During a press conference at Le Bourget on Monday 16 June, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics president Dain M. Hancock stressed the continuing importance of air dominance as one of the main lessons emerging from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Hancock averred that "the war demonstrated the critical importance of having air dominance", and noted the benefits it holds for enabling a swift victory with a minimal loss of lives.
Served
He also argued that it served "as an inarguable endorsement of the need for next-generation aircraft systems such as the F/A-22 and F-35".
Others are less convinced, seeing in the conflict evidence that even with existing, 'legacy' air defence and offensive counter air assets, air superiority (and even dominance) can be virtually guaranteed in any coalition operation involving US participation.
Senior RAF officers were reportedly concerned that the deployment of dedicated air defence aircraft represented a waste of precious 'ramp space' at the limited number of airfields available to the air commanders, and argued the case for more flexible and versatile, 'swing role' aircraft.
Operations
Only 14% of sorties were aimed at air force targets (which accounted for only 7% of targets attacked, including aircraft on the ground and enemy airfields) and it is believed that the Iraqi air force remained on the ground for the duration of the campaign.
Like all other post Cold War operations, this was a 'ground-centric' war.
Less controversially, Hancock noted the unprecedented degree of networking and connectivity of information and discussed the next generation of technology as it relates to 'cognition' in the battlespace - that is, how force commanders can best use the mass of information that can be made available to them, and how it can be quickly interpreted and applied to aid strategic decision making.
Source: Flight Daily News
