The force structure outlined previously is significantly smaller than the force that was necessary during the Cold War. Analysis has shown that this force will be capable of carrying out the ambitious strategy of engagement as long as DoD implements a series of critical force enhancements recommended in the Bottom-Up Review. These enhancements will improve the capabilities, flexibility, and lethality of U.S. general purpose forces. They are geared especially toward ensuring that U.S. forces will be able to bring a large amount of firepower to the conflict in its opening stages and quickly halt the aggression.
These enhancements fall into three broad categories:
Several enhancements will dramatically improve the ability of U.S. forces to halt an enemy armored advance and destroy critical fixed targets in the first phase of conflict. A discussion of these enhancements follows.
Advanced Munitions and Sensors
The key to halting invading armies in theater warfare is to quickly damage or destroy large numbers of their armored vehicles. New technologies for smart munitions capable of accomplishing this task are maturing rapidly.
The CBU-97B/Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW), now in the early phases of production, is the first of the advanced antiarmor munitions. SFW is a dispenser-delivered, wide-area, all-weather munition that gives aircraft the capability to disable or destroy multiple armored vehicles in a single pass. The Air Force is already procuring SFW. The Navy is developing a version of the Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW) equipped with the SFW submunition.
The Wide Area Mine (WAM), which is still in development, is highly effective in disabling armored vehicles and allows large areas to be sown with smart mines that should be difficult to neutralize. Based on the same design as SFW, WAM can be emplaced by either aircraft or missiles. Limited stocks of the WAM should be available in FY 1998.
The Brilliant Anti-Armor Submunition (BAT), also under development, will be delivered by the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). It promises to be even more effective than the SFW. The Army is also developing the Sense and Destroy Armor (SADARM) submunition, which can be fired by 155mm howitzers.
New weapons to improve the ability of U.S. forces to destroy stationary targets are also under development. For example, the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) will allow aircraft to accurately deliver conventional bombs in all types of weather and battlefield conditions. Finally, the JSOW will enhance the survivability, standoff, and range of selected U.S. attack platforms. Similarly, the Enhanced Fiber Optic Guided Missile (EFOG-M) antiarmor system, currently in advanced technology development, provides a significantly improved precision antiarmor capability to forces deployed on the ground. The EFOG-M will allow engagement and destruction of targets at longer ranges with increased precision. These systems should reduce friendly casualties significantly. Taken together, these advanced munitions and sensors will provide U.S. forces with more highly concentrated firepower to blunt an armored invasion in the opening phase of a regional conflict.
Battlefield Surveillance
Accurate information on the location and disposition of enemy forces is a prerequisite for effective military operations. Hence, current planning envisions the early deployment of reconnaissance and command and control aircraft and ground-based assets to enable U.S. forces to see the enemy and to pass information quickly through all echelons. Advances in areas ranging from satellite communication and surveillance to digitization will ensure that U.S. forces have a decisive advantage in tactical intelligence and communications.
New sensors that provide adverse weather surveillance of the battlefield at significantly increased depths and with wide-area platforms that provide continuous coverage are essential to its ability to bring force to bear effectively. Several such sensors and platforms are undergoing final stages of development testing and will be fielded in the next few years. Examples include the synthetic aperture and moving target indication radars on the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in several endurance and range classes with various sensors.
Long-Range Bomber Enhancements
Heavy bombers can play unique and important roles in short-warning conflicts and bring massive firepower to bear during the opening hours and days of conflict. Programs are underway which will increase bomber survivability, sustainability, and precision weapons delivery capability. Once in place, the U.S. bomber force of B-1, B-2, and B-52Hs will be able to cover a full range of enemy targets. When armed with the advanced munitions listed above, the bomber force will be able to quickly and effectively destroy high-value targets and cut lines of communication in rear areas, and disrupt and destroy advancing enemy ground forces.
Enhanced Carrier-Based Airpower
The Navy is examining a number of innovative ways to improve the firepower aboard its aircraft carriers. First, the Navy will acquire stocks of new smart antiarmor weapons for delivery by attack aircraft. The Navy also will fly additional F/A-18s and crew members to forward-deployed aircraft carriers. These additional aircraft and crews would increase the striking power of the carriers during the critical early stages of a conflict.
STRATEGIC MOBILITY ENHANCEMENTS
The key to being able to prevail in even one MRC, much less two, is strategic lift capability. U.S. lift assets are the foundation of the force's capability to project combat power around the globe. Lift assets are also used in nearly every humanitarian and peace operation undertaken by U.S. forces. These unique lift capabilities will continue to make U.S. participation in many multilateral operations a key to their success. DoD is in the process of making substantial enhancements to U.S. strategic mobility -- most of which were first identified in the 1992 Mobility Requirements Study.
Strategic Airlift
The United States is replacing its aging C-141 fleet. Thirteen C-17 airlifters have already been delivered to their base in Charleston, and funding for six C-17s and procurement of long lead items for eight additional aircraft have been approved by Congress for FY 1995. Plans continue to complete the initial Air Force buy of 40 aircraft. Requirements exist for more than the capacity that these 40 will provide, and they will be met either by additional purchases of C-17s or by the purchase of nondevelopmental airlift aircraft or both.
The C-17s at Charleston Air Force Base (AFB), South Carolina, have logged more than 1,200 flights and 5,900 hours, and over 8,000 landings. In October 1994, two C-17s flew the aircraft's first operational mission from Charleston to Langley AFB, Virginia, to pick up a load which included outsized vehicles that will fit only on C-17s and C-5s. They then flew direct to the Persian Gulf, with air refueling enroute, off loaded their cargo, and flew nonstop back to Charleston. These C-17s were officially declared operational at Charleston in January 1995 and are now available for worldwide operations.
The C-17 offers capabilities not available in commercial aircraft such as the ability to carry outsize loads, to conduct airdrop operations for both equipment and personnel, and enhanced ground maneuverability which improves throughput in both modern and austere airfields. Commercial cargo aircraft are less expensive, but they cannot carry outsize loads nor can they carry a significant portion of the military cargo that can be loaded on the C-141. Modifications to commercial aircraft, of course, can increase the proportion of military cargo that those aircraft can carry.
The Department is reviewing the cost, schedule, and production performance of the C-17 and is also conducting a competition for nondevelopmental airlift aircraft. The number of each aircraft that the Department will purchase will be decided later this year.
Strategic Sealift
DoD plans to acquire 19 large, medium speed roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) ships which will more than double surge sealift capacity for transporting forces and equipment from the United States to distant theaters and support the Army's prepositioning afloat program. Additionally, the United States will improve the readiness and responsiveness of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) though a variety of enhancements.
Finally, DoD plans to fund various measures that together will improve the flow of personnel, equipment, and supplies from their locations in the United States to the ports from which they will embark. Some of these improvements include expanding rail and airheads at contingency force installations, constructing a containerized ammunition facility on the West Coast, and purchasing and prepositioning over 1,000 railcars for heavy/oversized cargoes.
Although not an enhancement per se, the U.N. Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention ensures navigation and overflight rights that are essential to the mobility of U.S. forces. This treaty guarantees that key sea and air lines of communication will remain open as a matter of legal right, not contingent upon approval by coastal and island states along the route or in the area of operations. For these reasons, DoD strongly supports the United States becoming a party to the LOS Convention. (Further details at Appendix H.)
Prepositioning
Prepositioning heavy combat equipment and supplies ashore and afloat can greatly reduce both the time required to deploy forces to distant regions and the number of airlift sorties devoted to moving such supplies. In October 1994, when Iraqi Republican Guard and other units moved toward Kuwait, U.S. prepositioned heavy brigade sets of equipment in Kuwait and afloat allowed U.S. forces to arrive quickly to contribute to the defense of Kuwait. Before these prepositioning efforts, only about a third of the U.S. ground forces that deployed or were scheduled to deploy in October would have been on station within the same time frame.
The three maritime prepositioning ship squadrons provide equipment for a Marine Expeditionary Brigade (equivalent) in Southwest Asia (SWA) and Northeast Asia, and potentially other regions as well. An additional prepositioning ship, as appropriated in FY 1995, will enhance the current capacity and capability of the maritime prepositioning force. The U.S. Army has established an armored brigade set of equipment afloat which is available to be sent to either SWA or Northeast Asia. Additionally, the Army has added two container ships in FY 1995 which carry 30 days of supply for early deploying units of the entire contingency corps. The Army has also prepositioned one brigade equipment set ashore in Kuwait and is beginning to establish a brigade set in South Korea. Efforts continue to create an additional set of prepositioned equipment in SWA.
IMPROVED ARMY RESERVE COMPONENT READINESS
The Department of Defense has undertaken several initiatives to improve the readiness and flexibility of Army National Guard combat units and other reserve component forces in order to make them more readily available for MRCs and other contingencies. Toward this end, 15 Army National Guard (ARNG) brigades have been designated as enhanced readiness brigades. Within the overall Army reserve component force structure, readiness initiatives will focus on these 15 enhanced readiness brigades and selected combat support and combat service support units. These 15 brigades will be resourced sufficiently with personnel and equipment to be ready to deploy 90 days after each brigade's respective mobilization. For regional contingencies, the ARNG enhanced brigades provide additional depth to deal with uncertainty and risk. They will increase the Army combat power that can be made available by reinforcing or augmenting deployed active divisions and corps.
These enhancements will substantially increase the capabilities U.S. forces will need for effective operations in the post-Cold War era. To a large extent, the ability of the United States to fight and win two nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts depends on the enhancements described above. DoD will continue to ensure that funding for these enhancements receives priority in budgetary considerations.
