The US Air Defense System - Tutors Avenue Center

Table of Contents

Introduction
Comparison with Russia, Iran, and China
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Currently, the U.S. air force is the most powerful in the world. It consists of of 180 Air National Guard F-15A/B and F-16A/B aircraft located in 10 units and 14 alert sites in the United States (Strategic, n.d.). In addition to ten dedicated units, 2 F-15 dual-tasked general-purpose units stand alert for NORAD an active unit at Elmendorf, Alaska, and an Air National Guard unit at New Orleans, Louisiana part of which is on 24-hour alert (Strategic, n.d.). Currently, the USA surpasses all other countries in military expenses. In 2015, the world military spending reached over $1,6 trillion, and the U.S. accounted for about 40% in total (U.S. military, n.d.). Moreover, it is approximately the amount of the next worldwide 7 military largest budgets (U.S. military, n.d.). For example, China is the second in the chart of top military expenditures, and it spends one dollar versus 2,77 dollars spent by the U.S. on its military respectively (U.S. military, n.d.). Still, there are specific threats requiring the U.S. air defense systems to be reinforced.

Comparison with Russia, Iran, and China

Speaking specifically about air defense systems, the most advanced missile and air forces are now possessed by Russia. They are highly proliferated, hence, dozens of nations worldwide use them either. The present air defense doctrine of Russia is based on a three-tier approach, allowing the country to create A2AD (anti-access area-denial) zones which are most difficult to penetrate. At the highest level of the given defense networks, long-range systems (primarily S-200 and S-400) are used to provide air defense bubbles with a potential diameter of up to 800 km (Russian air, n.d.). Moreover, a number of countries started indigenous production of similar weapon systems and developed variants.

Another threat requiring the enforcement of the U.S. air defense systems is the Russia-Iran military cooperation. It has significantly increased and tightened within recent years, although Tehran is still uncertain regarding Russian long-term regional objectives. Starting from 2015, Russia and Iran initiated cooperation supporting the regime of Asad in Syria (Russian air, n.d.). Moreover, Russian combat aircraft was briefly allowed to use Iranian Hamadan Airbase for launching strikes in Syria. It is noteworthy that this was the first time in history for Tehran to permit a foreign military to act on its territory from the times of the Islamic revolution. Simultaneously, Iran hopes to procure the military hardware produced in Russia. After Syria became a regional security major player due to the Russian base on its territory, it made China acquire its first regional base located in Djibouti.

Russia and China prefer a multipolar world order and, therefore, oppose the measures sponsored by the U.S. at the UNSC (United Nations Security Council). On the contrary to the sanctions of Western countries against Russia, Chinese government has sufficiently increased investments in its economy. In 2018, Mr. Fenghe, the Minister of National Defense of China went to Russia to let the Americans know about close ties between the armed forces of China and Russia. P. 6 Another important issue is that the vast majority of Iranian import is of Russian origin, whereas the rest is provided by China.

It is also noteworthy that American-made F-14, F-5, and F-4 fighters are the pillar of the air force in Iran. It encounters approximately 500 aircraft, primarily built in the last century (particularly, not earlier than in the 1970s (Iran, 2020). In 2015, Iran had a chance to buy at least thirty Su-30 Russian fighters, but according to The National Interest report refused to (Iran, 2020). Nevertheless, in 2016, a purchase of the SA-20c air defense system from Russia allowed Iran to obtain a reliable ability to confront any modern air force (Iran, 2019, p. 16). Operating since 2017, Irans Russian-provided SA-20c long-range SAM system is the most capable component of its integrated air defense system (IADS) (Iran, 2019, p. 33). Iran is also fielding domestically developed radar and SAM systems to enforce its air defenses.

In terms of budget, in 2019, the USA spent over 156 billion dollars on its air force. Currently, in 2020, this figure increased up to approximately $166 billion. As reported by the Department of the Air force, the budget request for the upcoming year will be around 170 billion dollars (Air force, n.d.). In turn, in 2019, the Russian overall estimated military expenses were over 61 billion dollars, whereas in 2020 the same figure grew to $64 billion (Wezeman, 2020). The planned budget for the upcoming year is over $65 billion (Wezeman, 2020). Typically, 80% of the military expenses budget is spent on the countrys air defense.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data, China spends almost 2% of its GDP on its military forces annually it is about 1,7 trillion yuan or $228 billion (Robertson, 2019). In turn, the same budget of the U.S. is approximately 3,2% of the countrys GDP (Robertson, 2019). Nevertheless, the force of China should not be underestimated, as in real terms the spending of China equals around 75% that of America.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports that, in 2018, Iran spent over $13 billion, and in 2019, it was ranked the fourteenth out of 137 world countries in military expenditures terms (Iran military spending, n.d.). As Mr. Hook, a special envoy for Iran, stated in 2019, the country took the sanctions relief and they spent it like they always do, on their military and on terrorism around the Middle East (Iran military spending, n.d.). Therefore, he supposed, the diplomatic isolation of Iran was increased.

Conclusion

In the USA, a fighter alert concept was initiated by NORAD, allowing its region commanders to alert postures meeting the perceived threats and tailor the aerospace control forces. Hence, within specific responsibility areas, they reduce the overall level of expenditures in order to meet the fiscal goals. Although the approach to surveillance in Northern America continues, the intelligence information and regional activities remain the primary intercepts.