At the peak of interest in the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Brown answered questions from reporters. Interest in the topic is caused by both three unidentified planes shot down in American airspace and a Chinese balloon, as well as talks about the supply of Western fighter jets to Ukraine.
Prior to his current assignment in 2020, General Brown served as Commander, Pacific Air Force, United States. At U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), he was responsible for developing contingency plans and conducting air operations in a 20-nation area spanning Central and Southwest Asia, making him a specialist in confrontation with China.
In 2020, Time magazine named Brown one of the 100 most influential people in the world. However, Charles Brown began his military career as a pilot and instructor of the General Dynamics F-16 fighter jet, the very one whose possible deliveries to Ukraine have recently been mentioned.
“How long will it take for Ukrainian pilots who flew Soviet planes to master Western planes?” – To this direct question from a journalist, General Charles Brown replies diplomatically: “I don’t know the answer to this question, but I will say it according to the way we work and train our fighter pilots by passing from one type of aircraft to another. The refresher course lasts two to six months, depending on the aircraft. As for the F-16, it is a course of about two to four months. This is the standard by which we operate in the US Air Force.
Responding to questions about the three targets shot down by the US Air Force which have not been identified, General Brown said: “We will try to recover some of the objects that we shot down and then we will learn more about them. ” He also confirmed that the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) radar settings have been modified for “greater sensitivity”, which allows “a closer examination of our airspace, which means we’ll see more targets than usual.” ” “.
“One of my primary responsibilities,” the Air Force Chief of Staff emphasized, “is to justify the Air Force’s resource and funding needs. The average age of combat aircraft today is around 30 years. Most of the planes we use were designed during Operation Desert Storm when I was a pilot. And now it is seen that they begin to break down more often, their maintenance is more expensive and takes longer.
When ordering new equipment, “we have to give confidence to our pilots… We have to think about the whole life cycle of the aircraft and the whole platform,” Brown stressed. We must consider, for decades to come, “how we can leave our adversaries behind and maintain our reputation as the most advanced air force in the world.” Therefore, it’s no surprise that “the Air Force has more secret programs than any other branch of the armed forces,” the general added.
Responding to a question about the confrontation with China and the prospects for a possible conflict with Taiwan, Charles Brown said: “I don’t see a military conflict as inevitable. The purpose of air force power is to avoid conflict. I want to make sure that we are ahead of the threat, that we have every chance to react correctly in any scenario.
Thus, the power of the air force is seen not only in terms of direct military capabilities, but also as a decisive factor of deterrence. General Charles Brown explains: “Whether we are fighting Russia or China, in a sense, the very act of starting a war is a failure of containment, and therefore carries elements of risk of defeat. The purpose of deterrence is never to lead to open conflict. But if we go into it, we have to be in the best position to act. A professional does not play for second place: he plays to win.”
