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Published: 1 June 2009
Air & Space Power Journal - Summer 2009
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Maj Jean-Philippe N. Peltier, USAF
Maj Thomas Meer, USAF*
In light of the recent stand-up of US Africa Command, we should consider innovative ways to apply airpower in Africa. We traditionally think of airpower performing combat or humanitarian-relief roles, but with regard to many developing regions of the world, we should think in terms of building aviation capacity—or what we call air domain development (ADD), based on beneficial interaction and cooperation between a nation’s civil- and military-aviation organizations.1 ADD emphasizes the building of a national air domain by enhancing air safety and expanding trade through development of civil-military partnerships while working towards control of sovereign airspace. Combined, these elements increase a state’s presence throughout its geographic borders.
When considering the roles that ADD might play within an African context, we must remember that one size does not fit all. The presence of 53 African countries with over 2,000 spoken languages on a continent three times the size of the United States produces a great variety of experiences and contexts. Further, we must note the differences in regional dynamics between the five states comprising North Africa and the 48 states in sub-Saharan Africa, the latter area the object of our focus.
We need to develop a framework to guide our strategy and ensuing operations on the continent. ADD can enhance economic growth and political stability on a continent plagued with fragile states and instability, yet the great variety of the African experience precludes a single template. For example, Somalia, a state struggling to control a neighborhood within its capital, faces different challenges than a more stable and prosperous Ghana.
The United States Government Aviation Community can strongly contribute to a partner nation’s ADD. Given the challenges faced by many African countries, the community can help partner nations increase their capacity to govern and promote regional stability while strengthening connections between urban and rural populations. However, two issues confront sub-Saharan Africa.
Many states in this region find themselves hard-pressed to project a meaningful governmental presence outside their capitals. Just about every African state must deal with a significant scarcity of resources. Many do not have sufficient budgets to meet basic social needs, nor do they have adequate infrastructure and resources for power projection across a vast territory. Many states struggle to effectively control their own borders and provide security to their populations. This goes to the very definition of a state, which emphasizes a government’s capacity to monopolize the legitimate use of force within its territory.2
The second challenge concerns the military’s need to control that territory effectively and act as a visible agent of the state in remote areas. From a narrow military perspective, we must realize that many national militaries have limited interaction with the population and, due to resource constraints, have difficulty maintaining presence in remote regions. This situation is of particular importance if states want to sustain a presence, exert control, and effectively counter any potential rebellion or criminal activity that might form beyond their reach. Nor can we ignore the general lack of security services afforded to rural populations so far removed from government-controlled urban centers. A correlation exists between a state’s ability to project military force in remote areas and citizens’ security. Domestic force projection strengthens links between citizens and their state—especially if the people see the military as providing a service by protecting them from unsanctioned violence and by defending sovereign territory.
We find such challenges, for example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. About as large as that part of the United States east of the Mississippi River, this country has fewer than 1,737 miles of paved roads and contains large areas of difficult terrain, complicating government access and movement of goods and services. In contrast, France—roughly the size of Texas—boasts 590,914 miles of paved roads.3 ADD could help the Congo overcome these obstacles by enabling the state to promote economic activity, government presence, and security throughout its far-flung territory. A host of complex, additional issues affect continental stability and development, yet the two mentioned above are particularly urgent.
In view of these challenges, ADD can best benefit African states through its ability to project central authority and influence to remote areas while improving capacity andsupport for the military among the general population. The question then becomes how to establish ADD despite a scarcity of resources.
First, ADD gives states the mobility to access territories despite inadequate transportation infrastructure. Small-to-medium-sized transport planes would enable states to establish a presence in regions that would otherwise remain difficult to access via ground vehicles. Selection of the particular aircraft would depend upon the situation, but use of the right technology for the given environment is the most important consideration.
Second, dual-use ADD would benefit both civilian and military interests, enhancing the overall safety and security of the air system. For instance, air traffic control requires basic navigational aids and air routes that would enable the safe movement of passengers and goods as well as help secure borders. Thus, the state could train pilots to fly transport planes across its territory, delivering both military and civilian cargo.
The military’s needs would take priority, but its planes and runways could transport other people and goods when space is available, thus helping develop the urban-rural connections often missing in today’s limited-capacity states. Further, the state could project forces, have a tailored presence in remote areas, and respond quickly to threats, disasters, or other emergencies—whether civil or military.
Third, this program would help ensure proficiency training for pilots. Many African states simply lack the resources to provide sufficient flight time to their pilots, although some countries circumvent this dilemma by allowing their pilots to accumulate hours by flying aircraft in the national airline. In a context of resource scarcity, such a policy would drastically cut the costs of maintaining pilot proficiency.
Finally, offering a service to the population would reflect favorably on the military, helping promote security and stability for all citizens. The United States engages in similar activity with the Air Force’s C-17 aircraft. This fleet gives the US government great opportunities to utilize the most advanced carrier of military cargo in the world to supply medical and logistical support to relief efforts for humanitarian or natural disasters worldwide.
As with any endeavor, we must contend with obstacles, such as lack of funding, internal conflict, and a dearth of technical expertise to operate an air traffic control system—just to name a few. Yet, potential benefits far outweigh the obstacles, the former including greater state access to remote areas, the nurturing of vital links between urban and rural regions, state oversight of its outlying territory, regular use and maintenance of aircraft, increased aviation training and proficiency, revenue-generation possibilities such as landing fees, increased economic and trade opportunities, stronger civil-military ties, and professionalization of the military through regularized training and operations.
ADD represents exactly the type of innovative, long-term, sustainable capacity development that Africa Command, in concert with other agencies, should promote. Seeking to conduct “sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs,” the command finds itself uniquely postured to initiate and lead this truly joint civil-military effort.4 By partnering with the United States Government Aviation Community in working with African states to promote ADD, Africa Command would help address critical challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, especially by promoting dual-use air-transportation systems that enable African states to reach all their territory.
*Major Peltier is director of the sub-Saharan Africa Course at the United States Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Florida. Major Meer is chief of the Irregular Warfare Branch, Irregular Warfare Division, USAF Special Operations School.
Notes
1. See Maj William “Chris” Robinson, “Air Domain Safety and Security,” working paper (Hurlburt Field, FL: USAF Special Operations School, 20 August 2008). Students in the Special Operations School’s Irregular Warfare Seminar have begun to explore this idea and its real-world implications.
2. Hans Heinrich Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds., From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1958), 78.
3. Central Intelligence Agency, The 2008 World Factbook (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2008), https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ geos/cg.html (accessed 5 November 2008).
4. “AFRICOM Mission,” United States Africa Command, http://www.africom.mil/AboutAFRICOM.asp (accessed 5 November 2008).
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University
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