As of this writing, U.S. forces are executing Operation Epic Fury, a massive air campaign that directly confronts the significant challenges posed by Iran’s evolving asymmetric threat capabilities. Deployed in this operation is a state-of-the-art fleet of combat aircraft, the scale of which is unprecedented. Included are hundreds of premiere fighters (including F-35s, F-22s, F-18s, F-16s, F-15s, and A-10s), bombers (including B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s), unmanned aerial systems (including MQ-9 and one-way attack drones), and a host of supporting aircraft (including EA-18G jammers, E-2 and E-3 AWACs, KC-135 tankers, P-8 patrol planes, RC-135 reconnaissance planes, C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, and helicopters). These aircraft are reportedly executing their missions with unmatched precision, lethality, and effectiveness.
This operational success is just another demonstration of the excellence of not only our frontline aviators and military leaders but also of the many survivability practitioners who’ve spent decades working to protect our aircraft and crews. And the Aircraft Survivability journal (ASJ) has been there to help tell their important technical stories.
This summer issue marks the 50th anniversary of the ASJ’s first issue—then called the “Aircraft Survivability Newsletter”—in July 1976. I’m sure many of us remember well the summer of ‘76, when the country was celebrating its bicentennial. The 200-yr milestone represented not just a birthday for the nation but an inspiring confirmation that our national experiment in democracy had been successful. In two centuries, we’d grown from a handful of disparate colonies fighting overwhelming odds to secure independency and self-rule to a group of 50 united states that had become the world’s undisputed economic, technological, and military superpower. Indeed, there was much to celebrate.
And so it is with the ASJ’s 50th anniversary. The journal’s 5-decade longevity is more than just a number. It’s a testament to the vision of the ASJ founders; to the efforts of all those who’ve helped plan and publish the journal through the years; and to the investment of countless ASJ contributors who’ve dedicated themselves to technological innovation, information sharing, and community development.
Thus, for our feature article, we highlight both the journal’s remarkable growth from its beginnings as well as its relentless commitment to its original mission—that of “letting the light shine in” on our work to maximize U.S. aircraft survivability.
We also provide a historical vignette on the SR-71 Blackbird’s famed strategy of speed to achieve survivability.
In our JCAT Corner article, we recount the team’s own beginnings, its traditional hands-on assessment work to support the survivability community, and its ongoing efforts to adapt its methodologies to meet the changing challenges of future battlefields.
And speaking of changing challenges, there’s been no bigger one in our industry than the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its related tools and technologies. Col. David Liu from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Lt. Col. Craig Porter from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics thus discuss the role of air system designers and engineers in comprehensively assessing the effectiveness of AI in combat environments.
Finally, colleagues from the Institute for Defense Analyses pay tribute to Dr. Joel Williamsen, a longtime air and space vehicle survivability leader who sadly passed away in February.
Thanks again for reading, and here’s to another 50 years of letting the light shine in on U.S. aircraft survivability excellence.
Sincerely,
