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Mutual Denial of Air Superiority Could Benefit US in Future Conflict, Top USAF Planner Says
Air and Space Forces Mag
Sept. 6, 2022 | By Greg Hadley
...Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements, detailed those questions as part of a virtual fireside chat with the Atlantic Council on the future of air warfare in light of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has lasted more than six months now.
In those six months, the airspace above Ukraine has been contested, as Russia’s more technologically advanced air force has been largely stymied by cheap, effective Ukrainian air defense systems.
Those results have led Hinote to conclude that “the barriers to entry for denial, for denying the use of airspace, are much, much lower these days than the barrier to entry for extending control and keeping control of the airspace,” he said.
Controlling airspace, or air superiority, has long been a central tenet of U.S. Air Force strategy. But given that the costs of achieving and maintaining that superiority have grown relative to what it takes to deny it for others, a “very interesting question” occurs, Hinote said.
In those six months, the airspace above Ukraine has been contested, as Russia’s more technologically advanced air force has been largely stymied by cheap, effective Ukrainian air defense systems.
Those results have led Hinote to conclude that “the barriers to entry for denial, for denying the use of airspace, are much, much lower these days than the barrier to entry for extending control and keeping control of the airspace,” he said.
Controlling airspace, or air superiority, has long been a central tenet of U.S. Air Force strategy. But given that the costs of achieving and maintaining that superiority have grown relative to what it takes to deny it for others, a “very interesting question” occurs, Hinote said.
More:
https://www.airforcemag.com/mutual-denial-of-air-superiority-could-benefit-us-in-future-conflict-top-usaf-planner-says/