United States Air Force (USAF) bases are critical in ensuring the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can achieve air superiority during future conflicts. As the home of highly advanced and expensive aircraft and the highly trained men and women who maintain them, ensuring USAF bases are protected is essential.
This is particularly important now that United States adversaries have become more sophisticated and can attack USAF bases with not only conventional weapons but also jamming devices and cyberattacks. As of 2024, the United States military has hundreds of bases at home and overseas. Most of these overseas bases are located in fellow NATO member countries, the Middle East, Japan, and South Korea.
Besides having bases in friendly nations, the United States also has assets in nations ruled by non-democratic authoritarian governments. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, this was seen as necessary to protect the West from the communist threat.
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United States Air Force bases overseas
In addition to all its bases in the United States, the USAF has 43 overseas bases in 26 countries and territories. The United States Air Force (USAF) bases overseas are:
Aruba
Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) is home to the Cooperative Security Location of the US Southern Command.
British Indian Ocean Territory
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia.
Canada
Canadian Forces Base North Bay.
Curaçao
Curaçao International Airport (CUR) Cooperative Security Location of US Southern Command.
Estonia
Germany
Photo: USAF
Ansbach NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Geilenkirchen Ramstein Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base Buchel Air base
Honduras
Italy
Aviano Air Base Camp Darby (Pisa-Livorno) Sigonella Naval Air Station
Japan
Photo: USAF
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture Kanoya Air Field, Kagoshima Prefecture Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Aomori Yokota Air Base, Tokyo
Kenya
Kuwait
Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base Ali Al Salem Air Base
Lithuania
Šiauliai Air Base, Šiauliai
Marshall Islands
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
South Korea
Kunsan Air Base Osan Air Base
Spain
Turkey
Incirlik Air Base Izmir air station
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
RAF Alconbury, Huntingdonshire RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk[46] RAF Mildenhall, Mildenhall, Suffolk RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire The USAF also uses RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus
The United States Space Force (USSF)
While most of the USSF bases are in the United States, it also has bases on Ascension Island and Greenland.
Protecting the United States and Canada
Conceived in late 1956, the bilateral United States and Canada North American Air Defense Command was established at Ent Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado. To protect the facility from a nuclear attack, a command center was created deep within Cheyenne Mountain.
Today, the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) is tasked with aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. NORAD provides early warning of any attacks on the United States and Canada by aircraft, missiles, or space weapons.
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Air bases are like any other weapons system. They can only be effective if they are protected from enemy fire to ensure aircraft safety and runway integrity. Air bases also need to be protected to fend off integrated aircraft and missile attacks and continue operating after being damaged. Like during the Cold War, the USAF today faces many of the same threats of an attack.
China and Russia pose a threat to USAF bases
Suppose the United States and its NATO partners cannot gain air superiority. In that case, they cannot carry out their objectives in a fight with an adversary like the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China or the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
China has rapidly built up its military to the extent that it can threaten United States Air Force Bases in the Pacific and, most notably, USAF bases in Japan with long-range missiles. The defense of these bases is critical should China carry out threats it has made about taking back Taiwan.
Photo: USAF
Since Taiwan became a self-governing island following the Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek, relocating there from mainland China in 1949, China has never recognized its independence. Should China try to invade Taiwan, it will undoubtedly drag in the United States, which means protecting the air bases in Japan is critically important.
Using air defenses to shoot down missiles, drones and aircraft
In April 2024, Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel using drones and ballistic missiles. Israel’s air defenses and those of friendly nations manage to intercept the incoming projectiles and shoot them down. When speaking in a Raytheon statement about the need to protect air bases from an attack, the president of Air Power at Raytheon, Paul Ferraro said:
“With the rise of sophisticated adversaries and unconventional warfare, the imperative to fortify US and allied bases has never been more evident. Airbase air defense is not just a necessity – it is our unwavering resolve to ensure the skies remain secure, empowering the US and its allies to defend our interests and maintain air superiority in an ever-changing world.”
To help ensure bases remain protected, Raytheon has developed a multi-layered shield around air bases that synchronizes sensors and weapon systems into a cohesive network.
Photo: Raytheon
How integrated air defense systems work:
Sensors: Early warning radar or sentinel radar detects a potential threat, which is then tracked on an operator screen. Decide: The Raytheon BC3 system then uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identify and track the potential threat. Effect: If the incoming threat is identified as hostile, the Raytheon BC3 system recommends multiple options for engaging it based on its physical attributes, trajectory, and kinematics.
The Raytheon BC£ system has successfully been integrated into the Patriot air defense system to detect and take out ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and advanced aircraft.
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Publish date : 2024-11-04 05:18:00
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Author : theamericannews
Publish date : 2024-11-05 10:40:54
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.