US Air Force: structure, equipment and weapons

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Armed forces available in any developed state are designed to ensure the security of its citizens, government, the integrity of the constitutional order of the country. Security threats today come from a variety of sources. It can be space, as well as the risks associated with natural and weather disasters, and the human factor is not excluded. Trouble can come from any hostile state, both by land and by sea. With the intensive development of technology, air became another direction for attack. Air forces have been created in many countries to ensure the security of air borders.

USA, Russian Federation and China are the states whose air force is considered the most powerful in the world. Countries with significant combat potential are constantly in a state of intense competition and rivalry.

The strongest armies in the world

It has long been known that usually reckon with the country that has a strong and efficient army, which is an effective deterrent, as well as the protection of the state and its population. The top ten most powerful armies, in addition to the United States and Russia, include Japan, China, Israel, North Korea, France, Great Britain and Germany. The armies of these countries, if availablesome shortcomings in weapons or numbers, have a number of advantages, predetermined by the historical development of states or the result of intensive armament, which distinguishes the modern policy of targeted militarization.

Ranking of world armies

10th place: Japan. The state came under a ban on increasing military personnel. At the same time, its armed forces have the world's most effective anti-ballistic systems and navy. The Japanese Army is concentrating its entire resource on air defense, while not working on any offensive missions. The country has chosen a defensive position

9th place: Israel. The state occupies a small area, but has a well-organized army, and maintains close friendly relations with Great Britain and America.
8 place: Germany. The strength of the German army is its disciplined ground troops and air force. This condition allowed her to take her rightful place in the ranking of the best armies in the world.
7th place: England. The UK has a very developed Navy and Air Force. The state has nuclear weapons and strong ties with NATO and the US.
6th place: North Korea. The army of this country is second only to India and Russia in terms of numbers. In addition, the state has a nuclear potential and a high level of patriotic education among the population, which allows North Korea to enter the top ten countries, despite the fact that this state is territorially insignificant.

5th place: France. The country is famous in the world for the state of its air force, which allows it to compete with other states in this area, excluding the US and Russian air forces.
4 place: India. The army wins at the expense of numbers, which resembles the army of China, with the difference that in India the economy and science are poorly developed, there is no military experience and a decent level of military training. At the same time, India is a country with a nuclear arsenal. In recent years, the Indian economy and technology have been developing. The Indian military is working closely with Russian specialists.

Three most militarized countries

The armies of China, Russia and the United States of America are considered the most powerful in the world. Their potential is sufficient both to successfully defend the interests of these states and their friendly countries without the use of outside assistance, and to provide, if necessary, military pressure.

In third place in the top ten strongest armies is China. The state occupies an advantageous position because it has a large population, regular military conscriptions are held in it. This enables the country to intensively build up military power. In addition, the state has nuclear weapons and a fairly developed economy. China's military potential is positively affected by agreements and agreements with the Russian Federation.
The second place among the strongest armies in the world belongs to the Russian Federation. Strengths of the Russian army -huge numbers, developed navy and navy, the presence of nuclear weapons and modern anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic systems.

The first place is occupied by the USA. American military bases are located on the territory of almost the entire globe. The state has a nuclear potential that only the Russian Federation can compete with. The American government allocates a third of its gross income for the armament of its country. And as a result, the level of development of nuclear weapons, modern military equipment, developed and combat-ready Air Force and Navy in the ranking of world military power allow the US Army to occupy a leading position

The US and Russian air forces are the most powerful and capable in the world.

The backbone of US military power

The US Air Force is the world leader in terms of personnel and aircraft.

The basis of the American army is its Air Force. But it would be a mistake to believe that these troops are not adapted for war on land.

The tactics of the American armed forces is that before starting military ground operations, the territory of hostilities is necessarily subject to massive air processing.

The US Air Force is traditionally used by the command to resolve military conflicts.

Similar tactics were also used during the war with Nazi Germany, in which 13 thousand combat aircraft and 619 thousand people took part. MilitaryThe US Air Force in World War II dropped 1,500,000 bombs and destroyed 35,000 enemy planes. At the same time, the losses of the Americans amounted to 18 thousand aircraft.

The lion's share of America's military funding is directed to various technical innovations in the air force, as experience has shown that success in any battle is possible only with air superiority. After the successful work of aviation, the introduction of ground forces may not be necessary. And this, in turn, will save human lives. The outcome of the battle is decided by the air force. The United States has the highest aviation mobility in the world. This enables the US Air Force to quickly become involved in military operations in any corner of the globe.

US Air Force

The structure of the Air Force is represented by ten army commands and the national guard, whose main task is the territorial defense of the country. But since the need for such protection has not arisen for almost 200 years, the National Guard is used for intervention operations, which are carried out by the US Air Force.

The structure of the US Air Force includes the three most promising commands that receive special financial support from the state. It also includes commands that perform related tasks.

US Air Force Levels

First level: the main headquarters of the Air Force. Includes two components:

secretariat, which includes the secretary and his staff;
Air Force Headquarters.

Second level:

Commander-in-Chief. The command at this level is subordinate to the main headquarters of the Air Force. Its function is to guide the headquarters of all Air Force commands in the performance of individual tasks. Using the main US Air Force and all Air Force formations, headquarters carry out work in the directions set by the overall mission of the Air Force.
Leading Commander-in-Chief. A command that performs a task separate from the entire Air Force mission and is separately responsible for its result. This is a training command responsible for the training of US Air Force personnel.

US Air Force bases. Commands

The US Air Force has a strategic air command at Offut Air Force Base. Its task is to carry out offensive operations and deliver nuclear missile strikes against strategically important targets behind enemy lines. In addition, this command is engaged in providing air support to US troops and their allies, and performing intelligence work.
Space Command. Its task is the militarization of outer space. The manual is produced from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. The corresponding US Air Force is located there. The equipment used by this command is intended for conducting combat operations in space, as well as for delivering strikes from there. These are mainly satellites of the Earth and connected navigation, meteorological objects. The space command is one of the main ones, since the intensive development of technology and nanotechnology does not exclude the threat from space from other states. The command performs the protective function of the entire North American continent.

Tactical Command. It is considered the most mobile strategic reserve of general combat forces that the United States Air Force has. The mobility of the reserve allows urgent military operations to be carried out in any corner of the globe. Tactical fighter planes, reconnaissance aircraft and special-purpose aircraft are subordinate to the tactical command, it is part of it. The US Air Force of this command is located at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Military transport command. Stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. This command coordinates the transfer of troops, troops, weapons to the territory of hostilities, and is also engaged in the evacuation of the wounded, search and rescue operations.
The US Air Force Logistic Command is engaged in the repair and modernization of aircraft and equipment for other commands, as well as supplying them with everything necessary in wartime: spare parts, consumables, ammunition.
Communication command. Provides repair and installation of communications facilities required by all US Air Force Commands.
Air Force Weapons Development Command. Engaged in scientific research and improvement of aviation through the processing of relevant orders for the US industry.
US Air Force Signal Intelligence and Security Command. Provides a hidden connection between allcenters and air bases of the air force.
US Air Force Training Command. Engaged in the replenishment of volunteers in educational institutions of the air force, provides training in all military speci alties. The training centers train specialists both among Americans and among all comers from other allied states. This command has T-41, T-38, T-37 aircraft and various ground simulators at its disposal.

US Air Force in Europe

This is one of the largest commands dealing with airspace security in the European zone, both jointly with the Allied Air Forces in NATO, and independently. In peacetime alone, America allocated 35% of its personnel for this task. The aircraft fleet consists of carriers of nuclear weapons. These are F - 4, F - 111, F - 16. The US Air Force command in Germany is located at the Ramstein airbase. During wartime, the US Air Force is able to mobilize 1,800 aircraft within ten days.

Pacific Ocean

The deployment point of the US Air Force command responsible for the security of airspace in the Pacific Ocean is located in the Hawaiian Islands at the headquarters of the Hikam airbase. From the Arctic to Antarctica, and from the East Coast of Africa to the West Coast of America, this is the territory for which the US Air Force is responsible for security. The combat potential of this command is represented by tactical, reconnaissance aircraft and fighter aircraft. Aviation in peacetime has370 units of military equipment and 46 thousand personnel. During the hostilities that took place in the 70s in Southeast Asia, 174,500 people and 1,880 aircraft were concentrated - the Pacific combat strength. The US Air Force, if it is necessary to control the Pacific zone, with the participation of the tactical air command, will use its reserve components of the Air Force, since the territory in this zone is strategically important for America.

Used aircraft

Depending on the purpose and nature of the assigned tasks, the technical support of the US Air Force is divided into three groups. Strategic missiles equipped with the Minuteman system, designed for global strikes carried out by the US Air Force. The state of this missile system is always in combat mode, which makes it possible to launch it within 6 minutes.

Combat aviation is divided into three subgroups:

strategic bomber - sides: B - 2A "Spirit", B - 1B "Lancer"; fleet of 120 units;
tactical - aircraft F - 15 E "Strike Eagle", F - 15C, D "Eagle"; combat strength - 2000 aircraft;
reconnaissance - the aircraft fleet has 50 units: board U - 2S "Dragon Lady", RC - 135 "Rivert Joint" also available unmanned aerial vehicles (300 units).

Auxiliary aviation performs the function of servicing all air force commandsUSA. Depending on the tasks performed, auxiliary aviation is of four types:

military transport - aircraft fleet includes 300 units of strategic C-17A Globemaster and 500 tactical aircraft C-130 Hercules used for military transportation to a strategic range;
transport and refueling station consists of 400 aircraft - COP - 10 "Extender", COP - 135 "Stratotanker";
aviation for special operations is represented by M-28, WC - 130, RS - 12;
training with over 1,000 aircraft fleet.

Further development of the Air Force

The analysis of the US Air Force and the data obtained allowed the military senior leadership to outline priorities and direction for the further development of the Air Force. The main goals and objectives are detailed in a document called "US Air Force: A Challenge to the Future", published and approved by the US government in July 2014. For the next thirty years, the US Air Force will follow these guidelines. Prospects for development are to attract high-class pilots to the Air Force through their financial incentives. For this purpose, the state allocates grants of $225,000 to finance fighter aircraft specialists who have extended the contract for 9 years, and $125,000 for pilots of other types of aviation. The second step provides for the optimization of the personnel training process with the active use of computer simulation programs and ground simulators in the educational process, which allow simulating situationsclose to combat. Simultaneously with these steps, it is planned to significantly increase the number of training courses.

A significant place in the plans of the US Air Force is given to the social protection of military personnel and their families. By 2020, the state plans to fully provide all Air Force personnel with office space on the territory of air bases and housing.

The Air Force, being the most effective and promising power tool, occupies a significant place in the US armed forces. Thanks to the developed air force, America controls more than 40% of the globe. The ability to ensure the guaranteed security of the airspace, the existence of military agreements with other states allow the US government to promote its political views anywhere in the world.

Modern weapons and rich experience allow the US military leadership to effectively carry out reconnaissance, conquest and control actions in air and space in order to strengthen the national interests of the United States.