AFDP 3-60, page 19

Air Force Doctrine Publication 3-60, Targeting 16 forces, equipment, or material from organizations that are not co-located with the requestor.26 Reachback may be provided from a supporting or supported relationship or by Service retained forces. This relationship provides the air component commander with the support needed to conduct operations while maintaining a smaller deployed footprint. The primary reachback capacity for air component targeting issues resides within Air Combat Command (ACC) and the 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing (ISRW) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE-Langley), Virginia. Federation. Federated targeting support is a whole-of-government approach to target development and assessment that can provide support for the JFC and component commanders. Federated support is based on the needs of CCDRs, other JFCs, or the air component commander. Joint targeting federation needs are coordinated with the larger joint community and national agencies through the JTF staff J-2’s targeting directorate. Coordination should delineate specific duties for federated partners, establish timelines, and determine the communication methods to be used. Support Considerations. Air component and AOC strategists, planners, targeteers, and intelligence analysts are generalists in the sense that they know a wide variety of weapons, targets, and political systems. Reachback and federated targeting organizations have specialists with extensive knowledge of specific target systems and adversaries. Using this expertise is necessary to conduct effective target development that imposes the specific effects chosen by planners to achieve commanders’ objectives. Knowing the capabilities of various units and organizations is key to effectively using the reachback and federated system. Many organizations produce information and intelligence useful to targeting and assessment efforts. Leveraging the expertise of these organizations has always been important, but it is essential for an effects-based approach to operations, which relies on greater situational awareness, more comprehensive planning, and deeper knowledge of the adversary than an attrition-based approach. Traditional approaches to targeting and assessment support have emphasized imagery intelligence, usually overhead imagery from satellites and reconnaissance aircraft. While imagery is still important, human intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), and open-source intelligence 26 JP 3-30, Joint Air Operations, approved in 2025, changed the definition of reachback from “…not forward deployed” to “…not co-located with the requestor.” Reachback Support and the 363rd ISRW The 363rd ISRW is a Service retained force that serves as the primary reachback organization for air component targeting process support. Requirements for production are communicated from the air components to the Wing on both an annual and ad-hoc basis. The commander, Air Combat Command (COMACC), prioritizes targeting and analysis resources and authorizes support to air components through an apportionment process.