Inside Pentagon
A December draft of the forthcoming Quadrennial Defense Review calls for greater cooperation between the Air Force and Navy.
Togetherness in the realm of persistent surveillance, electronic warfare and precision-attack is urged in the Dec. 3 QDR draft, obtained this week by InsideDefense.com. The final version is due out next Monday. There are subsequent drafts that were classified by the Defense Department; DOD has not commented on what the final version will say.
“The Navy and the Air Force are cooperatively assessing alternatives for a new joint stand-off attack cruise missile, as well as advanced electronic warfare systems,” the draft states. “The [Defense] Department also plans to experiment with conventional prompt global strike prototypes. Building upon insights developed during the QDR, the Secretary of Defense has ordered a follow-on study to determine what combination of joint persistent surveillance, electronic warfare, and precision-attack capabilities, including both penetrating platforms and stand-off weapons, will be best suited to supporting U.S. power projection operations over the next two to three decades. Findings from that study will inform decisions that shape the [fiscal years] 2012-2017 defense program.”
Last fall, the Navy and Air Force launched the “Air-Sea Battle Concept,” tasking a group of commanders, lieutenant colonels, captains and colonels to look at areas of cooperation between the air and sea services. The concept, first reported by InsideDefense.com last September, builds on the AirLand battle doctrine the Army and Air Force worked out during the Cold War.
“The concept will address how the joint force will integrate capabilities across all operational domains -- air, sea, land, space, and cyberspace -- to counter a range of challenges to U.S. freedom of operation,” the draft says. “As it matures, the concept will also help to guide the development of future capabilities needed for effective power projection operations.”
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead discussed the effort with reporters following a panel discussion at a Washington think tank Tuesday.
“Looking at the inhibitors to access is very important, how do we as two services, who operate in very similar domains -- the maritime and the air and space and cyber -- come together and make investment decisions and plans that optimize the capabilities that we need and minimize the amount of resources we’re laying out,” Roughead said.
An “in-process review” of the group’s work is slated for this week, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert told sister publication Inside the Navy last week. The meeting will be chaired by the No. 2 officers from the two services, who will assess whether to take the recommendations up to the service chiefs or continue to do more work before a senior-level briefing is held, Greenert noted. -- Zachary M. Peterson
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