US Air Force News

[James1978]

Air Force expanding number of bases in Pacific over next decade

By Audrey Decker
August 29, 2023

The U.S. Air Force will increase its number of bases across the Pacific over the next decade, in an effort to spread out and become more survivable in conflict.

The service’s bases “will grow in increments that are visible through time, across probably two or three [future years defense programs] as we work through that,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Zuhlsdorf, the service’s deputy director of resource integration for engineering, logistics, and force protection.

But the total number of bases is dependent on how much funding the Air Force receives, Zuhlsdorf said Tuesday at the Mitchell Institute.

“You think about island chains that are either in the first island chain, there are some bases that are already set there, and then the second island chain, which is basically Guam, and all of those regions in there and so there's a number of different airfields that we're working through, and based on the resourcing that number will shift,” Zuhlsdorf said.

The Air Force has done analyses to figure out which bases could be used to “generate an air tasking order” based on the number of “spokes” in the area, Zuhlsdorf said. The service uses the term “hub-and-spoke” to describe bases in its Agile Combat Employment concept, or ACE, which was created to make the service more mobile in the Pacific.

In the ACE concept, a few airfields serve as central ports, or hubs, while several smaller airfields serve as spokes. The idea is to be able to distribute weapons and assets over a large area and to increase survivability, versus just having a few large airfields throughout the geographically enormous region.

But while there is general direction on ACE in the Pacific—where the concept originated—the service is leaving it up to individual commanders to institutionalize the concept, said Col. James Hartle, associate director of logistics, deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering, and force protection.

“We really allow our units to try and define that for themselves. We've got a little bit of overarching guidance, now from the air staff to try to formalize the training for that, but ultimately we are putting the onus on our commanders [who] are in the field to execute their mission the best way that they know how, and obviously allowing us to get their requirements and working through that organized training and equipping element a little bit,” Hartle said.

Implementing the concept in the Pacific will look different from unit to unit, Hartle said, as each has different weapon systems and different locations they’ll be operating from.

“I think it's really a unique way that ACE has kind of evolved in really allowing the units to execute, grab those lessons learned, provide some guidance, but not so directive in nature that the left-right boundaries to do that are so tight that it's ineffective,” Hartle said.

The service has also been practicing its ACE concept outside of the Pacific—like when it recently surged fighters to U.S. Central Command to combat Russian aggression, said Col. Patrick Launey, chief of the logistics readiness division.

“We look at operations in Europe and the Middle East recently, CENTCOM and EUCOM, where the United States Air Force and Space Force was providing support. There were a lot of situations where we were employing aspects of agile combat employment into how we were going to posture and conduct operations,” Launey said.

[James1978]

‘Largest conundrum of them all’: Air Force still unsure how to keep forces supplied in Indo-Pacific
While the Pentagon is still figuring out how to effectively ferry supplies across the Indo-Pacific theater, a top TRANSCOM official warned that the command may not have all the tools it needs to accurately track supplies in transit.

By Michael Marrow
August 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The challenge of resupplying forces across vast distances in the Indo-Pacific in the event of a fight is still vexing the Pentagon, with a key Air Force logistician saying that though there are several options to solve the problem, officials aren’t sure what path might be best.

“That is probably the largest conundrum of them all as we look at this problem set,” Air Force Col. James Hartle said Tuesday when discussing how to resupply troops in the Indo-Pacific during a virtual discussion hosted by the Mitchell Institute. “I don’t think we have a good answer yet.”

Figuring out how to keep supplies flowing in the Indo-Pacific will be a key task for planners seeking to head off a potential conflict with China over an invasion of Taiwan. Unlike Ukraine, which is sandwiched between NATO supply hubs, the island of Taiwan poses a different problem altogether, with wargame analysis showing that resupplying troops could be a leading issue for both US- and Chinese-aligned forces.

Anticipating that stacking too many airmen or supplies in one location could cripple operations if it’s attacked, the Air Force is spreading out its Indo-Pacific forces through its Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept. The number of bases it could use is also set to increase as a result, with Brig Gen. Mike Zuhlsdorf stating during the Mitchell Institute event that the number “will grow in increments that are visible through time, across probably two or three FYDPs [future year defense plans] as we work through that.”

Zuhlsdorf, Air Force deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection, didn’t share exactly how many bases that would be but said that the final number depends on funding.

But Hartle, also a senior member of the service’s logistics staff, made clear Tuesday that officials have “a lot of options” and are still “working through that problem.” He noted that one solution seems to be gaining “traction” among planners: Instead of waiting for supplies to be requested, officials could “automatically” ship out certain materials that are likely to be in need. The arrangement, he said, would be similar to a subscription service that regularly sends new items every month.

“Let’s push the things that the data tells us that those forward units will probably be using, not [wait] for the airmen to write the order, submit it in the computer and then ask for a required delivery date,” he said. “We just know we’re going to push a lot of that forward. I think that is a good way to get after the first opening stages of that.”

Package ETA

Still, even if they’re ordered ahead of time, officials might have a hard time keeping tabs on those supplies when they’re in transit, a US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) official warned on Monday.

Speaking during a panel at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Emerging Technologies for Defense conference in Washington, TRANSCOM Deputy Commander Army Lt. Gen. John Sullivan said that officials at TRANSCOM are wedded to decades-old technology to track supplies in real time, a capability known as “in-transit visibility.” And following what Sullivan called a “somewhat underwhelming” industry day in April, more work to improve the command’s tracking tech is needed.

“We want to avail ourselves of the technologies out there to help us improve in-transit visibility. We’re not where we need to be right now,” he said.

Being able to accurately track supplies in real time is a critical component of command and control, Sullivan noted, who emphasized that it would be “imprudent if not foolish” for planners to expect that recent decades of uncontested logistics operations would continue for future conflict.

“We see this as a challenge. We also see this as an opportunity. And we’re very much focused on this going forward,” he said.

[James1978]

USAF aims to ‘re-optimize’ for great power competition

By Audrey Decker
September 11, 2023

The U.S. Air Force will conduct a “broad review” to look for ways to improve how it deploys its troops, and identify areas for change by early next year, as it gears up for a potential fight in the Pacific.

This new effort to “re-optimize” for “great power competition” will examine all aspects of how the service organizes, trains, and equips to support combatant commanders and the joint force, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

“As I learned how we had optimized to support current deployments, especially to the Middle East, it’s becoming increasingly clear that more change is needed and that we need to accelerate that process,” Kendall said.

The service recently surged fighters to U.S. Central Command to combat Russian aggression, as Russia’s fighter jets continue to make dangerous passes of U.S. jets over Syria.

“We need to examine all aspects of how the Department of the Air Force is structured and operates, and be open to major changes that reflect the requirements of the National Defense Strategy to deter and, if necessary, prevail against China or Russia,” Kendall said.

Kendall said he started this effort because the Air Force is “not as deployable as I think we should be” to support its operations.

The Air Force is also sending three new task forces to various commands to practice how it intends to project forces in the future, in an effort to improve the service’s ability to deploy its troops.

“On Friday, I approved the Air Force creation of three new air task forces to serve as pilots in order to experiment with ways to more efficiently provide deployable integrated units: two for [U.S. Central Command] and one for the [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command],” Kendall said.

The new “air task forces” are not permanent, deployable units—but they’ll help the service learn how to better deploy around the world, Kendall said.

The goal of this new effort is to identify a “range of changes” by January, the secretary said. The effort will be conducted by five teams from the department, and each will focus on a different line of effort: how the department is organized at headquarters and in the field; how it equips the force; how it recruits and manages talent; how it creates and sustains readiness; and how it supports operational units, Kendall said.

“My goal is by the time we meet at the next AFA, the changes that we need to re-optimize for great power competition and possibly for conflict will be well underway,” Kendall said.

[James1978]

US Air Force eyes advance procurement to more quickly make E-7 planes
By Stephen Losey
3 August 2023

DAYTON, Ohio — With pressure on the U.S. Air Force to field its upcoming fleet of E-7A battlefield management aircraft as quickly as possible, the service is leaning heavily on advance procurement.

The Air Force wants to have a fleet of up to 26 of the Boeing-made command-and-control aircraft by 2032 to replace the aging E-3 Sentry. The latter’s airborne warning and control capabilities are lagging, and the fleet is nearing the end of its life. The Air Force is now retiring half its fleet of 31, though some lawmakers last year expressed concern that could leave the service with a capability gap.

But the Air Force’s ambitions to swiftly replace the E-3 in time for a potential fight against China, perhaps later this decade, are running into the realities of production limitations.

In a discussion with reporters at the Air Force’s Life Cycle Industry Days event in Dayton, Ohio, the program executive officer for digital services, Steven Wert, outlined steps the Air Force is taking to accelerate advance production and delivery of crucial components for the E-7 in hopes of speeding up the timetable for completing the planes.

The Air Force is now focusing on how quickly it can build the first E-7, Wert said — but there are limitations. Boeing first has to build the airframe using a 737 tube manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas; beef up its structure to be able to support the massive multirole electronically scanned array, or MESA, radar; add its mission systems; and then test and certify its airworthiness.

The Air Force is working to accelerate the process of building subsequent E-7s, largely through funding for long-lead items. By purchasing critical components in advance and making them available before they’re actually needed, the Air Force wants to ensure production lines don’t slow down while manufacturers wait for parts to arrive.

Wert pointed to a July 26 service announcement that the Air Force will issue a sole-source award for an unspecified amount to Boeing so it can buy more long-lead items for the low-rate initial production of the E-7, which is expected to begin in fiscal 2025.

Wert said Monday this advance procurement will cover multiple key areas, including the E-7′s airframe, its conversion and structural strengthening, and the MESA radar, which is nicknamed “top hat” for its distinctive shape.

The Air Force’s list of unfunded priorities for the FY24 budget asks for another $596 million for E-7 advance procurement funds.

Boeing said earlier this year that once the Air Force’s E-7 program is fully up and running, it plans to build at least four annually.

Wert said the production of the massive Northrop Grumman-made MESA radar is one of the limiting factors on E-7 production. The company can now build two radars per year, and is looking to expand that production capability to four.

The Air Force is also working with Boeing to find ways to keep the E-7′s cost down, Wert said, by ensuring its software architecture is modular and easily supportable, for example. The Air Force has assigned some of its own software developers from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, to directly work with Boeing on the E-7′s software, he added.

Above all, he explained, the Air Force doesn’t want the E-7 to repeat its experience with the Boeing-made E-3 Sentry program, where the service had to go back to the original manufacturer for any changes.

Other countries have shown interest in buying E-7s, increasing the pressure on Northrop to produce more radars, Wert noted. Northrop is already investing in ways to double its radar production capacity, he said, and the company could find ways to go even further.

“We may very well be very busy,” Wert said.

[James1978]

Why the ‘Sun Never Sets’ for Airmen Aboard the RC-135
Sept. 21, 2023 | By David Roza

OFFUTT Air Force Base, Neb.—Headquartered here in America’s heartland is the 55th Operations Group, which flies intelligence-gathering missions all over the world with a small fleet of 28 RC-135 aircraft.

“People might not fly a mission if an RJ [Rivet Joint] isn’t available, or the package is weakened because an RJ isn’t there to support it,” Lt. Col. Craig Lee, director of operations for the 338th Combat Training Squadron, a component of the 55th OG, told Air & Space Forces Magazine during a visit to Offutt in May.

“Same thing with large force exercises,” Lee added. “Our jet’s in such high demand and it’s because of what everyone knows we bring to the team as a whole.”

The Jets

The 55th Wing’s unofficial motto is “The sun never sets on the Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth,” which Airmen make true by flying global missions aboard these aircraft:

* 17 RC-135V/W Rivet Joints: Mobile listening posts, collecting real-time electronic and signals intelligence
* 3 RC-135S Cobra Balls: Study ballistic missile activity
* 2 RC-135U Combat Sent: Locate, identify, and analyze radar signals
* 3 WC-135R/W Constant Phoenix: Collect samples of the atmosphere to detect nuclear weapons testing
* 3 TC-135Ws: Serve as training aircraft

Most RC-135 jets are approaching 60 years in service. Hard-working maintainers keep the aircraft flying, while engineers rebuild the aircraft every few years to make way for cutting-edge electronics and intelligence-gathering equipment.

The Mission

Though Airmen at the 55th OG do critical work, much of it stays behind the scenes.

“We don’t immediately see the ramifications of our missions, like we don’t get instant gratification,” said Staff Sgt. Brandon Weik, an airborne systems engineer. “But I do enjoy turning on the news three months or six months later and seeing the impact of a mission I know I was on.”

The work often directly benefits fellow service members. When the Combat Sent collects information on radar signals, it can help Air Force fighters and bombers update their radar warning receivers. When the Rivet Joint detects new weapons systems or new capabilities, it helps the entire military be better prepared.

Sometimes the results are immediate. Lee often helped gather fresh intelligence for troops in contact while on deployments to the Middle East during the Global War on Terror.

“You might have spent six hours on station or on orbit and you’re ready to leave the country, but all of the sudden you get one of those calls over the radio and we need to support them,” he said. “It’s tough on crews because you’ve been out there a long time, but in that mission you’re there to help get that intel directly to troops on the ground.”

Each variant of the RC-135 requires unique skill sets. The Constant Phoenix, for example, requires at least two special equipment operators (SEOs) to run the subsystems that collect particulates from the outside air, which scientists analyze when the jets return to base. SEO Staff Sgt. Eric Martin is proud to be part of such a unique mission.

“Most people think of radiation and think ‘avoid it,’” Martin said. “With this jet we’re able to go and actually do that safely, which I think is really cool.”

Meanwhile, the Rivet Joint usually flies filled with electronic warfare officers, airborne system engineers, intelligence operators, airborne mission supervisors, and airborne signals analysts, not to mention the two pilots and a navigator in the cockpit. There are often about two dozen crew members, though it can vary by mission.

Each position aboard the Rivet Joint has its own computer station. Right behind the flight deck, three electronic warfare officers collect electronic intelligence, often from radars, surface-to-air missiles, or other systems. Further down the fuselage, three airborne systems engineers serve as an “airborne geek squad,” maintaining their crewmates’ high-tech equipment, said Weik. They also run the air conditioning units that cool the electronics, and they double as firefighters in case the cooling effort fails.

“If a fire were to break out, which luckily has never happened to me, we’re the ones who respond to it, shut down the electricity, get that fire isolated and then extinguished,” he said.

Taking up most of the cabin are more than a dozen intelligence operators who scan intercepted communications. Airborne analysts oversee their work and report to the airborne mission supervisor, while an information integration officer coordinates the effort with the rest of the battlespace and a data link operator helps share information between aircraft.

Rivet Joints frequently fly over vast and diverse areas, so the operators are often linguists who have trained for years and might specialize in technical fields or regional dialects, said one airborne analyst, Tech Sgt. Brittany Sizemore.

In the back of the Rivet Joint sits the airborne signals analyst, who picks up nonverbal communications, the ‘beeps and squeaks’, as one analyst, Tech Sgt. Thomas Frederick, put it.

“I feel like we’re the future of the RJ,” he said. Signals are always changing as more advanced communication technology comes online, “so our job is to process the ones we know and find the new and unusual stuff as well.”

The Galley

Frederick’s station at the back of the jet puts him close to the galley, which consists of two refrigerators, a convection oven, and a microwave. The galley is put to good use during a Rivet Joint mission, which can last 16 hours or more.

“People get really creative back here, especially on long sorties. They’ll make pulled pork or taco bars or pizzas,” Frederick said. “Cinnamon rolls are a big hit for some reason.”

Other menu options include croissant crust-pizza, sticky toffee pudding, muffins, chicken wings, cordon bleu, and easy-bake cookies, along with the usual snacks and energy drinks. One common challenge on the Rivet Joint is to eat 100 quarter-sized chicken nuggets in one sortie.

“It’s not something I want to do again,” Frederick recalled. “You don’t really feel great after that.”

It feels even worse to smell a fridge full of forgotten food after the jet has been sitting in the sun all day in a hot place like Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, which is why RJ crews sweep out all food off the aircraft after a sortie.

“If you leave your food in there and someone catches it, you’ve got to buy them some kind of treat,” Frederick said.

Meanwhile, aboard the Constant Phoenix, Airmen try to perform 10 pull-ups an hour using straps dangling from the ceiling above the flight deck. The reps add up over a 15-hour flight, and some Airmen also do squats while microwaving food in the galley.

“You try to find healthy ways to keep your mind in the game,” said one Phoenix crew member.

The Flying

The crew positions are connected via an interphone panel, which crew members use to coordinate with each other and the flight deck to accomplish objectives.

“I try to distinguish what the back end wants, create a mission plan, and send it to the pilots so they can actually fly it,” said Capt. John Burns, a navigator. “It’s a lot of communication, and since we can all hear each other over the interphone panel, you get to know people very well, even if they don’t want you to.”

The flights themselves can get bumpy: the Combat Sent sometimes descends rapidly to capture data on adversary radar systems, while the Constant Phoenix plows through clouds and weather to collect atmosphere samples. One pilot, Capt. Taylor Pearce, called Combat Sent flying “the most dynamic, which makes it the most fun as a pilot.”

“That’s one of the coolest things about this community is that we’re all qualified on a different airplane, and they look and act much the same, but the flying that you do on them is actually significantly different,” he added. “So I’m never bored. You get to fly a whole bunch of different missions and you’re not doing the same thing all the time.”

Indeed, the 55th Operations Group is a medley of aircraft, specialists, and missions that share one thing in common: the intelligence they gather can save lives.

“Every position is critical to the overall mission of the jet, and we know there are people depending on us,” said Lee. “When everyone else is in trouble, when they’re in harm’s way, we’re the ones basically allowing them to know what’s out there, and we take that really seriously.”

[James1978]

A US Air Force spy plane built in 1962 had to make an emergency landing in Qatar. It's the latest in a string of incidents for the ancient fleet of aircraft.
By Taylor Rains
15 September 2023

A US military spy plane that's part of a fleet of aging aircraft from the 1960s had to make an emergency landing in Qatar this week after the crew reported an issue when flying near Bahrain.

It's the latest in a long string of incidents for the unit's Boeing-made RC-135 Rivet Joint planes. This one, with call sign OMAHA-77, is more than a half-century old. It was built in 1962. And the Air Force has had plans to keep the fleet for flying for 20 to 30 more years — which would make the oldest of the fleet more than 80 years old before it's retired.

Soaring at 26,000 feet, the quad-engine aircraft — which belongs to the Nebraska-based 55th Wing — was flying near a KC-135 Air Force tanker when the latest malfunction occurred, Air Force officials confirmed to the Omaha World-Herald on Tuesday.

"The crew promptly declared an in-flight emergency and followed standard operating procedures to ensure the safety of all on board," US Air Forces Central Command spokesman Col. Michael Andrews told the World-Herald in a statement.

The plane was squawking 7700 at the time — the international emergency signal.

The aircraft and all 24 crew members eventually landed with no damage or injuries, and it was able to taxi and park under its own power, according to the World-Herald. The cause of the malfunction is now under investigation.

The US Air Force did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The spy plane involved in Monday's event was originally built as a transport aircraft in 1962 before being transformed into a reconnaissance plane in 1967. It eventually joined the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base outside of Omaha in 1981 and is still flying more than 40 years later.

The unit's particularly incident-prone fleet — which runs missions out of England, Greece, Japan, and Qatar — has had one of the worst safety records in the Air Force, according to an earlier World-Herald report, which combed through incident records.

According to the 2018 investigation by the World-Herald, the 29-strong fleet experienced an average of more than 80 emergencies and aborted takeoffs per year. In extreme cases, the aircraft return to base too damaged to fly — forcing the wing to cut short some 500 missions between 2012 and 2018.

The World-Herald's 2018 investigation prompted Nebraska lawmakers to request information from the Air Force about how it intended to maintain the fleet, expressing concerns over the "continued mission effectiveness" of the 55th Wing.

Then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson responded to the letter defending the unit. She said the planes were "a safe and effective weapon system" and were able to fly 75.5% of the time between 2015 and 2018 — noting that rate is close to the Air Force's 76% standard.

"Based on historical safety reports and current safety trends, there is no increased risk to the safety of C-135 air crew," Wilson wrote.

Nevertheless, military personnel have voiced concern for the crews who work on the aging fleet, which have experienced everything from onboard fires, high-altitude depressurization, and a broken flight deck windshield.

In fact, the RC-135 was 110 times more likely to experience an emergency landing compared to a commercial airliner, the World-Herald found at the time of its report.

"If my airline had that record, the FAA would have said, 'Stop flying and fix the problem,'" Frank Strickler, who is a former Air Force pilot, an air crash investigator, and a senior captain for American Airlines, told the World-Herald at the time.

Take, for instance, what happened on Monday.

According to the World-Herald, the plane was flying over the Persian Gulf north of Bahrain when the pilot asked air traffic control for "immediate direct Al Udeid, please," referring to the US' Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

It appears the pilot was having trouble controlling the aircraft when the controller asked him to tighten the turn to keep out of restricted airspace, saying, "We're trying here."

When asked again, the pilot said, "No, unable anymore turn."

In the meantime, the refueling tanker — callsign PYTHON15 — was cruising at 28,000 feet and offered assistance if needed: "We just want to stay out of Omaha's way," the pilot said. "Anything we can do, if we need to help them."

It is unclear if the RC-135 was fully refueled or was in the process of being refueled by the KC-135 tanker at the time of the malfunction, the World-Herald reported. But, the crew reported having eight hours worth of fuel and needed to dump about 35,000 pounds of it before landing.

"We're going to need to reduce our gross weight," the pilot told ATC, according to audio from LiveATC.net that was posted on X, formerly Twitter. "We've got the aircraft under control at this time."

Despite the recent event and years-long concerns about the old fleet, the 55th Wing has not lost an aircraft in an accident since 1997 and has planned to make upgrades that will keep the planes flying for another 20 to 30 years.

Former 55th Wing commander and current Air Force Safety Center head Maj. Gen. John Rauch described the fleet's maintenance and upkeep as "having your 1950s car rebuilt every five years," telling the World-Herald that the planes get "a lot of maintenance love."

"I have complete confidence in flying this aircraft," 55th Wing vice commander Col. David Berg told the World-Herald in 2018. "These (planes), from every angle, are meticulously maintained."

[James1978]

B-21 Still on Track for First Flight This Year. But Are There Enough in the Pipeline?
Sept. 13, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

While the Air Force eagerly awaits the first flight of the B-21, there aren’t enough Raiders behind that first aircraft in the pipeline to do everything the nation needs the bomber fleet to do, a top analyst said Sept. 13 at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

As a result, USAF’s bomber fleet, already smaller than it has ever been, could get even smaller if the Air Force doesn’t ramp up B-21 production or extend the service of the B-1 and B-2 fleets, said Mark Gunzinger, director of future concepts and capability studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies during a panel discussion on the B-21.

Northrop Grumman’s aeronautics president Tom Jones, also on the panel, said the first B-21, now being readied for flight test, is still likely to fly by the end of the year—and delays to this point are only a sign that it is being readied in a deliberate fashion that will ensure a quick succession of follow-on flights.

Gunzinger said his analysis of USAF aircraft inventory plans shows the bomber inventory will decline early in the next decade, at a time when its importance is only increasing.

“According to DOD’s own unclassified report to Congress of aircraft inventory, it looks like the B-21 acquisition rate is going to top out at around 10 per year sometime in the 2030s,” Gunzinger said. That level would be “half the max rate that we planned for the last four bomber models” and not enough to prosecute a campaign-level air war.

Also on the panel were William D. Bailey, the head of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, which is developing the B-21; Jones; and Brig. Gen. Ty Neuman, the Air Force’s director of concepts and strategy in the Air Force Futures office. None disputed Gunzinger’s assessment.

To deter China from attempting an invasion of Taiwan, “we have to bring mass,” Gunzinger said. “We have to bring precision plus mass over long ranges to strike a … landing wave, surface action groups, and other targets that would be the core of China’s offensive strategy.”

Carrier air wings will have to stay too far away from China because of long-range ballistic missiles, Gunzinger said. “So we need our bomber force now more than ever.”

At 141 aircraft, today’s bomber fleet is smaller than at almost any time in USAF history. “We’re sized for the wars of the past and not the operating environment we’re in today,” Gunzinger said.

Various analysts peg a mixed fleet of 300 B-21s and B-52s as the minimum needed to carry out such an air campaign, but the Air Force doesn’t have the resources to do that because, for 31 years, it has received less funding than the Army or Navy.

A suggestion from former Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein that the Air Force move toward 225 bombers is a “step in the right direction,” Gunzinger said.

“We need to grow the size of our bomber force as quickly as possible, he argued. “And that means the acquisition rate of the B-21 should be maximized.”

In the meantime, “our force is going to go down before it goes up,” Gunzinger warned, explaining that DOD’s aircraft plan puts the bomber fleet at 133 tails. “It might actually be worse than that,” because the Air Force doesn’t have the money to keep the B-1 and B-2 bombers flying while bringing on B-21s.

Jones said the first B-21 test aircraft, designated T-1, is not a prototype and was built largely as the first production aircraft, P-1, will be.

“The jet that’s going to fly this year, for all intents and purposes, is a production jet,” Jones said.

“It’s got all the coating, it’s got the mission systems. It was built using factory processes. It was built with regular work orders by regular factory technicians, not engineers doing a bespoke first article. It was built with original tooling,” said Jones. While it will be a flight sciences aircraft, the B-21 contract calls for making the test airplanes into operational models later on.

As lessons are learned in testing, Northrop is applying adaptive processes, “which means we’re going to get to stable, steady production rates faster,” Jones promised.

Additionally,, B-21 sustainment was a foundational design factor, which means testing will move out rapidly and early production aircraft will be able to operate as “daily flyers” soon after reaching the force, he said.

Neuman said the Air Force is “thinking very differently” about how the B-21 will be employed versus previous bombers.

“It’s not about force packaging,” he said. “It’s about providing complicated scenarios that the adversary has to plan for,” as part of a “cost-imposing” strategy.

Bailey agreed that the B-21 is “still on track” to fly by the end of 2022.

“The aircraft is performing well,” he said. While the team is looking forward to first flight, in a meeting last week, they “wanted to talk about second flight up to the 20th flight. … We’re looking downstream all the time.”

The challenge, he said, “is to stay focused. We need to be ready on day one to operate this aircraft.”

[James1978]

B-21 ground tests proceed as bomber’s first flight deadline approaches
By Stephen Losey
September 14, 2023

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force’s next stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, is conducting engine runs and remains on track for its first flight this year, officials from the service and manufacturer Northrop Grumman said at a conference this week.

The Raider, which the Air Force unveiled in a highly publicized ceremony in Palmdale, California, in December, is in the midst of an extensive series of ground tests for several systems, officials said at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. The testing is required before the aircraft can fly for the first time.

The Air Force intends this new highly classified bomber, which in about a decade will replace the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit, to be a significant new weapon in its arsenal to deter adversaries such as China from acts of aggression. It has significant range and advanced stealth capabilities the Air Force hopes will allow it to slip undetected into enemy territory to carry out penetrating strike missions. The service views it as the “backbone” of its future bomber force.

Air Force Global Strike Command head Gen. Thomas Bussiere said in a Tuesday panel that the Air Force and Northrop Grumman are conducting engine runs to test the B-21′s propulsion systems at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

In an interview with Defense News on Wednesday, Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman’s aeronautics systems unit, declined to say when the engine runs began or what further tests must occur before the first flight can take place, citing security concerns.

Engine runs are performed with the B-21 restrained in a dock, Jones said, and are meant to ensure the engines are working correctly and responding to the bomber’s throttles. But other prep work done on the Raider in recent months, Jones added, included activating its systems, checking to ensure its control actuation systems work, and ensuring doors and landing gears open or extend properly.

“We’ve made a substantial dent in the work scope that needs to get done in ground check, and we’re very confident we’re going to make the flight this year,” Jones said.

The B-21 team also conducted troubleshooting reviews of the bomber’s fuel systems, William Bailey, director of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office that oversees the B-21, said in a Wednesday panel. The digital tools used to check the bomber’s fuel infrastructure allowed it to move to the engine run phase in less than five days, he added.

Jones said that on any new aircraft’s development, such checks are crucial to ensuring the fuel moves around to different places as intended.

Even under the best of circumstances, Jones explained, the process can be time-consuming. But if something is faulty, technicians have to get down into hard-to-reach nooks and crannies of the plane to locate the problem and fix it.

“Getting that right is a big deal on any aircraft,” Jones said. “But on a flying wing [such as the B-21], it’s critical to stability.”

Jones said Northrop Grumman has found and fixed things that need to be adjusted or that were installed incorrectly on the Raider during tests such as engine runs, but that those discoveries are part of the normal process of fine-tuning an entirely new aircraft.

He added that investments the company made in digital models and software simulations paid off by helping catch issues and fix them faster, including during fuel checks. And the fact that functional fuel checks were able to take place in just five days showed the B-21′s underlying software is solid, he said.

That software testing is now complete, and only ground tests of its hardware remains, which Jones said is a reversal from how new airplane tests typically work. “Every aircraft that’s ever been made, the airplane has been waiting for the software — at least the ones that have software,” he explained.

In his panel, Bailey joked that the B-21′s software engineers “smack talk” the hardware team, “saying: ‘Would you please hurry up? We’re done.’ ”

The scheduled first flight will take the first bomber to Edwards Air Force Base in California for even more extensive flight tests. It’s taken longer for the B-21 to reach its first flight than its predecessor, the B-2, which had its first flight eight months after its November 1988 rollout.

Jones said the increased complexity of the B-21, including more than 30 years of advancements in technology, led to the longer schedule. But building this first test B-21 as a production-representative aircraft instead of a “bespoke” experimental model — while making things more complicated — will pay off down the road by making it easier to shift into production and leverage economies of scale, he said. For example, the initial B-21 has the mission systems and low-observable stealth coatings all production bombers will have.

“It took a little bit of extra time, [but] it’s going to pay dividends,” Jones said.

In March, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall sounded a note of caution about the B-21′s first flight, saying it had slipped a few months but was within the baseline schedule.

At the AFA conference this week, Air Force officials such as Kendall, acquisition chief Andrew Hunter and Bussiere expressed satisfaction with the B-21 program. Kendall said he is hopeful the first flight will happen this year, “absent any unexpected surprises.”

“But surprises do happen in acquisition programs,” Kendall added.

[James1978]

Raytheon delivers first AESA radar for B-52 Radar Modernization Program
13 September 2023

In a significant milestone for the United States Air Force’s B-52 Radar Modernization Program, Raytheon has successfully delivered the first Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar to Boeing. This state-of-the-art radar system is poised to enhance the B-52’s capabilities, ensuring its mission readiness for decades to come.

Raytheon’s selection as the radar supplier for this ambitious modernization effort was announced on July 11, 2019, in partnership with the Boeing Company. Under the terms of the contract, Raytheon undertook the responsibility to design, develop, produce, and sustain AESA radar systems for the entire U.S. Air Force B-52 fleet. With the initial radar now delivered, the program is moving steadily toward low-rate initial production, scheduled to commence in 2024.

The AESA radar represents a significant leap forward in the B-52’s technology suite. Equipped with this advanced radar, the B-52 will enjoy improved navigation reliability, vital for supporting both nuclear and conventional missions. The AESA radar, which draws on technologies from the APG-79/APG-82 radar family, will also significantly expand the aircraft’s mapping and detection range. Furthermore, it will bolster the B-52’s ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously, thereby increasing its effectiveness in modern conflict scenarios.

One of the standout features of Raytheon’s AESA radar is its exceptional reliability. Unlike the previous system, it contains no moving parts and relies on modern operating software, drastically reducing the risk of mechanical failure.

The first B-52 aircraft to be equipped with the AESA radar arrived at a Boeing facility in San Antonio on May 25, marking a crucial step in the B-52 Radar Modernization Program. The entire program is estimated to cost approximately $2.8 billion, with initial operational capability anticipated in 2027.

Jennifer Wong, Senior Director of Boeing Bomber Programs, expressed her excitement about the radar’s potential, stating, “This new AESA radar will give the B-52 more capability than it has today and allow for the possibility to enhance access to growth capabilities in the future. A lot of amazing collaboration by our Boeing team, Raytheon, and the Air Force made this possible.”

The B-52 Radar Modernization Program represents a concerted effort to extend the operational life and capabilities of this venerable aircraft, ensuring it remains a vital component of the U.S. Air Force’s strategic arsenal well into the future.

[James1978]

B-21 Raider First Flight
https://twitter.com/i/status/1722993343485866184

I'm sure we'll get better video as the day progresses.

Edit To Add: Article at The Warzone

[jemhouston]

B-21 Raider First Flight
https://twitter.com/i/status/1722993343485866184

I'm sure we'll get better video as the day progresses.

Edit To Add: Article at The Warzone

That's fairly fast between rollout and first flight isn't it?

[James1978]

Kendall Reveals Secret X-Plane Program Paved the Way for NGAD
Nov. 14, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

There was a secret, multi-agency X-plane program to explore future fighters that paved the way for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall revealed at the POLITICO Defense Summit on Nov. 14.

Although Kendall and other Air Force officials have previously said there were flying prototypes before the current stage of the NGAD program, his new remarks provided more details about the highly classified project, including the agencies involved, some of the money spent, and the fact that the NGAD will control the uncrewed fighters escorting it. He also noted that the uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft program won’t get started until the fiscal 2024 defense bill is passed.

The Air Force said in May that it expects to award an NGAD contract in 2024. Kendall has previously said the NGAD will cost “multiple hundreds of millions” of dollars per tail.

Asked what most excites him about the NGAD, Kendall said it is the inclusion of a “family of systems” in the program, which includes autonomous escort platforms, new weapons—including the secret AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile—and “offboard sensors.”

In 2014, when Kendall was undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, “we commissioned a study” led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called “The Dominance Initiative,” he explained.

“That study lasted a year or so,” Kendall said, and recommended a “family of systems” to accompany the crewed fighter that will succeed the F-22.

In 2015, “we started the Next Generation Air Dominance X-plane program,” he said, which was funded for about $1 billion. The costs were split—“a third by DARPA, a third by the Air Force and a third by the Navy.”

That program “produced some prototypes that were successful demonstrating the technologies we need,” he said. His use of the plural suggests there were competitive designs in that stage of the project, but he did not disclose whether there were two, three, or more.

Industry sources have said that Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been involved in NGAD, but Northrop Grumman chief executive officer Kathy Warden recently said her company won’t bid on the Air Force version of the program. However, she did indicate Northrop will pursue the Navy’s counterpart advanced fighter, which is also known as NGAD, or F/A-XX. The services have said they are not attempting a joint program like the F-35.

Former Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper revealed in 2020 that an NGAD prototype had flown, but didn’t explain how many, or that the flying demonstrators were “X-planes.” The term “X-planes” generally indicates platforms that are exploring new, previously unfielded technologies on an air platform, while a “Y-plane” is generally a prototype of a specific platform which, with some refinement, will be put in production.

The Pentagon selected the F-35 at the conclusion of an X-plane competition between Lockheed Martin, with the X-35, and Boeing, which offered the X-32. Those X-planes explored combining supersonic flight with short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities and stealth, as well as new manufacturing techniques.

The NGAD as now structured “is the combination of aircraft—a crewed aircraft [and] unmanned aircraft—that will have some of those technical characteristics we demonstrated could be done,” Kendall said. He did not elaborate on what new technologies were explored, but Pentagon sources have previously said the level of stealth on the NGAD is orders of magnitude improved over that of the F-22 and F-35.

The addition of uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft controlled by NGAD will allow that one manned platform to ‘fight as a formation, basically,” Kendall said. CCAs are building on the progress of other Pentagon and partner efforts like the Air Force’s Skyborg program, the Air Combat Evolution program under DARPA, and Boeing’s work with Australia on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat.

“All of those coming together convinced me that we were ready to make a commitment to this kind of capability,” Kendall said.

CCA is slated to receive $5.8 billion in funding over the next five years, with Kendall calling it “one of the most important [programs] I’m waiting on funding for.” Production will come toward the end of the five-year cycle, around fiscal 2028—that is, “if we can get started,” Kendall said, referring to the delay in starting the new program under the continuing resolution funding the government.

“This family of systems approach we’re taking—also in the mix [is] our new weapons like the JATM, Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which we’ll get into production in the next few years—[will create] a very formidable next generation, air dominance set of capabilities,” Kendall said. “I think when we get that package filled, I’m really looking forward and excited about seeing that come to life.”

[James1978]

Boeing out of E-4B ‘Doomsday Plane’ replacement competition
Boeing and the Air Force reportedly could not agree on the E-4B replacement's contract terms and data rights.

By Michael Marrow
December 01, 2023

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Boeing is no longer in the running to build the Air Force’s E-4B Nightwatch “Doomsday” plane replacement, leaving Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) as the only known remaining competitor.

In a statement to Breaking Defense on Friday, a company spokesperson confirmed that the aerospace giant’s bid is no longer under consideration by the Air Force. Reuters first reported Boeing’s elimination.

“We are approaching all new contract opportunities with added discipline to ensure we can meet our commitments and support the long-term health of our business. We remain confident our [E-4B replacement] approach is the most comprehensive, technically mature and lowest-risk solution for the customer and Boeing,” the Boeing spokesperson said.

“Our proposal is based on 60 years of military commercial derivative aircraft knowledge and experience including the design, development, and sustainment of the E-4B Nightwatch, which currently serves the national security command and control mission,” they added.

According to Reuters, Boeing and the Air Force could not reach an agreement on data rights or contract terms. Boeing executives have refused to sign any new fixed-price development contracts after the company has suffered billions of dollars in losses in recent years. In the third quarter of 2023 alone, Boeing logged nearly $1 billion in charges for its defense division.

In a statement, an Air Force spokesperson said “We cannot discuss an active source selection and detailed program information is classified in order to protect our investment in this critical capability.”

Boeing is the builder of the current E-4B, a modified 747, which serves as the Defense Secretary’s primary mode of transportation but can also act as an airborne command center in the event of a national emergency like a nuclear attack. The aircraft is also known as the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, or SAOC, and four of the jets are currently in the service’s inventory.

The Air Force’s fiscal 2024 budget rollout earlier this year showed a massive jump in funding for the SAOC replacement effort, with approximately $889 million for the upcoming fiscal year alone as the service moves toward a contract award. The award is expected in 2024, with SNC now the only public competitor still vying to win it.

Boeing isn’t alone in its opposition to fixed-price development contracts. L3Harris Chief Executive Officer Chris Kubasik, for example, has vowed that his company will refuse to sign contracts with such terms.

Negotiations between industry and the government on data rights are often sticking points for programs, which the government usually seeks to enable service-led maintenance. Boeing’s sustainment arm that services both commercial and defense contracts, called Boeing Global Services, is typically a bright spot in the company’s earnings, posting a profit of $784 million in Q3 of this year.

“We’re having great engagements with our customers. When I say great, yeah, sometimes it’s painful,” Steve Nordlund, the head of Boeing’s Air Dominance division, told Breaking Defense in an interview earlier this year.

“And sometimes we don’t have the answer right off the top of our head. But we’re digging in to try to figure out how we can get them what they want, which is being able to operate.”

[James1978]

Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Underdog Bid For The Next U.S. ‘Doomsday Plane’
Brian Everstine
August 30, 2023

An underdog bid by a midsize private company to take on America’s aircraft and defense giants is starting to take shape in a sparkling new hangar in a desolate corner of the Dayton, Ohio, airport complex.

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) recently cut the ribbon on this 90,000-ft.2 maintenance, repair and overhaul hangar, one of four with a separate 120,000-ft.2 paint facility that the company is planning. The construction is part of a self-funded bid for what would certainly be one of the company’s biggest programs, if SNC can pull it off: The U.S. Air Force’s Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC). The program has a development budget of more than $8 billion over the next five years to replace the Air Force’s aging Boeing 747-based E-4B Nightwatch fleet, also known as the Doomsday Plane.

The idiosyncratic Sparks, Nevada-based company has outgrown existing large-aircraft facilities in Colorado and has tapped the Dayton market for its biggest complex. That is also a likely site for the company’s work on the U.S. Navy’s E/A-XX Take Charge and Move Out (Tacamo) program, for which it has teamed with Collins Aerospace to compete as a subcontractor. For the SAOC, SNC is competing as a prime.

“SNC continues to see tremendous growth on the horizon at a time when most of our competitors are shrinking or merging,” the company says in a statement. “That makes SNC a bit of a unicorn in the aerospace and defense sector as not only a midtier contractor, but as the No. 1 privately held defense contractor in the business. This unique role as one of the few remaining midtier companies allows us to remain competitive with our speed and agility. We are small enough to be agile, but large enough to succeed with a highly skilled, motivated workforce.

“Because of this,” the statement continues, “SNC is proud to announce that we have responded to the SAOC contract as a prime and have submitted a high-value, competing proposal to the USAF.”

The SAOC’s role is the next generation of the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center, providing top military leaders with a survivable aircraft to ensure the National Military Command System can direct military forces and execute emergency war orders, including nuclear command and control, in case of a nuclear war. The commercial derivative aircraft needs to be hardened against nuclear and electromagnetic effects, as well as having an aerial refueling capability to extend its time aloft.

Under the acquisition strategy, the engineering and manufacturing development contract winner would be required to buy the aircraft and bring them to a common configuration, along with providing required ground support.

SNC could be seen as a dark horse in the competition that might more than double the Air Force’s existing fleet of four aircraft. Although the SAOC program is largely classified and the names of competitors kept under wraps, defense giant and OEM Boeing says it responded to the Air Force’s request for proposals and identified its own low-hour aircraft to meet the need. Boeing is doing similar work under the Air Force’s VC-25B Presidential Airlift Replacement program, replacing the older VC-25A Air Force One aircraft with newer, used 747-8s.

While SNC has not provided specifics, it says it has picked its aircraft for the program, adding that “the USAF values quality at a low life-cost for the SAOC program.”

The Dayton complex is designed to accommodate 747-8s. SNC specializes in data and communication modifications to existing aircraft, largely working within the Air Force’s Big Safari outfit at nearby Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Over its 60-year existence, the company has done post-production modifications without relying on OEM data that manufacturers may be reluctant to provide or only hand over at a high cost.

“That really sets us apart in the industry,” the company states. “We create a digital data package, which is then shared with the government in full. This empowers the customer and significantly reduces life-cycle sustainment and modification costs through competition.”

The company has drawn on in-service U.S. Air Force aircraft and leased jets to conduct in-depth scans—including using spectrographic and radio-frequency analysis—to create the data packages. These include Boeing 747s, 767s, C-17s and KC-135s as well as Lockheed Martin C-130Js and C-5s.

In early July, SNC’s operational approach was put to the test. An Air Mobility Command (AMC) C-17 took off from NAS Oceana, Virginia, and landed more than 24 hr. later at Kadena AB, Japan.

On board was the company’s new Airlift/Tanker Open Mission Systems (ATOMS) kit. Five months earlier, SNC started developing it by scanning two C-17s, a C-130J and a KC-135 to fit the kit, which largely uses existing antennas and cables attached throughout the aircraft connected to what looks like a small server rack in a box, inside the cargo bay. ATOMS provides line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight data connections using networks such as Link 16, Tactical Targeting Network Technology and the Mobile Ad-hoc Network so the mobility aircraft has more real-time situational awareness, including access to the Space Force’s Unified Data Library.

“In the case of ATOMS, the USAF urgently needed a low-risk solution to interconnectivity over the vast Pacific Ocean and across multiple different aircraft types,” the company says. “SNC delivered in just five months from contract award to Mobility Guardian 2023 [an Air Force exercise] this summer.”

AMC commander Gen. Mike Minihan told Aviation Week during Mobility Guardian that he had seen the installation of ATOMS at Dayton and cited both ATOMS and another ongoing program the command is using to increase connectivity through cockpit modernizations as “a classic example . . . to get after that connectivity.”

“This pounding drum of connectivity in the mobility fleet is paramount,” Minihan said. “If I have to key my mic to know what’s going on, then we are condemned to an old architecture of employing airpower, especially when it comes to cargo.”

For the SAOC, the Air Force wants to move quickly. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Aviation Week shortly before budget plans were announced in the spring that the service does not have time for a development program, as the E-4B fleet is approaching the end of its reasonable life span.

“I think we have to take something that’s a commercial derivative,” he said.

As with the VC-25B program, speculation has centered on Boeing’s 747-8. With the production line shut down early this year, the service will need to look at the used market as airlines move away from four-engine aircraft.

The service left the option open to companies to decide what to offer.

“The U.S. Air Force has finalized the SAOC requirements and acquisition strategy and is progressing toward a competitive contract award in early calendar year 2024,” the service says in a June statement. “Industry partners will determine and provide bids presenting their preferred solution to meet SAOC requirements.”

While it is officially open, requirements appear to solidly prefer four engines. Since the Air Force is unlikely to support purchasing European-built Airbus A380s, the 747-8s appear the most likely option.

During a visit to the E-4B operating location in Nebraska, the group’s commander emphasized the need for four engines. Col. Brian Golden, then commander of the 595th Command and Control Group, said the Nightwatch role requires enough power for the nuclear command role, communications and security, along with essential redundancies.

The Air Force plans to buy 8-10 aircraft for the SAOC fleet to keep the Nightwatch role going after the E-4B, although that could grow. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Aviation Week in June that he is urging lawmakers to return the Air Force to the “Looking Glass” mission. The Cold War-era practice of flying the nuclear command post 24/7 could require a larger fleet.

“With hypersonics, you may have a 15-min. warning time. That’s not enough time to get a jet off reliably, in my view,” Bacon says. “So you’re better off having a 24/7 capacity. Why? Because you want the Russians and the Chinese to know that no matter what they do, we can strike back. And so I think it’s important for deterrence.”

The service is looking to increase spending for the SAOC this year, with $888 billion as part of its fiscal 2024 request. That amount will more than double in fiscal 2025 after the contract award, and spending would be slated to reach $8.1 billion over the next five years.

[James1978]

Air Force clearing out jungles in Pacific to bolster airfield options
By Audrey Decker
September 12, 2023

The U.S. Air Force is finding ways to increase the number of airfields it can take off from in the Pacific—and wants more money to build out airfields and rebuild overgrown WWII airfields.

Adding bases is key to the service’s Agile Combat Employment concept, or ACE, which aims to keep combat aircraft flying despite enemy attacks, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces Commander, told reporters Monday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber conference.

The Air Force is currently clearing out a jungle on Tinian, a small island near Guam that was home to the largest B-29 bomber base during World War II and more recently has hosted ACE exercises.

“We're going to be clearing out the jungle [and] we're going to be resurfacing some of the surfaces there so that we will have a fairly large and very functional Agile Combat Employment base, an additional base to be able to operate from and we have several other projects like that around the region that we'll be getting after. That takes resources to be able to accomplish and so those are some of the resources that I argue for when I go back to the headquarters,” Wilsbach said.

The service has requested additional money for ACE construction in its 2024 budget request, Wilsbach said, but Congress is unlikely to pass the defense bills before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. Even if lawmakers approve a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, the CR is unlikely to allow the new spending.

“There's additionally new munitions that I'm very interested in that we're purchasing in the [20]24 budget if approved. And then modernization—there's some modernization for some of our current platforms that are very critical for maintaining dominance in some of our mission areas because while we have been doing a lot of things in the Middle East in the last 20 years, China's been resourcing for near-peer competition,” Wilsbach said.

China has been building up its own Pacific airfields, practicing to repair runways damaged by air strikes, and sharpening its ability to disrupt U.S. logistics and communications.

Wilsback said the Air Force is working on how it can harden comms and logistics and is forming backup plans in case, he said.

The additional U.S. bases will be part of a “hub-and-spoke” system, he said.

“A year ago we had fewer options for hubs and spokes than we do today. And so it's it's slower than I'd like it to be, but it's still expanding and every single additional airfield that I can operate from is another in a contingency or crisis or a conflict is another airfield that China has to put into their targeting folders and, and then allocate resources toward them, which dilutes their ability to shut us completely down,” he said.

On Monday, Wilsbach released “PACAF Strategy 2030: Evolving Airpower,” —which outlines four operational priorities for the Pacific: “enhance warfighting advantage; advance theater posture; strengthen alliances and partnerships; and shape the information environment.”

“We want to continue to evolve so that we enhance our warfighting capabilities with the primary objective of being to deter violence in the Indo-Pacific, but if that deterrence doesn't work, we have to be ready to be able to win. And so the way that we will be doing that is modernizing our force,” he said.

Wilsback said China’s 5th-generation Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter would be of limited use in a Chinese attempt to invade Taiwan. Taipei should be more concerned about China’s H-6 bombers that can drop weapons on Taiwan, as well as PLA ballistic and cruise missiles, he said.

He added that while China has done “good work” at stealing technology from the West and putting it in its J-20, Chinese fighter pilots so far lack “prowess like an American fighter pilot.”

“That being said, they are improving. They've proven they've improved a lot over the last few decades. China writ large is trying their best to improve themselves by improving their training scenarios,” Wilsbach said.

The general also mentioned China’s attempts to hire Western pilots and air crews to train them. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown recently released a memo warning airmen that “foreign companies are targeting and recruiting U.S. and NATO-trained military talent across specialties and career fields to train the PLA abroad to fill gaps in their military capabilities.”

“They're reaching out to try to improve themselves and so they are getting better,” Wilsbach said.

[Bob Dedmon]

Big whoop, they have added 50 enlisted exhibits to the AF Museum. That place is so large it'd take all day to maybe find them all.

New Exhibit Dedicated to Enlisted Airmen Opens at USAF Museum
Jan. 4, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio—long renowned for its massive collection of aircraft and aviation history—turned its focus to the enlisted personnel who have fueled the service for 76 years for its latest feature, the Enlisted Force Exhibit.

The permanent exhibit took three years to create and features around 50 elements spread throughout four buildings and 10 galleries of the museum, each linked to relevant eras and artifacts.


Enlisted Maintainers exhibit in the Korean War Gallery of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass, the service’s top enlisted member, delivered a keynote address at the exhibit’s grand opening on Nov. 9, 2023.

“The men and women of our enlisted corps are not merely participants in the chronicles of our nation’s defense, but they are architects of history,” Bass said. “Our heritage is rooted in the ideals of integrity, service and excellence—a tapestry woven with the threads of sacrifice and valor.”

The exhibit includes dynamic galleries, such as the Enlisted Maintainers element in the Korean War Gallery and uniforms from 1918 to 2019 showcasing Airmen’s roles from a World War I mechanic to a Global War on Terrorism HALO Parachutist.


This grand display of the Enlisted Force stands in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s Kettering Hall as a tribute to the backbone of the Air Force. The display shows the roles of Airmen past and present through photographs and video. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees)
The World War II Gallery also now includes the story of Staff Sgt. James Meredith, a trailblazing Black Airman who served in an all-white squadron, and the uniform worn by Sgt. Benjamin Fillinger, one of 15 Airmen from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who transferred into the Space Force in 2020.

At the ceremony, Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna compared the young service to the museum itself.

“Today’s Space Force is small. It’s just like the museum when it started as an engineering study collection—very small,” Bentivegna said. “But Guardians are creating our Space Force history each and every day. And one hundred years from now, the Enlisted Exhibit in the National Museum of the U.S. Air and Space Force will be overflowing with that history that we’re making today.”

Visitors can also learn about the behind-the-scenes efforts of Enlisted Maintainers and the musical Ambassadors of the Air Force at the exhibit. David Tillotson III, the museum’s Director, emphasized the significance of preserving legacy of the Airmen in the building’s newest addition.

“This extensive and interactive new exhibit honors the critically important role of the enlisted force in the Department of the Air Force,” said Tillotson. “Museum personnel have worked tirelessly on this exhibit for three years to tell the stories of the highly skilled, trained, and talented enlisted force that has been the foundation of the daily operations of the U.S. Department of the Air Force from its early years as the U.S. Army Air Service to the modern Air and Space Force.”


Corporal Edward “Eddie” Ward’s leadership, talent, and technical skills played an essential part in creating American air power. U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees
Since 1907, enlisted Airmen have been the backbone of the branch, now making up nearly 80 percent of the Department of the Air Force, according to the museum. Showcasing technical prowess and professionalism, their role has evolved, becoming a diverse force with diverse responsibilities.

As of 2023, the Department of Defense has over 250,000 active-duty enlisted Airmen and more than 4,200 active-duty enlisted Guardians.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is the world’s largest military aviation museum with more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles across 19 acres of indoor space.

[James1978]

Since Boeing is a topic of conversation . . .

‘Cautionary tale’: How Boeing won a US Air Force program and lost $7B
By Stephen Losey
January 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s next-generation tanker was supposed to be the ideal candidate for a fixed-price development program.

Indeed, when Boeing first won the deal to build what’s now known as the KC-46, the defense contractor said it would use a “low-risk approach,” basing its design on the existing Boeing 767 commercial airplane. The contract was firm-fixed-price, meaning Boeing was on the hook if costs ran higher than expected.

Nearly 13 years later, Boeing has absorbed $7 billion in cost overruns, far more than the contract value of $4.9 billion. For years, the tanker, designed to refuel aircraft in flight, has been plagued by delays, production errors and a faulty vision system that required a complete redesign.

While Boeing has paid the financial price, the company and the Air Force have spent years trying to make the program work. The initial contract award called for the combat-ready tankers to arrive in August 2017; the first arrived in January 2019.

In the years that followed, the KC-46 program was beset by further delays, including production line problems that regularly stalled deliveries and an underperforming vision system. That system is years behind schedule and expected to come in October 2025.

Boeing’s experience with the KC-46 and other programs in recent years has turned into a “cautionary tale” on the risks of entering into fixed-price development contracts, said Steven Grundman, a former Pentagon industrial base chief who now works as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank.

The KC-46 story “makes both sides of the market — the Pentagon and the contractors — sharpen their pencils,” Grundman said. “The Pentagon will be more cautious about programs that it thinks [lend themselves to] an efficient and effective fixed-price contract type. And contractors will be more discerning about the readiness of their engineering chops and the ability of their balance sheets to absorb risk.”

While analysts don’t expect the Pentagon to entirely shy away from fixed-price contracts, they said the military and businesses will think long and hard about which future deals make sense for such a contract structure — and when another path might better serve a program.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who was the Pentagon’s deputy acquisition chief when the original tanker contract was awarded, has said the service didn’t look closely enough at some design elements and wasn’t skeptical enough of the rosy picture Boeing painted.

And he has acknowledged a cost-plus contract, meaning one that covers a company’s expenses as well as some profit, might have been a better choice — for both sides.

“In a fixed-price, you’ve got to let the contractor kind of do what it wants because he’s taking the risk associated with the cost,” Kendall said.

L3Harris Technologies’ chief executive told investors in an April earnings call that concerns over the risk of fixed-price contracts prompted the company to pass on two opportunities it otherwise found “exciting.”

“It’s very hard to commit to a fixed-price development program when you don’t know the spec,” Chris Kubasik said. “We all look back at all the write-offs and losses, and more times than not they’re tied to that. So we will not be playing that game.”

‘No quarter’ for fixed-price mistakes
Under firm-fixed-price contracts of the kind Boeing received to build the KC-46, the contractor agrees to deliver a product or service for a hard-and-fast price, and shoulders the cost of any overruns or changes that weren’t originally agreed upon with the government.

But while the contractor bears the brunt of the risk under a fixed-price deal, it can also pay off considerably if the company plays its cards right. While other forms of contracts limit profit margins to between 5% and 12%, under a fixed-price contract, companies can keep any leftover money. If they come in under cost, they reap all the benefits.

Bryan Clark, the director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute think tank, said there will always be a place in the Pentagon for fixed-price contracts.

“The idea of fixed-price contracts is still very popular within the [Department of Defense] because contracting officers like it; it’s a good way to show that you’re holding the line” against cost overruns, Clark said.

Some contracting experts said fixed-price deals can make sense for straightforward projects, but more complicated development programs are not necessarily an ideal fit.

Defense industry analyst Loren Thompson said if a company can’t turn a profit on a program — or worse, starts bleeding cash as it spirals — the company might start looking for places to cut corners to save. That, he explained, can lead to moves detrimental to the program over the long run — and perhaps years of delays and headaches for the client, even if they’re not financially on the hook.

“If you’re not breaking even on a program, then you start thinking: What don’t I have to do that was in my original plan?” Thompson said. “And it can lead to trouble.”

(Thompson previously consulted for Lockheed Martin, though he no longer does so. Lockheed and Boeing contribute to the Lexington Institute think tank, where Thompson is chief operating officer.)

Boeing’s KC-46 experience shows companies can’t expect the Pentagon to bail them out if things start to go sideways on a fixed-price contract, Grundman told Defense News. During the Cold War, he said, the Pentagon was more willing to help when such a contract started to balloon out of control and endanger a company. But those days are gone, he noted, ever since the wave of industry consolidations led to mega-firms with multibillion-dollar revenues.

“The Pentagon is going to give no quarter to companies that make mistakes in how they bid on these things,” Grundman said. “These [primes] are big boy companies, [with] big balance sheets that the Pentagon can ask to bear more risk.”

In recent years, Boeing has made more than one big bet on a fixed-price program. In 2018, the company won deals for the T-7A Red Hawk trainer, MQ-25A Stingray tanker drone and VC-25B Air Force One programs, all fixed-price efforts that have contributed to billions of dollars in charges for Boeing.

“Boeing wanted to win the work, so they went for these fixed-price [research and development] contracts and lowballed it, and now they’re suffering,” Clark said.

Lockheed Martin lost three major contracts to Boeing in 2018, including the T-7 and MQ-25. Lockheed’s chief executive at the time, Marillyn Hewson, told investors that if the company had matched Boeing’s price, then Lockheed would have lost more than $5 billion.

The Trump administration’s hardball renegotiating of the VC-25B contract with Boeing — which CEO Dave Calhoun has publicly lamented — also ratcheted up the company’s risk.

“There was a lot of risk in that [Air Force One project] because it’s not easy to convert a plane that already exists to perform a different function,” Clark said. “The government squeezed them pretty hard to give them a fixed price, and [Boeing] had to lowball it, and now they’re having to take those losses.”

Boeing, still smarting from the contracting licks it took — and, for now, will continue taking — is going to great lengths to show its investors it learned lessons.

“Rest assured, we haven’t signed any fixed-price development contracts, nor [do we] intend to,” Boeing’s chief financial officer, Brian West, said in the company’s October earnings call.

And on Dec. 4, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed the company is no longer competing to provide the Air Force with a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch, a so-called doomsday plane meant to serve as a survivable command, control and communications center during nuclear war.

“We are approaching all new contract opportunities with added discipline to ensure we can meet our commitments and support the long-term health of our business,” the spokesperson told Defense News.

Reuters reported the service’s insistence on using a fixed-price structure for the contract, which Boeing has sworn off, was an insurmountable disagreement.

Boeing declined to confirm whether a fixed-price dispute was a factor, and the Air Force declined to comment on the ongoing competition.

Clark said Boeing’s experience has prompted firms to be more wary of fixed-price contracts and more reluctant to accept those kinds of deals during the higher-risk research and development phase.

“There’s definitely been a new openness on the part of DoD contracting officers to accept cost-plus [contracts] on the R&D side,” he said. Companies now say they “want R&D to be a cost-plus endeavor, where we’re getting covered in terms of our overruns. Because the government always asks for something pretty ambitious, therefore, it makes sense that the government helps to pay for or cover the risk associated with those ambitious goals.”

No ‘vanilla Wedgetail’
For its B-21 Raider bomber, the Air Force has applied both a cost-plus and fixed-price approach. The service used a cost-plus approach for the 2015 contract it awarded Northrop to develop the Raider, and the soon-expected low-rate initial production contract will use a fixed-price structure.

That cost-plus structure raised eyebrows at the time, particularly from the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who worried it would lead to cost overruns and schedule slips. But after the Raider’s on-time and on-budget rollout in December 2022, former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said it was clear the cost-plus structure and the way the Air Force had managed Northrop Grumman’s incentives worked.

Clark also praised the Air Force’s contracting approach.

“That’s obviously partly a function of Northrop Grumman’s superior execution, but it’s also a function of the contracting in a way that’s sustainable for the company,” he said.

But Thompson, the defense analyst, said rockier roads could lie ahead for Northrop in the production phase. Several times last year, the contractor’s chief executive, Kathy Warden, cautioned investors it’s unlikely the B-21 will initially turn a profit, and that Northrop could lose up to $1.2 billion on the low-rate initial production contract.

In January 2023, Warden attributed the rising cost estimates for the low-rate initial production contract to “unprecedented” inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor issues. However, she expressed confidence the B-21 would keep driving future growth for Northrop.

But Thompson said inflation isn’t the entire story here, as Northrop had bid aggressively to win the coveted and highly advanced bomber contract.

Northrop “actually underbid an aggressive proposal from Boeing and Lockheed,” Thompson said. Now “they’re concerned about how little money they may make on production. The way they presented this publicly is, ‘Oh, we forgot to put an inflation clause in the contract.’ And maybe that’s close to it, but when you have a very challenging concept for a future program and you bid fixed price, it’s a crapshoot.”

The Air Force’s $1.2 billion deal in March for Boeing to start rapid prototyping of the E-7A battle management aircraft took a different approach. That deal uses the cost-plus structure, the Air Force said.

In a statement to Defense News, the Air Force said it chose that approach to balance the risk between the service and Boeing, and because of modifications the American version of the E-7 will require.

The Air Force’s E-7 will be based on the configuration Boeing is already making for the United Kingdom, the service said, but its design will be tweaked to meet the United States’ standards for satellite communication, military GPS, and cybersecurity and program protection requirements.

The Air Force’s use of a cost-plus contract for E-7s, which will replace its aging and retiring E-3 Sentry fleet, makes sense because of the modifications, Clark and Thompson said. Australia also flies the E-7, which it dubbed Wedgetail, but its version too differs in several ways from the American one.

“This is not going to be a vanilla Wedgetail,” Thompson said. “Wedgetail has been flying a long time, and it’s a sole source for Boeing. From the Air Force’s point of view, those two facts make … going fixed price sound more reasonable. But I think that underestimates how much uncertainty there is in the integration and future evolution of the airframe.”

If the Air Force conducts rigorous oversight on the E-7′s prototyping, Thompson said, the cost-plus structure could give Boeing the flexibility it needs to meet the cost requirements while netting a decent return. And in return, he said, the Air Force could get a better product out of Boeing.

“Wedgetail presents an opportunity to rigorously balance the concerns of the customer with those of the contractor,” Thompson said. “As long as that [government oversight] happens, giving the contractors a little more flexibility can pay big dividends.”

Boeing had a stronger hand with which to negotiate, Clark said, since there wasn’t another ideal candidate to replace the older airborne warning and control system aircraft. Boeing was “in a good position and felt like they didn’t need to underbid everyone else,” he added.

But Thompson said the Air Force’s move to a cost-plus structure for the E-7 may be a sign of lessons learned about the risks that can come with fixed-price contracts.

“Kendall understands acquisition better than anybody else in the [Pentagon’s] E ring,” Thompson said, referring to the building’s outer ring of hallways where many of the military’s most senior leaders have their offices. “And I think he has relearned an old lesson: You get what you pay for. You can either pay for it up front or you can pay for it down the road, but at the end, you get what you pay for.”

[Rocket J Squrriel]

Sounds like the Air Force is going to shuffle a few deck chairs and some of them have Merrill McPeak's face on them. Composite Wings anyone?

To counter the growing threat especially from China, the Air Force is undergoing major changes in how it operates and is organized. Dubbed “Reopitmization for Great Power Competition,” details of the initiative will be unveiled Monday at the Air and Space Forces Warfare Symposium in Denver by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other senior leaders, an Air Force official told The War Zone.

The changes will run the gamut from how the Air Force organizes its operational units to how it acquires new weapons systems, Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, suggested on Friday.

“We're driving towards…the ability to do integration across our organizational stovepipes in the acquisition community but also on the operational community across the department to a much higher degree,” said Hunter, speaking at an Atlantic Council event.

“Optimizing for great power competition goes beyond just looking at modernization… beyond just looking at acquisition programs, and really looks at the entire Department of the Air Force enterprise...to ask the question, ‘is the structure that we have today fit for purpose, for the missions assigned to the Department of the Air Force? Or are they still in a structure or in a shape or burdened by the legacy of previous strategies - previous national defense security focuses?’”

What worked during 20-plus years of counter-insurgency fighting against enemies with limited weaponry won’t in a fight against China or Russia, Hunter noted.

“In order to be successful, we were able to leverage that tremendous investment over the last 20-plus years to do very high-precision, highly effective and highly impactful things like airstrikes around the world, but on a very modest scale,” said Hunter. “What we're looking at in terms of strategic competition is the necessity to do that same thing, but at a pace and a scale completely unlike anything we've done before.”

Last week, Politico offered a glimpse at what some of the specific changes might look like from major commands (MAJCOM) level down to the wing level.

“Within the next few weeks, the service will announce it is consolidating some of its major three- and four-star commands, integrating fighter jets and bomber aircraft into single units, and beefing up its budget and planning shop, according to six people familiar with the plans,” the publication reported.

https://www.twz.com/news-features/air-f ... with-china

[MikeKozlowski]

Sounds like the Air Force is going to shuffle a few deck chairs and some of them have Merrill McPeak's face on them. Composite Wings anyone?

To counter the growing threat especially from China, the Air Force is undergoing major changes in how it operates and is organized. Dubbed “Reopitmization for Great Power Competition,” details of the initiative will be unveiled Monday at the Air and Space Forces Warfare Symposium in Denver by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other senior leaders, an Air Force official told The War Zone.

The changes will run the gamut from how the Air Force organizes its operational units to how it acquires new weapons systems, Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, suggested on Friday.

“We're driving towards…the ability to do integration across our organizational stovepipes in the acquisition community but also on the operational community across the department to a much higher degree,” said Hunter, speaking at an Atlantic Council event.

“Optimizing for great power competition goes beyond just looking at modernization… beyond just looking at acquisition programs, and really looks at the entire Department of the Air Force enterprise...to ask the question, ‘is the structure that we have today fit for purpose, for the missions assigned to the Department of the Air Force? Or are they still in a structure or in a shape or burdened by the legacy of previous strategies - previous national defense security focuses?’”

What worked during 20-plus years of counter-insurgency fighting against enemies with limited weaponry won’t in a fight against China or Russia, Hunter noted.

“In order to be successful, we were able to leverage that tremendous investment over the last 20-plus years to do very high-precision, highly effective and highly impactful things like airstrikes around the world, but on a very modest scale,” said Hunter. “What we're looking at in terms of strategic competition is the necessity to do that same thing, but at a pace and a scale completely unlike anything we've done before.”

Last week, Politico offered a glimpse at what some of the specific changes might look like from major commands (MAJCOM) level down to the wing level.

“Within the next few weeks, the service will announce it is consolidating some of its major three- and four-star commands, integrating fighter jets and bomber aircraft into single units, and beefing up its budget and planning shop, according to six people familiar with the plans,” the publication reported.

https://www.twz.com/news-features/air-f ... with-china

McPeak did far more damage than good, and to this day remains convinced he was right. The Composite Wing (TM) will cost billions USAF just doesn't freaking have just to implement much less operate, and we already know it doesn't goddamned work. And that, by the by, was when we had bases and money to do it. You're going to split up B-52/-1/-2 wings and parcel them out? Yeah, let me know what the bill is to recreate the specialized infrastructure at their new homes. By the same token, you going to move tactical units to bomber bases? Same damned issue.

And if we handwave away the infrastructure costs, let's look at the fact that there is NO ROOM for expansion at any tactical base in the USAF, let alone the new quality-of-life they're going to have to build (housing, dining halls, and most USAF bases have contracted their hospitals down so far that many don't even have ER's or maternity wards anymore). Oh, and imagine the fun when F-16 maintainers and crews start getting orders to places like Minot or Ellsworth.

Stupidest USAF idea I've ever heard, and that's saying something.

Mike

[James1978]

And if we handwave away the infrastructure costs, let's look at the fact that there is NO ROOM for expansion at any tactical base in the USAF, let alone the new quality-of-life they're going to have to build (housing, dining halls, and most USAF bases have contracted their hospitals down so far that many don't even have ER's or maternity wards anymore). Oh, and imagine the fun when F-16 maintainers and crews start getting orders to places like Minot or Ellsworth.

I think there may be handful of bases that technically have the land to add ramp space, but I don't disagree with your overall conclusion.

Re. the bolded bit, anecdotally I think a lot of expectant mothers may see that as a feature, not a bug. I've got a cousin who is a C-130 driver. His first kid was born at Yokota. His ex-wife was thrilled beyond belief that they were back in CONUS for their second kid and she could have a civilian OB in a civilian hospital.