The Pentagon must continue to tweak its weapons mix if it wants to meet the military challenges of this century, a member of an influential think tank told an audience of field grade (and at least one general) Air Force officers today.
Discussing the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis new operating concept for dealing with an increasingly well-armed Iran at the Air Force Association’s headquarters, CSBA’s Mark Gunzinger said the Pentagon needs to buy more survivable long-range strike and ISR gear while trimming spending on weapons that may not be in high-demand in the coming years.
Citing the increasing numbers of countries such as China and, specifically Iran that are building their abilities to strike enemy bases and aircraft carriers near their borders Gunzinger asked:
What are the implications if we don’t have close-in bases? Obviously, our shorter range capabilities will have a great challenge to overcome, and we’re not just talking about land-based, we’re talking about sea-based. What if our carriers can’t get within 300 nautical miles, 400 nautical miles of Iran in the future? If they’re equipped with short-range fighters, F-35C, they’re not going to have a lot of coverage inside Iran.”