MANEUVER AIR SUPPORT (MAS). An anomaly occurred during the late sixties due to concern over the attrition of our tactical aircraft in Vietnam and projections of the possible disaster our pilots would face beneath the overcast in a war against the USSR in Europe. Out of this concern came the USAF AX program which produced the A- 1. Warthog, the first U. S. Because the AX aircraft would be used primarily in support of ground troops, the U. S. Army had significant input into the necessary characteristics of the aircraft. The AX needed. The design emphasis was on survivability through reduction of vulnerability to ground fire. Although it turned out to be much larger and less agile than desired, it was a major improvement over the nuclear age combat aircraft and serves as an indicator of what might be accomplished if a follow- on effort was sponsored by the Do. D. Touted as a single- purpose aircraft, its loiter performance, ease of maintenance and toughness led to its broad application in Desert Storm. The Russians created the armored SU- 2. Frogfoot CAS aircraft with an uncanny resemblance to the losing Northrop A- 9 AX candidate. SU- 2. 5s have an excellent combat record in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and been almost impossible to shot down. In reality, its not that easy for the air defender (who is also interested in his own survival), especially if the near sky overhead is dominated by aggressive pilots who are not only providing air support but concurrently hunting and attacking air defense elements. Of course, in view of the inadvisability to expose our inappropriate aircraft to gunfire, the air defender is unlikely to face such an air threat. Although the use of nuclear weapons was unlikely, the orientation of air forces toward deep strike established a mindset and doctrines which carried over to the employment of air- delivered conventional weapons. Nuclear warfare thinking proved to be an obstacle to maintaining effective conventional air warfare doctrine. Officials at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced today the laser weapon system (LaWS) - a cutting-edge weapon t. Existing and proposed fighter/attack airplanes, for reasons discussed above, are not optimum for supporting ground forces, especially in the direct attack mode of WWII. And, generations of pilots, trained to perform deep strike interdiction with these aircraft and lacking combat experience in direct air support are unlikely candidates to recover the lost art described in the opening statement of this paper. Navy training system plan for the gbu-24 series (paveway) low level laser guided bomb hard target penetrator n78-ntsp-a-50-0106/a december 2001. Since the Nation lacks appropriate resources for such combat flying, revival of the mission is unlikely to occur without a major effort by the benefactors of such services, the ground forces. Change can only occur if current ground component commanders speak out on behalf of the grunts who will be confronted with classical combat situations in the future. They were sparse in number to begin with and most are retired or deceased. The strategic strike focus of the fifties dominated the minds of air planners during the Vietnam War. Could this account for the fact that direct air support was provided for only ten percent of SEA ground actions? Accompanying this question is the observation that the resource consuming effort of bombing North Vietnam and attempting to interdict the flow of supplies into the South failed to accomplish its objective. These thoughts lead to questions like: (1) Lacking personal experience with vintage air support, to what degree can current ground commanders visualize its potential value and (2) Might it help to conduct experiments to illustrate the possibilities for a revived form of air support which can exploit projected technology and innovative design? Part II: How might Tac. Air contribute to evolving ground warfare concepts ? Concepts such as STOM (ship- to- objective maneuver), DMO (dominant maneuver operations), JSF (joint strike force) and RDO (rapid decisive operations) all portray insertion of light forces into enemy territory. Evolving doctrines portray Light Forces operating deep in enemy territory relying on information dominance and quick decisive actions to keep the enemy off- balance. Light Force concepts emphasize reliance on external fires and various forms of . Encouraging troops to a higher level of aggressive conduct in the face of adversity would clearly be a positive . The testimony of the Battalion Commander in the opening paragraph of this paper illustrates how the visible direct support by skillful pilots can serve to lift the spirits of the troops at a critical time. Is this not an example of the ultimate in terms of . Interviews with scores of combat veterans (retired and active) reveal the need for Continuous Overhead Presence (COP) of perceptive air crews who are working as an integral part of the GCE. The expressed need is for a virtually organic airborne partner who understands the commanders intent and can provide the following functions with minimum interruption to ground maneuver: Local surveillance and reconnaissance Communications assistance Immediate light fires applied to trouble spots as they occur Perimeter reconnaissance- by- fire Control of CAS and coordination with artillery and naval fires (OV- 1/2/1. Vietnam). Part III: What is the nature of the desired air support? MAS is very different from CAS (close air support) which has become a highly controlled alleged air- substitute for artillery fire and will, in the future, be delivered from remote locations well beyond the grunt's view on the battlefield. COP and MAS are provided by combinations of aircraft flown by specially trained crews executing variations of Joint Air Attack Team (JAAT) tactics tailored to exploit the low altitude region that has been vacated for missions such as close air support and battlefield air interdiction. UPDATED 20 January 2013 Airborne Aircraft Carriers for Observers, Sensors, Antennas--and other Aircraft NEW! Lockheed 'Skunk Works' P-791 Hybrid Airship with. We offer professional commercial janitorial service and office cleaning in phoenix. Our services are flexible and affordable. If you are looking for the same, then. Airborne Law Enforcement Association. 26-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty to Pointing Laser at KCMO Police Helicopter Pilot. Leica Geo Office, one integrated office software for all your instruments. Introduction; Early High Energy Laser Evolution; US HEL Programs. Peace Through Light - the Airborne Laser Lab Program; The Star Wars Breakthrough – Adaptive Mirrors. Welcome to HMAS Cairns, located in Draper Street, Portsmith, Cairns, on the northern shore of Trinity Inlet and close to the central business district of Cairns. MAS is tailored to provide visual and continuous support of Light Forces employing three dimensional maneuver warfare concepts to accomplish limited military objectives. Most important, MAS will be available even if the ground action is taking place beneath an overcast sky. These specially trained pilots (all FAC qualified) must be perceptive aerial observers who are fully informed regarding their assigned ground force commander's intent and would be in constant contact with him. Most important, MAS designated units become virtually organic and satisfy the expressed need for air presence, as emphasized repeatedly by combat experienced infantry officers. Experience with this mode of operation has proven effective as described by various pilots who flew OV- 1 Mohawks and OV- 1. Broncos in support of both marine corps and U. S. Army ground forces during Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. Similar favorable experience was accumulated with A- 1 Skyraiders and F- 4. U Corsairs in South East Asia and Korea. Also, variations of this mission were popular and effectively flown by pilots of P- 4. Patton's Third Army as it raced across France in 1. David Spires in . There, the mission was sometimes referred to as . They could also serve as an informed airborne relay to expedite the response and enhance the performance of other air units providing CAS whether it is to be delivered from above or below the overcast. Of major importance is that MAS pilots would be proficient at providing spontaneous light fires to erase small problems which otherwise might escalate to an emergency status requiring artillery and massive CAS fires to save the day. An applicable bit of wisdom here is: . In general terms, an ASP might be described as a small, very agile and survivable cross between a Bronco and a Warthog (an . But of course, to be effective at MAS, the pilots of these birds must be specially trained and routinely practice with a ground element and other components of a joint air attack team (JAAT). They, with specialized equipment and weapons, may be the keys to recovering and exploiting the lost battlespace beneath an overcast sky. Here, a sample of possible aerial activity is offered to aid in visualization of a concept of operations. When in support of a battalion sized ground combat element (GCE), an airborne JAAT might consist of three to five ASPs and two or three AH- 6. Apaches linked and working in the terrain flight environment (between the ground and two hundred feet) with AC- 1. U Spooky in orbit at 1. The JAAT, while flying in mutual support of each other, is simultaneously seeking, gaming, suppressing and killing enemy air defenses while applying light fires against enemy ground forces as desired by the GCE commander. Also, ASPs assist with coordination of artillery and control of CAS when either is needed and available. And, during three dimensional operations, this group will fly . Night MAS can feature AC- 1. U Spooky (gunship) above the overcast, coupled with AH- 6. D Apache Longbow and UCAVs below. Of course, both night and day tactics will vary with the terrain, weather, threat and the tactical objectives. As in the past, definitive forms of the equipment and the techniques for effective application are best determined from exercises which afford opportunities to couple innovative technology with variations in air- ground team tactics. One response to this question is to imagine the architects creed, Form Follows Function, guiding an unbridled creative aircraft design genius - -- herein lies the key to recapturing the lost battlespace beneath the overcast. A vivid picture of the . Combine Harrison's book with that of Colonel Rudel's . Emphasizing these attributes in conversation with innovative designers will likely yield candidate aircraft yet unimagined by most aviators. As examples, Bert Rutan's ARES (Agile, Responsive, Effective Support) and the Lockheed ATLAS (Anti- Tank Light Attack System) featuring the GE Unducted Fan engine and pictured in figures 1 and 2, were products of such discussions which occurred over a decade ago. In wartime, survival and recovery of pilots is especially important because they are a critically in- short- supply resource that must be returned to action, hopefully, within hours of being shot down.
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