U.S. & European Airpower Hampered by interoperability Gaps, Rand Studyโ Finds
WASHINGTON – Despiteโฃ flying the same advanced fighter jets, U.S.and European air โฃforces face important hurdles in fully supporting each other’sโข operations dueโฃ toโค communication breakdowns, inconsistent policies, โคand a lack of dedicated coordination, โaccording to a new report by the rand Corporation. The findings, released this week, โhighlight how these โinteroperabilityโข issues coudl limit the agility and effectivenessโข of NATO airpower in a crisis.
The report focuses on โคchallenges faced by U.S. Air Forces โin Europe – Air Forces โคAfrica (USAFE) and its allies. While F-35s and other modern aircraft could โ considerably reduce reliance on aerial refueling by โฃutilizing โairbasesโ across Europe for โshorterโ hops – including mandatory inspections after each landing – current limitations prevent seamlessโ support. โค
A key issue, the Rand study โfound, stems from U.S. security concerns that restrict allied accessโฃ to cross-service F-35s. Moreover, differing โขpolicies between U.S. fighter wings โขregarding the use of allied support equipment contribute to the problem. “Operational planners should be aware of this,” the report warns.
Theโค lack of information sharing โalso plays a critical role. “USAFE’s efforts to enhanceโ interoperability face aโ fundamental challenge: poorโฃ communication among key stakeholders, including USAFEโ wings, HQ USAFE, โคand enterprise โentities like AFLCMC [Air Force Life Cycle Management Center],” the report states.
These concernsโค echo findings from a โขparallel Rand study released in September, which identified coordinationโค issues with partner nations โฃregardingโ critical infrastructure like aircraft arresting โsystems, fire and emergency services, base force protection, and post-attack base โฃrepair.
Rand researchers recommend the U.S. Air Force establish dedicated interoperability units. โThese units, describedโข as โ”a dedicated, echelon-above-wing association or coordination cell focused specifically on partner interoperability,”โ wouldn’t need to beโค large, but would require “a clearโ mandate, regular interaction with both headquarters and wings, and access toโ relevant data,โ planning documents, and decision-makers.”
According to Patrick โฃMills,โข a co-authorโค of both randโ studies, improving interoperabilityโฃ would dramatically enhanceโฃ European airpower. “Interoperability wouldโ make ‘European airpower far more โคagile and confident in crisis,'” Mills told Defense News.
Heโข furtherโ explained the economic benefits: “Fighter operations are enormously resource-intensive, drawing on base support and skilled maintainers โthat each nation and โoperating location has to replicateโฆIf alliedโ fleets and โbasesโค could truly interoperate and integrate, that fragility would largely disappear.”
