U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the Biden administration’s nominee to become the new head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Feb. 8 that the military will use fifth-generation fighters, such as the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 and F-22, to strike ground targets in areas without a significant aerial threat, if those are the only platforms able to hit the target in a timely fashion.
“I kind of get irritated when I see reports about F-22s, F-35s bombing insurgencies,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told Kurilla during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). “Can we do a better job about not using advanced, fifth-generation aircraft to bomb low-threat, first generation targets?”
“Senator, as a military person, if that is the only asset available, I would use that asset,” Kurilla replied.
“I get that,” Cotton said. “I’d like to see better asset planning though so that those aircraft are directed towards countries like China with advanced air defenses and fifth generation fighters themselves, and older generation aircraft are directed against ISIS and al-Qaeda.”
The U.S. Air Force declared the F-22 operational in 2005 and first used it in combat on Sept. 22, 2014 to strike an ISIS command and conrol center in Syria. The Air Force said that it first used the fighter for close air support on June 23, 2015 to destroy Da’esh artillery with two Boeing [BA] 1,000 pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The service also used the fighter to hit a Taliban heroin factory with Boeing 250-pound Small Diameter Bombs in Afghanistan on Nov. 19, 2017.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were the first to use the F-35 in combat. The IDF said in May 2018 that it had used the IDF F-35 Adir against targets in the Middle East. The U.S. Marine Corps said that it first used its F-35B plane in combat in September 2018, and the Air Force’s first use of the F-35A against ISIS came in April 2019.
During the Feb. 8 SASC hearing, Kurilla also discussed the challenges of future, “over the horizon” strikes against ISIS-K targets in Afghanistan, given the withdrawal of U.S. forces from that country last August.
“Over the horizon capability is extremely difficult, but not impossible,” Kurilla said in response to a question from Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) on what he considers the most significant challenges for “over the horizon” targeting in Afghanistan. “I think the biggest challenge for Afghanistan is that, as a landlocked country, we rely on another nation for an air line of communication to be able to enter Afghanistan. The distance required to fly ISR is great. We spend approximately 2/3 of the time flying there and getting back versus over the target…I think we need to reinvest in a lot of our human intelligence capability that was lost during the withdrawal.”
In response to a question from Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) on the same topic, Kurilla said that the General Atomics‘ MQ-9 Reaper spends 20 hours moving to and from the Middle East and an Afghan target area–flying time that severely cuts into the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance time over target of an extended range, 30-hour duration MQ-9.
“To be able to keep a single sensor over that target, you’re going to have to have two and a half MQ-9s–one taking off every 10 hours–to be able to be over the target for just one sensor to be able to develop that target,” Kurilla said. “When we were doing operations in Afghanistan, I would sometimes have up to 12 sensors on a target to be able to follow individuals, develop the target, and it’s also used in civilian casualty mitigation because you’re watching all the approaches to that target when you’re taking a strike.”
Cotton said that the correct term for over the horizon strike capacity in Afghanistan should be “over the rainbow strike capacity.”
“How can we possibly be striking into Afghanistan without intelligence on the ground and when we’re completely beholden to Pakistan for giving access to their airspace?” he asked. “It’s a big problem, isn’t it?”
“Senator, it is a challenge,” Kurilla replied.
Since Oct. 7, 2019, Kurilla has been the commander of the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps. Previously, he served as the CENTCOM chief of staff and as commander of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.