USAF Gets Final MH-139 Test Helicopter as Production Ramps Up

Nov. 20, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Boeing delivered the sixth MH-139 helicopter, the last test aircraft for the type, clearing the way for the first production aircraft to arrive in mid-2024, a company spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The MH-139 Grey Wolf will replace the UH-1N Huey helicopters that provide security and support to Air Force missile fields across the Western United States, as well as to transport government officials around the Washington, D.C., area. The Grey Wolf promised greater speed, higher altitudes, and increased carrying capacity.

Production aircraft are already undergoing final assembly at Leonardo’s northeast Philadelphia facility, after which Boeing will make modifications to meet Air Force requirements. All work will take place at the Leonardo plant.

“Delivering all of the RDT&E aircraft to the Air Force enables them to continue critical operational testing and allows Boeing to focus on building the first production aircraft,” Boeing MH-139 program director Azeem Khan said in a release. “The Grey Wolf will provide crucial national security capability improvements to the Air Force. This is an important step in getting the aircraft into service.”

The Air Force first rolled out the MH-139 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in December 2019, the first major acquisition by Air Force Global Strike Command. Flight testing began in February 2020, but delays followed when issues arose with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification. The Air Force’s plan to purchase eight helicopters in fiscal 2021 was delayed and the fiscal 2022 buys were skipped completely.

When Boeing finally gained FAA certification, the Air Force announced it had finally acquired four helicopters in August 2022, enabling developmental testing. Five months later the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) warned in its annual report that the Grey Wolf might fall shore of “operational effectiveness requirements.” The report noted concerns about with the automatic flight control system, sensor display, intercom system, cabin layout, and “restrictions on takeoffs in crosswinds or near obstacles.”

Even so, USAF struck a low-rate production agreement in March, with Leonardo and Boeing agreeing to produce the first 13 of up to 80 production aircraft, with the first delivery in 2024.

Much of the developmental testing for the MH-139 has taken place at Duke Field, Fla., led by the 413th Flight Test Squadron and Air Force Global Strike Command Detachment 7, bit the aircraft has also flown from Eglin and visited future operating locations, including:

Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., where it landed in the snow

Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., which will host its formal training unit

Joint Base Andrews, Md.

F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

A full-rate production decision is projected for fiscal 2025.

B-52s Leave Indo-Pacific, One Joins Exercise with S Korea on the Way Out

Nov. 20, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Four B-52H Stratofortresses from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., returned home last week from a Bomber Task Force rotation out of Guam.

During their journey back to Louisiana from Andersen Air Force Base, one of the strategic bombers engaged in a joint exercise with the Republic of Korea’s Air Force, a Pacific Air Forces spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Two B-52s returned to their home base on Nov. 14, the other two B-52s arrived on Nov. 15, a spokesperson from Barksdale said.

The one-day exercise last week saw the Stratofortess escorted by U.S. Air Force F-16s, U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs, and ROK Air Force KF-15s and KF-35s.

A B-52 Stratofortress from the 2nd Bomb Wing returns to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Nov. 14, 2023 from a Bomber Task Force deployment. Airmen assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam to support an Indo-Pacific bomber task force mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Laiken King)

The exercise “honed integration skills over the skies of the Korean Peninsula,” according to a release from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea.

The F-35s, from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, made a stop at Kunsan for refueling before returning, according to the release.

The B-52, or the ‘BUFF,’ is the USAF’s primary standoff cruise missile carrier, with the H model now standing as the last serving variant of the Stratofortress.

The long-range bomber flying with the ROK Air Force showcases the two countries’ joint capability for immediate and decisive response to any provocations from North Korea, Seoul’s defense ministry said in a release.

The U.S. and ROK have jointly conducted a total of 12 aerial drills involving U.S. bombers such as the B-52 or B-1B throughout the year, according to the ministry.

The B-52 has participated in seven combined air drills this year, reaching a historic milestone with its landing on the peninsula in October—the first such landing in three decades.

During his recent visit to South Korea, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III emphasized the significance of the B-52 landing, highlighting Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to Seoul.

Austin also made a stop at the Osan Air Base to address the U.S. and ROK service members and encourage operational feedback.

Amid growing tensions in region with the likes of China and North Korea, PACAF commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach hosted the Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2023 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii last week to foster a shared understanding of challenges of the Indo-Pacific.

The four-day event, featuring senior air force leaders from 22 nations, addressed regional security and the significance of air superiority, drawing insights from the Ukraine conflict to prevent conflicts in the region.

Minot Air Force Base Investigating Deaths of Three Airmen In One Month

Nov. 20, 2023 | By David Roza

Minot Air Force Base, N.D., is investigating the deaths of three of its Airmen in October. The base could not provide further details on the incidents, but officials said they worked with higher headquarters to make extra chaplains, counselors, and mental health professionals available for grieving Airmen and family members.

“This is not a topic that leadership teams take lightly, and there is considerable effort put in to prevent and respond to these tragedies,” Col. Daniel Hoadley, head of the base’s host unit, the 5th Bomb Wing, said in a statement sent to Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Over the last year we have also grown the Resiliency Training Assistant program to provide in-unit, peer-to-peer support for incidents just like this.”

The deaths occurred despite base leadership attempts to improve quality of life at the installation, which is often maligned by Airmen for its remote location and long winters. Compounding those challenges is the fact that many Airmen at Minot are young. Col. Kenneth McGhee, head of the 91st Missile Wing, said Oct. 30 during a virtual AFA Warfighters in Action event that two-thirds of the base’s security forces are below the age of 26. Feeling isolated can be particularly dangerous for young service members, who face a higher risk of suicide.

Hoadley said the Minot community tries to help out through efforts such as “Military Appreciation Days” hosted by the North Dakota State Fair, free tickets to Minot State football games, and fundraising to pay for more than 100 Airmen’s travel home for winter holidays.

Other challenges include the long distances to advanced medical care, and limited child care for children of security forces and missile crew members, who are often absent for a week at a time at the base’s farflung missile fields. Hoadley said the Air Force works to reimburse families for medical-related travel and expensive stints of child care. But capacity at the base’s child development center and family child care program, where military spouses watch over each other’s children, remains an issue.

“One thing we can’t organically do is make more people come to work here,” McGhee said. “So we’re trying to find unique ways, different programs in order to increase the number of child care workers to support our men and women every single day.”

Still, some say more needs to be done. Starting Nov. 16, a military spouse named Lisa Hermosillo stood on a bridge in Minot for three days holding a sign that read “3 Days for 3 Lives Lost” and “Break the stigma.”

“How can we reduce the rate of this happening?” Hermosillo told the Minot Daily News. “That’s why I wanted to do this now. … The holidays are such a vulnerable time for people, where we have some of the highest rates of suicide in general. We lose more service members to suicide than combat alone. That’s the real war here on American soil—with suicide and mental health, and the barriers that Airmen face just getting help. That needs to change.”

Among the barriers Hermosillo pointed out was the personnel reliability program (PRP), a tool used to assess whether service members are mentally and physically able to work around nuclear weapons. An independent 2014 review commissioned by the Pentagon called PRP “enormously wasteful,” saying it sets an unrealistically high bar which leads to many Airmen being declared unfit for duty. For example, security forces Airmen could have their ability to carry a weapon revoked, which makes them effectively unable to perform most security forces jobs.

“They can’t go out in the field and they have duties stripped from them.” Hermosillo told the Minot Daily News about Airmen found unfit by PRP. “ … Now the other Airmen have to pick up the rest of the work. That’s why people don’t say anything. ‘I don’t want to cause my co-workers or buddies any extra stress.’”

Minot public affairs office did not answer a query as to how many Airmen died by suicide at Minot in 2022 or so far in 2023. The Pentagon’s annual suicide report, released in October, recorded 64 deaths by suicide among the total Active-Duty Air Force in 2022, for a rate of 19.7 per 100,000 Airmen. That’s compared to 51 total and a rate of 15.3 in 2021.

When asked about mental health support, a Minot spokesperson said several in-person military and family life counselors have been added recently, with one embedded in the squadrons affected by the recent deaths.

The base, which employs 5,494 service members, 677 civilians, and supports 5,453 dependents, has 162 Resiliency Training Assistants, 31 Master Resiliency Trainers, and a Disaster Mental Health program that “was activated to assemble multiple helping agencies in support Airman and their families,” the spokesperson added.

Service members and veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a service member or veteran in crisis, can call the Veterans/Military Crisis Line for confidential support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 988 and press 1; text 988; or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

‘Not Just Coders’: Why USSF’s In-House Software Developers Are Key to a Digital Service

Nov. 17, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Leaders have said they want the Space Force to be the nation’s first “digital service,” unsurprising given that it was founded in an era defined by new technology, coding, and artificial intelligence.

After four years, USSF is still working on implementing that vision, Space Force Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Lisa Costa said at an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies last week. But a key ingredient, part of what Costa called the service’s “secret sauce,” is a small but growing group of Guardians called Supra Coders.

Supra Coders are military or civilian Guardians with a background in coding who went through an extensive training process to become a skilled software developer. But their value goes beyond simply knowing how to write code.

“Supra Coders are critically important to Space Force,” Costa said. “They are not just coders; I can buy coders. They are Guardians first. They have been trained usually in at least one operational area and they’re an expert in that operational area, but many of them have been cross-trained.”

Space Force spokesperson Maj. Tanya Downsworth added that Supra Coders are a secondary or tertiary work role for Guardians whose primary positional description is not software development.

Because Supra Coders have space-specific experience, they have a deeper understanding of the Space Force’s software needs and can more quickly make changes to systems as needed.

“They are able to put hands on and make changes with other operators in a multidisciplinary team and make changes in real-time,” Costa said, calling such an ability crucial to the vision of a digital service.

Making quick changes is also especially important given that Space Force officials have described cybersecurity as the “soft underbelly” of space operations, and global cyber attacks continue to increased, including targets on government and defense agencies. On top of that, the world’s space-faring nations plan to manage vast volumes of data through the development of software solutions.

Supra Coders’ current duties include web and mobile application development, on top of each unit’s specific challenges, Downsworth said.

“Oftentimes we’re able to pull together some Supra Coders to work on critical capabilities,” Costa added.

Since 2021, the program has produced 195 Supra Coders. There are currently 10 members in training with an estimated completion date of March 2024, according to Downsworth. Producing a Supra Coder takes time, acknowledged Costa.

“This really is a commitment by them and their commander,” Costa said. “Because you do not build a Supra Coder overnight. You send them to three months of immersive coding school, and then you send them to a three-month internship.”

On top of that, they have to maintain their proficiency through ongoing training.

While Supra Coders are on the front lines of the digital service transformation, Costa also pointed toward other changes in the works.

In particular, she highlighted the significant “tech debt” facing the Space Force—outdated technology and IT infrastructure it inherited that holds it back from being able to fully embracing cutting-edge technologies. Costa has previously suggested the service may not try to upgrade its existing systems and will instead “just leap over that” and start new.

Taken together, such infrastructure improvements and Supra Coders represent a two-pronged approach.

“Fundamentally, we’re looking at fixing the foundation, and then we are also upskilling our Guardians, creating Supra Coders … and then allowing that combination of modernization of the foundation with the real-time changes to capabilities by Supra Coders, that’s a huge game-changer,” said Costa.

Introducing MacDill’s New Mascot, ‘Champa Boom.’ Don’t Worry, His Blue Hair Is in Regs

Nov. 17, 2023 | By David Roza

He may be just an E-2, but Airman Champa Boom has already made a splash at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as the installation’s new mascot. Since being publicly announced Nov. 9, the aerial refueling boom operator has appeared at the base gate, a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game, and area schools to represent MacDill’s 6th Air Refueling Wing and the larger Air Force.

“Champa Boom is an asset to help tell the story of the Air Force and inspire from a fun, educational and engaging aspect, especially to younger generations,” Capt. Danielle Hudson, chief of public affairs for the wing, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Champa leaves a lasting impression on kids of all ages.”

The name ‘Champa’ is a portmanteau of ‘Tampa’ and ‘Champion,’ in reference to the city’s decorated sports teams. ‘Boom’ refers to the refueling boom that connects tankers to receiving aircraft. The mascot’s head is designed to resemble the nose of the tankers flown at MacDill, with the stubs on either side representing the wings, and the panels around his eyes representing the windows of the cockpit.

The 6th Air Refueling Wing currently flies KC-135s but is expected to switch to KC-46s in the near future, and the wing wanted to convey its important role in helping other military aircraft get where they need to go.

“The 6th Air Refueling Wing plays a vital part in air superiority and everyone at the wing is key to making it happen,” Hudson said. “A KC-135 is what represents us and so it was an easy decision.”

Boom wears a flight suit and boots like any other tanker crew member, but his hair is Air Force blue. Surprisingly, he did not need a waiver for the unusual color.

“No, waivers are for colors that are unnatural,” Hudson explained. “For Champa Boom, his natural hair color is blue!”

It took about four months and $9,000 to create Boom, which involved working with a professional mascot maker, approving the design, and making sure the patches, measurements and other details were right. The wing even sent the manufacturer a flight suit so they could make one for Boom that resembles the real thing as much as possible. A team of actual Airmen wear the Boom suit at events, and apparently it is a popular position.

“Currently we have more volunteers than we can use,” Hudson said.

Not many Air Force bases have mascots, but the branch writ large wants to increase its presence in base communities to drum up greater interest in service. Recruiters across the armed forces warn of a decreasing familiarity between Americans and their shrinking military. Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, head of the Air Force Recruiting Service, told reporters in September that events like school trips to bases largely shut down as security stepped up after 9/11, but now facility commanders are trying to host more visits, foster connections with underrepresented groups, and set up aviation- or STEM-inspiration programs.

Boom is “a huge part” of the recruiting effort, Hudson said, and serves to open “discussions on Air Force recruiting outside the gate and core values inside the gate.”

The mascot has a busy calendar ahead of him, with possible visits to schools, sporting events, airshows, children’s hospitals, commander’s calls, and more. He has already made friends with the Tampa Bay Lightning mascot, Thunderbug, though it was not immediately clear if Thunderbug will be signing an enlistment contract. Boom has a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

As the Air Force prepares to operate from small airfields with fewer Airmen, Boom will also demonstrate multi-capable proficiency as he periodically crosstrains into other Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs).

“We couldn’t get tankers in the air and complete our missions without the support of every single AFSC on the base,” Hudson said. “While Champa Boom is a boom operator, you will see him changing AFSCs in the future as well as changing his look to be a part of local events in the Tampa Bay area.”

NATO Picks E-7 as Its New AWACS; Six Aircraft to Start

Nov. 17, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

NATO has selected Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail as its next airborne moving target indicator and air battle management aircraft, succeeding the aging Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS, the alliance announced this week. The first of six aircraft will be operational by 2031, but the fleet may grow beyond that number.

The alliance joins Australia, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S. as having selected the Wedgetail; the U.S. Air Force plans to acquire 26 of the aircraft.

The Wedgetail beat out several other offerings for NATO, including the Saab Global Eye; a Bombardier Global 6500 equipped with mission equipment provided by L3Harris; and Northrop Grumman’s E-2D. Northrop is also a major supplier to Boeing on the E-7, as the builder of the Wedgetail’s main, dorsally-mounted Multi-role Electronically-Scanned Array (MESA) radar.

The value of the planned acquisition was not stated.

The Air Force announced its selection of the E-7 in February, capping the undefinitized development contract at $1.2 billion. An Air Force-specific prototype will enter production by 2025, and the first E-7 is to be in service by 2027, with the last delivered by 2032.

The Air Force’s acquisition of the E-7 is characterized by the service as “urgent,” as mission availability rates for its aging E-3s have fallen below 60 percent in recent years. That urgency required going with a non-developmental, off-the-shelf solution, officials said. However, USAF E-7s will be equipped with a unique mission gear suite, including more extensive communications functions and possible application as a controller of autonomous aircraft.

In a statement, NATO said the choice of the E-7 was made by “a consortium of Allies” who “gave their approval to the project, one of NATO’s biggest-ever capability purchases, this month.” Production is set to begin “in the coming years,” the release added.

“We appreciate the confidence from the [NATO Support and Procurement Agency, or NPSA] and participating NATO nations in the proven capabilities and interoperability benefits of the E-7 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft,” Boeing said in a press statement.

The NSPA is comprised of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, and the U.S.

The aircraft will be transferred under a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the U.S. rather than a commercial purchase. Factors weighing in the Wedgetail’s favor, according to NSPA officials, were its commonality with aircraft operated by NATO members and partners; the reach of its sensors; an active production line; its range and persistence; accommodations for crew size and crew rest; its proven design; and capability for growth.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that by pooling their resources, the NATO allies “can buy and operate major assets collectively that would be too expensive for individual countries to purchase.”

The alliance started flying the E-3 in the 1980s and has updated its Sentry fleet several times since. However, like those in the U.S. and Britain, the NATO E-3 airframes are becoming increasingly difficult to support due to vanishing vendors and obsolescent technology; the NATO AWACS fleet is set to retire by 2035. The Wedgetail, based on a modernized 737 airframe, offers increased range, greater reliability and sharply reduced maintenance versus the E-3.

“This investment in state-of-the-art technology shows the strength of transatlantic defense cooperation as we continue to adapt to a more unstable world,” Stoltenberg said.

The E-7s will be headquartered at Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany, where NATO’s 14-strong E-3 fleet has had its main operating location, but the aircraft are likely to deploy across the European theater. The NATO E-3 fleet has operated with mixed-nationality crews.

“The AWACS have flown in every major NATO operation, including the fight against ISIS, as well as on NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the alliance said. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, seven NATO AWACS were dispatched to the U.S. to help monitor U.S. airspace, a mission they conducted for seven months.

“The Wedgetail will be part of the Alliance’s future surveillance and control project which will field NATO’s next generation of surveillance systems from the mid-2030s,” NATO said.

NATO has signaled that, like the U.S., its ultimate solution to air- and ground-moving target indication will include space-based systems. Its Alliance Future Surveillance and Control construct also includes unmanned aerial surveillance (now performed by Global Hawk aircraft); land- and sea-based radars; a “Combat Cloud;” Multi-Domain Tactical Control; and a “digital backbone.”

While the initial purchase of six aircraft seems to indicate a greater reliance on those other elements, any delay in their development could mean more E-7s will be acquired. The six E-7s represent NATO’s minimum requirement for air battle management/air surveillance.

A Request for Information was issued by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for an AWACS successor in late 2022. After reviewing industry responses, the NSPA—in language very like that used by the U.S. Air Force—said the E-7 is the “only known military off-the-shelf/non-developmental system” capable of meeting NATO’s requirements that could be delivered on the needed timeline.

Australia has been operating the E-7 since 2010, and former Air Force Chief of Staff—now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs—Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said he has flown on the aircraft multiple times when he was commander of Pacific Air Forces and was favorably impressed with its capabilities.

In First Speech as Chief, Allvin Touts ‘DNA’ of Airpower in Responding to Pacing Challenge

Nov. 17, 2023 | By Chris Gordon and Greg Hadley

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md.—The Air Force’s new Chief of Staff vowed to modernize the service’s capabilities with urgency, citing the need to deter the growing challenge from China in his first public address since taking on the top job.

“The evolving character of war is one that privileges speed and tempo, agility, range, flexibility, resilience, and precise lethality,” Gen. David W. Allvin said Nov. 17 at a welcome ceremony in his honor. “These elements run deep in the DNA of airpower, and it is our responsibility to the Joint Force and the nation to bring these to bear to meet our pacing challenge.”

Allvin became the service’s 23rd Chief of Staff chief on Nov. 2, hours after being confirmed by the Senate in a 95-1 vote, but he was ceremonially sworn in again with more pomp and circumstance and gave his first speech.

In his address, Allvin built on his first message to Airmen released a few days after becoming Chief in which he pledged to “follow through” on the initiatives put in place by Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., his predecessor as CSAF before he was elevated to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other previous leaders.

“We have accelerated change, and now must turn this momentum into outcomes. The clock is ticking and the time to execute is now,” Allvin said.

Allvin was nominated to replace Brown over the summer, but his confirmation had been delayed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blanket hold on military nominations to protest the Department of Defense’s reproductive health policies. As vice chief under Brown, however, Allvin took over as acting chief when Brown became Chairman, and the two men emphasized their alignment in assessing the needs of the Air Force.

“I couldn’t ask for a better person to follow through and build upon the many ideas we share,” Brown said, noting Allvin’s diverse career path—a mobility and test pilot by trade, he has command experience of aerial refueling, mobility, training, and expeditionary units, as well time on staff at U.S. European Command and the Joint Staff.

“When you look at most officers’ careers, there’s a typical logical flow of progression and specialization,” Brown said. “Dave has none of those. He didn’t follow a path, but he charted a way. It’s all provided him a wide foundation to drawn upon to lead the Air Force as it faces complex and volatile global security environment.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr., left, and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin share a smile during Allvin’s welcome ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Nov. 17, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich

In a speech in Hangar Three next to the flight line at Andrews during an unseasonably warm November morning, Allvin reiterated to the crowd of defense dignitaries that the Air Force needed to adapt—and fast.

“Among the biggest challenges in pursuit of our destination is time, as the future rushes toward us at a breathtaking pace,” Allvin said.

The new Chief, who has spent much of the last decade as a Pentagon leader, said the White House, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the Department of the Air Force all had “strong” alignment in their national security goals.

“The precise path ahead of us may be opaque, but the general direction is clear,” Allvin said.

Despite the current conflagration in the Middle East in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government is focused on China as its long-term challenge.

“The current environment is one in which our national interests are threatened in a way we have not seen in decades,” Allvin said.

Allvin’s ceremony was led by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, who has made modernization to face China his top priority.

“[There is] a theme in the remarks from Gen. Brown and Gen. Allvin and myself,” Kendall said. “And that theme is a sense of urgency. We are running out of time, and we have to make changes that we need to stay competitive, particularly with our pacing challenge.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin recites the oath of office to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall during his welcome ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Nov. 17, 2023. Allvin was officially sworn in as the 23rd Air Force chief of staff on Nov. 2 at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. U.S. Air Force photo by SSgt. Stuart Bright

Allvin said the Air Force is particularly well-suited to adapt to a Pacific, near-peer threat given that airpower has long been one of America’s most flexible ways to employ its military might.

The Air Force, a service whose leaders have often spent thousands of hours flying hundreds of miles per hour, could not be lumbering in its moderation efforts—nor should it attempt to be perfect, he said.

The Air Force must “not be shackled by a false perception that we must have a flawless plan with precision in the prediction of its outcome before executing,” Allvin said. “Instead, we must solve for agility—initiating action in the right direction and building in the flexibility to learn and adjust while in motion.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin speaks to the audience during his welcome ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Nov. 17, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by SSgt. Stuart Bright

JSTARS Flies West: USAF Retires Its Last E-8C

Nov. 16, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Editor’s Note: This story was updated Nov. 20 to correctly identify Robins Air Force Base, Ga., as the base from which the last E-8 departed.

It’s official: JSTARS is finished flying for the Air Force.

The final E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft left Robins Air Force Base, Ga., on Nov. 15, a spokesperson for the 116th Air Control Wing confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The airframe first entered USAF service in 1991, rushed into duty while still in development, to assist in Operation Desert Storm. Over the next 32 years, the fleet conducted some 14,000 operational sorties, racking up more than 141,000 flying hours in support of every geographic combatant command.

JSTARS played a key role during the Global War on Terror and flew missions over Eastern Europe in the run-up and immediate aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Air Force leaders had been planning to retire the planes for years, announcing in June 2021 their intent to cut the aircraft from Robins, which had hosted the E-8s since 1996. Facing modern integrated air defenses, the Air Force needed a more survivable means to do the moving target indicator and battle management jobs JSTARS did. One official said in 2022 that operating JSTARS in contested airspace was untenable, saying, “They’d be gone in a minute.”

The first E-8 departed Robins in February 2022. A month later, the service announced its intent to divest 12 of 16 aircraft in fiscal 2023 and 2024, and Congress expedited the move by repealing a previous law requiring the Air Force to maintain at least six E-8s. In March, the Air Force budget request revealed a plan to accelerate the divestment plan, with the entire fleet retiring in fiscal 2024, which started Oct. 1.

The E-8’s final operational sortie took place from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Sept. 21. Robins hosted a private farewell ceremony for alumni of the JSTARS program on Nov. 4, with more than 800 people in attendance.

According to a 116th ACW release, the final JSTARS aircraft to leave Robins flew to Kelly Field, Texas, “where it will serve as a training aircraft for future Airmen.” Other JSTARS planes have gone to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., but one remained in Georgia to become a static display at the Museum of Aviation.

In place of its JSTARS unit, Robins is getting a Battle Management Control squadron, an E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN) squadron, a Spectrum Warfare group, and support units focused on the service’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). The first E-11 arrived in April.

Electric Aircraft Starts Flight Testing at USAF Base with Its Own Version of ‘Hot Pitting’

Nov. 16, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The Air Force and contractor BETA Technologies started flight testing “Alia,” a sleek, quiet, electric aircraft, last week at Duke Field, Fla.

The electric aircraft, delivered to Duke Field on Oct. 26, is owned and operated by BETA crew, but the Air Force’s rotary wing test squadron, the 413th Flight Test Squadron, wrote the test and safety plan.

On Nov. 7, Alia flew 68 nautical miles from Duke to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla,, landed and recharged, and returned. The aircraft took about an hour to fully recharge.

“This process is similar to the military flight operation, hot-pitting, where an aircraft flies a mission, lands for refueling and then flies again. Only with Alia, the fuel is electricity,” the service noted in a release.

It was also the aircraft’s first mission without being accompanied by a chase aircraft.

Since that first test flight, the aircraft has been undergoing two flight missions per day to check how the battery performs during flights over a set distance with different power settings and assess ground operations for consecutive flights.

The tests are also focused on the aircraft’s potential in aiding flexible combat logistics, involving testing the aircraft’s payload capacity up to 1,000 pounds.

The aircraft’s heat patterns are also being recorded during takeoffs and landings, providing essential data to establish a standard in infrared technology for the team.

“We want to compare electric aircraft IR (infrared) signatures to conventional fuel aircraft signatures,” said Josh Bohannon, 782nd TS senior electronics engineer.

The infrared engine signature is the heat emitted by an aircraft’s engine. A lower signature makes the aircraft more difficult to be detected and traced by the heat-seeking missiles.

Alia is 50 feet wide and can fly up to 250 miles at a maximum speed of 138 mph. It is also 90 percent quieter than helicopters and produces zero emissions.

BETA Technologies Alia aircrew perform preflight checks on their aircraft Nov. 7 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The aircraft performed its first official test flight traveling to Tyndall AFB and back recharging and then flying again. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation arm AFWERX first partnered with BETA in December 2019 to explore zero-emission aviation. BETA has since won multiple contracts and supplied the Air Force with three simulators, including a mobile one for pilot training, and two Level-3 electric chargers.

One of the chargers was installed at Duke Field earlier in October, becoming the Department of Defense’s first and so far only on-site electronic aircraft recharging station.

AFWERX’s Agility Prime program has been focused on bolstering innovation in the eVTOL (Electronic Vertical Take-off and Landing) space and has taken steps to broaden field testing this year.

In September, the Air Force’s first “electric air taxi,” a six-rotor eVTOL aircraft from Joby Aviation was unveiled at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. That aircraft has undergone three hover tests, with a second aircraft expected to arrive in early 2024.

Alia comes in conventional and vertical takeoff configurations. The version at Duke Field is a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) model.