The National Interest

For the last thirty years, the U.S. Air Force has operated with freedom from a serious attack against our main operating bases. During that time potential adversaries including the People’s Republic of China and Russia implemented a strategy to prevent the massing of airpower near their borders. This Anti-Access/Area Denial strategy relies on a potent Integrated Air and Missile Defense System combined with large quantities of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to hold our main operating bases at risk. As in military developments throughout history, there is a pattern of measure and countermeasure. To counter this strategy, U.S. forces, along with U.S. allies and partners, must learn to fight within the threat umbrella.

While designing a defense for the air bases to protect personnel, equipment and supplies is a necessity, for the actual aircraft, given their relative fragility, the best defense is not to be on the ground when the strike occurs. Even with the large inventories of missiles being produced by the PRC, Russia and others, they are still a finite quantity and insufficient to persistently attack and deny all airfields in a theater at all times. Therefore, any strategy operating within the threat umbrella must incorporate the maneuver of air forces.

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