Air Force Should Prepare to Fight ‘In the Dark’ Against China

In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

The concept of “Disaggregated Collaborative Air Operations,” as proposed by report author retired Navy Commander J. Michael Dahm, is somewhat against the grain of most pentagon thinking at the moment, as officials continue to push an ambitious Joint All-Domain Command and Control network that connects sensors and shooters around the globe.

“If your adversary is going to turn out the lights, you can either try to keep the lights on, which may be a futile effort, or you can learn to fight in the dark,” Dahm told reporters at a briefing on the report.

In that analogy, China is the one trying to turn out the lights. Dahm,a longtime China observer,noted that the People’s Liberation Army has crafted its offensive and defensive strategies and capabilities to target and counter the U.S. military’s reliance on networked command and control.

Key Takeaways

• China is actively developing capabilities to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks.
• The Air Force should prepare for operations in a contested communication environment.
• “Disaggregated Collaborative Air Operations” emphasizes autonomous action by combat aviators.
• Focusing solely on maintaining network connectivity may be a losing strategy.