Another article, this time from USA Today, paints the Air Force with the “new culture” mantra in light of the modern emphasis on UAVs, RPA, and other unmanned vehicles:

The rise of drone warfare has meant a dramatic cultural shift for the Air Force…

Like other media reports on the topic, the article doesn’t really say what the “dramatic cultural shift” actually is.  (It does take a swipe at fighter pilots, saying 

Officers say the drone pilots have the drive and aggressiveness of fighter jocks but not the swagger…Many officers don’t miss the old swagger.

“You shouldn’t necessarily associate brash and cockiness with courage or … performance,” Wald says. “It was kind of fun to be that way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you were the best at anything.”)

True, there is a significant emphasis on UAVs right now, but the Air Force has gone through many eras in which certain systems (strategic bombers, nuclear missiles, precision weapons) seemed to be the end-all, be-all of modern warfare.  That focus rarely stays fixed for long, as world events dictate that the Air Force, and the US military as a whole, be prepared to engage in many different conflicts, not just the battle du jour.

In fact, the article essentially admits as much, a point some others seem to have missed:

Some analysts worry that the Air Force’s rush to incorporate drones may leave the country vulnerable in the future if the United States squares off against an enemy with a sophisticated air defense system.

Slow-moving drones cannot defend themselves against missiles and other attacks. That hasn’t been a problem in Iraq or Afghanistan, where the United States enjoys nearly unrivaled air superiority. But if the United States has to penetrate sophisticated air defenses, it will need fighter pilots in manned aircraft.

Notably, the article implies many UAV pilots are motivated because they’re “in the fight” — as opposed to the dogfighting air-to-air jets that are relegated to the sidelines.  But wanting to be “in on the action” is not a cultural shift; it’s the same mentality that made fighter pilots so popular for decades.  If a “different kind” of conflict comes along that makes the fighter pilot or the bomber pilot “enviable” again, the media would have you believe the culture would “shift” again.

At any rate, the Air Force “culture” won’t stay fixated on current UAVs for long — because they won’t last long in a “real” fight against any adversary with even a rudimentary air defense system.  Of course, as soon as a fleet of X-47-type UAVs start roaming the skies, that will change things.

Still, the Air Force has changed weapons systems emphasis many times before.  The “culture” tends to be more determined by the Air Force’s strategic warfighting vision than the particular weapon system upon which it seems to rely so greatly.