It’s not just that the mission is far away the theater itself is enormous. To this end, the United States is working to ensure its military capacities can be intermingled with local allies and partners in “integrated deterrence.” This requires sustaining forces thousands of miles from the United States, sitting at the end of intricate supply chains that China has every interest in breaking. It seeks to protect the law of the sea, maintain open sea lanes and the free flow of seaborne trade, and resist coercion against Taiwan. military needs shrewd solutions for complex logistical puzzles of time and distance.Įnsuring the Indo-Pacific region remains “free and open” is the primary strategic objective of the Biden administration. To operate across this vast region and prepare for a potential conflict with near-peer competitors, the U.S. strategic objectives across the Pacific theater comes into focus. As the F-35C’s disconnect and drop away, a core challenge to U.S. I watch as digital displays on five fuel gauges slowly tick down from 50,000 pounds to just under 20,000. The KC-130J deploys fuel lines from tanks on both wings as incoming Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II fighter jets extend their fuel probes to begin aerial refueling.

Courtney O’Brien (call sign Britney) alerts me to two fighter planes approaching from the rear. The radio crackles in my ear over the baritone drone of the aircraft’s four propellers. The instrument panels are backlit in neon green. Marine Corps KC-130J aerial refueler, the scene outside the cockpit is a featureless sea of black.

Flying over the Australian Outback at night in a U.S.

Pacific Warships instal the new for ios