How U.S. Air Force prepares to fight inside a contested electromagnetic environment
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The 74th Mission Generation Force Element at Moody Air Force Base is training under Mosaic Tiger 26-1 to sustain A-10 operations when communication with the Air Operations Center becomes unreliable. The exercise shows how mission command and longer planning cycles help units keep generating combat airpower inside a contested electromagnetic environment.
US Air Force officials reported that the 74th Mission Generation Force Element is using exercise Mosaic Tiger 26-1 to rehearse how A-10C crews, maintainers, and planners would operate if data links slow down or higher headquarters guidance arrives late. Airmen describe the event as a deliberate test of decentralized execution, noting that a seventy-two-hour Air Tasking Order gives pilots enough approved targets, airspace blocks, and tanker windows to keep flying even when updates from the Air Operations Center arrive sporadically. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
On Nov. 19, 2025, U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 23d Wing perform post-flight inspections on an A-10C Thunderbolt II as part of Integrated Combat Turns during exercise Mosaic Tiger 26-1 at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida. (Picture source: US DoD)
The unit relies on deliberate planning cycles to ensure that published guidance remains valid for at least seventy-two hours, which allows aircrews to work from an Air Tasking Order (ATO) that has already synchronized targets, airspace volumes, and tanker routes. Leaders from the 74th Fighter Squadron point out that this extended window gives them the latitude to execute without waiting for updated instructions, provided that the commander’s intent remains clear. This approach creates a degree of autonomy that is particularly useful once crews disperse under Agile Combat Employment (ACE) schemes, where distance, weather, and electromagnetic interference complicate the flow of information.
The aircraft at the centre of the 74th Squadron’s mission is the A-10C Thunderbolt II, equipped with the GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm cannon that carries more than one thousand rounds and delivers precise fire in the close air support role. The platform can remain at low altitude for extended periods, using a Sniper or LITENING targeting pod with electro-optical and infrared sensors to track moving elements and mark targets for joint terminal attack controllers (JTAC). The A-10C generally carries up to sixteen thousand pounds of mixed ordnance, including laser-guided bombs and GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) with engagement ranges that, when required, permit employment from medium altitude. Taken together, these features give crews enough tactical flexibility to complete their tasks even when updates from higher headquarters become more sporadic.
Each aircraft depends on solid mission preparation to address possible gaps in real-time communication. Aircrews work based on validated assumptions regarding fuel availability, deconfliction measures, and expected threats, using standard timelines to sequence attack profiles or armed overwatch postures. This way of operating requires a detailed understanding of risk thresholds, particularly when the survivability of the aircraft rests on terrain following, defensive manoeuvres, and coordinated routing with other assets that may also be working with incomplete information.
Mission generation under constrained communication rests on a close link between pilots and maintainers. Technicians must sustain aircraft availability at dispersed locations, often with limited reachback support. A maintenance rhythm built on quick turn procedures and modular component replacement helps preserve sortie rates even when spare parts flows slow down. These preparations give pilots confidence that weapon systems, sensors, and radios will function despite wider constraints on communications during the exercise.
The operational dimension of the scenario requires crews to integrate their firepower into a broader joint framework. Units rehearse coordination methods that do not depend exclusively on digital networks, using visual signals, time-based triggers, and preplanned contact points. The seventy-two-hour Air Tasking Order provides a baseline, but once that window closes, the generation element shifts to broader guidance that prioritises intent over detailed tasking. Wing personnel then link adjacent units so that mission planning can continue at a granular level, enabling the squadron to maintain pressure on the theatre without deviating from the overall operational design.
The United States Air Force is seeking to adapt to increasingly contested electromagnetic environments. Exercises such as Mosaic Tiger reflect a move toward decentralised execution that anticipates adversaries capable of jamming networks, degrading satellites, or disrupting command chains at the regional level. Allies observing these developments see a force preparing to sustain combat operations despite communication attrition, reinforcing the credibility of collective defence architectures at a time when major powers are investing heavily in electronic warfare and long range strike capabilities.
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The 74th Mission Generation Force Element at Moody Air Force Base is training under Mosaic Tiger 26-1 to sustain A-10 operations when communication with the Air Operations Center becomes unreliable. The exercise shows how mission command and longer planning cycles help units keep generating combat airpower inside a contested electromagnetic environment.
US Air Force officials reported that the 74th Mission Generation Force Element is using exercise Mosaic Tiger 26-1 to rehearse how A-10C crews, maintainers, and planners would operate if data links slow down or higher headquarters guidance arrives late. Airmen describe the event as a deliberate test of decentralized execution, noting that a seventy-two-hour Air Tasking Order gives pilots enough approved targets, airspace blocks, and tanker windows to keep flying even when updates from the Air Operations Center arrive sporadically.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
On Nov. 19, 2025, U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 23d Wing perform post-flight inspections on an A-10C Thunderbolt II as part of Integrated Combat Turns during exercise Mosaic Tiger 26-1 at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida. (Picture source: US DoD)
The unit relies on deliberate planning cycles to ensure that published guidance remains valid for at least seventy-two hours, which allows aircrews to work from an Air Tasking Order (ATO) that has already synchronized targets, airspace volumes, and tanker routes. Leaders from the 74th Fighter Squadron point out that this extended window gives them the latitude to execute without waiting for updated instructions, provided that the commander’s intent remains clear. This approach creates a degree of autonomy that is particularly useful once crews disperse under Agile Combat Employment (ACE) schemes, where distance, weather, and electromagnetic interference complicate the flow of information.
The aircraft at the centre of the 74th Squadron’s mission is the A-10C Thunderbolt II, equipped with the GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm cannon that carries more than one thousand rounds and delivers precise fire in the close air support role. The platform can remain at low altitude for extended periods, using a Sniper or LITENING targeting pod with electro-optical and infrared sensors to track moving elements and mark targets for joint terminal attack controllers (JTAC). The A-10C generally carries up to sixteen thousand pounds of mixed ordnance, including laser-guided bombs and GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) with engagement ranges that, when required, permit employment from medium altitude. Taken together, these features give crews enough tactical flexibility to complete their tasks even when updates from higher headquarters become more sporadic.
Each aircraft depends on solid mission preparation to address possible gaps in real-time communication. Aircrews work based on validated assumptions regarding fuel availability, deconfliction measures, and expected threats, using standard timelines to sequence attack profiles or armed overwatch postures. This way of operating requires a detailed understanding of risk thresholds, particularly when the survivability of the aircraft rests on terrain following, defensive manoeuvres, and coordinated routing with other assets that may also be working with incomplete information.
Mission generation under constrained communication rests on a close link between pilots and maintainers. Technicians must sustain aircraft availability at dispersed locations, often with limited reachback support. A maintenance rhythm built on quick turn procedures and modular component replacement helps preserve sortie rates even when spare parts flows slow down. These preparations give pilots confidence that weapon systems, sensors, and radios will function despite wider constraints on communications during the exercise.
The operational dimension of the scenario requires crews to integrate their firepower into a broader joint framework. Units rehearse coordination methods that do not depend exclusively on digital networks, using visual signals, time-based triggers, and preplanned contact points. The seventy-two-hour Air Tasking Order provides a baseline, but once that window closes, the generation element shifts to broader guidance that prioritises intent over detailed tasking. Wing personnel then link adjacent units so that mission planning can continue at a granular level, enabling the squadron to maintain pressure on the theatre without deviating from the overall operational design.
The United States Air Force is seeking to adapt to increasingly contested electromagnetic environments. Exercises such as Mosaic Tiger reflect a move toward decentralised execution that anticipates adversaries capable of jamming networks, degrading satellites, or disrupting command chains at the regional level. Allies observing these developments see a force preparing to sustain combat operations despite communication attrition, reinforcing the credibility of collective defence architectures at a time when major powers are investing heavily in electronic warfare and long range strike capabilities.
