Lt. Gen. Levy: Combat edge not guaranteed

  • Published
  • By John Parker
  • Staff Writer
Although no U.S. ground troops have been attacked from the air since the Korean War, the nation cannot take air supremacy for granted as global threats grow in the 21st century, Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II said June 23 at an Air Force Association chapter breakfast.

The commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base said more than six decades of combat air supremacy has led to thinking that the advantage is "some sort of birthright" that will carry through to future conflicts.

"It's not," General Levy said. "It's something we have to scratch and claw for every single day, something that we have to put our concerted energies into as military Airmen, civil service Airmen and commercial Airmen to keep that gap between us and those who would do us harm as wide as possible."

China's latest, or fifth-generation, fighters have technological capabilities that are rapidly closing on America's fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35, the lieutenant general said. Its industrial base can build new models faster than the United States, going "from concept to iron on the ramp in 18 months."

Besides remaining the dominant air power, today's Air Force also is tasked with maintaining preeminence in space and cyberspace, Lieutenant General Levy said. Other nations and non-state actors are continually gaining skills and capabilities in those domains, he said.

"The Air Force is actually a multidomain force and we have to constantly push ourselves to be on the cutting edge of those three domains and hold supremacy over them," the lieutenant general said.

The general spoke at the AFA Gerrity Chapter awards breakfast. He thanked chapter members for honoring military and civilian personnel that day for outstanding performance.

"The power of the AFA and the need for a strong AFA is more compelling now than it's been for quite some time," the lieutenant general said.

Lt. Gen. Levy: Combat edge not guaranteed

  • Published
  • By John Parker
  • Staff Writer
Although no U.S. ground troops have been attacked from the air since the Korean War, the nation cannot take air supremacy for granted as global threats grow in the 21st century, Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II said June 23 at an Air Force Association chapter breakfast.

The commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base said more than six decades of combat air supremacy has led to thinking that the advantage is "some sort of birthright" that will carry through to future conflicts.

"It's not," General Levy said. "It's something we have to scratch and claw for every single day, something that we have to put our concerted energies into as military Airmen, civil service Airmen and commercial Airmen to keep that gap between us and those who would do us harm as wide as possible."

China's latest, or fifth-generation, fighters have technological capabilities that are rapidly closing on America's fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35, the lieutenant general said. Its industrial base can build new models faster than the United States, going "from concept to iron on the ramp in 18 months."

Besides remaining the dominant air power, today's Air Force also is tasked with maintaining preeminence in space and cyberspace, Lieutenant General Levy said. Other nations and non-state actors are continually gaining skills and capabilities in those domains, he said.

"The Air Force is actually a multidomain force and we have to constantly push ourselves to be on the cutting edge of those three domains and hold supremacy over them," the lieutenant general said.

The general spoke at the AFA Gerrity Chapter awards breakfast. He thanked chapter members for honoring military and civilian personnel that day for outstanding performance.

"The power of the AFA and the need for a strong AFA is more compelling now than it's been for quite some time," the lieutenant general said.