TOPIC SPONSOR: AFTAC
Documented and public cases of Russian aggression against MQ-9s in the Black Sea, CCP actions with lasers against Philippine vessels, and other unprofessional and unsafe actions against U.S. reconnaissance assets create a paradigm where aggressive and damaging actions are seemingly tolerated as acceptable behaviors by adversaries in competition, crisis, and regionalized conflict short of war.
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggression against U.S. reconnaissance platforms in internationally recognized airspace poses not just a risk to U.S. military personnel, but potential misidentification could risk harm to civil aviation, not to mention missteps could accelerate the escalation of conflict. With regard to the CCP's pursuit of advancing its territorial waters and control of airspace, what must the Air Force prioritize to modernize airborne surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to survive and advance in capability in an era of expanding adversary battlespace awareness? Should adversaries pursue aggression in states of conflict less than war?
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Combs, Cullen, "China Raising the Stakes in the South China Sea: Preventing Freedom of Navigation of the Bomber Task Force," GCPME thesis, 2022, 47 pgs.
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Conatser, Lieutenant Commander Brian P., "Digital Eyes in the Water: Using Unmanned Technology to Gain an Asymmetric Advantage in the South China Sea," GCPME thesis, 2023, 37 pgs.
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Deaton, Jeremy, "Building Bridges, Not Islands: Strategies to Deter Chinese Aggression in the South China Sea," GCPME 2023, 41 pgs.
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De Garmo, Captain Andrew, "BBP and Slides on Swarming in a South China Sea Conflict," SOS AUAR 2023, 3 pgs and slide deck.
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Germano, LT. Cdr. Jessica C., "An Analysis of Potential American Strategies Against China's Expanding Influence in the South China Sea," GCPME thesis 2023, 37 pgs.
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Kirklin, Russell J., "It's a 'We Said, Xi Said' Kind of Situation: Analyzing CCP Perceptions of US Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea," SAASS thesis, 2020, 105 pgs.
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Taylor, Maj. Ryan J., "A Cresting Wave: Optimizing Dynamic Force Employment to Avoid a Defeat in the South China Sea," GCPME thesis, 2021, 59 pgs.