Could This Program at Cannon Be a Model for Health Care at Remote Air Force Bases?

Could This Program at Cannon Be a Model for Health Care at Remote Air Force Bases?

Dec. 18, 2024 | By David Roza

An effort at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., to bring in medical specialists from afar seems to be paying off, with families driving less and requesting fewer travel vouchers to access care. Three other Air Force bases around the country have expressed in the program, suggesting that it could serve as a template in remote areas.

Launched in October 2023, the Circuit Rider program is aimed at addressing the lack of access to specialty care to Cannon, a challenge throughout rural New Mexico.

“We don’t have enough doctors anywhere in New Mexico, but especially in rural New Mexico,” one doctor told New Mexico in Depth in 2023.

A medical support summit held at Cannon last year found shortfalls in specialties such as behavioral health, applied behavior analysis, neurology, and endocrinology, with families traveling an average of 147 miles for consultations and treatment.

Circuit Rider sought to mitigate the problem by bringing in military health care providers from out of state. As long as they have an unrestricted active state medical license, those military providers are not bound by the same state licensure restrictions as their civilian colleagues.

Fourteen months later, 160 patients and about 130 families have used the program for help with endocrinology, developmental pediatrics, psychiatric care for children and adolescents, and other specialties, according to a Dec. 11 press release.

Circuit Rider has saved $200,000 in travel voucher expenditures and 1,400 man-hours (about 58 days) that would have otherwise been spent traveling for care. The program is also making it easier for military family members with special needs to move to Cannon. The release said the Exceptional Family Member Program denial rate dropped from 38 percent in 2023 to 10 percent this year.

Col. Danielle Cermak, commander of the 27th Special Operations Medical Group, called the program “a huge win.”

“The program has allowed us to increase accessibility to specialty providers, continue to support the needs of our patients and maximize the readiness required for Cannon’s high-tempo mission,” Cermak said in the press release.

After a successful first year, the program is set to expand with more specialty services in 2025. That could include rheumatology and tele-audiology. Lt. Col. Rene Hinton, chief of medical staff at the 27th SOMDG, said a partnership with the Colorado Military Health System may yield weekly virtual neurology appointments and dermatology consultations, while the Naval Medical Center of San Diego could provide telehealth options for child psychology.

Cannon isn’t alone in facing challenges. Access to medical care is a problem throughout the military due to staff shortages, limited providers at small military treatment facilities, and a lack of providers willing to accept TRICARE, according to a 2023 Defense Department Inspector General report.

Budget cuts mean some contracts for base medical personnel go unrenewed, leaving many locations in the continental U.S. short of providers, the report found.

Other bases are interested in Cannon’s success: a spokesperson for the Defense Health Agency, which coordinates Circuit Rider, told Air & Space Forces Magazine that representatives from three bases have discussed the program with Cannon, though it remains to be seen what will come out of those discussions. DHA declined to identify the exact bases.

Defense Health Agency connects military treatment facilities around the world: it helped Cannon work with Army and Air Force dermatology experts in Colorado and rheumatology providers all the way from the 88th Medical Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Earlier providers came from as far as Alaska.

“We are continuing to strengthen partnerships to provide even more care options,” Hinton said in the release.

Pentagon Says Chinese Air Force Nipping at USAF’s Heels, but Not Yet a Match

Pentagon Says Chinese Air Force Nipping at USAF’s Heels, but Not Yet a Match

Dec. 18, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

China’s air force is very good and improving quickly, but has not yet matched the air combat capabilities of the U.S. Air Force, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power and officials who helped prepare it.

The 2024 edition of the report particularly emphasized how the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has expanded the capabilities of its unmanned aerial systems, saying they are now comparable to USAF systems. It also noted strides the Chinese have made with air-to-air missiles, electronic warfare, bombers, and fifth-generation fighters.

The PLAAF “with respect to its modernization and indigenization of its unmanned aerial systems, is quickly approaching U.S. standards,” a senior Pentagon official told reporters in a background briefing ahead of the report’s release.

The report specifically notes “the routine appearance of increasingly sophisticated systems across theater and echelon levels.” Within the last three years, the Chinese have shown off the Xianglong jet-powered UAS, the supersonic WZ-8 drone, and a redesigned version of the GJ-11 stealth unmanned combat air vehicle at airshows.

“Advanced small UASs are increasingly appearing in military and civilian applications, with PRC industry remaining a key exporter of UASs and components of all sizes,” the Pentagon report states. The PRC is “maturing and … signaling its efforts in next-generation capabilities,” with a greater airshow presence, displaying counterparts to most advanced western designs, including stealth flying wing aircraft.

These new concepts may include a counterpart to the Air Force’s nascent Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, as “PRC developers are demonstrating an interest in additional growth beyond [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and [electronic warfare] into air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, with substantial development efforts to produce swarming capability for operational applications.”

On the manned side, the Pentagon assessed that China is swiftly building up and improving its fleet of J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighters. The official said China is increasing production capacity with a new facility. Various think tanks have pegged the J-20 fleet at nearing 200 airframes—versus 184 F-22s in the U.S. Air Force inventory—and China is said to be relying increasingly on an indigenous engine for the fighter, after years of having to import powerplants from Russia.

“They’ve begun to switch to domestically produced engines, although some Russian engines may remain in use,” the official said, adding that “the PLA Air Force is also still working on upgrading the J-20.”

He declined to provide any details about China’s other fifth-generation fighter, the twin-engined J-35, which closely resembles the U.S. single-engine F-35 and is expected to equip China’s aircraft carriers.

The Pentagon report notes that the PLAAF has embarked on “a set of major institutional reforms aimed at creating a modern, professional fighting force,” training under what the service called “actual combat conditions,” understood to mean readiness to engage and win against “highly capable military competitors.”

As part of this training, pilots now have the freedom to create their own flight plans and engage in intercepts that are “not completely pre-scripted,” the report states.

The report also noted the PLAAF has “increased its use of confrontation training,” a likely reference to the growing number of bluff-charge attacks at Taiwan. The PLAAF also is increasing the number of joint exercises it conducts with other regional air forces, including those of Pakistan, Russia and Thailand.

Together with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), China fields the largest aviation force in the Indo-Pacific region and the third largest in the world, with over 3,150 total crewed aircraft—not including trainers or drones. More than 2,400 of those tails are combat aircraft, and the majority of those—around 1,300—are now fourth-generation. Nearly all fighters will be fourth generation or better “in the next several years,” the official said.

According to China’s 2019 defense white paper, its forces are shifting from territorial air defense to “offensive and defensive operations,” which the Pentagon construes as power-projection capabilities far afield from the mainland.

The PLAAF is “rapidly approaching technology typical of U.S. standards,” the Pentagon said, with “aviation, airborne, air defense, radar, electronic countermeasure, and communications forces organized into five Theater Command Air Forces.”

Among the aircraft on which the Pentagon provided specific comments:

  • Shenyang J-16: a “fourth-plus-generation“ fighter, based originally on Russia’s Su-27, which will be able to carry the “very long range air-to-air missile, the PL-17,” the appearance of which may have driven the Air Force to accelerate the retirements of aircraft like the E-8 JSTARS and E-3 AWACS. In 2023, more than 225 J-16s were in PLAAF service, and more are coming.
  • Chengdu J-20: Upgrades in the works include increasing the J-20’s internal missile loadout to preserve its stealth while increasing its magazine, “installing thrust-vectoring engine nozzles, and adding super cruise capability by installing higher-thrust indigenous WS-15 engines.”
  • Shenyang J-35/FC-31/J-31: The Pentagon offered little commentary on this stealthy F-35 lookalike, except to say that it will likely equip Chinese aircraft carriers and will be offered for export.
  • Xi’an H-6N: The report notes that the PLAAF has “operationally fielded the H-6N bomber,” a highly upgraded version of the old Russian Tu-16 “Badger.” The H-6N has air-to-air refueling capability, longer range than previous variants, and can externally carry a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile with a maneuvering re-entry vehicle, representing the air leg of China’s nuclear triad.
  • Xi’an H-20: “The PRC probably is developing a strategic stealth bomber, according to PRC state media,” the report states, although in previous editions, the Pentagon has more definitively noted work on a Chinese flying wing bomber potentially modeled on the Air Force B-2 Spirit.  The new bomber will be subsonic and have “a nuclear mission in addition to filling conventional roles,” much like the American B-2 and B-21. Chinese media have released images of a flying-wing-type aircraft under a tarp, highly reminiscent of Northrop Grumman’s advertising for its new B-21bomber before that aircraft was publicly revealed two years ago. Lifting language from previous editions, the Pentagon acknowledged that work started on the H-20 in 2016, and “it may take more than a decade to develop this type of advanced bomber.” However, that suggests the aircraft could appear as soon as 2026 or 2027.
  • Shaanxi Y-9: The Y-9, rolled out in 2019, is billed as a jamming/electronic warfare aircraft, able to “disrupt an adversary’s battlespace awareness at long ranges.”
  • Xi’an Y-20: China’s lookalike to the American C-17 transport is being developed into an aerial tanker.
Big To-Do List in 2025 for Space Force

Big To-Do List in 2025 for Space Force

Dec. 18, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force celebrates its fifth birthday Dec 20, but Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman is already looking ahead to Year 6. 

Saltzman listed seven major initiatives for 2025 in an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Dec. 17, beginning with a campaign for more money.

It’s a “large list for a small service,” Saltzman said. “But we’re used to that by now. This is work that has to get done. It’s critical to the future of the joint force and to the Space Force, critical to the lethality of the joint force and critical to the safety and security of our nation today.” 

Bigger Budget 

The Space Force grew at a steady, rapid pace in the past five years to reach today’s force of 15,000 military and civilian personnel and an overall budget of about $29 billion. 

Yet USSF faces its first spending cuts in the proposed fiscal 2025 budget and advocates are increasingly calling for more resources. The Space Force is taking on more responsibilities, but not getting the funds or people to do it. 

Saltzman is taking the lead on fighting for more. “Personally, I intend to employ an advocacy blitz to increase our budget to field timely counter-space capabilities,” Saltzman said. “And I’m going to operationalize the congressionally directed role that I have as the Department of Defense’s force design architect for space.”  

Much will depend on who takes over as Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force. With Republicans poised to control Congress and the White House in 2025, prospects for increased defense spending are rising. But whether the Space Force will get much of a share of any increase is another question.  

“I’m not just asking for a top line that goes up because I think all budgets should go up,” he said. “I’m asking for it because there’s new mission associated with this counter-space capability that we need to invest in, and that’s going to naturally [require] an increase in resources.” 

Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein testified before the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee in May. U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich
Part-Time Guardians 

When Congress passed the Space Force Personnel Management Act last year, it allowed the Space Force to manage part-time and full-time Guardians in a single component, without a conventional Guard or Reserve. But the law gave USSF four years to make the transition and iron out all the technical details. 

Saltzman wants to move faster. “We’re going to finish the implementation of the Space Force Personnel Management Act,” he declared. Part-time Guardians will join the force by the end of 2025—two years ahead of schedule. 

The first part-timers will likely transfer from the Air Force Reserve, with members of the Air National Guard transitioning later; the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, passed earlier this month, allows such transfers, and the bill now awaits the president’s signature.

On the other hand, President Trump promised last summer to establish a Space National Guard. That would require new legislation and reversing existing legislation. It is possible that moving fast now can forestall that possibility later.

Space Futures Command 

Saltzman pledged to stand up Space Futures Command in 2025 and to “publish an objective force for 2025.” The Space Force announced plans for Space Futures, its fourth Field Command, last February to refine the vision and define the needs for the future of the Space Force. It will complement Space Systems Command, which will remain the primary acquisition arm for the force.

Space Futures will also be the a counterpart to the Air Force’s new Integrated Capabilities Command, responsible for setting requirements and unifying and coordinating the force-planning process. 

The Air Force stood up a provisional ICC in September but Space Futures has been slower to stand up. Saltzman said he wants the command up and running early in 2025 so they can start work on a study to define the Objective Force by summer; the study will lay out “all the things the service needs to invest in, in order to make sure we have capabilities on the other side,” he said. 

Component Commands 

The Space Force established its first component inside a combatant command in late 2022 with U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific. Since then, the service has created Space Forces Europe-Africa, Space Forces Central, and Space Forces-Space, components to U.S. European and Africa Commands, Central Command, and Space Command. 

Lt. Gen. Douglas Scheiss, commander of U.S. Space Forces – Space, during the 2024 Spacepower Conference in December. U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich

Space Force components for six remaining combatants will be established in 2025, Saltzman said, promising to “finish” the job at U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and U.S. Transportation Command. 

Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture 

The Space Development Agency has purchased more than 450 satellites for its low-Earth orbit Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. But so far, just 27 of those spacecraft have launched.

In 2025, “we’re going to accelerate Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture to operations,” Saltzman said. Having tested and vetted the system with its “Tranche” demonstrations, the Space Force will launch the first “Tranch 1” satellites as soon as April.

Mission Control 

With more and more satellites in orbit, aging ground systems like the Satellite Control Network will struggle to keep up. In 2025, “we have plans to deploy the next generation of mission control capabilities to relieve stress on the satellite control network,” Saltzman said. 

Those capabilities include the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource, a program run by the secretive Space Rapid Capabilities Office. Director Kelly Hammett told reporters at last week’s Spacepower Conference that the new antennae will be fielded in the Indo-Pacific region in 2025. 

Launch Tempo 

The number of space launches will continue to rocket upward in 2025. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida are straining to meet increased demand, and leaders say billions in new investment is needed to expand capacity. Saltzman wants to see results in 2025. 

“We’re going to further expand the launch support tempo and its capacity in the infrastructure,” he said. 

space force launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., in September. The launch marked the first time a Space Force Guardian was launched into space. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Spencer Contreras)
Photos: Operation Christmas Drop Delivers 77,300 Pounds of Aid, Ends with Elephant Walk

Photos: Operation Christmas Drop Delivers 77,300 Pounds of Aid, Ends with Elephant Walk

Dec. 18, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Seven C-130 airlifters from five countries lined up for an “elephant walk” on Guam and then flew alongside each other Dec. 14 to cap off Operation Christmas Drop. 

Every year, USAF and its allies drop thousands of pounds of food, clothes, medical supplies, fishing gear, and toys on remote Pacific island countries such as Micronesia and Palau, where locals often have trouble obtaining necessities. It is the Department of Defense’s longest running humanitarian airlift mission, and 2024 marked its 73rd year. 

The 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, led the operation. This year, they were joined by aircraft and personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force. 

Members of the Philippine Air Force also helped to rig bundles for drops. 

Combined, more than 300 personnel helped drop approximately 77,300 pounds of supplies on more than 58 drop sites over the course of 224 flight hours. The operation ran from Dec. 8-14. 

And as has become tradition in the past few years, the participants celebrated the end of the exercise by gathering their C-130s on the runway at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for a multinational elephant walk. In 2023, six aircraft from four countries participated. In 2022, seven aircraft from five nations were included. 

After that, the crews flew a mission together over the Pacific, practicing airdrops and coordination—highlighting the operational benefits of Operation Christmas Drop. 

“Building relationships is critical, especially considering the strategic focus on this part of the world,” Maj. Jon Balfe, commander of the OCD 24 Canadian Detachment, said in a release. “You can’t wait until a crisis happens to figure out how to work together. Flying, planning, and learning from each other now ensures we’re ready when it matters.” 

New Pentagon Report: China Expanding Military Reach to Project Power Around the Globe

New Pentagon Report: China Expanding Military Reach to Project Power Around the Globe

Dec. 18, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

The People’s Republic of China has improved its ability to project power globally despite corruption purges and a shrinking economy, the Pentagon’s annual report card on the Chinese military says.

That includes a growing nuclear arsenal that added 100 new warheads in the last year.

Chinese leaders “perceive themselves as a global power with global security interests that requires military capabilities commensurate with meeting that challenge,” a senior defense official told reporters ahead of the Dec. 18 release of the report.

The Pentagon annual China Military Power Report, mandated by Congress, chronicles a dramatic rise in the People’s Liberation Army’s nuclear, space, missile, and aviation capabilities in both number and quality in recent years.

The report notes that China wants to develop the capability to operate militarily beyond the so-called First Island Chain, which stretches from Japan to the Philippines and includes the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing views as a rebel province.

“[People’s Republic of China] leaders view the PLA’s growing global presence as an essential part of the PRC’s international activities to create an international environment conducive to the PRC’s national rejuvenation,” the report states.

Despite the sacking of the defense minister on corruption charges and a lagging Chinese economy, experts inside the Pentagon and outside the government say China’s leader Xi Jinping is steadfast in his commitment to modernizing its military.

“You could imagine that in a time of slowing growth that China would pare back its ambitions,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow and China expert at the American Enterprise Institute. “But clearly, the report is saying that it’s full steam ahead. And I think that is an important recognition.”

China is building up on multiple fronts.

Nuclear

According to the report, China now has more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of mid-2024—100 more than last year and 200 more than the year before that. The Pentagon projects that China will field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030 and that the force will continue to grow further through 2035, in line with last year’s projections.

“The PLA continues its rapid nuclear build-up,” the senior defense official said. “We’ve got a force that’s not only growing in terms of those numbers of operationally deployed warheads, but also in a sort of diversity and sophistication. When you look at what they’re trying to build here, it’s a diversified nuclear force that would be comprised of systems ranging from low-yield precision strike missiles all the way up to ICBMs with different options at basically every rung on the escalation ladder.”

Space

In space, China is seeking to nullify the U.S. advantage in on-orbit assets with a range of space weapons, known in U.S. parlance as counterspace capabilities.

China “has continued developing counterspace capabilities that can contest or deny other nations access to and operations in the space domain. These include direct ascent, anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital satellites, electronic warfare, and directed energy systems,” the report assesses.

Aircraft

China’s air force is also striving to develop its long-range capabilities, according to the Pentagon report. In the past year, it conducted joint bomber drills with Russia off the coast of Alaska, as China seeks to expand its overseas operating locations.

“PLA concepts and capabilities focus on projecting power far from China’s shores,” the report states. “The [Navy]’s evolving focus from ‘offshore defense’ to ‘open seas protection’ and the [Air Force]’s interest in becoming a ‘strategic’ air force reflect the PLA’s interest in conducting operations beyond the PRC and its immediate periphery.”

In terms of numbers, China’s PLA Air Force and PLA Navy together “constitute the largest aviation forces in the region and the third largest in the world, with over 3,150 total aircraft,” the report states. China has around 2,400 combat aircraft, such as fighters, bombers, and attack planes—including the nuclear-capable, air-refuelable H-6 bomber, giving China an air leg for its nuclear triad.

The PLA Air Force’s goal is “to serve as a comprehensive strategic air force capable of long-range airpower projection,” according to the report.

Challenges

Still, China faces some internal challenges. More than a dozen high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives were removed from their posts in the last half of 2023 because of allegations they were involved in corruption. Those developments, the report noted, “may have disrupted the PLA’s progress toward stated 2027 modernization goals.”

Watchdog Finds Issues with Program Management of Nuclear Warheads

Watchdog Finds Issues with Program Management of Nuclear Warheads

Dec. 17, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The National Nuclear Security Administration—responsible for developing and managing America’s nuclear warheads—needs better program management to ensure its new nuclear weapons remain on schedule, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

In particular, the GAO report authors said the NNSA needs to set priorities and steer resources to the most critical technologies.

Delays are creeping into new nuclear weapons programs because of an insufficient number of program overseers, late materials, and inconsistent policies and milestones from one program to another, auditors wrote.

The NNSA is developing the actual nuclear warheads that will be carried by new delivery systems like the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile and the Long-Range Stand-Off cruise missile. The delivery systems are being developed by the Air Force and the Pentagon.

Synchronizing the schedules for the new nuclear warheads with the new delivery systems is the challenge, and GAO authors wrote that there is generally good coordination between the Pentagon and the NNSA in getting that right.

Yet there are still some delays that can be chalked up to an inconsistent approach to developing these systems, the GAO report notes. On top of that, the NNSA only has a handful of program managers keeping an eye on dozens of companies, each with highly disparate functions under the vast nuclear weapon enterprise.

“GAO recommends that NNSA document, in a formal and comprehensive manner, the process its nuclear weapon acquisition programs must follow to identify which technologies are critical technologies,” the report states. The NNSA agreed with that recommendation.

The agency also lacks a formal process for its programs to identify “technologies critical to meeting a system’s operational requirements that are new or novel or are used in a new or novel way,” the GAO noted. Without one, it risks wasting money or time.

The GAO acknowledged that NNSA has established “numerous requirements that its programs must follow regarding, among other things, the establishment of cost and schedule baselines and the assessment of technology readiness,” but said these are inconsistent.

That’s important because “according to NNSA officials, it is difficult to estimate how long it will take to mature technologies to a manufacturing-ready state. As a result, NNSA’s programs have had difficulty reaching technology readiness milestones.”

That was borne out by a review of programs, during which GAO found that a majority had not reached the minimum required readiness levels for critical tech by the start of the development phase—despite the fact that NNSA guidelines stating that a program must reach certain Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) before moving to a new phase. GAO blamed a lack of documentation and enforcement of guidelines.

The GAO did note that in 2019, the NNSA established an office “to perform early stage research and development activities to advance technologies to a higher level of readiness before passing them on to nuclear weapon acquisition programs for further development.”

The GAO also looked at several warhead programs in particular and provided status reports.

W80-4

The W80-4 warhead life extension program—which will equip the LRSO missile—is now expected to be completed in September 2033, one year behind its schedule baseline. The GAO noted that the program cost of $13 billion hasn’t changed since it was last evaluated in March 2023, though it will be $400 million more than the previous baseline set in 2019. 

Final design review for the warhead is planned for November 2025, and the first production unit should be completed in September 2027. Full-scale production starts in January 2030. The Air Force is buying just under 1,100 LRSO missiles. The GAO found “no significant challenges” with the LRSO schedule, but a vendor that makes the explosive material that detonates the warhead is planning to end production permanently, and the NNSA is working with various agencies “to address” this issue.

W88-Alt 370

The W88-Alt 370 program, which modifies the W88 warhead used on sea-launched ballistic missiles—but doesn’t extend their service lives—has been in production since 2022 and will be completed in September 2026. The $2.9 billion program is running $300 million over its expected cost “due to an issue with a procured part” in 2019. The GAO said $172 million more is likely needed for some “technology maturation.”

B61-12

The B61-12 life extension program, which is for a tactical nuclear weapon that will equip the F-35 and other platforms, is also scheduled to close out in 2026, a year later than planned, and at a cost of $8.4 billion versus the baseline $8 billion. Its cost increase was also chalked up to an issue with a procured part in 2019. 

The Air Force developed a new tailkit for the weapon to make it more accurate, and it has new safety and security gear.  “In October 2023, DOD announced plans to build an additional B61 variant, the B61-13, using the B61-12 production line,” GAO said, and NNSA “will produce fewer B61-12 bombs than originally planned to accommodate the B61-13 program.” Some money for the B61-12 will be used to “pay for the costs associated with the manufacture of nonnuclear components used for the B61-13 program.”

W87-1

The W87-1 Modification Program, which will replace the W78 warhead and be deployed on the LGM-35 Sentinel ICBM, includes a new-manufacture nuclear “pit” and “insensitive explosives” for triggering. Production engineering starts in September 2025; the final design review is slated for December 2027 and the first production unit is expected sometime between December 2030 and two years later. Full-scale production starts in 2033.

The NNSA estimates the program cost at between $15.2 and 16.3 billion, though NNSA told the GAO the cost could go up to $17.1 billion using “more conservative assumptions” with an 80 percent confidence level.

However, it’s not yet clear what the roughly $40 billion cost and schedule overruns on the overall Sentinel program will have on the warhead’s schedule yet. There is an ongoing review of the Mk21A rentry vehicle program, which will carry the warhead from the missile to the target. Air Force officials told the GAO that “they expect both Air Force programs to announce delays in the availability of hardware and flight testing dates that could result in delays of up to a year or longer for flight tests.”

W93

The W93 program is a new nuclear warhead most likely to be deployed first on new Navy sea-launched ballistic missiles, but intended for joint Air Force/Navy use in the long term. Development engineering starts in October 2026; production starts in the “mid-2030s.” In April 2024, the NNSA estimated the program will cost between $20.9 billion and $24.8 billion. The program will produce new nuclear pits.

The GAO report notes that “the program faces several challenges with manufacturing certain components. The program is also reliant on multiple NNSA production programs to reinstate capabilities to produce new plutonium pits, fabricate new secondaries, and improve lithium and high explosives sourcing and production.”

Space Force Launches New GPS Satellite with Lightning Speed

Space Force Launches New GPS Satellite with Lightning Speed

Dec. 17, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force successfully launched its seventh GPS III satellite into orbit Dec. 16—shaving more than a year and a half off the typical timeline for launching the highest priority national security spacecraft and switching rocket providers to do it. 

All told, it took less than five months to pull the satellite from storage, integrate it with the launch vehicle, and go through readiness checks and processing, according to a joint release from the service’s Space Systems Command and Space Operations Command. 

That stands in contrast to the two years it typically takes to prep for a launch as part of the National Security Space Launch program, reserved for the Pentagon and Intelligence Community’s most important missions. 

Appropriately, the mission was dubbed RRT-1, for Rapid Response Trailblazer. 

The launch, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., was atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Back in May 2022, Space Systems Command awarded the launch task order for the GPS III-7 mission to United Launch Alliance, but ULA does not currently have a system certified for NSSL missions—its new Vulcan Centaur rocket is waiting certification, and its Atlas V rocket had its last launch in July 2024. 

As a result, new GPS III satellites that had been declared “ready for launch” were put into storage waiting for a ride to space. Last month, SSC commander Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant hinted that his team was “certainly looking at options to go faster,” specifically by “looking at some of the other GPS missions and the timing of those that have been manifested on SpaceX.” 

The command awarded a task order for the next satellite in the series, GPS III-8, to ULA but had not announced plans for the last two editions, GPS III-9 and GPS III-10. 

Garrant insisted at the time that the GPS constellation was healthy and the service did not need to rush new satellites into orbit. But on Dec. 17, Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess—commander of Space Forces-Space, the service component to the combatant command—said he was eager to get the new birds up, hailing SSC for completing the process so quickly. 

“We have been harping on getting more GPS III satellites on orbit to be able to give us more M-code,” Schiess said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the jam-resistant GPS signal for military use. 

While other GPS satellites can transmit M-code, the GPS III spacecraft can take advantage of the full capability, including the ability to beam the signal at target areas. 

Besides adding more capability to the constellation, the launch also marked another opportunity for the Space Force to speed up its processes for getting satellites into space, as part of an effort called Tactically Responsive Space. 

Preparing for a scenario in which it might have to rapidly launch new satellites to replenish constellations after an attack, the Space Force set a record in September 2023 when it launched its “Victus Nox” mission, taking a satellite from the warehouse to orbit in five days. Still more “Victus” missions aimed at going even faster are planned. 

But those missions involve smaller payloads and are not part of NSSL, which requires lower risk and higher assurance that the mission will succeed. Meeting that standard for GPS III-7 while slashing months off the timeline required a “twofold” effort from SSC and Space Operations Command, a service release stated, especially after GPS III-7 switched to SpaceX to take advantage of its NSSL-capable rocket.

That the launch still happened so fast despite the turbulence “is a testament to our flexibility and responsiveness,” Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader of launch execution for the Assured Access to Space office, said in a statement. 

SpOC worked with satellite-maker Lockheed Martin to pull the satellite from storage and finish pre-launch processing in about three months. The launch also marked a milestone for the newly stood-up Mission Delta 31, responsible for position, navigation, and timing, according to commander Col. Andrew Menschner. 

“This launch showed our ability to respond quickly to an operational need, such as an on-orbit vehicle failure of the GPS constellation, as well as demonstrating our willingness to challenge traditional timelines associated with launches in response to a realistic scenario,” Menschner said in a statement. 

It remains to be seen whether GPS III-8 will stick with Vulcan Centaur as its launch vehicle. ULA hopes for certification soon but has a backlog of government missions. The eighth GPS launch had been set for early 2025.

Air Force Expands Waivers For Asthma, Allergies, Hearing Loss to Bring in More Recruits

Air Force Expands Waivers For Asthma, Allergies, Hearing Loss to Bring in More Recruits

Dec. 17, 2024 | By David Roza

In a bid to bring in more recruits, the Air Force recently expanded its waiver tolerances for asthma, food allergies, and hearing loss. The move should bring in between 600 and 1,000 more recruits per year, though they would have to stay out of career fields with stricter medical standards such as aviation and special warfare.

The Air Force Recruiting Service’s Accessions Medical Waiver Division is always looking for ways to expand its waiver tolerances, division head Col. Ian Gregory told Air & Space Forces Magazine. But the effort went up a notch after the Air Force missed its recruiting goals last year for the first time since 1999. Asthma, food allergies, and hearing loss are three areas with a high number of waiver requests and relatively low operational risk and additional medical support.

“We chose these three diagnoses because we wanted to get the most bang for our buck,” he said.

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs (SAF/MR) Alex Wagner signed off on the changes Aug. 29, which were implemented Nov. 1. 

Asthma

Before Nov. 1, if an applicant tested positive for asthma on a breathing test, that applicant would be disqualified, Gregory said. Now, if the applicant’s airways are still in relatively good function and they rarely have to use a rescue inhaler, they can join up as long as they don’t serve in career fields that could worsen their condition, such as firefighting.

The medical standards for retention are different. In the past, if an Airman or Guardian developed or discovered asthma after joining up, a medical evaluation board (MEB) decided if they stayed in.

Most of the time they did, Gregory said, but they could not be stationed in places that could exacerbate their conditions or where medical care could be more difficult to access, which can vary even within the continental U.S. (CONUS).

“It’s not just CONUS versus non-CONUS, it’s about how far away are you from getting to emergency medical support,” Gregory explained. “If you’re deep inside a bunker and have to go through multiple security protocols to get to emergency services, that could be a challenge.”

Now Airmen with asthma will get an assignment limitation code right at the start of their career.

“This is why we needed SAF/MR’s guidance and approval, because this is a drastic change in the personnel system,” Gregory said. 

An Airman trains in the Research Altitude Chamber 1 at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711 Human Performance Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Lewis)

Food Allergies

The Air Force has a history of disqualifying applicants with food allergies, no matter the severity. That’s because the guiding light for most Air Force waiver decisions is whether an applicant can serve one deployment in a tour of duty–typically four years–without causing excessive stress to themselves or the mission. 

A deployment can involve difficult climates, changing diet, stress, lack of hygiene, and harsh working conditions, all of which may have unpredictable health effects, including on food allergies. 

“We have to explain to people that just because they have a well-controlled condition in the civilian setting doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate for the military environment,” Gregory told Air & Space Forces Magazine in March. 

Under the new tolerance, applicants at risk of severe reactions such as anaphylaxis still can’t join. But if their reactions are mild, such as nausea, skin rash, or itching, they might receive a waiver. They may even be allowed to join if they have to carry an epinephrine injector—often called by its brand name, EpiPen—to treat accidental exposure.

“These people are still at risk, but it’s felt that the risk is acceptable,” Gregory said. “Thus far, we haven’t had too many problems with people who develop food allergies while on active duty, and they do deploy and carry an EpiPen.”

The risk profile could change as more people with food allergies come in, but Gregory anticipates there won’t be a big operational impact.

Hearing Loss

AFRS has a four-tiered system for evaluating hearing loss: mild, moderate, severe, and extreme. Generally, AFRS allows recruits with mild hearing loss, Gregory said. Now it will accept moderate hearing loss, as long as it is in only one ear and the loss is not caused by a tumor or some other dangerous condition.

“If they just have noise-induced hearing loss on one side, and their other side is acceptable, we will provide a waiver and then make sure they don’t go into a career field where they are going to be more at risk of hearing loss,” the colonel explained.

That means staying away from the flightline, explosive ordnance disposal, or other loud jobs. The key issue is to not make it worse; hearing loss and ringing in the ears are some of the top conditions that service members claim for Veterans Affairs disability payment upon leaving the military, Gregory said.

“Congress has mandated that we do as much as possible to decrease the amount of hearing loss that people have,” he explained. “We need to make sure that we’re not driving up more hearing loss to increase the payouts of taxpayers’ dollars.”

Members of the Delayed Entry Program tour a C-130H Hercules at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Marietta, Ga., May 7, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Gage Daniel)

Numbers

The expanded waiver tolerance should be a boon for many prospective Airmen and Guardians. In March, several disqualified applicants told Air & Space Forces Magazine they were frustrated with what they saw as an opaque and confusing medical review system. Many wanted to serve in any capacity, even if it meant staying behind a desk. 

And if more of them can serve, it would boost the Department of the Air Force’s recruiting efforts amid fierce competition for talent and at a time when a fifth of DAF applicants need a medical waiver to join up. 

Based on fiscal 2022 data, AFRS estimated it can bring in about 600 more people a year under the new tolerances: about 330 with asthma, 170 with hearing loss, and 85 with food allergies. But fiscal 2023 and 2024 saw a dramatic increase in applicants with asthma, and if that keeps up then the new tolerances might bring in 800 to 1,000 more people.

Before recommending the new tolerances, the Accessions Medical Waiver Division looked at the records of past Airmen and Guardians with similar conditions to analyze factors such as:

  • How much medical care did they need and how much did it cost?
  • How many MEBs did they face?
  • Did they ever return early from a deployment?

But the systems for tracking that kind of data need improvement.

“We’re still in the process of developing a mechanism to track people who specifically come into the Air Force with a waiver of any type to see how they do down the road,” Gregory said.

Another challenge is the workload from all these waiver requests. In fiscal 2024, the department adjudicated 7,000 more waiver requests than 2023 and has had even more requests to start fiscal 2025 compared to this time last year. 

Just about 40 people work in the waiver division, and not all of them process waivers. Gregory said his office finally reached 100 percent staffing last month, but if the number of waivers continues to climb, they may need more staff. Artificial intelligence could help summarize medical records to help staff make decisions faster.

“We’re exploring options for that right now,” he said.

More Small Drones: Air Force Bases in Ohio, Utah, Germany All Report Sightings

More Small Drones: Air Force Bases in Ohio, Utah, Germany All Report Sightings

Dec. 17, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Small drones were spotted flying near and over Air Force bases in Utah, Ohio, and Germany this month, Air & Space Forces Magazine confirmed—in addition to the arrest of a Chinese citizen who allegedly used a drone to snap photos of a Space Force base—as a rash of incursions around military installations expands. 

At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, drones were first spotted Dec. 13-14, then again Dec. 16-17, a spokesperson for the 88th Air Base Wing said in multiple statements.

The small unmanned aerial systems varied in size, configuration, and numbers, but there were no impacts to base residents or assets, the spokesperson added. 

According to numerous media reports, the airspace around Wright-Patterson was briefly closed Dec. 13 because of the drones. 

“Our units continue to monitor the airspace and are working with local authorities to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities, and assets,” the 88th Air Base Wing spokesperson said. 

At Hill Air Force Base in Utah, a spokesperson for the 75th Air Base Wing confirmed in a statement that “unmanned aerial systems were spotted in the vicinity of Hill AFB recently,” though they did not say if the drones actually crossed over into the airspace above the base.

“All appropriate measures are being taken to safeguard Hill AFB personnel, assets, and infrastructure,” the spokesperson added.

And at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the drones were sighted around and over the base in “early December,” a spokesperson from the 86th Airlift Wing said in an email. Like at Wright-Patterson, they varied in size, configuration, and numbers, but there were no impacts to base residents or assets, the spokesperson added. 

The drone incursions were first reported by German media late last week, citing German security officials. 

“In concert with host nation authorities, we continue to monitor the airspace to ensure safety and security of the community,” the spokesperson said. 

The incursions come just a few days after the Justice Department announced it had arrested and charged a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident with flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and using it to take photographs of the base’s layout. Authorities say the man, Yinpiao Zhou, flew his drone over the base on Nov. 30 for almost an hour, at an altitude of almost one mile. He was arrested at San Francisco International Airport as he was about to board a plane for China. 

Just a few weeks prior to that, U.S. Air Forces in Europe reported similar incidents over the course of several days around four bases in the United Kingdom: RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell (all located close to each other); and RAF Fairford. Authorities are still investigating those incidents.

And earlier this year, officials confirmed that they spotted drones around Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

In most cases except the Vandenberg one, officials used similar language in describing the incidents, noting that “the number of systems has fluctuated, and they have ranged in sizes and configurations,” while insisting there have been “no impacts to base residents, facilities, or assets.” 

Again with the exception of Vandenberg, officials have not said if they know who is controlling the drones or if they have taken action to identify or destroy them. Options are often limited for combatting the incursions, given safety restrictions meant to protect the civilian population from collateral damage. 

The recent spate of sightings around Air Force bases were largely drowned out in recent weeks by sweeping coverage of alleged drone sightings in the Northeast U.S., particularly over New Jersey. In a Dec. 17 joint statement, the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, and the FBI said they assessed that those sightings “include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.” 

In contrast, Air Force officials specifically identified the incursions around their bases as small unmanned aerial systems. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the sightings in the northeast and the ones over military installations are separate issues.

“We don’t see a connection at this point between any of those activities,” Ryder said during a briefing.

The seeming increase in incidents and public concern about them reflect shifting attitudes. Inexpensive, commercial drones are now widely available worldwide, raising questions about how they could be used to spy on or disrupt military activities during peacetime and at war.

The Air Force is now contemplating the future of how it defends its bases. As the service moves to “re-optimize” itself for great power competition with the likes of China, leaders say they can no longer consider large bases—even in the continental U.S.—as safe havens. They seek low-cost solutions for defending against drones and drone swarms that don’t involve firing high-end missiles. 

At the same time, the Air Force has embraced the concept of agile combat employment, where small teams of Airmen deploy to remote or austere locations from a central hub to launch aircraft and then move quickly, making targeting harder for an adversary. In order for that to work, the Air Force wants more air base defense than the Army, which typically handles that mission, can currently provide. The two services are discussing the problem, and Air Force leaders say they are prepared to shoulder some of that mission. 

Pentagon Editor Chris Gordon contributed to this report.