Pararescuemen from the 38th Rescue Squadron climb a ladder into an HH-60G Pave Hawk, Aug. 7, 2017, near Dog Island, Fla. Airmen from the 23d Wing and 325th Fighter Wing conducted daytime water rescue operations training in conjunction with exercise Stealth Guardian, which is designed to test aircrews with real-world exercise scenarios similar to a deployed or contingency environment. (Staff Sgt. Ryan Callaghan\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTop Air Force leaders, including Secretary Frank Kendall, are adamant that by purchasing fewer Jolly Green II helicopters, the service is not backing away from its traditional combat search and rescue, or CSAR, role \u2014 but that it must change how it executes that mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are some places where you\u2019re just not going to take a helicopter,\u201d Kendall said in an April interview, referring to highly contested environments. \u201cIt\u2019s just not going to work with that reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Air Force bringing this question to the fore, Congress also wants to know more about the service\u2019s plans. The House version of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act would require a report from the Air Force on its future vision for CSAR \u2014 one that will work in the age of great power competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this report, the Air Force must spell out its CSAR requirements for specific geographic areas most likely to require rescue missions; assess the rotary-, tilt- and fixed-wing aircraft needed for the mission; and describe CSAR capabilities the service will need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congress also wants to know about existing capability gaps, particularly those that might stem from buying fewer HH-60Ws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it will likely be at least a decade before the Air Force can field the capabilities that would allow a new approach to combat rescue, and some of the capabilities may not yet exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u2018wickedly hard\u2019 job<\/h1>\n\n\n\n During the wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the Taliban and other local militant forces were often spread out and therefore more likely to be near where U.S. or allied troops went down. The Air Force had to act faster than the enemy \u2014 ideally rescuing troops within one to four hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shocking case of Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, the Jordanian pilot who in 2015 was captured and then burned to death in a cage by the Islamic State group, was a constant reminder to the combat rescue community of the criticality of rapid recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Air Force also had advantages over local militants. CSAR airmen were also nearby, usually launching from bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Groups like the Taliban and ISIS lacked aircraft or significant surface-to-air defenses to threaten CSAR airmen, until they got within range of weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The threat posed by a likely future enemy will be much more advanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Col. Timothy Matlock, Air Combat Command\u2019s personnel recovery division chief, told Defense News that combat rescue in the future will likely be backing up pilots flying fifth-generation aircraft, such as the F-35, \u201cthat take them farther, faster and into enemy-controlled areas where vertical lift platforms can\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there are some ideas for how to make helicopters go faster, Matlock wrote in his emailed statement, it will be a while before they\u2019re in widespread use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force\u2019s solution for a CSAR strategy that would work against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: focusing on helping downed personnel survive on their own for a longer period of time \u2014 potentially at sea and dealing with injuries \u2014 and adopting new methods of rescue that could involve autonomous drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStaff Sgt. Joshua Brydon, 38th Rescue Squadron red team pararescueman, climbs into a Jolly Green II helicopter during a combat search and rescue training mission in the Gulf of Mexico, Nov. 16, 2021. (Staff Sgt. Devin Boyer\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nChristopher Mouton, a scholar with the think tank Rand, said the Air Force is on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe [search and rescue] problem is wickedly hard,\u201d Mouton, who specializes in personnel recovery and special operations, said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s no longer just: \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll just buy X and it\u2019s solved.\u2019 You need to be tackling this from all directions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding the solutions won\u2019t be easy for many reasons, he said \u2014 not least of which because any enemy capable of shooting down an advanced fighter, such as an F-35, would be an even more significant threat to a search and rescue effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One potential way to solve that problem: Remove search and rescue pilots and airmen from the equation entirely by using drones. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown said in April the service is weighing how autonomous systems could help rescue endangered troops or resupply them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force\u2019s experimental Agility Prime electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle \u2014 essentially an air taxi \u2014 is one autonomous, pilotless CSAR option under consideration, said <\/b>Lt. Col. Patrick Lowe, a combat rescue officer and chief of Air Combat Command\u2019s personnel recovery requirements division. Autonomous ships under development by the Defense Innovation Unit could also play a role, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from the safer pilotless feature, Agility Prime\u2019s electric nature and smaller propellers make it quieter than a traditional fuel-powered helicopter like the Jolly Green II. It\u2019s also smaller and more lightweight than conventional helicopters. These factors could give it a better shot at slipping in and out of enemy territory undetected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lt. Col. John Tekell, who runs the Agility Prime program for AFWERX, the Air Force\u2019s technology innovation hub within AFRL, told Defense News that this type of aircraft could also help rescue someone trapped on a chemically or biologically contaminated battlefield, where the Air Force might not want to send more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Tekell said, Agility Prime\u2019s range and speed wouldn\u2019t match that of a traditional helicopter, and a drone may not be strong enough to survive in a combat environment. The HH-60G Pave Hawk, for example, has a maximum speed of 184 mph, but LIFT Aircraft\u2019s Hexa, one of the aircraft undergoing testing as part of Agility Prime, could reach just half of that with a max speed of 90 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Funding is also an open question. Such a program would likely require a major investment in artificial intelligence. If Agility Prime turns out to be the Air Force\u2019s solution, in order to make it a reusable vehicle that is cheap enough so that losing one would be acceptable \u2014 the Air Force would need to buy a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tekell said multiple vendors will likely supply different types of Agility Prime aircraft, each with varying capabilities. The price for each could range from the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to about $5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force officials have floated the idea of having a more traditional helicopter, akin to the Pave Hawk or Jolly Green II, that flies autonomously. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s ALIAS, or Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, program flew a UH-60 Black Hawk entirely unmanned for the first time earlier this year, showing such a concept is feasible. But losing one of those helicopters, even with no one aboard, would be extremely costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There remains debate in the Air Force over the possible scenarios that could complicate using an autonomous aircraft for combat rescue, and whether it\u2019s possible to solve them. For instance, what if the downed pilot has a broken leg or other injury and is unable to climb into a drone helicopter? Or what if a downed pilot is trapped where a helicopter can\u2019t land?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that latter scenario, a pararescueman would usually help the pilot to a spot where they can board the helicopter. But if that pararescueman is traveling on the drone aircraft sent to save the pilot, the aircraft is no longer attritable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the meantime, the Air Force is trying to apply some newer capabilities to assist with combat rescue. For example, Matlock said, <\/b>the service is considering how fifth-generation fighters as well as space and cyber capabilities can distract or counter enemy capabilities long enough for a rescue team to dash in and out. The service also wants to break down stovepipes that isolate intelligence and data so that CSAR teams can pull together more information to help them plan the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBehind enemy lines \u2014 for much longer<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force also knows it must rethink how it supplies aviators so they can survive longer on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way to do that is with the upcoming replacement to the Combat Survivor Evader Locator, or CSEL, hand-held radio, which dates back to the 1990s. Downed personnel use the radio to communicate with their rescuers \u2014 exchanging crucial information on their location, their condition and the status of the rescue effort, as well as advice on how to treat injuries, survive off the land and avoid detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force is starting the research and development phase for the CSEL\u2019s successor, dubbed the Next Generation Survival Radio, with plans to release a request for proposals in August and for the new radio to hit the field within the next six years. Air Combat Command would not provide funding amounts for the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service hopes the new radio will be less bulky, with smaller and longer-lasting batteries, and more user-friendly; the old version requires users to push multiple buttons to communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The replacement must be able to survive the extreme G-forces of an ejection \u2014 up to 15 Gs \u2014 and it needs to be waterproof to a certain depth and temperature. It will also have to use secure networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new version must also work with the Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, a narrowband satellite communications system designed to be more secure and reliable than its predecessors, and able to operate in a range less susceptible to weather or other interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a multiyear acquisition strategy. However, it\u2019s all about aligning those stars,\u201d Lowe said. \u201cWill that capability we want be ready to fit within that form factor so we can get there? I think the jury\u2019s still out. But we will continue to energize the defense industry to be able to provide that solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowe also said Air Combat Command is in the process of fielding to combat search and rescue airmen advanced tactical radios that use MUOS. Better communications security is vital in a rescue, where the enemy is hunting for the same person. If adversaries can hack into the downed pilot\u2019s communications, they can determine the individual\u2019s location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to provide a solution that doesn\u2019t ride on the back of legacy waveforms that are vulnerable to our adversaries,\u201d Lowe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, the seat kits that downed personnel use to survive after ejecting \u2014 which typically include a signal mirror, medical supplies, food and water (or tools to obtain them), a weapon, and camouflage face paint \u2014 are also undergoing review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those kits were largely standardized in the past, but the Air Force has realized one size does not fit all; what a downed pilot would need in Europe differs from what one would need in Africa or the Indo-Pacific region. In response, the Air Force is working on more modular kits that combatant commanders can customize and tailor to each theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Lowe said the Air Force is also working with the commercial sector to design desalinization kits small and effective enough to fit into a seat kit so a downed aviator can survive for a long period on a raft \u2014 a possible scenario in a war against China in the Indo-Pacific region, where landing on water is more likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A more robust life raft, better insulation to protect against the elements and enough food are other upgrades in the works for the seat kit tailored to survive at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the murder of the Jordanian pilot at the hands of ISIS, the Air Force began including a GAU-5A gun in some seat kits. The weapon is essentially a smaller version of the M4 rifle that allows for rapid assembly and disassembly. The GAU-5A is intended to give downed aviators more firepower than a pistol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe same aircraft \u2026 flying in AFRICOM, CENTCOM, EUCOM and INDOPACOM all have different requirements,\u201d Lowe said, referring to U.S. military commands with various areas of responsibility. \u201cIf you\u2019re in CENTCOM and AFRICOM, your personal protection may take a priority, so it\u2019s going to take up space. While in INDOPACOM, the priority would probably be food and water procurement. So we want to give [commanders] options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If downed aviators can survive on their own longer, Lowe said, that would give rescuers more time to map out the best rescue plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in a fierce battle where multiple aircraft are downed in rapid succession, Air Force combat rescuers will need to make hard choices about who to save first. This could involve prioritizing the injured or those most in danger, while circling back to rescue those who are healthy and have intact kits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force is also trying to beef up SERE training \u2014 or survival, evasion, resistance and escape \u2014 for aviators who are at higher risk of being downed. That includes pushing more SERE specialists into wings to hold refresher courses for aviators closer to deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for Agility Prime, it could be years before the aircraft is ready for combat rescue, Tekell said, noting other less life-or-death missions are a better place to build up this autonomous capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some stepping stones we need to go through as far as which missions make the most sense to do first,\u201d Tekell said. \u201cMissions like test and training range support [or] cargo resupply and delivery make a little bit more sense to explore and develop the infrastructure and training and technology [that is needed] prior to doing some more advanced concepts like combat search and rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, he added, people will need to see that the autonomous aircraft is reliable before they trust it with their lives, or the life of an airman under their command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe average person is not going to just climb into an aircraft that\u2019s autonomous and let it take them somewhere,\u201d Tekell said. \u201cThey\u2019re only going to get in it if there\u2019s a pilot, another person there, flying them from point A to point B.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Air Force’s hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,37,160,36,27,167],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-54794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-breaking-news","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-unmanned","category-unmanned-systems"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GQKQIPRZ5VEHDGJ4HP7QYQVMVI","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n
Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like? - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 2843,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"Breaking News\",\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Unmanned\",\n\t \"Unmanned Systems\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like? - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/11\\\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"air\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like? - Defense News","description":"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?","og_description":"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00","author":"Stephen Losey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Losey","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?","datePublished":"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/"},"wordCount":2843,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Breaking News","Daily News Roundup","Newsletters","Unmanned","Unmanned Systems"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/","name":"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like? - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-11T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:00:32+00:00","description":"The Air Force's hunt for a combat search and rescue approach that would work in a war against China or Russia will likely be a two-pronged effort: Help downed aviators survive longer behind enemy lines, and find new ways \u2014 perhaps using drones \u2014 of finding and reaching them.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/07\/11\/air-force-rethinks-combat-rescue-for-major-war-but-what-will-it-look-like\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Warfare","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/","ad_zone":"air"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Air Force rethinks combat rescue for major war \u2014 but what will it look like?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thanks-for-the-lift.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54808,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54794\/revisions\/54808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54794"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=54794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PJs-combat-rescue-training-sea.jpg.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A-Short-Swim.jpg.jpg\")