Full Circle? The Transformation of Dedicated Adversary Air Training in the USAF (Paperback)

This study analyzes the characteristics of dedicated adversary air training in past, current, and future U.S. Air Force operations. The author provides the background and history of such training within the USAF, then surveys the current program and its capability to provide such training with respect to aircrew readiness and likely future operations of air expeditionary force employment. The study then compares contemporary operational and threat environments with those of the previous two decades in order to analyze the need for dedicated adversary air training. Future adversary air training alternatives are then proposed and analyzed using a framework of threat replication fidelity, breadth of coverage, and affordability. Finally, a path is offered for transition to the recommended capability.