Analysis and Future Prospects of the Strategic Projection Capability of the United States and Russia
At the beginning of this year, the new crown pneumonia ravaged the European continent. At the most tense moment of the epidemic, Russia sent 15 Il-76 transport aircraft with a large number of epidemic prevention materials and medical personnel to assist Italy, and while extending a helping hand, it demonstrated its strong strategic transportation and delivery capabilities to the world. At the same time, the United States and Poland have also recently signed an agreement to increase the number of American troops in Poland and consolidate Polish military bases in order to enhance rapid mobility. What is the intention of the United States and Russia to focus so much on the development of strategic projection capabilities? What are the strategic considerations behind it?
Global deterrence, strategic projection becomes the commanding height
Strategic projection capability is an important indicator for measuring military power. Generally speaking, it is the use of large-scale vehicles and aerial platforms to deploy equipment, materials, and personnel to other places. This basic capability determines the size and range of strikes. The intensity and duration of strikes, etc., are an important indicator of a country’s military capabilities and the core content of a country’s strategic capabilities. In recent years, countries such as the United States, Britain and Russia have increasingly placed their strategic projection capabilities as the focus of military development and an important part of national defense and strategic deterrence. The reason why they are able to obtain the title of “global power” lies in They have global strategic projection capabilities. Since the end of the Cold War, the aerial strategic projection force has played an important role in many local wars.
In the Iraq War, the US military was able to send a large number of troops and equipment to the front line from its homeland in a short period of time, and effectively attack its opponents, relying on its strong strategic transportation capabilities and corresponding large-scale air operations. At the same time, in 2015, Russia, in order to expand its influence in the Middle East, intervened in the war in Syria, and decided to deploy S-400 air defense missiles in Syria, which were delivered by An-124 transport aircraft only one day later, with high efficiency and speed. It can be seen. During the entire war, the An-124 transport aircraft, as an "air express line", performed more than 1,000 day and night missions between Russia and Syria, providing solid logistical support for reversing the situation in Syria.
The ability of aerial strategic projection not only plays a pivotal role in actual combat, but is also an important foundation for guaranteeing the freedom of movement of the military, especially the national sea power. Alfred Mahan, the founder of modern sea power theory, pointed out in the book "The Impact of Sea Power on History" that the foundation of a country’s sea power is the naval conditions of a sea line of communication not controlled by other countries, and smooth The core of the maritime conditions of the maritime routes lies in the country’s ability to deliver and replenish troops and materials to the navy and merchant fleet in a timely manner to maintain the safety of trade and the passage of routes. The aerial strategic projection capability provides a strong strategic support for this guarantee. Utilizing the rapid and mobile delivery capabilities, the ocean-going fleet has the confidence to complete various military missions and the confidence for sudden major non-military operations such as rescue and disaster relief, international peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, and evacuation of overseas Chinese.
In the context of globalization, the international political and economic structure has become more and more complex, and with it comes the treacherous geopolitics. As a symbol of a regional power, rapid delivery to neighboring countries and regions and intercontinental countries is a strategic goal that all countries are striving to pursue. It has the ability to maintain national strategic opportunities and expand national interests under globalization conditions. An important condition for qualification to participate in global political, diplomatic and economic activities. In order to adapt to the wave of globalization, military powers such as the United States and Russia have continuously adjusted their military strategies and conducted repeated demonstrations and studies on a number of strategic frameworks. The strong air transport delivery capability is increasingly seen as implementing rapid force deployment, winning initiative, and fighting for The power base of the initiative, and based on this, a sound air strategic projecting command system has been established.
Excellent ability, the United States and Russia focus on strategic project development
Although strategic projection capabilities are now the focus of military development in various countries, military powers such as the United States and Russia did not prioritize strategic projection capabilities from the beginning. They have all suffered from the lack of rapid action capabilities in actual combat. During the Iraq War, because Turkey did not provide a transit route, the 4th Division of the US Air Force was forced to diverted to Kuwait to enter the battlefield. The so-called fast, time is an important condition that triggers uncertain factors on the battlefield, grasping time increases the chance of winning. During the Kosovo War, Russia had to project combat power to Yugoslavia by land, but it was forced to give up because some countries did not provide transit routes, and lost important strategic opportunities. Similarly, in the 2008 war against Georgia, the Russian army exposed its lack of mobility, and this triggered Russia’s military reforms to this day. A series of results of its reforms were also fully demonstrated in the subsequent Ukrainian crisis and the Syrian war.
As early as World War II, the strategic projection capability demonstrated great potential in the Pacific War in which the US military fought against Japan. The U.S. Air Force believes: "It is more important to deliver a battalion within 24 hours than a division in 10 days." Based on this, the U.S. Army proposes to have 1 brigade in 4 days, 1 division in 5 days, and 30 days. The ability to deploy 5 divisions anywhere in the world. The United States' global strike capability mainly depends on its global strategic projection capabilities. The US military has more than 2,000 military transport aircraft of various types, including more than 400 large military transport aircraft. In 1987, the US Army established the Transportation Command. After continuous evolution, the command of the command over strategic projection was centralized and unified step by step. So far, the U.S. military has formed a strategic airlift force with the 18th and 19th Air Forces. The 18th Air Force has the 60th and 305th Air Mobility Wings, and the 26th, 463th, and 437th Airlift Wings are equipped with There are more than 230 C-5B\C-17, KC-10A transport aircraft, tankers, etc.; the 19th Air Force is under the Air Force Education and Training Command, which mainly implements joint medical services, combat readiness, and air force security assistance training tasks.
As an important support force for the third "offset strategy" of the US military, the United States has built 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super aircraft carrier battle groups, c17 Globemaster, C5 Galaxy transport aircraft, B2 strategic bomber, global anti-missile system, and Tomahawk The global strategic delivery system including cruise missiles, and relying on hundreds of overseas military bases, ensures that its military can reach any battlefield in the world as quickly as the US blockbuster shows. The global logistics supply chain, developed communication network and complete infrastructure network ensure that the US strategic deterrence covers any hot spot in the world.
In September 2015, an An-124 transport aircraft and several fighter jets of the Russian Air Force flew directly from Russia to Syria in a dense formation. The radars of the countries along the way only identified one target, thinking it was just a large passenger plane. When they reacted, it was too late. The Russian army had gained a firm foothold and staged a wonderful strategic projecting military operation. In recent years, Russia has aimed at its asymmetric advantages and has focused on creating a strategic delivery system with "large number of transport aircraft, strong capabilities, and quick response". It has proposed a "global arrival in one day, coverage of the whole of Europe in 5 hours, and coverage of Eastern Europe in 1 hour." Strategic objectives.
In August 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to establish the Aerospace Force, which is directly commanded by the Russian General Staff. Up to now, the strength of the Russian Air and Space Force is second only to the U.S. military, equipped with nearly 400 military transport aircraft of various types, including 100 Il-76 and 10 An-124, exceeding the total of European NATO countries and accounting for 9% of the global total. . At the same time, according to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Russian United Aviation Manufacturing Group has started the research and development of a new super-heavy military transport aircraft and is considering further expansion of the An-124 fleet. In contrast to other countries, the eight C-17 large transport aircraft leased by the United Kingdom and the C-130 and A400m tactical transport aircraft from other countries cannot be compared with Russia in terms of quantity and quality. As a result, some foreign media pointed out that if there is a strategic opportunity, Russia plans to reclaim parts of Eastern Europe.
In the information age, strategic projections for the future
Under the conditions of informatization, the ability of aerial strategic projection has gradually become an important symbol of a country's comprehensive national strength and military strength, and has become an indispensable force support for joint aerial operations and non-war military operations. As strategic projection equipment tends to be high-speed, intelligent and unmanned, new technologies and concepts such as artificial intelligence, big data, satellite navigation and 5G networks will become indispensable technical support for strategic projection capabilities. In order to meet the needs of global strategy, the US military has formulated a strategic projecting force development plan for maritime, air transport, and "pre-set" "triad". It is precisely relying on the unattainable advantages of the United States in technology that makes it possible for the US military to have a global "frontier presence". .
Strategic presetting capability is a new development of modern strategic projection methods. In the early days of the Cold War, US President Truman signed an executive order instructing the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce to jointly draft a plan to deploy civil aviation transportation when the country needs it. After that, the U.S. military formulated a civil aviation reserve recruitment plan in order to enhance its reserve forces. The local civil aviation was divided into 3 levels, with 80 civil aviation aircrafts for first-level recruitment, 238 civil aviation aircrafts for second-level recruitment, and 379 for third-level recruitment. Civil aviation aircraft. Only by fighting an unprepared battle can you be invincible. It is precisely during the war preparation stage that strategic presets provide strong back-up support for battlefield facilities, equipment and materials, and support forces, and provide a strong support for rapid deployment and advance operations in the immediate battle.
With the deepening of exploration capabilities, space has become a new battlefield for countries to compete. American scholar Friedman puts forward: "Whoever controls space, controls the ocean; who controls the ocean, controls the global business model; who controls the world With regard to the business model, whoever is the richest country in the world; whoever is the richest country in the world can control space." The space field has great military value and broad economic and scientific research prospects, and has gradually become important for national security and development. Strategic delivery requirements. However, the high technical content of space strategic projection and complex organization and implementation require a higher degree of military-civilian integration and more novel and high-end cutting-edge technologies. Therefore, by occupying the advantage of space strategic projection, we have won absolute strategic initiative.
Strategic projection capabilities are related to the strength of a country's combat capabilities. Military powers such as the United States and Russia choose to give priority to development and have their own strategic considerations. Strategic projection capabilities require the continuous introduction of science and technology and new platforms, and information technology is also a force multiplier for aerial strategic projection capabilities. As a result, the technological development under the conditions of strategic delivery capability and informatization will present a brand-new appearance of mutual promotion and mutual penetration.