The US military is launching a program this year called Africa Partnership Flight to help build the capacity of partner air forces on the African continent, said Army Gen. Carter Ham, head of US Africa Command. The first event under the APF rubric is scheduled for this month in Ghana, he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. AFP will be primarily an Air Force-run effort that “will enable committed African states to enhance their aviation capabilities, foster greater regional cooperation, and increase air domain safety and security in Africa,” stated Ham. It will feature “low-footprint, short-duration, high-impact, sustainable, and predictable engagement,” he said. AFP is modeled after the Navy’s Africa Partnership Station initiative, noted Ham in his March 1 testimony. (Ham’s prepared statement) (For more Ham coverage, read Building a Larger Guard Role in Africa.)
It is critical that the Air Force move forward on the replacement for its E-4B “Doomsday” aircraft to keep the capability “viable” into the next decade and beyond, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers May 8.