SUMMARY RESULTS
What Are the Basing and Logistical Requirements for Land-Based
Fighters in Future Combat Operations?
Taking into account the inter-related factors of aircraft characteristics, aircrew fatigue, combat mission profiles, aerial refueling requirements, sortie rates, and aircrew to aircraft ratios, landbased fighters typically will require bases within 1,000 to 1,500 nautical miles of enemy borders to conduct effective operations.
Based on historical requirements, five theater bases would be required for each Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF), which contains approximately two traditional wings of fighters. The Vietnam conflict required almost six AEF equivalents; the Gulf War around five; Serbian operations about two.
Forward-based fighters must be supplied with munitions and fuel to conduct sustained operations.
Depending on aircraft type, each deployed aircraft would consume three to eight tons of current generation weapons per day (though these requirements will decrease with future weapons) and about double that tonnage in fuel. Depending on the base, the United States may need to deploy additional equipment to support operations.
To What Extent Do These Kinds of Bases (and Supporting Logistics) Exist?
Overall numbers of developed airfields increased dramatically around the world following World War II under the impetus of two main drivers: Cold War imperatives and commercial air traffic growth. Base infrastructure development was most concentrated in Europe, Northeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf. In most of Asia, the emerging focus of current Pentagon planning, the basing infrastructure is less developed. Analysis of the global airfield data base1 illustrates that Asia contains
only about 14 percent of the world’s airfields. Half of these are located in the developed nations of Australia, Japan, and South Korea. As the Defense Department recently concluded regarding Asia “the distances are vast….The density of US basing and en route infrastructure is lower than in other critical regions. The United States also has less assurance of access to facilities in the region.”
Experience from numerous conflicts, notably the 1967 and 1973 wars between Israel and Arab states, has demonstrated the critical role hardened aircraft shelters play in reducing vulnerability to air base attacks. Fifty-two bases in Asia—about 18 percent of the total—field a total of 1,412 hardened aircraft shelters. At first glance, this large number would appear sufficient to house US
deploying fighters, but availability is likely to be lower for several reasons.