Editorial

As I near the end of my five years in Kalkar it is my privilege to introduce the 31st edition of Transforming Joint Air and Space Power – The Journal of the JAPCC. Throughout my time here as the Chief of Staff, I have worked with a tremendous team from our 16 sponsoring nations as well as more than 100 contributing authors from around the world who have provided timely and thought-provoking contributions to inform the Air and Space Power Community of Interest on challenges facing the NATO Alliance and our partners.

Issue 31 addresses some hot topics in the Alliance today including 4th and 5th Generation systems integration, emerging hypersonic technologies, AI support to Battlespace Management, and the evolution of the Cyberspace and Space domains in NATO.

Our Assistant Director Brigadier General Giuseppe Sgamba opens this Journal reflecting on a challenging 2020 and the ‘The Need for Speed’ to remain the most advanced military in the world. ‘Employment Considerations for 5th Generation Systems’ and ‘The Italian Air Force’s International Flight Training School’ address developments in the Air domain. ‘Crossroads of Technologies and Authorities’ and ‘Future Battlespace Management’ highlight different aspects of C2 challenges coming along with modernization and new technology which goes in hand with ‘Cybersecurity Challenges with Emerging Technologies’.

The next two articles ‘Hypersonic Threats’ and ‘Distance no Longer Equals Protection’ take a critical look into emerging hypersonic technologies. A selection of different challenges regarding emerging technologies in Space and the Space domain itself are covered in ‘NATO Space’, ‘Responsive Space for NATO Operations’, ‘Shortfalls in NATO Space Education’ and ‘Exploring Synergistic Potential of the Portuguese Space Strategy’. The Journal moves on to a View Point on ‘Electromagnetic Operations in “Grey Zone” Conflicts’ inspiring thoughts on a new undeclared form of warfare; and last but not least, ‘Italian Bio-transport during COVID-19’ examines a number of relevant considerations during this challenging time and the importance of such a critical capability.

The JAPCC has been at the forefront of Joint Air and Space transformation since its founding in 2005, which prompted us to develop a historical volume documenting the first 15 years of JAPCC work. Included with this issue of the Journal is an 8-page Gatefold flyer to provide a preview of the book, which will detail the substantial return on investment NATO has received from the JAPCC thus far.

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of our Journal, I sincerely hope that it stimulates your thinking about important Air and Space Power issues facing our Alliance and our Nations. If it prompts you to share your own thoughts as either a comment on a particular article, or by submitting an article you yourself have developed as an Air and Space Power practitioner, I encourage you to reach out to us via our website: www.japcc.org, or via email: . If you do not already do so, you can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to keep abreast of the latest issues in our COI.

Brad A. Bredenkamp
Colonel, US AF
Chief of Staff, JAPCC