Warrior Intv: Ret. 3-Star & Air Force Future War – Drones, Stealth & 6th-Gen

Ret. Lt. Gen. David Deptula Says Air Force Has “Peers, Not Near Peers”

​ \***The Future of Air Force War*****

Ret. Lt. Gen. Deptula is the current Dean of theMitchell Institute for Aerospace Studiesand former Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. During his tenure, he supervised development of a wide range of strategies, policies and assets, to include fixed-wing surveillance planes, advanced sensors, and drone technologies. Deptula served as the principal air attack planner for Operation Desert Storm in 1991, was the Joint Task Force commander in Iraq from 1998-1999 where he commanded no-fly zone operations, led the initial air campaign that kicked off Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001. Deptula Air Force Bio

Deptula: “We have peers – not near peers”

Warrior: What are some of your thoughts regarding those who raise questions about the size of the Air Force?

Deptula: The Air Force today is simply too small and too old to successfully conduct all the missions it has been assigned. Additionally, it is not at the readiness level it needs to be to meet the needs of the new National Defense Strategy. We have a geriatric air force, which is the smallest, oldest, and least ready Air Force the US has had in the history of its existence. We are no longer facing near-peers, but peers given the advancements in the Chinese and Russian military. It has been 27 years since Desert Storm, and for the last 17 years we have been engaged in counterinsurgency operations. As a result, readiness for high-end challenges has atrophied.

Warrior: What, in your view, do the Air Force modernization priorities need to be?

Deptula: In terms of immediate priorities, the Air Force has its priorities correct by working on the procurement of the KC 46, F-35 and B-21. Also, it is headed in the correct direction by understanding that the future is going to present an insatiable demand for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance. Information needs to be collected by every platform with an integrated way of sharing that information. We are moving toward a future where we view every system as a sensor as well as a shooter.