USA expands special operations' role in 'war on terrorism'

Jane's ^ | November 5 2002 | Andrew Koch

[knighthawk]

As senior defence officials in Washington contemplate how to better align US forces to fight the global 'war on terrorism', they are increasingly looking to special operations forces (SOF) as an answer.

With SOF expanded missions expected to range from greater involvement in major conflicts such as a possible US-led campaign against Iraq to tracking down individual terrorist cells in the far corners of the globe, additional force structures and new equipment are being planned.

US DoD leaders are now forming a plan to give US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) leaders the flexibility to support the Bush administration's new pre-emptive strategy. This includes countering production and storage sites of weapons of mass destruction; increased interdiction of contraband and illegal finances; penetrating terrorist cells and conducting covert raids aimed at both terrorists and their supporters.

To fulfil those new responsibilities, the DoD is looking to increase the size of USSOCOM and grant it substantial budget increases. The command, which oversees more than 45,000 active and reserve personnel, could see its budget double in size over the next five years as thousands more commandos are added to its ranks, senior military officials said.

The army, for example, has already tried to shift some troops into SOF positions and will pay more than $1 billion for additional SOF needs from Fiscal Year 2004-9. The US Marine Corps, which contributes no personnel to USSOCOM, has signed an agreement to increase co-operation with it.

In the Defense Science Board (DSB) study on Special Operations and Joint Forces in Support of Countering Terrorism conducted in mid-year, additional recommendations were made to increase SOF personnel numbers.

At the same time, the DoD is looking to remove some missions from the command's purview that can be handled by regular forces.

The DSB study recommended additional changes, including establishing a new office with a $100 million annual budget to oversee future covert SOF operations. The office would include specialists in information warfare/information operations, covert action, diplomacy, cover and deception, intelligence operations, psychological operations, human intelligence (HUMINT) and signals intelligence.

The DSB noted, for example, that "a major covert HUMINT programme needs to be made joint" and navy and air force HUMINT capabilities need to be further developed.

Over the longer term, both the air force and navy are exploring systems that could revolutionise how SOF operations are conducted. USAF's Special Operations Command is looking to replace its AC-130U gunships from the end of the decade with an AC-X platform. Possible solutions run from upgraded aircraft with better conventional cannons to unmanned platforms capable of hovering over an area for extended periods of time and delivering precision weapons.

The navy is also exploring a number of future SOF platforms, from near-term solutions such as high-speed vessels to a dedicated Afloat Forward Staging Base.

Over the longer-term, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the navy are exploring a "future underwater fighter", under the Loki programme, that could be launched from submarines and carry a variety of weapons and sensors.

[knighthawk]

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