USAF Rapid Airfield Damage Repair (RADR) program to counter threat of long range and accurate ballistic and cruise missiles

In the past 100 years, attacking forces have used a diverse array of weapons to target airfields, including aircraft, missiles, naval guns, artillery, mortars, rockets, satchel charges, and small arms Attacker objectives have also been diverse, including destruction of aircraft and equipment, inflicting casualties, denial of use, capture of the base, and harassment of defenders. Emerging threats include precision standoff systems such as long-range, highly accurate, conventional missile (both ballistic and cruise) are presenting new challenges to air base operations.

“A2/AD capabilities enabled by integrated air defense systems that include advanced fighters, advanced surface-to-air missiles, active and passive cuing systems, and directed energy weapons” make many U.S. fixed facilities vulnerable to attack in ways hard to imagine a decade ago, according to Harry Foster from National Defense University. “These strategies are intended to inhibit U.S. political and operational access to and disrupt U.S. operations in key regions. A central feature of adversary anti-access strategies is capabilities designed to disrupt the operation of U.S. and partner-nation forward air bases,” says RAND report.

The effects of these attacks may vary greatly.  At one extreme, smaller, less accurate attacks conducted once or sporadically against hardened bases might result in modest aircraft or personnel losses and temporary damage to airfield infrastructure at one or a few bases. Such attacks might disrupt U.S. operations for a few hours at one or a few bases but would be unlikely to materially affect the prosecution of the war. At the other extreme, larger and accurate attacks sustained over time against a less hardened posture could be devastating, causing large losses of aircraft and prolonged airfield closures.

When an airfield is attacked and rendered unusable by enemy mortars, rockets, artillery or other weapons, damage must be repaired as quickly as possible in order to sustain the mission and minimise costly delays. Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations have highlighted a need for better methods to quickly and effectively establish or improve airfields. Craters, spalls, and other conditions that limit airfield use can create costly delays not adequately resolved by old techniques.

USAF’s Rapid Airfield Damage Assessment System (RADAS) is an ongoing project to provide Airfield Damage Repair (ADR) to open, expand, maintain and recover airfields after a military attack, as quickly and safely as possible. “Our capabilities allow us to move quickly to various locations around the world to repair runways so aircraft can land safely and project a powerful forward force wherever we fight,” said Lt. j.g. Ian Jordan.

US military is also looking to  develop  new technologies to enhance how quickly and efficiently it is able to assess the damage to begin with. One of the technology being employed are unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The US Navy is looking for a drone equipped with artificial intelligence to speed up the repair of damaged airfields.