Unraveling the Complex Logistics in Support of Agile Combat Employment (ACE) Operations in the Indo-Pacific : Logistics Officer Association , August 3 , 2026
August 3, 2026
Logistics Officer Association
From the report: "Logistics support of combat operations has always been a complex undertaking. But threats to US operating locations in the Indo-Pacific are expected to be substantial and could significantly degrade sortie generation capabilities. US equipment, personnel, and infrastructure are likely to face threats from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and, increasingly in the future, attack unmanned aerial systems. Non-kinetic threats will add additional complexity to the battlefield. Moreover, airbases in the Indo-Pacific are widely dispersed requiring resupply over vast distances while still located within range of enemy attack under short timelines. Aircraft on the ground are particularly vulnerable during air base attacks, making forward basing less desirable because personnel and equipment are at higher risk of attack. Thus, operational resilience and aircraft survivability will be imperative so that air forces can deploy, operate, survive, and regenerate while under persistent, multidomain attack.
The need to be agile and responsive is driving the USAF to rethink the way it provides resources to support combat operations—which is embodied in the concept of Adaptive Operations in Contested Environments. The premise is to train and equip air forces to operate in a distributed fashion across a global network of bases. The aim is to complicate the enemy’s risk-reward calculus and targeting so that US air forces can preserve combat power and “fight from positions of advantage.”
One method to achieve greater operational resilience is ACE. As stated in Air Force doctrine, ACE is “a proactive and reactive scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase survivability while generating combat power.” PACAF’s implementation of the ACE concept is structured around a network of hub and spoke locations that execute and sustain agile air operations. The hubs are the main operating bases that orchestrate the air operations while providing high levels of maintenance and other combat support. The spokes are distributed, forward operating locations with minimal footprints from which expeditionary air operations will be executed."
Authors - Zuhlsdorf, Michael, Lynch, Kristin F., Drew, John G.
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