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Preserving Freedom of Movement in the Skies

Advanced air power provides security

FORUM Staff

Air power is an essential element of military strategy.

Militaries worldwide harness their resources to protect national intersts by leveraging thier air force. These assets also provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, in addition to self-defense. “Air power’s innate qualities of reach, speed and perspective give it an unrivaled ability to project influence globally,” John Andreas Olsen wrote in his book, Global Air Power. “Nations that possess advanced air power can and will exert their authority in any region, regardless of whether they have a geographic presence.”

More than a century has passed since armies and navies began experimenting with the use of airplanes as part of their war tactics. Air power’s rise to an essential element of military strategy emerged almost simultaneously with the advent of aviation itself.

“Air power has played a critical role in the conflicts that have set the Asian political scene since World War II. From the Korean War to the Vietnam conflict, to the several wars between India and Pakistan, air forces have helped tip the strategic balance in war and frame the terms of peace,” Robert Farley, an assistant professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce and expert on military doctrine, wrote for The National Interest magazine in January 2015. “But effective air forces need more than flashy fighters. They need transport aircraft that can provide strategic and tactical airlift, and aerial early warning planes that can maintain surveillance and control of the sky. They need a defense-industrial base that can keep the warplanes in the air.”

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2A/B fighter pilot salutes during a review ceremony at the Hyakuri Air Base in Omitama, Ibaraki prefecture, in October 2014. [AFP/Getty Images]
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2A/B fighter pilot salutes during a review ceremony at the Hyakuri Air Base in Omitama, Ibaraki prefecture, in October 2014. [AFP/Getty Images]
Across the Indo Asia Pacific, some analysts look to Japan, India and China as the three most effective air forces in the region (excluding the United States) and most likely to possess those attributes. What follows represents a snapshot of the impression these three countries leave from a tactical air perspective.

Japan Air Self-Defense Force

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed recently to expand the role of his defense forces. What gets little mention in such a politically driven discussion is just how well-equipped those forces already are, particularly the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

In fact, Larry Wortzel, an analyst on defense issues and the Indo Asia Pacific, said Japan has the “strongest Navy and Air Force in Asia,” according to a report by Breaking Defense website, calling Japan “the most modern, the most effective.”

“You don’t want to mess with them,” he said.

The number of JASDF personnel stood at roughly 47,000 by the start of 2014, according to Japan Ministry of Defense figures. The Japanese government has recently made major investments in its air defense with next-generation intelligence aircraft purchases like the F-35 joint strike fighter and upgrades to its F-2 and F-15 fleets, according to the DefenseNews website.

“The F-35 usefully enhances interoperability between the U.S. and Japanese armed forces and puts Japan’s fighters on the same page as the U.S. and other allies,” Corey Wallace, a security policy analyst at the Graduate School of East Asian Studies at Freie Universität, Berlin, told DefenseNews. “It also enhances the usefulness of Japan’s own Aegis-equipped destroyers by essentially enhancing their range. The networking capabilities also makes the Aegis the F-35’s ‘wingman’ by enabling it to leverage sea-based missiles to expand its strike area.”

Aegis is not a missile but a system of guided missiles, software and radar carried aboard warships that equip standard missile interceptors. Developed in the 1970s by the United States, the Aegis combat system has since been improved to enhance its ballistic missile defense capabilities.

People’s Liberation Army Air Force pilots — members of the August 1st Aerobatics Team — climb out of J-10 fighter jets after arriving for the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, in November 2014. [REUTERS]
People’s Liberation Army Air Force pilots — members of the August 1st Aerobatics Team — climb out of J-10 fighter jets after arriving for the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, in November 2014. [REUTERS]
Japanese fighters have taken to the sky more often lately because the country says it must counter Chinese fighters and Russian spy planes, according to a January 2015 report by Reuters. During the last nine months of 2014, Japan saw a 32 percent increase in the number of fighters it scrambled compared to the same time period in 2013, Reuters reported.

Tensions with China, and between China and other nations in the region — particularly around the South China Sea — have prompted Japan to ramp up its military engagements, government officials say. A Japanese military official commented on the country’s intent to join the U.S. in patrols of the South China Sea.

“The area is of utmost importance for Japanese security,” Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano told The Wall Street Journal newspaper in June 2015. “Because there is a lack of transparency, we are very concerned about China’s actions.”

Abe’s push to make Constitutional changes allowing for a more active military role has been polarizing, “and any perceived revival of Japan as a military player prompts strong reactions from those who have suffered from its military expansionism in the past — notably China,” the BBC News said in July 2015.

Indian Air Force

One has to look no further than Exercise Cope India, a bilateral air force exercise between India and the U.S., to recognize the skill of Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel.

“Using a variety of tactics, the Indians managed to go toe-to-toe with the best that the U.S. Air Force had to offer,” Farley wrote about the exercises, which took place between 2004 and 2009.

India continued its international relationship building in July 2015 through an air combat exercise with the United Kingdom. Indian fighter pilots matched their skills with British counterparts in the bilateral Indradhanush exercise. IAF personnel participated in the exercise with four Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, a C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift aircraft, a C-130J Super Hercules special operations plane and an IL-78 midair refueler, The Times of India newspaper reported in July 2015.

India reportedly has begun modifying its Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft to carry air-launched supersonic cruise missiles known as Brahmos so that it can now reach the interiors of China and Pakistan, according to an April 2015 report in The National Interest magazine, which is based in Washington, D.C. The Brahmos cruise missiles are the fastest in the world, reaching speeds of Mach 3.0, or 3,000 meters per second.

India is also testing a three-stage solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile, The National Interest reported. The Agni-V has a range of about 5,000 kilometers.

The IAF is also working to acquire additional airlift capabilities, including new, domestically made helicopters.

With 170,000 personnel and 1,500 aircraft, the Indian Air Force is the fourth largest in the world, behind the U.S., China and Russia, India Today reported in June 2015.

People’s Liberation Army Air Force

China’s increased defense spending has increased defense spending comes as no surprise to military analysts who have kept a keen eye on the People’s Liberation Army. China’s military budget for 2015 was expected to increase by 10 percent over the previous year, rising to about U.S. $145 billion, The New York Times newspaper reported in March 2015.

Chinese state media reported in July 2015 that China needs to develop a long-range strategic bomber to strike adversaries farther away from its coast should a conflict arise — further bolstering the impression that China has no intentions of scaling back defense spending or growth any time soon.

China’s goal by 2050: Build an armed forces capable of winning wars, according to Indian Defence Review.

“A visionary, long-term and time-bound approach to military modernization, supported by a strong and innovative military-industrial capability, has transformed the People’s Liberation Army Air Force of China from an antiquated, derelict, poorly trained and oversized force to a modern aerospace power with increasing proficiency to undertake its stated missions in the 21st Century,” according to the July 2014 Indian Defence Review.

The  People’s Liberation Army Air Force isn’t only posturing in a defense stance. Air Force personnel used a drone in a humanitarian mission for the first time in July 2015, dispatching the unmanned aircraft to help in monitoring work following an earthquake in Xinjiang.

CONCLUSION

The global air power industry has experienced lots of change since the end of the Cold War. The Indo-Asia-Pacific region, in particular, has seen a robust transformation in air power since the 1990s, according to a report titled “Trends in Airpower Modernization in the Asia-Pacific Region,” produced by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

With greater emphasis on acquiring advanced air combat missile systems as well as other advanced air power technologies, countries across the region are sure to remain in competition to attain the latest cutting-edge equipment to beef up their air capabilities. That race to be the first to attain the latest trend could mean an ongoing shifting in air power balance.

“How these trends will eventually play out, the balance of air power capabilities in the region, the factors leading to shifts in the balance of airpower capabilities,” the Singapore report said, “these are questions that continue to challenge strategic thinking in the region.”


China accelerates research into military drones

Reuters

China is accelerating research into military drones as its arms industry looks to increase export volumes, hoping to gain traction with cheaper technology and a willingness to sell to countries to which Western states are reluctant to sell.

While its technology lags behind the United States and Israel, the biggest vendors of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), China is attracting a growing list of foreign buyers including Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt.

China has previously had limited success exporting manned military aircraft but is hoping to do better with UAVs, given that they are cheaper and easier to manufacture.

“Research and development on drones in our country has now entered a phase of high-speed progress,” said Xu Guangyu, a retired major general in the People’s Liberation Army.

“We have some distance to catch up with developed countries — that’s certain — but the export market is growing.”

Market researcher Forecast International pegged the value of production for military drones worldwide at U.S. $942 million in 2014. It will grow to $2.3 billion by 2023, the firm said.

China’s biggest drone maker, Aviation Industry Corp of China, is predicted by Forecast to become the world’s largest maker of military drones by 2023.

Its Wing Loong drone sells for U.S. $1 million, according to Chinese media reports. The U.S.-made MQ-9 Reaper, to which it has sometimes been compared, is priced at about U.S. $30 million.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) believes China became the second country in the world to openly export armed drones when it delivered five to Nigeria in 2014. Nigeria, which had unsuccessfully sought drones from the U.S., has used them against the militant group Boko Haram.

The U.S. has only exported armed drones to Britain.

Though China is discreet about its weapons exports, it has sold various types of military drones to at least nine countries, according to state media reports, including Pakistan, Egypt and Nigeria.

Growing market share

China’s weapons exports jumped 143 percent in the five years to 2014 compared to the previous five, though it still only accounts for about 5 percent of the global arms market, according to SIPRI.

Military drones provide an opportunity for the country to gain more market share, given that dozens of governments are trying to gain access to the technology while the U.S. has strict export curbs on them.

The U.S. State Department said in February 2015 it would allow exports of armed U.S. military drones under strict conditions, including that sales must be made through government programs, and that recipient nations must agree to certain “end-use assurances.”

China’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the country’s policy on drone exports.

The growth of the market is proving a boon for Chinese arms makers.

Fei Yunjian, the Beijing-based chief of Beijing Heweiyongtai Science and Technology Co. Ltd., a private firm that sells police equipment, including drones, to domestic and foreign customers, said he had already sold surveillance UAVs to countries in the Middle East and Africa, without specifying which ones. “We’re placing high importance on them,” said Fei. “Demand for all of our products has shot up — it’s simply because the world has become more chaotic,” he said.

Ma Hongzhong, director of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.’s Unmanned Aircraft Research Institute, told the China Daily newspaper that many of China’s defense giants, including his own, are allocating “significant resources” to drone development.

“The industry has a very low entry threshold,” he said, adding that his company is focusing on military drones that can play a role in counter-terrorism and riot control operations.

Many defense firms also make and sell missiles and rockets to arm drones, heightening the appeal for international buyers, analysts said.

“Admittedly, our technology is not first-rate compared with developed countries, but we don’t want to be left behind,” said Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

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