What is Agile Combat Employment?

• A. A proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase resiliency and survivability while generating combat power.
• B. A doctrine of rapid withdrawal from a contested theater.
• C. A strategy to expand airspace control through long-range missiles.
• D. A plan to minimize operations to reduce risk.

Answer: (C)

Agile Combat Employment is about delivering airpower through speed, flexibility, and resilience by operating from dispersed, often austere locations and rapidly reconfiguring forces to stay ahead of threat timelines. The main idea is to maintain the ability to project, generate, and sustain combat power even when adversaries threaten traditional bases, by quickly shifting basing, routes, and missions. This dispersed, adaptable approach makes enemy targeting more difficult and preserves options in contested environments, enabling a scalable mix of forces across multiple sites and domains.

This is not about expanding airspace control with long-range missiles, which focuses on weapon reach rather than how forces are deployed and sustained. It also isn’t about rapid withdrawal or minimizing operations; ACE emphasizes staying agile and present, continuously shaping and applying combat power even under pressure.