Congress Clears Way to Restart Bonuses and PCS Moves. What will USAF Do Now?

July 19, 2023

After weeks of delay, Congress approved the Pentagon’s request to reprogram personnel funds, Air & Space Forces Magazine confirmed July 19. But it’s not yet clear if the Air Force will reverse its hold on reenlistment bonuses and permanent change-of-station orders imposed as a result of that freeze.

House Armed Services Committee spokeswoman Justine Sanders said in a statement the committee “has approved reprogramming requests related to military personnel and continues to review additional reprogramming requests from the Department of Defense.”

An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the service’s personnel-related request had been approved by Congress. But the Air Force is still working on what this means to specific policies and programs, the spokesperson said.

On July 10, the Air Force announced it was reviewing all pending PCS orders for Airmen with a projected departure date of Aug. 1 or later. Additionally, the service said it would delay moves for Airmen on long tours overseas, such as those accompanied by their families, whose “Date Estimated Return From Overseas” (DEROS) fell between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.

On top of that, the service also said it was pausing its Selective Reenlistment Bonus, Aviation Bonus, and Assignment incentive pay programs. Any Airmen already approved for those bonuses would receive them, but nobody new would be able to take advantage.

Air Force officials said the moves were necessary in order “to avoid exhausting funds” in its military personnel account. Higher-than-expected PCS costs, a result of inflation, and higher retention and recruiting bonuses depleted those accounts faster than anticipated. The Air Force asked Congress to authorize shifting money from other accounts, as Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. confirmed during an appearance before lawmakers July 11. But when the request wasn’t answered in time, officials had to take action to avoid running over budget.

The holdup was to result of a political fight over the permanent home of U.S. Space Command. Colorado Democrats accused HASC chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) of holding up the reprogramming request to force a basing decision on the headquarters for U.S. Space Command, which is under review by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall after years of controversy. In its final weeks in office, the Trump administration announced SPACECOM would move to Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Colorado lawmakers cried foul, and the issue has been in dispute ever since.

Rogers initially called the allegation a “partisan, parochial, and untrue misrepresentation of HASC processes.” But he later admitted to Military.com that he was holding up the request in protest of the SPACECOM decision.

It’s not clear what, if anything, changed his mind. But now that personnel-related reprogramming requests have been approved, others are still pending. Exactly how much has and has not been OK’d has implications for how the Air Force redistributes funds ove the remaining 10 weeks of the fiscal year. Punchbowl News published one reprogramming request from June that showed the Air Force also needs extra funds to cover pay and allowances for enlisted Airmen. No word yet on that request.

PHOTOS: Six Countries Contribute to Impressive Elephant Walk on Guam

July 19, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Six allies joined in an elephant walk at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on July 19, showcasing the international air armada they are currently fielding in the Indo-Pacific.

The U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and France all contributed to the 23-plane formation, which included fighters, bombers, transports, and aerial tankers.

U.S. Air Force aircraft included:

Five F-35 fighters from the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah

One B-52 bomber from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Two KC-135 tankers from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

Two C-17 transports from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

One C-130 from the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

Joining in from the allies were:

France: Four Rafale fighters, one A400 Atlas transport aircraft, and one A330 MRTT from the French Air and Space Force

United Kingdom: One A400 Atlas from the Royal Air Force

Canada: One C-130J and one CC-150T Polaris from the Royal Canadian Air Force

Japan: One C-130H from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force

Australia: One C-130J from the Royal Australian Air Force

Nearby, additional B-52s were parked on the flightline, noted an Air Force Global Strike Command social media post.

The aircraft are in the region for several exercises and oevents, including Mobility Guardian, Air Mobility Command’s signature exercise meant to practice the logistics and mobilization necessary for a vast conflict in the Pacific. Mobility Guardian is overlaid in support for concurrent exercises led by Pacific Air Forces: Northern Edge, normally held solely in Alaska, expanded to other regions of the Pacific this year; and Cope Thunder, a joint U.S.-Phillipines exercise.

All told, PACAF estimates that more than 15,000 U.S. and Allied forces are currently engaged in exercises around the Indo-Pacific.

The French Air and Space Force is also holding its own exercise, PEGASE 23.

Those exercises come amidst a series of Bomber Task Force rotations in Guam and Japan. involving both B-52s and B-1s.

Russian Fighter Put ‘Lives at Risk’ By Harassing a USAF Surveillance Plane Over Syria

July 18, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A Russian fighter harassed a U.S. manned surveillance aircraft over Syria on July 16, engaging in a maneuver that risked the lives of the four American crew members, U.S. officials said July 18.

The move comes as escalating tensions with Iran and Russia have led the Pentagon to order more forces, including fifth-generation F-35s and F-16 fighter jets to the region.

“We’ve got adequate capabilities to defend ourselves,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley told reporters at the Pentagon July 18.

Milley cautioned that the U.S. was unsure what is behind Russia’s recent behavior, but U.S. officials have noted a closer defense partnership between Iran and Russia as of late.

“We’re monitoring it very closely,” Milley said. “As to the reason why [there has been] the little bit of an uptick, I’m not really certain. We’ve got analysts trying to figure that out.”

Some U.S. officials have suggested Russian pilots and commanders may be trying to pressure U.S. forces to leave Syria, where U.S. forces have been helping partners fight the remnants of ISIS.

The July 16 incident began at around 6:45 pm Syria time, when a Russian Su-35 fighter caught a U.S. MC-12 Liberty on an intelligence-gathering mission against ISIS, according to the Department of Defense’s account of the incident. The Russian Su-35 flew in the flight path of the MC-12, a small turboprop plane based on the civilian Beechcraft King Air 350, forcing the U.S. plane to fly through the fighter’s wake turbulence.

“This reduced the crew’s ability to safely operate the aircraft and put the four crewmembers’ lives at risk,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said in a statement. “These actions against a manned aircraft represent a new level of unsafe and unprofessional actions by Russian aircraft operating in Syria. We strongly urge Russian forces in Syria to cease reckless and threatening behavior that could result in an accident and loss of life, and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional force.”

The Associated Press first reported details of the incident, which was was similar to other near confrontations with U.S. adversaries in recent months.

In May, a Chinese fighter flew in the path of a U.S. RC-135, another intelligence plane, over the South China Sea. The jet wash from the Chinese fighter caused the RC-135, which is related to the Boeing 707 jetliner, to experience severe turbulence. The encounter was captured on video from the RC-135’s cockpit, which the Pentagon released.

Two Russian Su-27 pilots harassed a U.S. MQ-9 over the Black Sea in March, with one Russian fighter clipping the American drone, which the Pentagon said made the drone uncontrollable and forced the operator to intentionally crashed the MQ-9 into the water.

The DOD has also released videos of other Russian interactions with U.S. drones, which have included acts such as dropping parachute flares and engaging a fighter’s jet engine afterburner in front of MQ-9s.

But the Pentagon did not publicize video footage of the July 16 incident between the Su-35 and MC-12. A U.S. official said high-quality, publicly releasable video from the MC-12 was unavailable. U.S. officials did not say how close the Su-35 got to the MC-12.

The incident happened a day before the Pentagon announced additional forces were heading to CENTCOM, including the guided missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner.

Just days before that, Russia overflew the U.S. outpost of Al Tanf Garrison in eastern Syria with an An-30, which like the American MC-12 is a crewed turboprop ISR aircraft.

Armed Russian aircraft have also been regularly overflying U.S. troops in eastern Syria and getting as close as 500 feet to manned U.S. fighters since March 1.

Milley said the U.S. forces had the proper authorities to operate safely in Syria, where the U.S. has 900 ground troops working with Kurdish groups to battle the remnants of ISIS. American fighter aircraft, which are usually armed with air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons when flying over Syria, supplement and protect those troops. The U.S. also uses platforms such as MQ-9s for ISR and airstrikes.

“We have rules of engagement,” Milley told reporters at the Pentagon. “If at any point in time any of our troops sense a hostile act, a hostile intent, they will protect themselves.”

But the July 16 incident fell below that threshold, Milley said.

“If there’s unsafe or unprofessional acts, that’s a different issue,” Milley said. “We try to work that out through the deconfliction channel that’s going on at the tactical level, so that we don’t have an inadvertent air-to-air accident or incident.”

Milley added he was confident the U.S. has enough forces in the region following the latest announcement. However, it is unclear when the additional fighters will arrive.

A senior U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the F-35s could be used around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has attempted to seize oil tankers, if the airspace became contested. But the F-35s could also be used over Syria if Russia presented a more significant threat, the official said. F-22 Raptors were deployed to the region in June and are departing.

“Having that fifth-gen capability up in Syria doing defensive counterair gives us more capacity up there,” the senior U.S. defense official said. “It’s effective against some of those Russian provocations that we’ve previously countered with the F-22.”

National Guard Charts New Course for Growing Overseas Partnerships

July 18, 2023 | By Greg Hadley and Chris Gordon

Thirty years ago, the National Guard Bureau established its State Partnership Program (SPP) by pairing 13 former Soviet bloc countries with state National Guard organizations to leverage joint training as a means of bolstering cooperation and democracy.

Today, more than 100 countries around the globe participate in the program, with 88 active partnerships. All 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia have at least one partner nation. And as officials gathered for a conference at National Harbor, Md., to celebrate the anniversary, they also laid out a vision for the future of the program—one focused less on expansion and more on deeper cooperation covering more capabilities and domains.

“The future is not going to be, ‘Let’s do another 100 countries in 30 years, slap the table, and call it done,’” said Maj. Gen. William Zana, director for strategy, plans, and policy at the National Guard Bureau, during a panel discussion. “It’s really a different evolution, and a different set of processes in progress that we’re going to have to see.”

Several days earlier at the Pentagon, Zana told Air & Space Forces Magazine the program historically focused most on land forces. But more recently, he said, “We see a tremendous increase in the partnerings across Air Force and Air Guard, and I think we just expect that to continue.”

Lt. Gen. Dan Cain, associate director for military affairs at the CIA, recalled in a keynote address, his experience with the Georgia Air National Guard, traveling to “fly together with the Argentine Air Force and learn, grow, and trust each other in a new and different way.”

Future partnerships could even extend into space. More than 1,000 Air National Guard members spread out in six states support space missions, and while lawmakers are still debating whether to create a separate Space National Guard, more and more countries are getting involved in space.

“We absolutely see a demand signal from our partners and an opportunity to work with them much more closely on space,” Zana said. “We see that at scale and at different levels. Different nations are either directly involved in some of the things that they want to do for their own interest in terms of space, or other nations, in some cases, adversaries, have an interest in their capabilities. So it's a great opportunity for us to both learn, grow, and share with partners.”

Deeper partnerships across those areas could be crucial to bolstering partner nations in strategically important areas like Eastern Europe, the original focus of the SPP, and the South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are all part of the program now.

“I have to admit that we see this state partnership program promoting the strategic message that the U.S. is interested in the Black Sea region, the region where a war is happening right now,” Romanian chief of defense Gen. Daniel Petrescu said in a panel discussion. “So we start with the mission, and I believe we should look also at the strategic environment. … We are at an inflection point right now. And maybe the way we created this state partnership program in the '90s, in the former Warsaw treaty countries, getting them to move towards democracy, maybe the next step will be [teaching] these democracies how to defend against challenges and build the capacity.”

The SPP has earned plaudits for the ties it built between Ukraine and the California National Guard, ties that have proved invaluable as the Ukrainians have fought off Russia’s invasion. Moving forward, officials say they want to build more such ties—and increase interoperability in case of a conflict.

“When you look across the landscape, [there’s] a continued desire for speed and depth of interoperability,” said Vice Adm. Stephen “Web” Koehler, director for strategy, plans, and policy for the Joint Staff, in the panel discussion. “And I know that's what everybody wants, but as we get to having, one, the ability to deter, and, two, should that fail, get ready to get after a conflict, those things need to be done before the conflict. So as we talk about a surge in trust, that comes with interoperability and depth thereof.”

Building those connections does not come without cost, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard. “Predictable and stable funding is critical for the State Partnership Program and coordinating across different fiscal years. Our fiscal year is probably different from the fiscal year of the country that we're a partner with, and providing that predictable funding will allow us to have more stable events and engagements."

U.S. Guard units must also be sized to be able to support that growth, he said, adding: As the U.S. builds additional partnerships, "I think it's important for us to attempt to gain additional force structure and staffing in the states in order to adequately manage those partnerships.”

Air Chiefs from US, Britain, and Australia Align on E-7 Wedgetail

July 18, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The heads of the U.S., British, and Australian air forces signed a “joint vision statement” in a ground-breaking declaration of intent to co-develop the E-7 Wedgetail for airborne early warning and control, the U.S. Air Force announced July 17.

USAF did not immediately share details of the joint vision statement, but noted in a release that the deal will cover “Wedgetail capability development, evaluation and testing, interoperability, sustainment, operations, training, and safety.”

Cooperation could potentially accelerate USAF’s fielding of the Wedgetail—something both Air Force leaders and Congress has pushed as the aging E-3 AWACS fleet nears retirement. Current plans have the U.S. Air Force fielding its first of 26 E-7s in 2027.

The Royal Australian Air Force already has six E-7s, and the Royal Air Force, which plans to buy three, is aiming for initial operational capability in 2024.

U.S., British, and Australians have been talking about working together on the E-7 for some time. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall broached the topic with U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey in February, and Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said recently U.S. Airmen will travel to Australia to train on the aircraft.

At least one USAF official, program executive officer for the digital directorate Steven Wert, has suggested the U.S. and U.K. could share E-7 testing data, and officials at Boeing, the airplanes’ maker, have indicated willingness to accelerate U.S. deliveries.

But this week’s announcement is the first formal agreement addressing the aircraft. Brown; the Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton; and the Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Marshal Robert Chipman, signed the document during a ceremony at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, U.K.

The U.S.-U.K.-Australia trilateral partnership, easily the closest among Western allies, has grown stronger in recent years. The three agreed last year to share nuclear submarine technology, and their so-called AUKUS accord has since expanded to include hypersonic and other emerging technologies.

USAF’s release on the Wedgetail agreement did not indicate whether the new joint vision statement will formally expand AUKUS.

“Collaboration and interoperability are critical to our warfighting advantage,” Brown said in a statement. “Signing this joint vision statement represents another step in the long-term, enduring commitment we have to the future and to the security of our three countries. The relationship between the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States is more robust than ever, and we share a mutual understanding of the challenges we face in the air domain and the need to address them.”

A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail, Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft, is parked at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, May 6, 2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Makenna Gott

Why Are Air Force PJs Training in a 140-Year-Old Copper Mine?

July 18, 2023 | By David Roza

Air Force Pararescuemen, also known as ‘PJs,’ are trained to save lives anywhere on Earth, from the middle of a desert to the open water. But while each environment has unique challenges, underground tunnels and caves can be particularly dangerous, leaving rescuers unable to see, hear, and even breathe at times.

In May, PJs got to train in just such dangerous conditions at an exercise hosted by the 414th Combat Training Squadron at the the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory, near Tucson, Ariz. From 1880-1952, the mine produced silver, lead, zinc, and copper. Now owned by the University of Arizona, it’s used as a training and research facility for mining and geology students, government agencies, and search and rescue teams.

“The darkness underground and the smoke makes it difficult to see or use lights sometimes,” Master Sgt. Sean Sylvia, a PJ with the Air Force Reserves and the ground operations manager for special warfare with the 414th CTS, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It’s sensory deprivation, which is what we’re trying to go for at the training site because that is the biggest lesson the team walks away with: figuring out different ways to handle those types of scenarios.”

The exercise wasn’t just to acclimate PJs to tunnels and caves, though—Tech Sgt. August O’Niell, a section chief of special warfare for the 414th CTS, said there were lessons for confined spaces of all kinds.

“Since we’re rescue specialists, we have to be able to get into and out of all different types of scenarios, and one of those is very small spaces, whether it’s a collapsed structure, or an underground situation, or the inside of cars,” O’Niell said.

air force pj — A U.S. Air Force pararescueman ascends out of a mine shaft during an exercise at the San Xavier Mine, Ariz., May 4, 2023. The pararescueman used a rope pulley system to safely exit the mine. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman William Finn)

In a confined space, rescuers may have to wear firefighter-style breathing masks to filter smoke or toxic gasses; their voices may be muffled or distorted; their radio signals may be blocked by layers of earth and concrete; their night vision goggles may not have enough light to function; and some of the tools they rely on to breach doors and other barriers may set off an explosion due to pent-up gasses.

“It’s a completely different arena,” said Sylvia. “Communication really breaks down in these situations, so you have to figure out with your teammates how you’re going to pass signals and messages back and forth.”

Before the exercise began, the participating PJs went over a system of hand signals, rope pulls, and chem lights (glow sticks), but these can break down under pressure.

“Even with the best-laid plans, things happen when you’re down there,” said O’Niell. “One person, after memorizing all those signals, may mix up a left-hand turn with a right-hand turn and communicate that. It’s something that we need to embed with each team, that they need to work on these things before the entrance to a confined space.”

In the most recent exercise, Airmen responded to a simulated explosion that trapped and injured a handful of patients. The PJs had to breach in, assess the patients, some of whom were screaming in mock pain, treat any immediately life-threatening injuries, and move them out of the mine. To make things more interesting, the mine was completely blacked out and the 414th CTS ran smoke machines “to enforce that sensory deprivation so they can barely see their hand in front of their face,” Sylvia added.

The organizers also closed off the rescuer’s initial entry point, forcing them to rely on their mission prep to find a way out.

“A big thing about going into a space like this is you have to know your environment,” said O’Niell. “We were able to assess if they actually did their map studies by seeing if they were able to find other exits that they had available.”

Just keeping track of one’s gear can be a difficult task.

“They have a lot of equipment that they’re constantly taking on and off to work with,” Sylvia explained. “In those types of situations, if you set something down and you get distracted, you may lose it somewhere in the dark. A lot of it comes down to knowing how your equipment works and not losing it.”

While the May exercise was challenging, there are other scenarios PJs may practice at San Xavier that would challenge them in entirely different ways. One includes a 150-foot vertical shaft that rescuers must descend with ropes. Once they reach the patient at the bottom, they have to figure out how to pull him or her back up without causing additional harm. In the future, the 414th CTS plans on flooding a 100-foot section of one of the mine tunnels, forcing rescuers to dive to reach their patients—a situation reminiscent of the 2018 Thai cave flooding, where rescuers dove through flooded tunnels to reach a trapped youth soccer team.

“There’s only one small entry point at the beginning of it and a very small entry point at the end and then it’s dry after that,” O’Niell said. “They would have to SCUBA dive through this tunnel, come out the other side, treat their patient on that side and then communicate back what is needed to retrieve the patient.”

Ideally, rescuers can move patients out of the dangerous conditions of a mine before administering advanced medical care, but they may not always have that option. The patient may have been pinned beneath a fallen structure or have an injury too serious for movement. Air Force PJs cannot choose which scenario to prepare for, so they are trained to use various extrication tools and medical procedures to keep those patients alive.

“If they’ve been pinned for more than six hours, there are drugs that have to be pushed to keep all of that acidic blood from reentering the body and causing cardiac problems once you’re able to extract them,” O’Niell explained. “The team has to slow down, right? Nobody’s ever running through these types of situations. It takes what’s called a tactical pause to kind of talk through what’s happening and relay it to the rest of your team to get to the next phase.”

Those skills could save lives in a future humanitarian mission or conflict, which some experts predict could include brutal underground fighting.

“Rudimentary tunnel systems as experienced during the Vietnam War are not unique to that conflict; it is an underground pattern that continues today,” wrote four Army majors in a 2013 thesis on subterranean warfare for the Naval Postgraduate School. The thesis, “The Enemy Below,” was also cited by a 2019 series of Army Times articles on the subject.

Going underground can help avoid airborne surveillance or airstrikes. ISIS fighters dug tunnels throughout the Iraqi cities they occupied, and future urban warfare campaigns may include significant subterranean fighting.

Not all Air Force bases have a training mine nearby, and O’Niell said he was grateful Davis-Monthan Air Force Base does. The 414th CTS plans to return this August to put another visiting PJ team to the test.

“Having an area to do these things is key,” he said. “Maintaining proficiency over currency is something that is highly sought after and rarely happens with certain skill sets. It’s important that our guys are able to go after some things like this.”

F-35s Deploying to CENTCOM After ‘Alarming’ Actions by Iran, Pentagon Says

July 17, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

The U.S. is deploying F-35 fifth-generation fighters and additional F-16s to the U.S. Central Command region, the Pentagon announced July 17.

The Department of Defense is also authorizing the deployment of an additional guided missile destroyer in response to “an alarming number of recent events in the Strait of Hormuz,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. Earlier this month, Iran sought to seize two commercial oil tankers and fired on one of them before abandoning the attempt when an American guided missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrived on the scene.

Iran is not the only threat in the region. The U.S. and Russia have had close calls in the skies in recent months, both over western Syria with Russian aircraft harassing American MQ-9 Reapers, and with manned Russian aircraft flying near manned American fighters and U.S. troops in eastern Syria.

A senior U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the F-35s could be used over the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz if the airspace became contested and could be used over Syria if Russia presented a more significant threat.

The Strait of Hormuz is a choke point between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows. To deter Iran, the U.S. has A-10s and F-16s patrolling the skies in the area, in addition to P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. Another destroyer, the USS Thomas Hudner, will now join the U.S. maritime force in the region.

“In light of this continued threat and in coordination with our partners and allies, the department is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the Strait and surrounding waters,” Singh said.

Singh said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III consulted with the commander of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, and decided to send “assets to the region that they felt it was important to do at this time.”

“It’s just an additional asset to help,” Singh said of the F-35 deployment. “We’ve seen Iran continue to engage in destabilizing activity.”

A-10s are most useful in uncontested airspace, which is why the Air Force wants to retire them by the end of the decade, figuring they are not suited to a high-end fight. Iran has fighter aircraft such as American-made F-4 Phantoms and surface-to-air missiles along its coast that can reach out over the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran previously downed a U.S. RQ-4 drone in 2019. F-22 Raptors that were rushed to the region last month in response to Russian actions are leaving CENTCOM, according to U.S. officials.

“If the maritime domain becomes contested, the F-35s would be able to operate and conduct that mission,” the senior U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

While the senior U.S. defense official said they didn’t anticipate Tehran would seek to challenge the U.S. in the skies, the F-35s would be well suited to respond.

“They could suppress the enemy defenses if you got to that level,” the official said. “If F-4s start flying out to harass the A-10s, we could fly F-35s out there and the F-4 is not really going to be a particular issue.”

Despite a reduced permanent U.S. presence in the region, the DOD has been forced to bulk up its force in the Middle East on short notice in response to threats from Iran and Russia multiple times in the past year.

“We have the capability present where we need it,” Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, the director for operations for the Joint Staff, said July 13 when asked if the U.S. would need to increase its force in the region in response to Russian actions over Syria. “I believe that the combatant commander—in this case, in the Central Command—has all the necessary assets if there was an issue.”

U.S. MQ-9 drones have been harassed by Russian planes over western Syria this past month. Since March 1, Russian aircraft have regularly overflown U.S. troops in eastern Syria and have flown within 500 feet of American manned aircraft, actions which Air Forces Central commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has repeatedly called out as “unsafe and unprofessional.” The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria and partners with Kurdish groups to defeat the remnants of ISIS. U.S. aircraft support the effort by providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, force protection, and airstrikes. Meanwhile, Russia is in Syria supporting the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

The A-10s were the first Air Force assets to fly maritime missions in response to recent Iranian actions, before being bolstered by F-16s, which are faster and have a greater ability to conduct counterair missions, in the last few days. F-35s will add additional fighter capacity and counterair capability, both in the Gulf and over the skies of Syria.

“It’s a stealthy fifth-gen platform with advanced avionics and sensor suite,” the senior U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It’s very useful in a contested environment.”

A Cyber Force? Senate Proposes Study With Lessons Learned from Space Force

July 17, 2023 | By David Roza

As the Senate prepares to start debate on the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act on July 18, one provision in the bill would task the Pentagon with studying the possibility of an independent Cyber Force—taking into account lessons from the Space Force.

The Senate Armed Services Committee completed its markup of the NDAA in late June, and the full text of the bill was released July 11. A section in the legislation directs the Secretary of Defense to work with the National Academy of Public Administration in evaluating whether it is advisable to either establish a separate service dedicated to cyber operations or refine the existing U.S. Cyber Command approach, which is based on the U.S. Special Operations Command model.

The legislation calls for studying how well the armed forces currently meet the cyber requirements of combatant commands, as well as how well the Pentagon recruits, organizes, trains, equips, and retains cyber operators. The study would then evaluate whether an independent cyber force would improve on that performance.

The provision would also analyze the tradeoffs of establishing a completely separate cyber force compared to standing one up within an existing military department, as the Space Force was stood up within the Department of the Air Force in 2019. Lawmakers also want to know “lessons learned from the creation of the United States Space Force that should be applied to the creation of a United States Cyber Force,” the bill states.

In terms of timing, the section requires the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Public Administration 60 days after the bill is enacted, and the academy would then be bound to submit a report 210 days after the agreement is signed.

If passed, the provision and the ensuing study would help shape debate in Congress over whether to create a separate cyber service, an issue national security experts have debated for years but which has gained particular steam recently. The provision comes after lawmakers expressed a need for more data on the issue.

“I think we have to have like a public sort of analysis of it,” Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s cyber, innovative technologies and information systems subcommittee, said in February, according to Breaking Defense.

Gallagher said he worried that creating a separate cyber force would lead to “a massive increase in bureaucracy,” especially so soon after the creation of the Space Force, but he admitted that he was “yet to do my own homework on it.”

Some national security experts share Gallagher’s concern over bureaucratic bloat.

“The overhead costs of standing up a new service and its respective bureaucracy would place an undue burden on a military that is still struggling to modernize and likely faces a period of stagnating or declining budgets,” wrote Jason Blessing, a visiting research fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, in a 2021 commentary for War On the Rocks.

Blessing also argued that the current system, in which each service trains cyber operators and contributes to the U.S. Cyber Command, is well-suited to cyberspace, “which has complex intersections and interdependencies with the military’s other operating environments.”

Proponents of an independent cyber force say that the current set-up fails to keep pace with evolving threats.

“Most important, the creation of a U.S. Cyber Force would move America beyond the current ‘pick-up team’ approach to cybersecurity, wherein each of the armed forces has a small number of cyber experts,” wrote retired Adm. James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in a March analysis for Bloomberg. The admiral argued that a cyber force would also lead to greater advocacy for cyber needs on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Future of the F-15E and More In the Balance as Senate Starts NDAA Debate

July 17, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Senate will start debate on the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act on July 18, as lawmakers wade through 666 amendments proposed amendments filed to the bill.

The proposals cover everything from the Department of State’s authorization bill to a prohibition on slaughtering horses for human consumption; many have little or no relation to defense policy. Senators vie to attach legislation to the NDAA because it’s “must-pass” legislation. Over the course of debate, most proposed amendments will be dropped. Some may be packaged together for quick, uncontroversial votes. And some will receive their own debates and roll-call votes.

The House has already passed its version of the authorization bill, and once both chambers have passed a bill, the two must be reconciled. But first, the Senate must have its day.

For the Air Force, several of the amendments could have lasting repercussions for the service.

Fighters

The Air Force quietly revealed plans earlier this year to cut its F-15E fleet to 99 aircraft in the coming years—a reduction of more 119 aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. was asked about the cuts in his confirmation hearing to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, answering that the cut was necessary to “balance capability and capacity.”

Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who raised the issue with Brown on July 11, represents Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, one of five bases with F-15Es, and offered an amendment the next day that that would prohibit F-15E retirements through fiscal 2029.

Budd’s drive to save the F-15E comes as other lawmakers press to increase procurement of the new F-15EXs variant. USAF asked for 24 F-15EXs in 2024—restoring some planned purchases that had been cut a year earlier. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service would go no further, but that hasn’t stopped some legislators.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, added funds to his markup of the NDAA for advance procurement of six extra F-15EXs in 2025, and an amendment from Rep. John James (R-Mich.) adopted by the House added funds to buy two more EXs in 2024.

Another amendment included in the House bill from Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) would prohibit the Air Force from terminating the flying mission of any Guard fighter squadron until at least 180 days after USAF submits a “notional plan” on how it will recapitalize every Guard fighter squadron. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced a matching amendment in the Senate.

Bombers

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) filed a series of amendments touching on the Air Force’s bomber fleet—unsurprising given that he represents Dyess Air Force Base, which hosts the B-1B Lancer.

One would extend a previous prohibition on modifying “the designed operational capability statement for any B–1 bomber aircraft squadron … in a manner that would reduce the capabilities of such a squadron below the levels specified in such statement” until the B-21 Raider starts to be fielded.

Another amendment would provide $30 million to test hypersonic weapons on the B-1—a possibility the Air Force has been studying with the development of a new pylon by contractor Boeing that enables the long-range bomber to carry such weapons.

Finally, Cruz also wants to take $45 million out of the B-21’s research, development, test, and evaluation account and redirect it to fund military construction to support B-21 basing at Dyess.

Other Aircraft

A number of other Air Force fleets would be protected under amendments filed in the Senate.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wants to once again prohibit any divestment of the C-40 Clipper, used to transport senior military commanders, Cabinet officials, and members of Congress.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wants to extend a requirement that the Air Force to maintain a fleet of at least 271 C-130s through 2024.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment that would prohibit the Air Force from reducing its E-3 AWACS fleet to less than 16 aircraft until the service submits a plan “for maintaining readiness and ensuring there is no lapse in mission capabilities,” or until it starts buying the E-7 Wedgetail.

Next Steps

The House passed its version of the NDAA on July 14, largely along party lines after Republicans included amendments on a host of contentious issues that would cut funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and out-of-state travel for reproductive health care, and more.

Some lawmakers introduced corresponding amendments in the Senate, but they are unlikely to succeed in the Democratic-controlled chamber. If and when the Senate does pass the larger bill, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions, and send that combined measure back to both bodies for a vote.