As Brown sees things, airpower will be a critical factor in combat on the “non-linear” battlefield, a fluid, constantly shifting space devoid of lines and tidy “front” and “rear” areas. Airpower, in his view, delivers three essential elements—mobility, flexibility, and rapid response. All will be needed if small, highly specialized groups of ground troops are going to prevail in combat. He thinks the new V-22 Osprey (recently approved for production) will greatly improve SOF flexibility. The Air Force is supposed to buy about 50 of them over the next several years.
U.S. Northern Command and multiple research organizations just wrapped up a joint, three-year experiment to test new radar technology that could enable the Northern Warning System to detect incoming threats at longer ranges across Alaska and northern Canada.