How the U.S. Air Force Can Reclaim the Skies
October 13, 2024
The U.S. military is in a dogfight to control the skies. For decades after World War II, America took its air superiority for granted. We no longer can. Our primary adversaries have massively invested in modern fighters, advanced surface-to-air missiles and other new countermeasure technologies. Each new system blunts our competitive edge.
China is on the cusp of world-changing air capabilities. If conflict erupts, China may be able to bracket off the Western Pacific, striking our bases with salvos of missiles and using state-of-the-art air-defense batteries to keep our aircraft at bay. Beijing could also launch swarms of sophisticated fighter jets that would far outnumber what the U.S. could muster on short notice.
This would support Xi Jinping’s ambition to take Taiwan. America’s top military brass suspect that Mr. Xi has directed the Chinese military to be ready to seize the island by 2027, and he has spent royally to give them the tools to do the job. This year Mr. Xi announced a 7.2% increase in defense spending. He has likely doubled production rates for several tactical fighter programs, such as fourth- and fifth-generation J-16 and J-20 warplanes and has built one of the most sophisticated and continually improving air-defense systems.
China’s new capabilities are formidable, but there is no reason for America to cede the skies. For the future to echo our past air superiority, we should execute a full-scale rebuilding of the shrinking U.S. Air Force. That should begin with the Next Generation Air Dominance initiative. NGAD is the manned replacement for the best fighter aircraft ever built, the F-22 Raptor, of which we field about 180 today.
These vital programs have encountered a roadblock: U.S. military leadership. Senior Air Force officials have repeatedly blocked, reversed or ignored initiatives that would restore America’s command of the skies. The Air Force has paused the NGAD program and may cancel it. Officials cite a host of unconvincing reasons, such as its cost, the need for new air bases and the allure of unmanned aviation.
NGAD would be the most capable fighter aircraft ever produced, but it can’t accomplish its mission on its own. The Air Force combat fleet that would accompany it—in particular, the fighter fleet—is in a death spiral. Inventory is dwindling, forcing older aircraft to be overworked on longer deployments. These aircraft spend extended time in maintenance, requiring others to pick up the slack on their own increasingly lengthy missions. The Air Force intends to retire almost 1,000 aircraft in the next five years, including about 400 fighters.
Stalling decline is step one. This year, we fought for legislation in the Senate that would prevent the retirement of 26 F-15E and 32 F-22A fighters. The Air Force must now focus on growth. Defense Department planners intend to end production of F-15EX aircraft, but we led the charge to build six more this year, and we will work to keep the production lines open. We will also continue advocating for relatively inexpensive F-16 upgrades that keep that fleet in the fight.
An old adage says that fighters protect the bombers, and we must take care of those heavy-hitting warplanes. The B-21 Raider, an advanced stealth bomber, has performed well in preliminary testing. The Air Force hasn’t committed to producing more than 100 thus far, but Congress should supercharge production of this plane by increasing the planned fleet size closer to 200. This would fully modernize our bomber fleet and provide industrial capacity to allow us to sell bombers to our allies, as we do attack submarines.
We must pair our weapons upgrades with updates to logistics networks. Current U.S. systems rely on unfettered access to the skies, but we can no longer assume that freedom of movement. Our adversaries have new air-denial capabilities, and the Pentagon has consistently underinvested in logistics networks, putting these lifelines at extreme risk.
The U.S. should fund Air Mobility Command’s long-term plan to make every tanker a communications node. The logistics experts at U.S. Transportation Command must also begin completing their unfunded requirements list, fulfilling a statutory obligation to tell lawmakers what resources the command needs but hasn’t financed. The command has failed for years to provide this list to Congress.
A father of the modern Air Force, Gen. Hap Arnold (1886-1950), once said, “Air power will always be the business of every American citizen.” He meant that America’s rise as an aerospace superpower was built by an advanced ecosystem of defense production, civilian research and a strong industrial workforce. Large areas of this country were forever changed for the better when Uncle Sam came asking for warplanes.
Economic development and national security have always gone hand in hand. We have committed to restoring American air superiority by making the most of the nation’s innovative defense manufacturers. We invite U.S. national security officials to join us.
