In scenarios where logistics is under attack by China, Russia, or other adversaries, “what we see is that the capability for vertical lift is going to be really important for us i.e., getting away from the fixed runway, so that we can do logistics in a way that is somewhat disruptive, and, frankly, a lot harder to target.” “That’s why we feel we need to retire a certain number of the older C-130s, while addressing this airlift risk in new ways, with new capabilities.” The “C-130 capability is not well-suited to address this risk,” he said. In wargaming scenarios with China, and given the Air Force’s plan to island- and location-hop to avoid enemy missiles, “we run significant risk in airlift, especially in conducting logistics under attack,” Hinote said. “There’s been a lot of discussion about tactical airlift in the future, and I think it’s important for me, as the Air Force’s futurist, to say something about it,” said Hinote, whose title is deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements.

Us air force gunship