, the USMC other over a secure distributed battlespace is
more effective integration of naval forces in established an operational presence through- the essential foundation from which the air
the epoch ahead. out the entire region. Training kept deployed combat cloud can be built. And the advantage
marines as the ready force to respond when of the F-35 is the nature of the global fleet.
The USN and USMC might not use the crises occurred, and through forward training
term ‘single naval battle’, because in today’s in the region, the USN and USMC teams were “Allied and American F-35s, whether USAF,
media world, one would spend endless time able to respond when a crises such as the USN, or USMC, can talk with one another and
debating what the concept means. The point flooding in Thailand and the Philippines with set up the distributed operational system.
is less about the concept and more about how forces that were already in theatre. Such a development can allow for significant
to shape a mindset, which will lead to tighter innovation in shaping the air combat cloud
integration of the key elements of naval Furthermore, it was clear from the inter- for distributed operations in support of the
power projection. views that ongoing operational demands Joint Force Commander.”
made it difficult to move forward on a new
Commanders’ perspectives strategy without additional investment in In addition to diminishing platform
platforms and systems. Implicitly, if the numbers, many leaders expressed concerns
During recent interviews conducted by US does not invest in new platforms and about new challenges and emerging threats.
IHS Jane’s with US commanders involved in systems, there will inevitably be a shortfall in For General Charles Jacoby, US Northern
Pacific operations, a common thread was future US capabilities in the Pacific. Command and North American Aerospace
simply the size of the Pacific Area of Respon- Defense Command chief the addition of the
sibility (AOR), and the challenge of operating For General Mike Hostage Commander, Arctic as an operating environment meant new
limited forces over such a large region. Air Combat Command, there is no alternative challenges and new demands for resources:
but to build out air capability with Lockheed
There is also concern with the limitations on Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter “We need to make advances over time that
available resources to operate throughout the aircraft. He is clearly concerned with numbers [will] allow us to stay ahead of evolving prob-
depth and scope of the Pacific. For example, and the need to procure a serious fleet of F-35s lems, with a solid strategic direction defined
the USGC is concerned about the absence of to provide the kind of “combat cloud” crucial and in place. There is a school of thought that
major vessels and how many of the improved to cover an area as vast as the Pacific. The fleet says we can have competitive commercial and
economic interests in the Arctic, but not have
USMC: 1484362 Marine Forces Pacific activities for 2012. any associated security challenges. That is
simply not the way the world works.

“Economic opportunities and challenges
shape or imply security interests. We need
to not only be prepared to take advantage of
and exploit the economic opportunities in
the Arctic, but also to be prepared to address
security challenges.”

For Lieutenant General Jan-Marc Jouas,
deputy commander of United Nations
Command Korea and US Forces Korea, the
evolving North Korean missile capabilities
ramps up the challenges to providing for the
kind of air superiority crucial to deterrence in
the future: “Air power is an essential element
in Korea. This is a ‘come as you are’ fight over
here. No one is going to let us reinforce for
six months; when people take on the United
States, they know they don’t want to give us
the time to build up our forces.”

By air power, Gen Jouas was discussing the
full range of integrated assets whether on
land or at sea. He emphasised the central role

24 | Jane’s Navy International April 2013 ihs.com/janes

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

of support from the sea to the evolving threat The guided-missile destroyers USS US Navy: 1482130
environment on the Korean peninsula. Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS McCamp-
of the USCG in the Pacific, emphasised: “It’s bell (DDG 85) manoeuvre with the Chi-
A common emphasis throughout was presence in a competitive sense, because if nese People’s Liberation Army Navy Type
the need for what Lieutenant General Terry we are not there, someone else will be there, 052B destroyer Guangzhou off the coast
Robling, Commander, US Marine Corps Forces whether it’s the illegal fishers or whether it’s of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2009.
Pacific, called “persistent presence.” If you are Chinese influence in the region. We need to The rise of China represents the biggest
not there, you are not a player: “The United be very concerned about the balance of power challenge to US influence in the Pacific.
States has been a significant presence in the in the neighbourhood.
region throughout the post-war period. That hood there is clearly an active power game
presence has been significant glue in the “If you take a look at some of the other going on.”
region facilitating both security and economic players that are operating in the neighbour-
growth. Our allies and partners certainly A key theme for the commanders was
recognise this and are a looking at new ways to shaping an effective logistic and sustainment
work with us to get that persistent presence. approach to supporting a widely deployed fleet
of aircraft and ships. The head of the Mili-
“A key driver of demand is from partner tary Sealift Command, Rear Admiral Mark H
nations, as well as the more obvious allies. Buzby, provided an important “reality” check
South Korea, Japan, Australia and Thailand to the challenge of supporting deployed assets
are certainly core allies, but we have growing
demand from and opportunities with Cambo-
dia, Vietnam, India, Malaysia and Indonesia
for expanded working relationships.”

Coupled with “persistent presence” was
a significant emphasis upon partnering and
alliances and innovations in ways of working
with other forces.

As Vice Admiral Manson Brown, then head

ihs.com/janes April 2013 Jane’s Navy International | 25

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

Pacific Dynamics RLaird: 1482125

NORTH JAPAN
KOREA

SOUTH
KOREA

639 mi

CHINA 4,099 mi

2,809 mi 3,895 mi HAWAIIAN
3,686 mi ISLANDS (US)

1,630 mi GUAM

Pacific Ocean

SINGAPORE 2,353 mi

The US Needs to
Operate in two Strategic
Operational Zones: a
triangle In support of
Japan; and a
Quadrangle to support
South Korea and core
Asian Allies

AUSTRALIA

over a wide swath of ocean, pointing out that AOR is getting to where you need to be with advantage if they can use their resources on
the kind of distributed fleet operations central some capability. Being able to stretch the legs the mainland to support operations fairly
to the future would place significant logistical of the aircraft and operate from austere sites close to their territory, he said”. That is not
demands on the fleet as well. is critical.” the strategic direction in which they are
headed. They are coming out into the Pacific.
Several of the commanders cited opera- An important modernisation effort involves And if we build the appropriate distributed
tional innovations they were making to try command and control (C2) and information force able to work closely with allies, then
to cope with the gap between demand and warfare systems to be developed, deployed, they have a different kind of anti-access, anti-
supply for security and defence forces. and integrated with US and allied forces in the denial problem of their own.”
Pacific. There are clear flashpoints or decision
For example, Major General Christopher points, which can be leveraged to highlight Strategy will emerge in response to crises
Owens, Commanding General, 1st Marine modernisation opportunities. and when leveraging new technologies and
Aircraft Wing, discussed how the Bell- allied relationships in the decades ahead,
Boeing MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft A final theme, which was discussed but not leadership will be imperative. Between the
was being leveraged to allow USMC forces highlighted in the interviews, was the A2/ two world wars, the United States faced
to operate over a wider area and on a wider AD challenge posed by China, among others. significant challenges to redefine naval
variety of platforms and locations to shape Because these were commanders, they were strategy. As such, leadership emerged and
presence capabilities. “When I was a young not treating the problem as fixed in concrete, guided the transformation of maritime forces
lieutenant and captain, I think we had some- but very much in terms of dealing with a and capabilities that paid dividends during
where in the neighbourhood of 65 amphibi- reactive opponent. A2/AD is an operational the Second World War.
ous warships in the navy inventory. Now, we problem, not a final statement of an inability
have 28 and they’re spread about as thin as to deal with the challenge. What was demonstrated by key leaders at
they possibly can be. We’re running through that time was a profound grasp of the harsh
their lifecycle faster than anticipated, and One commander who spoke to IHS Jane’s reality that all military technology is evolv-
yet they’re never enough. about the A2/AD challenge argued that ing, and thus in a constant relative action/
thinking among many strategists is too reaction cycle against a reactive enemy.
“Going back to the whole challenge in this narrowly focused: “The Chinese have an

26 | Jane’s Navy International April 2013 ihs.com/janes

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

So how might US forces be shaped and Lockheed Martin: 1460730 A2/AD challenges are spurring new programmes,
work with allies to execute a 21st-century such as DARPA’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile
maritime strategy, one which draws on the prototype demonstration programme.
diversity of air, ground and sea assets neces-
sary for success? operational area so as to enable both strike needed to, additional forces would be sent in
and/or defence within an integrated context. to escalate and build up the force.
There are two ways to think of the stra- In the 20th century, surge was built upon
tegic objectives of force structuring in the the notion of signaling: one would put in a With today’s new multi-mission systems –
period ahead. The first can be called shaping particular combat capability – a carrier battle fifth-generation aircraft and the Aegis battle
an attack and defence enterprise. The group, amphibious ready group, or air expe- management system for example – the key
second can be labeled as the 21st century ditionary wing – to put down a marker and is presence and integration with those same
equivalent of the “big blue” blanket that the to warn a potential adversary that you were assets able to support strike or defence mis-
USN crafted to succeed in the Pacific in the there and ready to be taken seriously. If one sions in a single operational presence capabil-
Second World War. ity. Now the adversary cannot be certain that

The evolution of 21st-century weapon
technology is breaking down barriers
between offensive and defensive systems. Is
missile defence about providing defence or is
it about enabling global reach, for offence or
defence? Likewise, the new fifth-generation
aircraft have been largely misunderstood
because they are inherently multi-mission
systems, designed for both forward defence
and forward offensive operations.

Indeed, an inherent characteristic of many
new weapons systems is that they are really
about presence, and laying a ‘grid’ over an

ihs.com/janes April 2013 Jane’s Navy International | 27

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

R Laird: 1484361 The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is seen as an allied lynchpin in the Pacific. a former US 7th Air Force commander under-
scored, “history still matters in impeding allied
one is simply putting down a marker. This is ity are recognised as a strategic objective of co-operation.” But in spite of these challenges
what then USAF Secretary Michael Wynne the first order, then the US can shape a more and impediments, enabling the quadrangle to
called the “attack and defence enterprise”. realistic approach than one which now rests do a better job of defending itself and shaping
on trying to proliferate power projection interoperability across separate nations has to
The strategic thrust of integrating modern platforms, when neither the money nor the become a central strategic US goal.
systems is to create a grid that can operate in numbers are there.
an area as a seamless whole, able to strike or This will require significant cultural change
defend simultaneously. This is enabled by the Geo-political realities for the United States. Rather than thinking
evolution of C5ISR (Command, Control, Com- of allies after its own strategy, it will need to
munications, Computers, Combat Systems, As things stand, the core for the US effort reverse its logic. Without enabled allies in the
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnais- from Hawaii outward is to enable a central Western Pacific, the United States will not be
sance), and it is why Wynne has underscored strategic triangle, one that reaches from able to execute an effective Pacific strategy.
for more than a decade that fifth-generation Hawaii to Guam and to Japan. This triangle It is not about to have a 600-ship navy; and
aircraft are not merely replacements for exist- is at the heart of the US’ ability to project putting Littoral Combat Ships into Singapore is
ing tactical systems, but a whole new approach power into the Western Pacific. With a 20th- a metaphor for the problem, not the solution.
to integrating defence and offence. century approach, one which is platform
centric and rooted in step by step augmenta- The quadrangle can be populated by
By shaping a C5ISR system inextricably tion of force, each point of the triangle needs systems that form a C5ISR grid, in turn sup-
intertwined with platforms and assets that to be garrisoned with significant numbers of porting a network of deployed forces. The
can ‘honeycomb’ an area of operation, an platforms which can be pushed forward. population of the area with various sensors –
attack and defence enterprise can operate to aboard new tankers, fighter aircraft, air battle
deter aggressors and adversaries or to conduct To be clear, having capability in this trian- managers, unmanned aerial vehicles, ships,
successful military operations. gle is a key element of what the United States and submarines – creates the pre-conditions
can bring to the party for Pacific operations, for shaping a powerful grid of intersecting
Inherent in such an enterprise is scalability and it remains fundamental. However, with a capabilities. Indeed, the US can shape an
and reach-back. By deploying the C5ISR ‘hon- new approach to an attack and defence enter- attack-and-defence enterprise in the Western
eycomb’, the shooters in the enterprise can prise, one would use this capability differ- Pacific that it can easily plug into, if indeed
reach back to each other to enable the entire ently from simply providing for push forward it prioritises interoperability and the mutual
grid of operation, for either defence or offence. and sequential escalation dominance. leveraging of capabilities.

In effect, what could be established from Rather than focusing simply on projecting At the heart of re-crafting a 21st century
the US perspective is a ‘plug-in’ approach power forward, what is crucial to a success- US maritime strategy will be the grasp of new
rather than a ‘push’ approach to projecting ful Pacific strategy is enabling a strategic technologies and partnerships that will allow
power. Allies are always forward deployed; the quadrangle in the Western Pacific, anchored a credible evolution of a war winning and
US does not attempt to replicate what those on Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South scalable presence force for Pacific deterrence.
partners need to do in their own defence. Korea. This will not be simple. Competition, Among the core principles for building such
even mutual suspicion, among US allies in the a force is the recognition that not only is all
But what the US can offer is strategic Western Pacific is historically deep-rooted; as weapon technology relative against a reactive
depth to those allies. At the same time if enemy, but it is also relative amongst allied
interoperability and interactive sustainabil- fighting forces.

In Max Hastings’ book ‘Inferno: The World
at War 1939-1945’, he characterises the USN
as showing itself to be “…the most impressive
of its nation’s fighting services.”

Hastings goes on to stress that it took the
relief of some early commanders, who did not
understand the lessons of Carrier Operations
(provided by the visionary insight of Admiral
William S Sims at the Naval War College in
1924) that “carriers presented a 360-degree
range of firepower via their aircraft that far
outdistanced the radius of a battleships’
guns.” The navy wanted a “big blue blanket”
to cover the distances of Pacific combat that
required a lot of ships.

Now, everything has evolved to the 21st-
century version of a “Big Blue ‘Tron’ Blanket”
of US and allied forces. True, the number of
submarines, ships and aircraft still matter

28 | Jane’s Navy International April 2013 ihs.com/janes

feature: US maritime strategy in the Pacific

R Laird: 1478531 Deploying the first-of-class Littoral Combat Ship that UAVs are not the future of aviation but a
USS Freedom to work alongside regional partners component of the future of aviation has been
in southeast Asia is totemic of the new US discussed largely in technology terms.
engagement in the Pacific region.
However, the real force multiplier is the
greatly. At the same time the technology It is not enough to have just “things.” Ele- actual battlefield skill-set learned by a cadre of
soon arriving in the F-35 will allow each mental accounting of quantitative differences junior officers who are RPA operators. A new
aircraft to network and direct engagements can often overlook qualitative differences such generation is being born that understand how
in 360-degrees of 3-D space by handing as the intangibles of C2, training and tactics datalinks work half a world away to fight and
off tracks to other air/land/sea platforms, and logistic support. The “modernisation” of win combat engagements. Marrying up this
including UAVs and robots. F-35 pilots will aircrew proficiency along with all other human new fighting force with the F-35 situational
not only have situational awareness, they will components in the military is essential. decision-making pilot linked to all air/land/sea
have situational decision-making that is truly combat systems is a formula for 21st century
revolutionary. They will all have the best real- Again, if the past is prologue, UAV battle- warfighting that embraces the future.
time battle information database. field evolution in the stain of Afghanistan and
Iraq has an invaluable dimension. Recognising The United States’ and allies’ innovation
in understanding the evolving 21st-century
“information revolution” and making that
technology combat effective is a path to out-
maneuvering and out-fighting the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA), should conflict ever
come to pass. A battle-ready force of dis-
tributed weapons platforms and precision
weapons all networked vertically and horizon-
tally from submarines to satellites empower-
ing combat situational decision making at all
levels at the speed of light is something PLA
forces have not yet demonstrated.