Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force
Encyclopedia
An Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AETF) is a deployed numbered air force (NAF) or command echelon immediately subordinate to an NAF that is provided as the U.S. Air Force component command committed to a joint operation.
!Forward Deployed (75 total)
!Function
!On-call (100 total)
|-
|18 x F-15C
|Counterair
|6
|-
|10 x F-15E
|Counterland
|14
|-
|8 x F-16CJ
|Counterair/Counterland
|10
|-
|12 x A-10
|Counterland (CAS)
|14 (ANG)
|-
|3 x E-3
|Surveillance/C2
|0
|-
|3 x HH-60
|CSAR
|9
|-
|8 x C-130
|Airlift (Intra-Theater)
|10 (ANG)
|-
|4 x KC-10
|Air Refueling
|2
|-
|3 x KC-135
|Air Refueling
|7 (ANG)
|-
|3 x KC-135
|Air Refueling
|7 (ANG)
|-
|3 x C-21A
|Airlift
|6
|-
|0 x B-52/B-1
|Strategic Attack
|6
|-
|0 x B-2
|Strategic Attack
|3
High Demand/Low Density assets tasked as required: E-3
, E-8
, U-2
, EC-130, RC-135, CSAR
Notional AETF Composition
{|!Forward Deployed (75 total)
!Function
!On-call (100 total)
|-
|18 x F-15C
|Counterair
|6
|-
|10 x F-15E
|Counterland
|14
|-
|8 x F-16CJ
|Counterair/Counterland
|10
|-
|12 x A-10
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
|Counterland (CAS)
|14 (ANG)
|-
|3 x E-3
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
|Surveillance/C2
|0
|-
|3 x HH-60
|CSAR
|9
|-
|8 x C-130
|Airlift (Intra-Theater)
|10 (ANG)
|-
|4 x KC-10
|Air Refueling
|2
|-
|3 x KC-135
|Air Refueling
|7 (ANG)
|-
|3 x KC-135
|Air Refueling
|7 (ANG)
|-
|3 x C-21A
|Airlift
|6
|-
|0 x B-52/B-1
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
|Strategic Attack
|6
|-
|0 x B-2
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
|Strategic Attack
|3
High Demand/Low Density assets tasked as required: E-3
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
, E-8
E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...
, U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
, EC-130, RC-135, CSAR