How the Air Force Will Expand Its Pacific Island-Hopping Campaign in 2021
An F-22 Raptor completes a hot refuel from a fuel bladder carried by a C-130J Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, during a Dynamic Force Employment at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Nov. 22, 2020. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Michael S. Murphy)
22 Dec 2020
More U.S. Air Force planes are set to operate in the Pacific next year as China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea with its ongoing build up across contested islands in the region.
Pacific Air Forces, headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, plans to expand its Pacific island-hopping campaign next year known as Agile Combat Employment, or ACE to give airmen the skill set they need to operate from anywhere at a moment s notice, said Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, PACAF commander.