America's New 'Austere Airfield' Fighter Exercises Could Be Bad News For China

The U.S. Air Force has begun its first ever Pacific exercises using new F-35 fighter jets for austere airfield operations, with the stealth aircraft deployed to Guam's Northwest Airfield alongside older F-16s used to demonstrate the ability to operate from less than perfect runways. The F-35A used by the Air Force was notably designed to be deployed from pristine and relatively long runways, while the F-35B designed for the U.S. Marines is less capable in combat but is much better suited to operating from poorly kept or even makeshift runways due to its short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities. The ability to operate from austere airfields has been particularly prized as the long range strike capabilities of potential adversaries such as China and North Korea have increased, with assets such as cruise missile armed bombers and intermediate range ballistic missiles able to seriously threaten American airfields across East Asia. While there are only so many major airbases American fighters can operate from in the region, the ability to operate with a strained supply line from a more minor base that may be in less than perfect condition could be key to allowing the Air Force’s tactical aircraft to remain in the fight after a war’s opening stages. 

American aircraft have traditionally placed a much lower emphasis on the ability to operate from austere airfields, which is something Russian and Swedish fighters such as the MiG-29, Su-27 and Gripen are particularly well known for. The exercise focusing on such operations for F-35A and F-16 units represents a major component of an emerging initiative to provide a larger number of more dispersed operating locations for American fighter units to avoid the vulnerability of relying on a small number of larger airfields in the region. Named the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) exercise, an official press release by the U.S. Air Force stated regarding its purpose: “ACE is the new warfighting concept that Pacific Air Forces is operationalising to ensure agility, deterrence, and resiliency in a contested or degraded environment.” Potential new facilities which could host American fighters, to provide some redundancy to Guam's Andersen Air Force Base which is the main hub of American operations in the region, include not only Guam's Northwest Airfield but also forward operating facilities on Wake Island and Tinian Island. The considerable anti aircraft and anti shipping capabilities fielded by U.S. adversaries in the region could force these bases to operate with very limited supplies and without the ability to quickly repair damage. Even with the proper training and preparations, however, extent to which aircraft such as the F-35A can operate from a less than perfect airfield remains limited, and unlike the F-35B or fighters such as the MiG-35 or Gripen E it will struggle to use more makeshift runways.