How Not to Lose Your Air Force (On the Ground) - Hardening, modern threats & air base defences

Video Description

Sponsored by Ground News: Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to https://ground.news/perun In the air, modern combat aircraft can be incredibly potent battlefield and strategic tools. On the ground, they're targets, as burning strategic bombers in Russia now attest after Ukraine's recent operation spiderweb. The threat from small drones and new weapon systems wasn't new - you will find mention of small UAS and other similar threats in Doctrinal documents dating back years. What changed is that the Ukrainians showed it could work - and did it in an extremely public way. Today, I talk about the growing threat to air force assets in their bases, how some major forces are planning to address it, as well as the debate around passive defences like hardened aircraft shelters, decoys, and camo. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PerunAU Reading and Sourcing: Hudson Institute - "Concrete Sky: Air Base Hardening in the Western Pacific"(2025) https://www.hudson.org/arms-control-nonproliferation/concrete-sky-air-base-hardening-western-pacific-timothy-walton-thomas-shugart "Does The U.S. Need To Be Building Hardened Aircraft Shelters For Its Combat Aircraft?" https://www.twz.com/news-features/does-the-u-s-need-to-be-building-hardened-aircraft-shelters-for-its-combat-aircraft Previous video on Decoys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPqYvn5NOEs "USAF’s ‘Aircraft Shelter Gap’ with China Creates a Flaw in Deterrence: Report" https://www.airandspaceforces.com/usaf-aircraft-shelter-gap-china-deterrence/ "USAF Generals Downplay Calls For More Hardened Aircraft Shelters In Pacific Theater" https://www.twz.com/air/usaf-generals-downplay-calls-for-more-hardened-aircraft-shelters-in-pacific-theater U.S. Pacific Air Forces - Hardened aircraft shelters constructed at Kunsan (2020) https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2301980/hardened-aircraft-shelters-constructed-at-kunsan/ GAO - "Weapon System Sustainment Aircraft Mission Capable Goals Were Generally Not Metand Sustainment Costs Varied by Aircraft" (November 2022) https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106217.pdf The Armourer's Bench "Russia's DIY Anti-Drone AK Ammo" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLLeOaUYVZ0 "US Air Force eyes missile defense for dispersed bases in China fight" https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/08/22/us-air-force-eyes-missile-defense-for-dispersed-bases-in-china-fight/ Reporting on USMC CUAS plans https://www.twz.com/news-features/every-marine-a-drone-defender-under-three-part-counter-uas-plan "Marines Testing Counter-Drone Rifle Aiming System With Automatically Moving Stock" https://www.twz.com/sea/marines-testing-counter-drone-rifle-aiming-system-with-automatically-moving-stock Imagery of ATACMS strikes on Russian helicopters https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/missile-dialogue-initiative/2023/10/ukraine-targets-russian-airfields-with-us-supplied-atacms-missile/ Israeli reporting on use of infiltrated drones in Iran https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/mossad-set-up-a-drone-base-in-iran-uavs-were-activated-overnight-to-strike-surface-to-surface-missile-launchers-aimed-at-israel/ Reporting on Syrian drone attack on Russian air base (2018) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42595184 https://www.twz.com/17365/russia-confirms-syria-attack-but-denies-seven-aircraft-got-destroyed-as-photos-emerge https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/11/swarm-of-armed-diy-drones-attacks-russian-military-base-in-syria.html Imagery of Su-25 https://www.twz.com/ukrainian-su-25-attack-jet-stuck-by-lancet-drone-was-a-decoy Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I note that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete examination of the topic and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other any other views and/or decisions. Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character. Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Opening Words 00:01:35 — What Am I Talking About? 00:03:49 — Protecting the (Air)force 00:06:51 — Threat Evolution 00:15:17 — Dispersal & ACE 00:24:10 — Threat Context 00:27:46 — Active Defence 00:34:50 — Passive Defence 00:45:29 — Valuing the Box 00:57:10 — 80:20 01:00:14 — Decoys 01:03:17 — the Way Forward 01:06:38 — Channel Update