Defense & Aerospace Report Defense & Aerospace Air Power Podcast [Mar 05, 26] Season 4 E8 In the Planning Cell
Mar 6, 2026
David Deptula, retired USAF lieutenant general and architect of the Desert Storm air campaign, explains airpower and campaign planning. He discusses Operation Epic Fury, how campaigns start hot then simmer, the logistics behind sustained air operations, munitions and industrial-base limits, and challenges like friendly fire and allied basing constraints.
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Transcript
Episode notes
Hot Campaigns Often Turn Into Long Clandestine Wars
- Wars often shift from a hot, public phase to long clandestine competition worldwide.
- Deptula predicts Epic Fury may move to clandestine operations, with attributable and unattributable Iranian actions persisting globally.
How Air Campaigns Start With The End State
- Setting a theater begins with the desired political end state which dictates force posture and sustainment needs.
- Deptula highlights prepositioning tankers, C2, ISR, transports, and logistics as essential to reach required effects across distances.
Operational Success Hides Capacity Problems
- Tactical excellence masks two structural problems: limited capacity and aging forces.
- Deptula stresses a small, older Air Force is generating outsized strategic leverage but faces sustainability and capacity shortfalls.