The Future Air Force: 2025

In 1994 the Chief of Staff of the Air Force tasked the Air Force University

to conduct a study on concepts, capabilities, and technology that the would need to employ airpower for 30 years into the future. The study was called Air Force 2025. It entails 41 papers all summing over 3300 pages of text.

2. A possible future that the Air Force would have to prepare for would go as follows: Technology has grown fast, but is held mostly by the large countries in the world, the U.S. is seen as having it's hand in global politics, and the overall world power grid is dispersed. In 2003, Saddam's regime falls and the region becomes unstable. A Kurdish state is formed, which causes to become restless, and government backed terrorism becomes abundant. Weapons of mast destruction are now a common and real threat. The economy strains due to the aging baby-boomers, so the Air Force must work on a limited budget.

2. Air superiority will still be maintained in 2025 by the used of fighters, bombers, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Trends of improvement from World War II to the present will continue at the same rate from now until the year 2025. Unmanned aerial vehicles will make up 10% of all combat strike fighters in the Air Force. Fighters will fly speeds in excess of Mach 12; bombers will be able to carry a greater payload while also being armed with new age weapons.

3. The weapons of tomorrow have a new primary focus. The focus is not the amount of destruction they cause, but the method by which they identify their target. These new targeting techniques will be used on high energy weapons along with lasers. These include high energy lasers, high power microwaves, electromagnetic pulse devices, radio frequency lasers, and kinetic energy weapons. The Air Force's new all powering factor in 2025 will be the weather modification system.