In response to "superpower competition," the US military has stepped up its efforts to advance the concept of agile operations
Recently, the US Air Force deployed 25 F-22 Raptor fighters to the US base in Guam and surrounding areas to conduct large-scale joint air combat exercises code-named "Pacific Steel."
This is the most frequent exercise in the history of the U.S. Air Force with the "Raptor" warfare.
General Wills Bach, Air Force Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said that the exercise aimed to demonstrate the powerful "strategic flexibility" of the US Air Force and focus on the ability of the US air force to deploy and respond quickly to airports in the western Pacific islands. Prove the concept of "agile operations" for the US military.
concept
The concept of "Agile Operations" was first proposed by the U.S. Air Force's "Air Force Future Operations Concept 2035" document released in September 2015.
Since then, the U.S. Navy and Army have successively accepted and developed the concept of "agile operations" and launched their own "agile operations" capability development measures.
Integrating the understanding of "agile operations" by the U.S. air, navy, and land services, it can be roughly defined as: covering land, sea, air, space, electricity, network and other full-dimensional space, through agile command and control, to achieve multi-dimensional power and capabilities When dealing with regional challenges, it can quickly generate multiple solutions and quickly adjust between multiple solutions, so as to win combat victory with agile and quick overall combat capability.
Speed is the essence and basic requirement of the "agile operations" of the US military.
The principle of joint operations of the US military emphasizes that "being faster than the enemy in action, and at a faster pace than the enemy, expanding one's freedom of choice and depriving the enemy of his freedom."
The modern combat system is a complex giant system that follows the "barrel principle", that is, the total effectiveness of the system does not depend on the longest part, but on the shortest part.
The balance of "agile operations" includes the following aspects: First, the balance between the service and the combat space. One cannot unilaterally pursue a certain service or a certain dimension of space for individual soldiers, but the balanced development of various services and arms and various dimensions; second, The balance between the combat system and the combat platform, whether it is information transmission, processing, utilization, or the maneuver and assault of force firepower, cannot stand out at all. The third is the balance of resource cost and combat effectiveness to minimize cost consumption. Under the premise of obtaining the required combat effectiveness.
For example, in the field of space operations, the US Department of Defense proposed to focus on the development of small low-cost launch vehicles and low-cost small satellites as an important means of reducing costs.
On June 13, the US Space Force successfully launched the "Tactical Response Launch 2" satellite using the "Pegasus" rocket, which is a test of the rapid response tactical satellite launch capability of the "Agile Operation".
develop
In order to accelerate the innovation and realization of the Air Force’s "agile operations" capabilities, the US Air Force used the practice of the United States Special Operations Command and the non-profit innovation research organization Dulit The "Air Force Innovation Workshop" under the direct leadership of the Deputy Chief of Staff.
On January 11, 2018, the "Air Force Innovation Workshop" was formally established in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its responsibilities were "dedicated to the design of the Air Force's "agile operations", rapid concept verification, and integration of existing and innovative technologies. Quickly transform into'agile combat' capabilities".
During the "Mosaic Tiger" exercise held by the US Air Force Air Mobility Command from February 22 to 26 this year, the concept of "agile combat application" was practiced.
From April 26th to May 7th, during the "Agile Flag" 21-2 exercise held by the US Air Force Air Combat Command, the 4th Fighter Wing as the "advanced wing", its mission generation, rapid deployment and seamless Command and control capabilities have been tested.
The "Pacific Steel" joint air combat exercise is the latest such exercise of the Air Force.
The US Navy is not far behind. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Goitz, who is in charge of scientific research and acquisition, vigorously promotes the "Navy Agile Operations" innovation program.
In February 2019, Goitz proposed to establish a "Navy Agile Operations Office" under his direct leadership.
In September of the same year, Goitz announced that it would establish a "technical bridge" across the United States with the mission of rapidly expanding the navy's ability to collaborate with various regional academia, industry, and government innovation as a way to transform innovation and existing technologies into naval "agile operations." "A bridge of ability.
The U.S. Army assigns the task of developing "agile operations" capabilities to the U.S. Army Future Command. Commander Mike Murray attributed the Army’s "agile operations" enabling technologies to artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous system technologies, and networks and data. "3+2" mode.
Mike Murray believes that the national defense industry model that focuses on the development and production of large platforms has fallen behind. Today’s operations are based on a new form of network-based and information-driven. Although we always need conventional platforms and systems, labor Intelligent and unmanned, long-range combat systems are shaping new forms of warfare.
direction
The background of the US military's "agile operations" is that the U.S. military strategy has shifted from counter-terrorism to "superpower competition." This determines the spearhead of the US military strategy of "superpower competition" and is highly consistent with the direction of "agile operations."
First, clearly target the anti-access/area denial capabilities on the target.
"Anti-access/area denial" first came from the "Four-year Defense Evaluation Report" and "Concept of Integrated Air and Sea Combat" issued by the U.S. Department of Defense in February 2010.
The two documents mentioned "China" and "Liberation Army" in more than 300 places, and emphasized that "The Chinese People's Liberation Army is the most serious anti-access/regional denial challenge faced by the US military."
Second, strengthen the deployment of "agile operations" in measures.
Based on the needs of global hegemony, the U.S. military has built huge base groups all over the world. In the first, second, and third island chains of the Western Pacific alone, there are Northeast Asian bases, Guam bases, Hawaii bases, Australia and New Zealand bases, and Alaska. Five base groups including base groups.
The United States has deployed a strong military force in each base group. This is a manifestation of the frontier presence of the US military and is also an important support for the rapid and agile military intervention of the US military in the event of an emergency.
However, with the rapid development of the military strength of other major powers, especially the ability of long-range precision strikes, the US military is worried that if military conflicts with major powers erupt, its large bases will face destruction.
In order to avoid risks and achieve the purpose of "agile operations", the US military needs to strengthen "agile operations deployment."
To adapt to the needs of "agile operations" in base construction, including the decentralized deployment of frontier bases, that is, on the basis of consolidating alliances with Japan and Australia, the United States will actively develop relations with Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia to obtain Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay base and the Philippines. The right to use the Clark Base, Uda Fort and Kerit Airport in Thailand, and the Air Force Base in Indonesia, thereby realizing the decentralized deployment of forward bases in the region.
At the same time, deploy backup frontier bases, such as repairing small bases in Tianning, Saipan, and Palau, and storing oil, ammunition, and other necessary materials on the island, so that they can be used as alternative options when the Guam base is unavailable.
To adapt to "agile operations" in terms of force deployment, the current method of centralized deployment of US military forces in large, comprehensive military bases will be changed to a distributed deployment of "integrated into parts", thereby enhancing the resilience of the US military's combat system.
For example, in the case of the US Air Force, the fleet deployed on large air bases will be evacuated quickly to the military or civilian airports of the United States and its allies during wartime to avoid concentrated assaults by long-range firepower from opponents.
Finally, strengthen targeted "agile operations" joint exercises to accelerate the formation of "agile operations" capabilities.
On March 6, 2019, the U.S., Japan, and Australia Air Forces held the first multinational "agile combat deployment" exercise.
The US Marine Corps sent one F/A-18 fighter jet and one C-130 transport aircraft to demonstrate how to effectively operate the combat capability at a forward airstrip, emphasizing that allied forces can master relevant capabilities after short-term training.
Its core is to achieve seamless integration between multinational combat equipment and personnel through global reach and flexible deployment, and to provide rapid response capabilities and "agile operations" capabilities. This is a test of the tactical feasibility of "agile combat deployment".
In 2021, despite the impact of the global spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the "agile operational deployment" of the US military in the Indo-Pacific region will continue as usual, including "Counter North-21", "Pacific Fortress-21", "Guard Sabre", and "Pacific Steel-" 21" and other US military joint military exercises led by the Indo-Pacific Command, as well as joint military exercises participated by the military of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, are to test the US military’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies.
Compared with the U.S. military's pursuit of overall superiority, absolute superiority and future superiority on the battlefield with far-leading resource and military advantages, the concept of "agile operations" reflects the anxiety of the United States facing the rise of other major powers and its military pursuit of regions. The choice of advantages, relative advantages and practical advantages.
In general, this is a pragmatic choice for the US military to fight against powerful opponents.
The U.S. military emphasizes decentralized deployment and rapid maneuverability in "agile operations", which is intended to dissolve the opponent's high-strength medium and long-range missile coverage capabilities, and disperse them from the "pouring rain" for a few large targets to the "capillary" for a large number of small targets. Rain", thereby reducing the pressure on the US military, increasing its freedom of movement and battlefield survivability.
The pertinence of the "agile operational deployment" of the US military is self-evident. This is a practical step to advance the preparations for actual combat in the Indo-Pacific, and we must be highly vigilant in this regard.
(Author's unit: School of Information and Communication, National University of Defense Technology)
Wu Minwen Source: China Youth Daily