Rapid Fire 2012-02-10: Energize This
- The Brookings think tank, on the proliferation of IED attacks in 2011: “[D]anger will not disappear even after the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan ends. […] It is unsustainable to keep throwing billions of dollars to fight a technology that costs the other side tens of dollars. […] We need […] solutions […] that are cheap and scalable.”
- The inherent cost asymmetry imposed by mines is also on the Naval War College Review’s mind in their overview of mine warfare in China’s near seas [PDF]. Duly filed under the fashionable “anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) in Asia” category.
- US Congressman Mike Coffman [R-CO] is urging [PDF] Secretary Panetta to be bolder in applying his own Strategic Guidance and get US troops out of Europe. Coffman sits on the Armed Services Committee and is a former member of the Army Reserve then served in active duty in the Marine Corps.
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“The Air Force is the single largest energy user in the DoD. Jet fuel is the predominant form (84%) of energy consumed at over 2 billion gallons every year and creates one of the Air Force’s largest operational expenses (approximately $8B/year). […] The operational improvements of new platforms such as the C-17 and F-35 come with 50% to 125% burn rate increases over legacy platforms such as the C-141 and F-16. Accordingly, the [10% jet fuel burn reduction] 2015 goal cannot be achieved even with all current planned investments until 2029. As of this writing, the goal is under re-examination in an effort to link these enhanced capabilities with the desired fuel burn reduction.”
See the chart of the USAF’s projected fuel burn below:
Air Force Fuel Burn Projections
(click to view full)
(click to view full)
