ATLANTA (Army News Service, May 2, 2016) -- Army aviation has to adapt to emerging threats in the Asia-Pacific region, said Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, deputy commanding general, U.S. Pacific Command.
Crutchfield spoke at the Army Aviation Association of America-sponsored 2016 Army Aviation Mission Solution Summit here, April 29 and 30.
Because of the vast distances in the region, getting to an objective can be challenging for Army helicopters. Some of those platforms are up to 50 years old, he said, and don't have the range, speed and survivability to be truly expeditionary.
"We must have something different than we have today. It's the only way we'll be successful in this environment we have today," particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, Crutchfield said.
He pointed to the conceptual Future Vertical Lift as the type of aircraft that will meet the challenge.
DOING MORE WITH LESS
In spite of the shortcomings of legacy platforms, the Army is doing some innovative things in the Asia-Pacific region, Crutchfield said.
The Pacific Pathways concept makes more efficient use of its forces by taking Soldiers aboard ships and moving them from country to country for a variety of exercises, instead of just landing them in one country and then returning to the U.S, he said.
This not only extends the U.S. footprint in the region, it also saves money, he added.
Also, Army aviators operate with the Navy in a joint maritime environment, and routinely land aboard their vessels, he said.
THE THREAT
Crutchfield explained why security in the region is so important.
Much of the world's trade moves through the South China Sea, Crutchfield said. Some $3 trillion worth of commodities move through the Malacca Straits alone.
That trade is being threatened by China's land reclamation on South China Sea reefs and subsequent militarization, he said.
In meetings, Crutchfield said, the Chinese always point out that several other countries claim these reefs as well.
"[But] I quickly point out to them that if you look at the facts, in the last 40 years [others] have claimed 215 acres as opposed to China's reclamation of 3,000 acres in 18 months."
On Fiery Cross Reef, for instance, the Chinese built a 10,000-foot runway, long enough to land a space shuttle, he said. They also have a port there with hardened facilities.
On Woody Island, China built military facilities and they may be militarizing Scarborough Reef as well, which is east of Woody Island, located very close to the Philippines.
China's quantity and quality of weapons have grown alarmingly, he said. Their weapon system ranges today "begin to push us out of what we call the first island chains, Okinawa and the Philippines, to the second island chain, which is past Guam."
By 2020 China will have two carriers in the Pacific, he added. "This is alarming to Pacific Command."