Lean Operations and Commitment to Service Make King Aerospace a Trusted Government Partner

Lean Operations and Commitment to Service Make King Aerospace a Trusted Government Partner

Sept. 9, 2023

With procurement contracts and practices under the microscope in the media and before Congress, companies supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies must remain mindful of the need to offer the best possible value. 

Lean management, straightforward lines of communication and a commitment to God, Country and Family ensure that King Aerospace capably fulfills this important and privileged mission.

“We work diligently to provide the best possible solution for our government customer at the best value for the government and for the taxpayer,” said Mike Riley, company contracts manager. “That is how we approach every contract because, after all, we are all taxpayers, too.”

Brian Sinkule, chief financial officer, is a 30-year industry veteran and very familiar with the nuances of government procurement contracts. He noted that, although DoD maintains compliance requirements for all approved contractors to help keep costs in check, most large companies simply have “a lot of bureaucracy built into their processes.

“With a smaller company like King Aerospace, the government avoids paying for the layers upon layers of management that are common at larger entities,” he said. “We maintain a lean cost structure that really does provide the best value to our government customers.”

This commitment extends far beyond numbers on a spreadsheet. For King Aerospace Chairman and Founder Jerry King, the privilege to serve the country in this capacity is very personal.

“I am forever grateful to the U.S. Air Force, in particular, because had it not been for the Air Force there wouldn’t be a King Aerospace today,” he said. “Throughout our company, we share a similar commitment to protect and defend our beautiful country as those serving, and who have served, in our armed forces.”

In fact, more than 33% of King Aerospace team members have served in the military, and that is by design. “We want people with that same team spirit and sense of patriotism to come work for our company, earn their King Aerospace wings and continue their commitment to service,” King added.

Family-owned and “built differently”

Of course, practically every smaller company also wants to become a larger company, and King Aerospace is no exception. For more than 30 years, however, the family-owned company has successfully maintained a leaner operational model even as it, too, has expanded its footprint and services. 

“It comes down to growing your cost structure at a lower level than your revenue stream,” Sinkule added. “When King Aerospace bids for a new contract, I don’t need to cover the costs for dozens of company executives. We are able to still grow as a company and grow our capabilities without raising those costs.”

While additional staff may be needed to execute a contract responsibly and effectively, “that usually doesn’t require another executive,” noted Riley, who served as a U.S. Air Force procurement officer before joining King Aerospace in 2015. “That enables us to be more responsive, less bureaucratic and less costly.”

Companies must also resist “mission creep” and adding costs as work on a contract progresses. “Other companies may also look [at government contracts] for opportunities to add costs down the line,” Riley continued. “There are lots of times when a contractor may come back and say, ‘we bid to do A-B-C, but you really want A-B-C-D.’ 

“King Aerospace does not overstep like that,” he emphasized. “We are up front about exactly what we determine will be necessary to fulfill our government customer’s requirements.

“We’re built differently than most of our competitors,” he continued. “We’re staffed differently, and we execute differently. We’re more responsive and less costly. And, I truly believe – I know – that our government customers appreciate that very, very much.”

Serving our customers, not just the bottom line

Of course, value extends far beyond cost considerations to other metrics, including the ability to perform quality work, on time and to the customer’s complete satisfaction. By definition, leaner operations also require fewer layers of communication.

“It might take weeks for a request to pass through all the channels at larger organizations,” Riley says. “Our customers know that if they have a question or concern, they can simply give me a call and have an answer immediately.”

A strong company ethos, commitment to Servant Leadership and adherence to its Cornerstone Principles all guide King Aerospace’s relationship with the government. Sinkule, a longtime finance expert who “is always worried about the bottom line,” admitted he must still occasionally adjust his thinking a bit.

“It actually creates a little bit of conflict sometimes between Mr. King and me, but it’s a healthy conflict,” he chuckled. “I try to move him more my way and he tries to keep me more his way, opening my eyes to the fact there’s more to business than that ‘bottom line’ way of thinking.”

“He truly has a different mission in life,” he concluded, “and that takes some getting used to for a CFO. Most of us usually don’t get to live in that kind of world.”

Learn more about King Aerospace.

Still ‘In the Beginnings’ of Nuclear Modernization, STRATCOM Has Low Margin for Delay

Still ‘In the Beginnings’ of Nuclear Modernization, STRATCOM Has Low Margin for Delay

Sept. 8, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb.—At U.S. Strategic Command’s headquarters here 10 miles outside Omaha, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber appeared in the skies in late August. A few minutes later, STRATCOM’s commander, Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, joked he had to apologize to the mayor of nearby Bellevue every time the flying wing B-2 made an appearance because of all the fender-benders from gawking residents.

While the B-2 still elicits awe from the general public, the Spirit is already due to be replaced by the B-21 Raider, which is scheduled to fly for the first time later this year.

The B-21 is just one part of the triad of air, land, and underwater nuclear forces being modernized simultaneously. Also in line is the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, originally targeted for 2030 but now likely delayed due to manufacturing issues. Meanwhile, the U.S.’s chronic shipbuilding issues also pose hurdles for keeping the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine program on track.

And STRATCOM officials are quick to point out yet another element due to come online in the coming years: a modernized airborne Survivable Airborne Operations Center command and control aircraft that will replace the half-century-old E-4B Nightwatch “Doomsday Plane.”

”I think we as a nation understand that it’s not a ‘Should we?’” Cotton said when asked by Air & Space Forces Magazine about the development and price tag of those programs. “It’s a ‘We must.’”

Senior Airman Erskine Jones, a member of the 595th Command and Control group, ensures cooling and heating systems are functioning properly for all the communication assets aboard the E-4B “Nightwatch” aircraft during at Lincoln Airport, NE on April 26, 2022. U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Reilly McGuire

President Joe Biden pledged during his campaign for president to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. defense policy, but he is also committed to modernizing the nuclear triad, as is reflected in the Pentagon’s 2022 Nuclear Posture Review. 

That Pentagon review made clear that the U.S. will, for the first time, confront a world in which it will have to deal with two nuclear peers. The New START treaty the U.S. has with Moscow, which limits each side to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads, is set to expire in February 2026. No new arms control talks with Russia are underway.

China, which has so far shut the door on arms control talks, is projected to have about 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035 if it continues at its current pace, the Pentagon says. 

Still other threats exist. North Korea’s steadfast commitment to developing its missile and nuclear program has also prompted Washington to publicly reaffirm its commitment to extended deterrence—covering nations under its nuclear umbrella—to South Korea and Japan.

Some experts put the cost of all the U.S. nuclear modernization programs at more than $1 trillion. The Government Accountably Office has called all that modernization “an extraordinarily complex job that requires significant resources”—over $600 billion through 2030.

Yet the military says the modernization is long overdue.   

“What the United States of America has right now is a credible deterrent,” said Cotton. But, he asked rhetorically, “For how much longer?”

The U.S. wants to build a new fleet of 12 Columbia-class boats—estimated to cost roughly $10 billion a ship—400 Sentinels to replace the Minuteman III, and at least 100 B-21 stealth bombers, with the first of them still yet to fly.

A looming question, which the Biden administration has yet to answer, is whether the U.S. will need to expand its strategic nuclear arsenal beyond 1,550 warheads to respond to the Russian and Chinese nuclear programs. 

The nuclear modernization program’s “foundation” was largely planned for the world as it existed in 2010— when Russia had not yet invaded Ukraine and China seemed satisfied with a very modest nuclear deterrent, Robert Taylor, STRATCOM’s director of capability and resource integration, also known as the J8, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

“It’s a complex question and a complex answer,” said Taylor, who is in charge of developing and advocating for STRATCOM’s future forces, when asked if the command needed more forces or additional capabilities.

Some, including Cotton’s predecessor, Adm. Charles “Chas” Richard, have advocated for a lower yield, so-called “tactical” nuclear weapon such as the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile (SCLM-N), a program the Biden administration canceled. But Cotton has been less specific, saying the U.S. may need a low-yield, non-ballistic system to provide the president with more options. 

“Nuclear deterrence isn’t just a numbers game,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said when  Cotton assumed command last December. “In fact, that sort of thinking can spur a dangerous arms race.”

U.S. Air Force General Anthony J. Cotton relieved U.S. Navy Adm. Charles “Chas” A. Richard as commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) during a ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base, Dec. 9, 2022. U.S. Strategic Command photo by Zachary Hada

While the debate over whether to increase the U.S. arsenal is still unsettled, the Pentagon first has to deliver on what’s already being planned—no easy task. STRATCOM is in a “low margin transition” to modernize, Taylor said.

“The difficult part of a discussion about how do you get to potentially new capabilities, different capabilities, or more capacity is significantly dependent on the defense industrial base,” he added. “If there are increased requirements for capacity—and this is something that the department is talking about, that capacity—it will be significantly difficult to deliver that inside the programs that exist today.”

While America’s shipbuilding remains a difficult problem to solve, the Air Force side of the equation is largely on track with the B-21 and Sentinel, STRATCOM officials say.

“The Air Force is doing amazing work trying to make all of this happen in a tough budget environment,” Taylor said.

But for all the optimism, the B-21 and the Sentinel have still yet to fly.

“I’d much rather be able to articulate to people that we’re at the end of our modernization instead of the beginning,” Cotton said. “Well, it is what it is. So we’re in the beginnings of our modernization program. But I’m comfortable with where we’re going.”

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Sedrick Evans 

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Sedrick Evans 

Sept. 8, 2023 | By Patrick Reardon

The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 11-13 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Senior Master Sgt. Sedrick Evans, the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Enlisted International Affairs Manager at Headquarters PACAF, A5/8 Directorate of Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements.

Evans leads the Pacific Air Forces’ enlisted Air and Space Security Cooperation strategy—he finds funding and manpower to execute professional military education (PME), specialized training courses, and integrated exercises designed to improve allied enlisted forces for 36 nations around the world.

Before Evans undertook this duty with PACAF, there was no official agreement between the senior enlisted leaders of Indo-Pacific nations that indicated a commitment to PME. To solidify PACAF’s commitment to a collaborative coalition and increase the opportunities for cross-nation PME, Evans wrote an enlisted charter at the Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021. The charter was agreed upon by the senior enlisted leaders of 13 different nations.

Following its passage, Evans secured $20,000 in funding to send two language-enabled Airmen to attend Taiwan’s Senior NCO Academy for the first time in U.S.-Taiwan history. The initiative was a two-year effort that Evans realized in 2022 by coordinating with the Tawain Air Force’s senior enlisted leadership, sourcing the funding, and identifying the Airmen for the job.

Senior Master Sgt. Sedrick Evans, Pacific Air Forces International Enlisted Engagements Manager. Master Sgt. Gena Armstrong

“They were [able] to share common practices, best practices, and cultural differences and commonalities between the two air forces to help educate [and] inform them on how we develop PME,” Evans said. “We were able to give them some feedback on ways ahead, and things that we would be interested in maybe leveraging [for] future professional military education initiatives.”

Evans was also selected by the Institute of Security Governance (ISG), a subsidiary of the Defense Security Cooperation University, to attend Sri Lanka’s National Defense Conference. The ISG had found that Sri Lankan Airmen lacked motivation to attend NCO Management School, so Evans sat on a panel called “The Impact of the NCO” alongside eight other DOD representatives. Evans was able to share his unique perspective as an enlisted Airman to 147 enlisted service members at the conference.

“It was an open forum for them to ask as many questions as they could think of, to look at motivation, retainment, and their ability to excel,” Evans said. “They had questions on service commitment: ‘What motivates you?’ ‘What incentivizes you to continue to excel?’ ‘Why do you continue to serve?’ And, ‘What type of education opportunities [do] you have to grow within your Air Force?’”

Evans designed yet another international PME event in 2022, the first-ever professional military education exchange in Philippines Air Force history. He established a two-week leadership development course for 40 sergeant majors taught by two Senior NCO Academy instructors. 

“What they liked about it was their ability to get up. A lot of the modules and lessons require them to actually act, be vulnerable, lead, and give their leadership manifesto. Things that are uncommon to them, versus death by PowerPoint or just a lecture,” Evans said. “In this forum, they were able to actually get up and showcase their capability and their capacity to be leaders at their levels.”

Senior Master Sgt. Sedrick Evans. USAF.

Evans said he enjoys leading PME initiatives for enlisted service members, but it’s a job that comes with great responsibility, especially when working with international partners with different cultural norms. He said the key to teaching true leadership is leading by example.

“Whatever culture you want to create, you have to be an example of that culture,” Evans said. “We really go in there and understand their culture, their common practices, and then try to adjust to their culture—a lot of them do not have a lot of power like our enlisted do, so we focus a lot on NCO empowerment, so they can lead at their levels.”

When he considered the leaders in his own life who have served as examples to him, Evans nameed Chief Master Sgt. Dave Wolfe, the PACAF Command Chief, who has been a mentor for nearly a decade.

“The most powerful feedback he gave me [was] when I asked him, ‘What is one thing I can do to be better?’ back when I was a tech sergeant in 2016. He said, ‘Read more.’ That’s it … And so that’s been something that I kind of took to heart, to really start reading more,” Evans said.

Evans added that his success—and now his recognition as an Outstanding Airman of the Year for 2023—is a culmination of all the positive people he has surrounded himself with throughout his career.

“I can attribute my success to my three groups of people who have always supported me,” Evans said. “My mentors, such as Chief Wolfe; my teammates, such as Senior Master Sgt. Sarah Buckley, who drives this portfolio with me; and last and especially not least, my family: my wife and three kids, who have always supported me and made it possible for me to actually go out into the field in the AOR and do the things that we were able to accomplish last year.”

Meet the other Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 below:

Rising Global Temps Could Cut C-17 Payloads, New Study Warns

Rising Global Temps Could Cut C-17 Payloads, New Study Warns

Sept. 8, 2023 | By David Roza

A new research paper published in an Air Force academic journal predicts that warming air temperatures driven by climate change could reduce the amount of cargo a C-17 Globemaster III transport jet can carry by 8.5 percent across much of the world by 2039, and by 29.3 percent year-round by 2099 in the worst-case scenario. 

That means the C-17, a core component of the U.S. military’s strategic airlift capability, would not be able to fly as many troops, supplies, and equipment to respond to conflicts or humanitarian missions as quickly as it can today. Moving the same amount of cargo would require more flights, more maintenance, more gas, a higher bill for taxpayers, and a longer wait for troops and civilians in need of support.

Even if the worst-case predictions do not come to pass, the Department of Defense “should expect to sustain dramatic performance degradation to all aviation assets, most clearly evidenced by the decreasing thrust production that mandates reduced takeoff weight in strategic airlift platforms,” according to the paper, which ran in the summer 2023 edition of Air & Space Operations Review, published by the Air Force’s Air University Press.

As extreme weather events have impacted and even incapacitated several Air Force bases in recent years, the service has taken steps to be able to sustain combat-ready air and space power through more frequent storms, floods, and heat in the future. But while the Department of the Air Force has laid out a strategic-level Climate Action Plan and a Climate Campaign Plan for implementing it, one of the study authors felt more discussion was needed on the tactical impact of climate change, which young pilots like herself may face in the years to come.

“Climate change is a strategic-level adversary, but the impacts of it fall down on people like me and the Airman 1st Class maintainer who’s working on the C-17, or the C-17 pilot who is double-turning flights because they need to get all this cargo transported,” 1st Lt. Kaitlyn Benton, a pilot trainee assigned to Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Benton clarified that her views do not necessarily represent those of the Air Force or Department of Defense.

c-17
Maj. Kevin Kretz, 758th Airlift Squadron pilot, looks out of the cockpit of a C-17 Globemaster III while flying over Maine, Dec. 16, 2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua J. Seybert.

Benton hopes to fly fighter jets, but she chose to study the C-17 for the paper, which is her master’s degree thesis in geospatial intelligence, in part due to its key role in the military’s ability to project forces.

“If we had an adversary that was developing technology that would decrease the effectiveness of our aircraft the same amount that climate change is projected to, we’d be talking about it and we’d be briefed about that kind of thing,” she said. “I’ve been briefed about China or Russia, but I’ve never been briefed necessarily about the other strategic threat, which is climate change, which is very real for my career field.”

Density Altitude

The study analyzed how climate-warming projection data from 2020 to 2099 could affect density altitude, which is one of several metrics that can affect an aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight and runway length requirements. Aircraft require a certain amount of air density to generate lift, but air density decreases as temperature and altitude increase. Benton referenced an image taught in pilot training, where blue dots symbolize air particles beneath the wings of an airplane.

“As it gets hotter, those blue dots are further apart, which is the air becoming less dense,” she said. “An airplane flying at X height on a cold day has more little blue dots than an airplane flying at that same height on a hot day.”

Calculating the effect of density altitude on military aircraft performance is a tricky task, considering the many variables that differ between missions. Like with many scientific research projects, Benton had to assume a few constants as a starting point. In this study, the C-17 carries a maximum payload, flies maximum range, and takes off with maximum allowable fuel without extra fuel tanks. Benton acknowledged those circumstances may not arise often in day-to-day operations.

“I think there is an opportunity to pursue what the trade-off could look like” between range and payload, she said. “That is the big unanswered component for me after having written it.”

c-17
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron delivers a Marine Corps M1A1 Abrams tank to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Nov. 28, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin.

Key Findings

  • From 2020 to 2039, the C-17 would be under a year-round 8.5 percent payload restriction in more than half the area covered by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), and more than 85 percent of the area covered by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). An 8.5 percent decrease in maximum payload represents about 14,500 pounds, roughly the weight of an empty UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. A C-17 can carry two such helicopters in its cargo hold.
  • From 2020 to 2039, nearly all of AFRICOM would be under a year-round 17 percent takeoff weight reduction (about 29,000 pounds), which means a C-17 would not be able to carry any Black Hawk helicopters. About three-quarters of the command area would be under a year-round 29.3 percent reduction, equivalent to around 50,000 pounds—equivalent to an M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. A C-17 can normally carry two such vehicles.
  • Approximately 69 percent of SOUTHCOM, 72.6 percent of AFRICOM, and roughly 36 percent of both CENTCOM and INDOPACOM are expected to experience a year-round 29.3 percent payload reduction by the year 2099.
  • U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and U.S. European Command (EUCOM) will have “substantially higher rates” of density altitude increase relative to the other commands, the study says. While those commands may not reach the same mission-limiting density altitude levels as other commands by 2099, they would be on the rise.

Heating up

The Air Force will likely not be flying the C-17 anymore by 2099—which would mark more than a century in service for the airlifter. In August, the service picked a startup to build a prototype blended-wing body aircraft to test design elements which could lead to more efficient airlift and aerial refueling platforms. Flight testing is set to start in 2027, and a senior official said time is of the essence to develop the next generation of mobility aircraft. 

The newcomers could help mitigate the effects of density altitude, but it will likely be years before they replace the C-17, the oldest of which was delivered in 1993 and the youngest in 2013. In the meantime, rising global temperatures could affect the military’s ability to carry out the 2022 National Defense Strategy, which is built on the principles of reassurance and deterrence.

“The U.S. military cannot guarantee responsiveness if strategic lift assets are severely degraded throughout much, if not all, of the calendar year,” the study states. “The ability to respond to global demands quickly becomes contingent on the timing of those demands and the level of performance degradation associated with that timing.”

c-17
A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing takes flight at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., April 5, 2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephanie Serrano.

One anonymous C-17 pilot said the ‘Moose‘ community has dealt with the effects of hot weather for the past two decades in the Middle East, where cargo constraints were in place from May to September.

“As the temperatures rise year-round, we are going to have to deal with the constraints more often,” the pilot told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “In practice, like everywhere else in the aviation industry, we will likely have to trade fuel and reduced range to continue to move the cargo. It will mean more fuel stops or potentially air refueling when needed.”

A second anonymous C-17 pilot explained that the jet’s mission computer accounts for height above sea level and ambient temperatures, which helps determine cargo weight for safe takeoff conditions. He shared Benton’s concern about hot air and cargo, but he argued that other issues, such as changing weather patterns forcing base relocations or causing conflicts around the globe, will have a more significant impact on the C-17 fleet and the Air Force writ large.

“Climate change could upend the world order and I don’t say that to be alarmist,” he said. “Glad people are seriously looking into this topic.”

On the tactical side, warmer air could also affect bombers, tankers, rotary aircraft, and even fighters to some degree. Those categories could be promising areas for future study, said Benton, who hopes the Air Force can produce more studies on the tactical impacts of climate change and help Airmen plan accordingly.

“I know that in the DOD there are climate response teams where they talk about these issues,” she said. “My research is a very small part of the overall understanding that the Air Force has on climate change, and really I’m just trying to contribute to work that is already being done.”

Posted in Air
Innovative Armament Test Solutions Empower ACE and Multi-Capable Airmen

Innovative Armament Test Solutions Empower ACE and Multi-Capable Airmen

Sept. 8, 2023 | By Stephen T. Sargeant and Adam Wells

Our national defense priority is now once again focused on the high-end fight, requiring the Services to embrace the need to modernize rapidly. However, in many cases our military advantage has eroded from decades of fighting a low-intensity war on terrorism and counterinsurgency operations. With the threat of near peer conflict growing, there is a real need to accelerate the change needed to posture to win if conflict occurs.

For decades, USAF armament maintenance support equipment has been one of the least funded portions of the budget. Many of these items were delivered with the aircraft they support roughly 40 years ago.  Importantly, while the aircraft have undergone numerous upgrades, such as supporting Smart weapons, the armament support equipment which is required to keep them fully mission capable has often been overlooked. In fact, most armament test equipment has become obsolete, meaning that the equipment does not support the full functional test requirements of the modernized aircraft armament systems supporting Smart weapons.

On-aircraft SmartCan demonstrations prove significant benefits for armament maintainers.

Enabling Agile Combat Employment

As the U.S. Air Force further refines what is needed to Fly, Fight, and Win, a new doctrine note was released defining the concept called Agile Combat Employment (ACE). ACE, like the overarching directive to Accelerate Change or Lose from Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., requires many elements to be successful. The Secretary of the Air Force’s Operational Imperatives seek to specify the essential elements required to win.

To be most effective, those in the Air Force responsible for procuring armament test equipment need to adopt a new method of assessing and replacing obsolete armament support equipment.  In other words, modify their approach to adapt to the ACE concept that demands innovative approaches such as armament test equipment intuitive and easy enough to use that will enable multi-capable Airmen to employ a common armament test set across the multiple types of armed aircraft they will be required to support in tailored force packages. ACE puts a premium on easy to train and use, easy to sustain, easy to deploy, high-performance, small footprint, and rapid test time equipment.  Today’s armament support equipment should be capable of supporting all Air Force armament test requirements on all armed platforms. Unfortunately, most current Air Force handheld armament flightline test sets can only test the aircraft they were fielded with, and as stated earlier, often lack the ability to perform the full functional tests required to support Smart weapons.

To fully realize the maximum potential of ACE and the Multi-Capable Airmen needed to Fly, Fight, and Win, warfighters should be exploiting existing advancements, most importantly COTS solutions when available, to reduce acquisition cost and fielding time. One such COTS solution was developed by Marvin Test Solutions and is deployed worldwide since 2011 – The MTS-3060A, SERD #75A77, Universal O-Level Armament Test Set known globally as the SmartCan™. The SmartCan is the most advanced handheld armament test set serving on the flightline today in 18 countries, and most recently purchased by the Air National Guard to support all of their armament test needs on their A-10, F-16, and F-15 fleets.  Some customers have multiple armed aircraft loaded into every one of their SmartCans to provide greater flexibility in conducting armament test.

MTS-3060A SmartCan Universal Armament Test Set

SmartCan has the power to address many of the Smart weapons test gaps found in the handheld flightline armament community as well as the capacity to meet future weapons requirements.  Importantly, the ANG has published post-demonstration reports addressing the capabilities of the SmartCan™ to support not only their fighter aircraft, but those of Air Combat Command as well, including their F-15Es and all F-16 blocks.

In order to ensure armament test needs are met across the USAF’s inventory of armed aircraft today and in the future, commonality, capability, and configurability should serve as the cornerstone for armament test equipment managers with the overall goal to support tailored force packages with a minimal footprint. Importantly, the SmartCan has already proven its ability to eliminate many armament test sets on the flightline and support multiple aircraft with every SmartCan. SmartCan, for more than a decade, has been helping to transform air forces and their flightlines’ maintenance operations around the world meeting these goals.

Final thought: the threats to National Security move at the speed of our enemies and not at the pace of the bureaucracy. Change should not be prevented or delayed; aggressive action is needed at all levels to ensure that high tech solutions have the foundational support required to maximize their effects. Now more than ever, it is time to accelerate change or lose. And, losing is not an option.

About the Authors:

Stephen T. Sargeant | Major General, USAF (Ret.)
Major General Steve Sargeant, USAF (Ret.), CEO of Marvin Test Solutions, joined the company in June of 2012 after retiring from the USAF after nearly 34 years where he served as the commandant of The USAF Weapons School, and commander of the 8th and 56th Fighter Wings, as well as the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. Steve also serves as the Vice President of Strategic Development for The Marvin Group.

Adam Wells | Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret.)
Senior Master Sergeant Adam Wells, USAF, (Ret) is the Warfighter Support Solutions Manager for Marvin Test Solutions (MTS). He joined MTS in 2018 after retiring from the United States Air Force having served for 20 years as an Armament Systems Specialist on the F-16, F-15C/D/E, F-22 and HH-60 aircraft. He also served on the ACC A-4W staff.  Finally, Adam is the creator and author of the armament and maintainer content of the MTS Viewpoints and Perspectives Blog. 

More Range, More Missions: Air Force Leaders Open to a Wide Variety of Uses for CCAs

More Range, More Missions: Air Force Leaders Open to a Wide Variety of Uses for CCAs

Sept. 7, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the unmanned autonomous aircraft the Air Force plans to spend billions on in the coming years, could extend the operational reach of the crewed combat fleet and offer affordable mass. But the service is looking beyond just kinetic missions for CCAs, two of its top leaders said this week.

Gen. Mark D. Kelly, head of Air Combat Command, and Lt. Gen. James Slife, deputy chief of staff for operations, said at a Defense News conference Sept. 6 that CCAs offer a host of options for the combat air forces and in other mission areas. The service is still working to define “what they will do, and what they won’t do,” Kelly said.  

“What problem are you trying to solve?” Kelly asked rhetorically. The low-cost autonomous aircraft will offer capacity and mass in a peer fight but will also offer a boost in expansive theaters like the Pacific, where they can extend the sensing and shooting capability of crewed fighters and bombers, he said.

A fighter-CCA team could allow a manned fighter to travel to the limit of its range, or “I have the option of sending it 75 percent of that distance and let the CCA go further, and solve some of that range problem. That helps a ton,” Kelly said.

Such a tactic would mean “that fighter can stay on station quite a bit longer, because it’s not going to the limits of endurance and distance. It’s also helped me solve the second thing, which is risk,” Kelly noted—more CCAs forward will absorb the attention and firepower of the enemy, reducing the risk to the crewed fleet.

“We are calculating” the numbers that wring the most capability out of that equation, Kelly added. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has set a notional fleet size of 1,000 drones, but that number could very well change.

More CCAs forward also means more sensing and communications nodes, crucial for creating resilient communications that can degrade gracefully, Kelly said.

The network also streamlines the kill chain, Kelly said. In the past, fighter pilots would have to make sense of the tactical environment from a variety of separate sensors and “synergize” all that information in their heads, Kelly explained.

“We’re no longer there. And so CCAs have to plug into a synergistic environment to where the detection of an adversary, the track custody, the identification, the weapons employment, the assessment is going to be done by six or seven different entities, probably in many different domains,” Kelly said. “And they’ve got to plug straight into that. And that goes kind of back to the to the resilient comms out there.”

The modern battlespace means “we have to make sure we have a ton of sensing going on, again, across the [electromagnetic spectrum] and contributing to the overall picture,” Kelly said. CCAs in large numbers will make that possible, he added.

This issue of autonomy is also “not new” in the Air Force, and shouldn’t be a contentious notion, Kelly also argued, pointing to the MQ-9 and Global Hawk drones that can take off and land by themselves and chart their own courses.

And in weapons, Kelly said, autonomous systems have been used “for decades.” The AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, he noted, is initially pointed toward the target and launched, and it will “go where we tell it to go, it will look for who we tell it to look for.” At some point, though, “it hangs up on us. It says, ‘hey, thanks for the help. I will continue on this all by myself,’ and does its autonomous processing, autonomous flight profile, autonomous target selection, autonomous engagement.”

If the launching aircraft has to leave the fight before then, the missile can become autonomous earlier, he said.

As the Air Force works to advance CCAs, service leaders regularly meet with their Navy counterparts, Kelly said, to harmonize their concepts for CCAs, discussing requirements and cost issues like, “What’s the priority for sensing? … What are the tradeoffs we’re going to make in terms of range and payload and sensing?”

Such discussions echo those from the 1990s, “where the services got together and probably discussed and probably disagreed and bantered about what are the attributes and tradeoffs for a joint program like the F-35,” Kelly said.

Perhaps most crucial to those talks, however, is making sure CCAs of both services can interoperate and use common communications.

Kelly said he wants to see a similar solution to “what we did with the MADL (Multifunction Advanced Data Link) waveform, which is the waveform used on all F-35s—not just Navy or Marine, it’s also our allies and partners that use the same MADL waveform,” Kelly said.

Users collectively need to ensure “we don’t beam off and have CCAs who can’t talk to fellow CCAs, whether it be another service or whether it be one of our allies and partners,” he added.

Mission Sets and Modularity

Within the Air Force, how to organize CCAs is the subject of heavy discussion among leaders, said Slife, as they look beyond kinetic functions in the air battle.

“How we organize them will ultimately affect how we think about their utility, and what they what can be done with them,” said Slife, who was just nominated to be the next Vice Chief of Staff.

“At the end of the day, all airplanes are just airplanes. … They have different attributes. They have different range, speed, payload, propulsion systems, signatures,” he added. “Those are all just attributes of airplanes, and we call some of them fighters and we call some of them airlifters and we call some of them tankers, but at the end of the day, they’re just airplanes.”

With that mindset, the possible uses for CCAs expands dramatically.

“What would we do with CCAs? Might it be able to do resupply in a contested area? It probably will, but if you make CCAs organic to our current fighter squadrons, you’re probably not going to be thinking about how we use them for resupply,” Slife said. “If you make them organic to a C-17 squadron, we’re probably not going to think about how they can be used for some of the missions that Gen. Kelly highlighted

“How we think about the organization of CCAs and whether we want to specialize them for certain types of missions, depending on their attributes, I think is really the place that’s kind of ripe for experimentation. So I think those will be some of the interesting questions in the years ahead,” Slife said.

Asked about bomber CCAs or dedicated transport CCAs, Slife said pointed to the forthcoming B-21 Raider and Next-Generation Air refueling System (NGAS) as aircraft that may theoretically from CCAs.

“We should keep our options open for how we employ them going forward,” Slife said.

In addition to different kinds of CCAs, some experts and officials have called for the drones to be modular—able to do an attack mission one day, a jamming mission the next. Kelly expressed openness to the concept but “with a caveat.”

He said that the price of CCAs will determine how much “flex” they have to swing from one mission to another.

“If you look at the size, weight and power, we very likely will be into arenas where we have to choose,” Kelly said. A CCA may only be able to do one kind of mission per day, given the time and effort involved to change out its mission equipment.

At a higher price point, “you get to a different … scenario, much like an F-35. We don’t tell an F-35, ‘today you’re going to jam this particular waveform, and tomorrow, you’re going to sense, and the third day you’re going to shoot.’ No, they actually flex to what they need to do.”

CCAs would have that flexibility “in a perfect world … not constrained by resources,” Kelly said. In reality, the number, capability and flexibility of CCAs will have to be balanced “as to size, weight, power and cost. … But I think we’ll iterate our way there.”

Space Force Unveils New Mission Statement, Underscoring Guardians’ Distinct Identity

Space Force Unveils New Mission Statement, Underscoring Guardians’ Distinct Identity

Sept. 7, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

“Secure our nation’s interests in, from, and to space.”

Clocking in at nine words, that is the new mission statement of the U.S. Space Force, one created by Guardians for Guardians.

The service unveiled this fresh, succinct statement Sept. 6, several months after Chief of Space Operations Gen. B Chance Saltzman first expressed dissatisfaction with the previous mission statement: “The USSF is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.”

Saltzman called the 36-word statement “long and cumbersome,” and in a C-Note sent to the entire branch, asked for feedback and suggestions for creating a clearer statement.

In the process, he ensured those responsible for upholding the mission of the Space Force could express it in their own words.

Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations, speaks during the United States Space Forces, Indo-Pacific, activation ceremony hosted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anthony Rivera/USN

“Our mission statement was sourced from a Guardian-driven process,” Saltzman confirmed in a statement.

The new statement was carefully designed to better reflect the essential functions performed by the Space Force in their service to the nation, Saltzman added. “In, from, and to space” serves as a representation of the service’s three primary functions:

  • In space: “Space superiority activities that protect the joint force and nation from space and counterspace threats”
  • From space: “Delivering global mission operations like satellite communications, positioning, navigation and timing, and missile warning activities”
  • To space: “Assured space access through the service’s launch, range, and control network infrastructure”

Saltzman has previously stressed that a service’s mission statement is “one of the most important expressions of service ethos.” He highlighted the importance of it being memorable, informative, inclusive, and capable of driving buy-in. The Air Force’s mission statement, for example, is “To fly, fight, and win … Airpower anytime, anywhere.” 

According to a service release, Space Force members held eight focus groups in July involving officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian Guardians from different commands and gathered feedback to refine the statement. The new mission statement underscores the branch’s commitment to highlighting its distinct identity.

“Our mission statement is a call to action that concisely encapsulates our purpose and identity as Guardians and members of the profession of arms,” Saltzman said.

In the coming weeks, senior leaders will engage in deeper discussions about the new statement with community members and relevant stakeholders to explore its meaning, a spokesperson at the Space Force told Air and Space Forces Magazine.

The U.S. Space Force, approaching its fourth anniversary in December, continues to grow and mature its young organizations as leaders stress its importance to U.S. military might. On the morning of the day the new mission statement was unveiled, Vandenberg Space Force Base collaborated with the Air Force to execute a test launch of an unarmed ICBM, marking third such test this year. Over the years, the Space Force has expanded its presence by establishing new component commands worldwide as well, including U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Forces Korea, and U.S. Space Forces Central.

USAF, DOD Working on New Target Drones to Simulate 5th-Gen Threats

USAF, DOD Working on New Target Drones to Simulate 5th-Gen Threats

Sept. 7, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Department of Defense and the Army last month revived a dormant effort to build a target drone that can mimic cutting-edge adversary aircraft—and perhaps breathe new life into the Air Force’s plans for a “Next Generation Aerial Target.” 

Army Contracting Command and DOD’s Test Resources Management Center announced a contract award Aug. 4 to Advanced Technology International Inc. and Sierra Technical Services on the 5th Generation Aerial Target prototype project, or 5GAT. 

5GAT development began in 2017, when Sierra Technical Services won its initial contract. By 2020, the stealthy unmanned aircraft was ready for first flight—but the the aircraft crashed on its maiden voyage. The Army then issued a second solicitation to industry in April 2022, then went dark once until the August 2023 contract announcement. 

Meanwhile, the Air Force launched its “Next Generation Aerial Target” program, asking industry in August 2021 for ideas on fielding unmanned, autonomous systems that could replicate threats posed by fifth-generation fighters, such as China’s J-20 and Russia’s Su-57. 

A year later, USAF went back to industry, this time upping its ask to include a requirement for target drones to fly at supersonic speeds. A few months after that, the Air Force inquired about ideas to operate NGAT a service—so that private companies would own and operate the target drones, just like they do with some “red” air aggressors. 

Little has happened since, according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. “All AFLCMC efforts related to future aerial targets remain in the pre-acquisition phase,” said a spokeswoman for the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

In its fiscal 2024 budget request, the Air Force asked for $42.2 million in procurement and $6.9 million for research and development for target drones, but none of that funding would go to NGAT. Budget documents indicate no activity under that program name in 2024. 

In 2023, however, the program continued to “conduct engineering analysis to identify candidate configurations and concepts that lead to early identification of technical risks in integrating advanced electronic attack systems in prototype airframes,” budget documents state. “Results of these studies will be used to select the most promising concepts for further evaluation and follow-on detailed design, integration, ground and flight test of the candidate configurations.” 

Those studies likely played a role in the development of the 5GAT program. The Air Force referred all questions on that program to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. A spokesperson at the Pentagon told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Test Resources Management Center “is coordinating with the Air Force” on 5GAT. 

The 5GAT program “is a technology pathfinder for the future Next Generation Aerial Target,” the spokesperson said. “The 5th Generation Aerial Target does not replace the need for the future Next Generation Aerial Target.” 

Returning to Sierra Technical Services for the 5GAT program, the Pentagon indicated that the original “aircraft configuration and overall design is still considered to be sound,” despite the 2020 crash. If the aircraft’s efficacy and affordability are confirmed, DOD stated it anticipates a follow-on production contract. 

“The project may be transitioned directly to the individual service branches to complete range integration and transition the aircraft into production,” the prototype contract award states. 

Other potential competitors are waiting in the wings. In 2022, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded a small business contract to Blue Force Technologies to develop a high-performance drone for adversary air training missions. That program came to be known as “Fury.” Defense software contractor Anduril announced Sept. 7 that it had acquired Blue Force and announced it would make “significant investments” in Fury, including its autonomous capabilities.  

adversary air drone
The low-cost attritable Fury, an aircraft built by Blue Force Technologies, is expected to be used for unmanned adversary air training against Air Force F-22s and F-35s. Screenshot from Blue Force Technologies.

Unmanned target aircraft are not exactly a new idea. The Air Force has a subscale aerial target in the BQM-167 and has for years operated a fleet of 74 unmanned QF-16s—modified, older-model F-16s—that can act as full-scale targets.