AFCENT Boss: Russian Air Force ‘Compensating’ for Ukraine with Dangerous Flights in Syria

June 21, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Russia’s war in Ukraine is having far-reaching consequences for American forces in the Middle East, the top U.S. Air Force commander for the region said June 21.

Recent aggressive behavior by Russian pilots in Syria toward American aircraft may be part of an effort by Moscow to “compensate” for frustrations in Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, the commander of Air Forces Central, said in a conference call with reporters hosted by the State Department.

He added that Russia’s acquisition of drones from Iran may also embolden Iran as it continues to support militias in the Middle East.

“We certainly think of our interactions with the Russians in Syria in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” Grynkewich said. “From my perspective, I see the Russian air force as being more aggressive in Syria, perhaps as a way to compensate for the fact that they have had to move capability and capacity out of Syria in order to support the war in Ukraine.”

The Russians, Grynkewich said, have violated the deconfliction protocols that were set up to reduce the risk of inadvertent conflict in Syria as recently as June 21, hours before he spoke. There was another breach the day before, he added. Those protocols, which were worked out by U.S. and Russian commanders, are intended to separate the two sides’ air forces in eastern Syria. Air Forces Central has noted that Russia has gotten as close to 500 feet from U.S. aircraft and regularly overflown U.S. troops. The U.S. is in Syria to assist its Kurdish allies in fighting the remnants of ISIS. Russia is supporting the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

“This is a pattern of Russian activity,” Grynkewich said. “We have coalition forces on the ground at our garrisons that are focused on fighting ISIS. Yet the Russians will fly directly overhead or very near to these garrisons with air-to-ground munitions—with bombs on board.”

Since the spring, Grynkewich, U.S. Central Command officials, and the Pentagon have been raising the alarm over potentially dangerous interactions between armed American and Russian fighters. Last week, the U.S. sent F-22 Raptors to the region in a show of force.

“The biggest risk for all of us is these aircraft are not flying on training missions; they’re on combat missions,” Grynkewich said. “Our aircraft have live weapons on board; the Russian aircraft have live weapons on board. And this kind of behavior just really increases the risk of a miscalculation, some sort of an incident occurring that’s unintentional.”

Russia has been apologetic and apparently undeterred by U.S. actions, which included a recent training mission in which B-1 bombers fired long-range JASSM cruise missiles during a highly publicized transit of the region.

Grynkewich took note of a March episode in which a Russian Su-27 collided with a U.S. MQ-9 over the Black Sea. While two Su-27s were trying to harass the American drone, U.S. officials say they were likely not trying to make contact with the MQ-9, and the incident showed poor airmanship, whatever the goal. Nevertheless, the Russian pilots were decorated for their actions.

“Anytime you have an air force that has fallen so low on the professional ladder that they’re giving medals for buffoonery in the air, you’ve really got to wonder what they’re thinking,” Grynkewich said.

F-22s were sometimes used in the past to escort the U.S. strike missions on ISIS militants in northeast Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve because of the threat from Russian planes. Since then, ISIS’s self-declared caliphate has collapsed, and the U.S. has shifted its attention and resources to the Pacific and Europe. The U.S. still has around 900 troops in Syria and another 2,500 troops in neighboring Iraq supporting the anti-ISIS campaign.

The Russian harassment, Grynkewich said, is also hampering the fight against ISIS, a goal Russia ostensibly supports.

“They are down but not out,” he said. “ISIS continues to have the capability and a fair amount of freedom of action, primarily in areas where the Syrian regime and the Russians ought to be putting pressure on them. They are running training camps, and they’re building up their capabilities because the Russians and the regime are either incapable or unwilling to put pressure on ISIS. That then spills over into the parts of Syria where our partner forces operate or into Iraq or other neighboring countries.”

Grynkewich said he has other concerns about Russia’s posture in the region. Moscow has turned to Tehran to supply drones it has used to pummel Ukrainian infrastructure, and in turn, Tehran may receive fighter jets from Russia.

“Iran and Russia have a growing relationship,” Grynkewich said. “My sense is that Iran feels that Russia owes it something and that Russia is in some way now beholden to Iran.”

While much of the world’s focus has turned elsewhere, Air Forces Central is facing down Iran-backed groups and Russia in Syria and now the Arabian Gulf to protect vessels from being seized by Iran with a limited supply of fourth-generation fighters and A-10 attack aircraft. Meanwhile, the U.S. must remain focused on the core reason it is in Syria in the first place: fighting ISIS.

“Now, what does this do? Frankly, it distracts us.” Grynkewich said of Russian actions. “It’s a big distraction for us because we have to focus on defending our forces, and it’s, frankly, a distraction that the Russians ought to be concerned about because they are letting the ISIS threat grow right under their nose.”

Lockheed Endorses New Engines For F-35 Over Air Force’s Choice

June 21, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

F-35 maker Lockheed Martin thinks the Pentagon should reverse course and pursue the more expensive but technologically advanced Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) for future versions of the fighter, rather than the more incremental F135 Engine Core Upgrade chosen by the Air Force in its 2024 budget.

Responding to a query from Air & Space Forces Magazine, a Lockheed Martin official said the contractor is ready to “support and continue to work with the U.S. government on the capability and performance upgrades, including an engine upgrade, that best support their requirements for the F-35 for decades to come.”

However, the AETP engines—one each developed by GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney—will deliver more power and cooling capability than Pratt’s Engine Core Upgrade, “which is required as we modernize the F-35 beyond Block 4,” the spokesperson said.

It is the first time the F-35 prime contractor has weighed in on the ongoing debate over how to supply the increased power and cooling needed for the Block 4 version of the stealth fighter. The government awards contracts for the F135 engine separately from the F-35 airframe, and the engine is provided to Lockheed as government-furnished equipment.

In an assessment of the F135 released in May, the Government Accountability stated that “the cooling system is overtasked, requiring the engine to operate beyond its design parameters. The extra heat is increasing the wear on the engine, reducing its life, and adding $38 billion in maintenance costs.”

The GAO also urged the F-35 Joint Program Office to build a better business case for upgrading the F-35’s engine, although it agreed that the ECU is the less-costly and less-risky approach.

The Lockheed official noted the F-35 fleet is expected to serve until 2070, “which will require further upgrades.” To stay ahead of projected threats, “the F-35 will need even greater capability, readiness, range and thrust, which will require an upgraded engine.”

Greg Ulmer, Lockheed’s executive vice president for aeronautics, told Breaking Defense in an interview at the Paris Air Show that he thinks it is “shortsighted” of the government to drop the AETP option when it will not only provide greater power and cooling for the Block 4 version of the fighter, but for future versions as well.

“I think there’s elements within the Pentagon talking along the lines that there will be a Block 5 and a Block 6, and there’ll be other considerations in the future,” Ulmer said.

Pentagon officials have said the choice of the ECU was driven by its lower development cost and the fact that a new engine would force the creation of a new logistics train. But Ulmer suggested cost should be less important than addressing threats and major power and cooling upgrades will likely be needed in the future anyway.

Neither Ulmer nor the Lockheed spokesperson endorsed a particular AETP engine for the F-35.

Under the AETP, an Air Force-run technology development effort, GE Aerospace developed the XA100 and Pratt developed the XA101, both using third-stream bypass airflow to develop engines that would be more efficient both in thrust-on-demand as well as cruise.

However, Pratt successfully advocated for an Engine Core Upgrade to its F135 engine, which would improve the performance of the F-35 some, but not to the degree that an AETP engine would. The two AETP powerplants deliver about 30 percent better range versus the F-35’s current F135 engine, along with roughly 20 percent more acceleration and double the cooling power.

On the other hand, an AETP engine would likely not fit on the F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing version of the fighter, meaning the Air Force would have had to pay the cost of a new engine by itself.

In budget briefings earlier this year, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he was disappointed in the choice of the ECU but agreed that it was the best one for the Defense Department overall, noting “you can’t do everything you want to do.”

The choice of the ECU over an AETP option effectively gave Pratt a continuing monopoly on F-35 engine work.

However, the Air Force kept the AETP development program going, as the service said it will provide the base capability for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. The new engine development effort is called the Next Generation Advanced Propulsion (NGAP) program.

House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) added $588 million to AETP as part of his markup to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, in order to preserve F-35 engine options.

In a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine, Pratt & Whitney said the AETP is now “a technology program that will feed into sixth-gen fighter platforms.” It criticized Lockheed’s comments, saying the F-35 prime “wants to put an unproven adaptive engine on a single engine fighter jet, regardless of the hefty price tag and the significant delay in delivering critical capabilities to the warfighter at a time of urgent need.”

Lockheed’s push for the AETP “undermines the DOD’s decision to move forward with the F135 Engine Core Upgrade, a decision that was studied, validated, submitted, and fully funded in the administration’s budget,” a Pratt spokesperson said.

“Block 5 does not exist as a defined set of capabilities at this time,” the spokesperson added. “But regardless of which Block we’re discussing, the F135 ECU paired with an upgraded PTMS [Power and Thermal Management System] can provide 80 kilowatts or more of cooling power for the F-35, which will exceed all power and cooling needs for the F-35 through the life of the program.”

In its own statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine, GE said adaptive engines “represent the future of combat engines that will power the airborne force in the decades ahead.” GE has worked with Lockheed “to ensure our engine is optimized for their platform needs today and in the future. Continuing AETP ensures that this technology can be matured to completion, establishing a leverageable model for future needs and programs.”

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, in a forthcoming report, say the AETP offers “a far more aggressive solution” to the F-35’s increasing power and cooling needs.

“Congress is relooking the issue,” retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It is an incredibly difficult choice, with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall remarking, ‘If we had the opportunity to reconsider that, I think that would be something I’d like to have another shot at.’”

USAF Wants to Dump Old Fighters. Congress Isn’t So Sure

June 21, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

House lawmakers approved three amendments aimed at curtailing Air Force plans to retire aging fighter jets as both the Senate and House began marking up their respective drafts of the 2024 defense authorization bill.

The three amendments tacked onto the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the bill include:

Protecting F-16s. Rep. Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.), won support for a measure that would block the Air Force from retiring any F-16 Fighting Falcons until at least 180 days after it submits a report to Congress on “any plans” to divest F-16 aircraft over the next five years. That period covers the length of the Air Force’s future years defense program (FYDP), in which the Air Force plans to retire 125 of the “oldest and least capable F-16s,” according to Pentagon budget documents.

Protecting the size of the overall fighter fleet. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force brigadier general, won approval for an amendment requiring a report to Congress by Jan. 19, 2024, on how the Air Force plans to meet its fighter capacity requirements.

Protecting the Air National Guard. Bacon also authored an amendment establishing a floor for the size of the Air National Guard’s fighter fleet. Less prescriptive than an earlier bill backed by Bacon, this measure 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.

The reports required by these provisions would force the Air Force to explain how its divestments will impact fighter capacity and how it will mitigate those effects as aircraft are retired.

The Air Force has about 900 F-16s in its inventory today, so the Air Force’s plan to retire 125 of the jets is a reduction of nearly 14 percent.

In approving Bacon’s measures, the House Armed Services Committee appears to challenge the Air Force’s argument that it can manage the loss of existing aircraft with appropriate risk.

“The committee believes that further reductions will significantly increase operational demands on a diminishing inventory of fighter aircraft and personnel and create conditions for an impending readiness crisis,” the amendment states. “The committee acknowledges the Department of the Air Force’s stated intent to modernize the fighter fleet but concludes that its current procurement plan is insufficient and will fail to deliver the fighter capacity and capability required by the National Defense Strategy.”

To overcome that risk, the measure requires a detailed report to Congress no later than Jan. 19, 2024, detailing USAF fighter capacity requirements and how those will be met, including:

The number of fighter squadrons needed to meet peacetime and wartime needs

The modernization and recapitalization plan to meet those squadron requirements

The authorities and resources needed to increase fighter production and forestall the need to deactivate squadrons

The extent to which Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) can be counted on to mitigate manned fighter requirements

Mitigation measures planned should the CCA program be delayed or canceled.

Concerns about CCAs come in response to Air Force officials suggesting they could help achieve “affordable mass” because they will be less costly than manned fighters. The Air Force wants to invest $5.8 billion in CCA development over the next five years, with Secretary Frank Kendall having posited a notional fleet of 1,000 CCA drones.

Bacon’s National Guard measure seeks options for replacing retiring aircraft “at a rate that ensures recapitalization of such squadrons with relevant and more capable replacement fighter aircraft.” The Air Force has promised it can protect units, or even flying units, but not necessarily fighter squadrons, but Bacon is focused on ensuring continuity of National Guard fighter operations.

“The most experienced pilots and maintainers in the Air Force are in our Air National Guard,” Bacon said during the hearing. “When we cut these squadrons, you will not regain this capability. … We cannot let our Air National Guard be cut to a size that we cannot grow back easily over the next decade or two decades.”

The Air Force is seeking support to retire 57 F-15C/D fighters that have been flown hard and are surpassing their useful operational life, and 42 A-10 attack aircraft it says fall short of requirements for survivability in future high-end fights . Many of those older aircraft are in the Air National Guard.

B-52s Make First-Ever Landing in Indonesia to Join Air Exercise

June 21, 2023 | By David Roza

Two Air Force B-52s made history with the bomber’s first ever landing in Indonesia on June 19—a gesture of partnership with the strategically important southeast Asian country.

“This specific deployment of the B-52s to Indonesia highlights the importance of working with our allies, partners and other U.S. joint military units as we bolster our collective ability to support a free and open Indo-Pacific,” a Pacific Air Forces spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine, confirming the mission. The War Zone first reported the B-52 visit, citing flight tracking data.

The bombers are assigned to the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron out of Minot Air force Base, N.D., and are in the region as part of a Bomber Task Force deployment. When they landed at Indonesia’s Kualanamu Airport, it marked the start of their involvement in the Cope West exercise, during which U.S. and Indonesian fighter pilots will train with each other from June 12-23.

“This training enables our Airmen to become familiar with other theaters and airspace, and enhances the enduring skills and relationships necessary to confront a broad range of global challenges in support of the National Defense Strategy,” the PACAF spokesperson said.

cope west — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Broyles, 35th Fighter Squadron commander, greets Indonesian Air Force personnel at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base, Indonesia for Cope West, June 10, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Timothy Moore

The world’s fourth most populous country and 10th largest economy, Indonesia is a growing power in southeast Asia. Historically it has maintained good relations with both western countries and China, but the country’s traditional policy of non-alignment may be tested as tensions grow between China and the United States, according to the Harvard International Review.

“It is unlikely that Indonesia and other partner countries would join the United States in using military force against China in the event of a significant escalation,” wrote Air War College professor Dr. Stephen Burgess in an April paper on U.S-Indonesian relations. “Although challenges exist, with the right amount of will and creative effort, the United States and Indonesia can overcome them and strengthen their relationship.”

One of those efforts may be advising and augmenting the Indonesian air force through exercises like Cope West.

“The USAF and PACAF can play a leading role in developing this partnership, while avoiding a transactional and paternalistic approach,” Burgess wrote.

The arrival of B-52 bombers, one of the U.S. military’s most powerful platforms, seems to underscore that idea. The PACAF spokesperson said the bomber deployment is part of a larger effort to “deter, deny and dominate aggression” and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“Integrating strategic bombers, such as the B-52, in operations and exercises enables different types of strategic bombers to operate forward in the Indo-Pacific region from a broad array of overseas and continental U.S. locations with greater operational resilience,” according to a PACAF statement. “Bomber missions contribute to joint force lethality and deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by demonstrating USAF ability to operate anywhere in the world at any time in support of the National Defense Strategy.”

The Minot B-52s are among several U.S. bomber deployments meant to send similar messages around the world. On June 19, a pair of B-1 bombers landed in Sweden for the first time in an effort to show strengthened ties as the Nordic country bids to join NATO. In May, two B-1s were met by a Russian Su-27 when the bombers operated in the Baltic Sea region as part of a four-ship Bomber Task Force mission meant to support “NATO deterrence initiatives,” according to a U.S. Air Forces in Europe press release.

PHOTOS: US B-1 Bombers Land in Sweden for First Time

June 20, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A pair U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers kicked off a historic deployment this week, touching down in Sweden on June 19.

“This is the first time U.S. bombers have landed in Sweden,” a spokesperson for U.S. Air Forces in Europe told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The deployment marks yet another sign of strengthened ties between the U.S. and the Nordic nation—even as its bid to join NATO is still in question.

The two B-1B Lancers from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, landed at Luleå Kallax Airbase, Sweden. The aircraft are in Europe as part of a four-plane Bomber Task Force rotation based out of RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom.

The U.S. and Sweden have grown increasingly close since the Scandinavian nation applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland joined NATO as its 31st member in April, and U.S. officials are holding out hope that Turkey will drop its opposition so Sweden can soon become the 32nd member at an upcoming summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In the meantime, the U.S. is making it clear that Sweden’s status as a close ally is strong.

Though U.S. B-1s have exercised with the Swedish Air Force and flown in Swedish airspace before, the bomber touchdown was a first. The bombers were escorted by Swedish Gripen fighters.

“U.S. forces have conducted exercises and training in the Arctic region, but the landing fortifies not only the friendship between the U.S. and Sweden, but the collective defense of Europe,” a U.S. Air Forces in Europe release stated.

Sweden’s defense minister and prime minister said recently Sweden is willing to host NATO troops even before it becomes a member of the alliance.

“The more we can integrate forces and equipment to maneuver across Europe, the more ready we are to face security challenges, now and in the future,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Bryony Terrell, U.S. European Command’s deputy director for strategic plans and policy.

The bombers were accompanied by personnel flown in a C-130, according to the USAFE spokesperson. It was unclear how long the deployment to Sweden will last.

“The purpose is to practice the defense of Sweden, on and over Swedish territory,” the Swedish Armed Forces said in a release on the B-1 deployment.

During a press briefing on June 20, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh did not say whether the U.S. planned to pick up the pace of deployments while Sweden waits to join NATO but highlighted the close partnership between the two countries.

“Sweden has an extremely capable military, and for many years, the U.S. and Sweden and NATO countries have trained side by side together,” Singh said.

Singh said that the relationship would only grow stronger when—not if—Sweden joined NATO.

“We look forward to forging an even deeper relationship with Sweden when they officially become the 32nd member of NATO,” she said.

New F-22 Training Unit Welcomes First Student Pilots to Langley

June 20, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Air Force student pilots flew their first F-22 training flights out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis earlier this month, culminating four years of work to relocate the F-22 schoolhouse to Virginia from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Six pilots enrolled in the F-22 Basic Flying Course made their first flights June 5, the 633rd Air Base Wing said in a release. The nine-month course is split between Tyndall and Langley, with three months of classroom and simulator training at Tyndall to start, and six months of flying at Langley.

“The whole intent behind the course is to not only be able to fly the F-22 but be able to effectively employ it,” Capt. Spencer Bell, a 71st Fighter Squadron flight commander, said in a statement. “We send people off to Combat Air Force squadrons, who are ready to deploy and ready to do the mission.”

Flight training consists of four phases,from basic flight maneuvers to advanced handling characteristics to air combat tactics. “The phases are designed to get the pilots from not knowing anything about the airframe to graduating and being our next air dominance professionals,” Bell said in a statement.

The 71st Fighter Squadron, to which the F-22s and students are assigned, was reactivated in January, succeeding the 71st Fighter Training Squadron. The 71st Fighter Generation Squadron stood up at the same time. With the 27th Fighter Squadron, 94th Fighter Squadron, and F-22 Raptor Demo Team, Langley already hosts roughly a third of the Air Force’s F-22 fleet.

The Air Force first announced plans to shift F-22 training from Tyndall to Langley in 2019, after Hurricane Michael destroyed much of the Florida base. As Tyndall has been steadily rebuilt as an “installation of the future,” the Air Force has started the process of bringing new F-35 fighters to the base.

The F-22 Formal Training Unit, meanwhile, was temporarily shifted to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. In 2021, the Air Force approved Langley as the new permanent home following the completion of an environmental impact study. But even then, Air Combat Command said it was waiting on service leadership to finish its study into tactical aviation requirements, determining which and how many tactical aircraft it wants in the fleet moving forward.

In January, ACC commander Gen. Mark D. Kelly signed a memo formally directing the schoolhouse to stand up, and in March, Langley received its first two F-22s from Tyndall.

The arrival of student pilots at Langley marks the latest milestone in the transition process. Still more will come once several military construction projects are completed to support the new F-22 training mission.

The future of the F-22s the students are flying, however, remains uncertain—the Air Force wants to retire all 32 Block 20 F-22s now used for training, arguing they are too costly to maintain, and not rated for combat. But Congress last year specifically prohibited the service from retiring any F-22s until 2027 as part of last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, and lawmakers have given no indication they would repeal that proviso this year.

Historic ‘Boneheads’ Squadron Reactivated at Tyndall, With F-35s Coming in August

June 20, 2023 | By David Roza

An Air Force fighter squadron that first flew in World War II officially returned to duty June 15 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., where the squadron will be the first of three to fly F-35s. Lt. Col. Michael Powell, the commander of the newly-reactivated 95th Fighter Squadron said at his assumption of command ceremony that he plans to have the unit start flying operations in August, take the squadron on a training deployment within a year, and go on a combat deployment within two years.

Though the 95th now officially exists on paper, the squadron—affectionally nicknamed the ‘Boneheads’—is still awaiting its fighter jets and permanent buildings in which to park and maintain them. The F-35s are due to arrive starting in August, while the hangars and other facilities are still being built as Tyndall reinvents itself as an “Installation of the Future” after Hurricane Michael leveled the base in 2018.

It will be largely up to the Boneheads to lay the foundation of F-35 operations at Tyndall before their sister squadrons arrive.

“We’re the first ones, which is going to be extremely challenging, but also extremely rewarding, because we will set the pace, the cadence, the culture,” Powell previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It’s so important for us to set that right.”

Until those buildings are finished, life in the squadron will be on the lean side, with Airmen working out of temporary facilities or sharing older buildings with other units. Powell is eager for the challenge; he is bringing in F-35 pilots with experience standing up squadrons in Alaska and the United Kingdom, old hands from Tyndall’s F-22 days who now fly the F-35, and younger pilots with fresh perspectives.

“That’s what I’m really pumped about, is to build combat capability there,” he said. “Not just the iron or the jets, but building the people, the team, the mission so that we can actually go answer the callings required.”

tyndall — Construction continues on Zone 1 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, June 9, 2023. As the “Installation of the Future,” modern flight line facilities will play a major role in supporting the incoming F-35A Lightning II mission to Tyndall. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zachary Nordheim)

In World War II, those callings took the 95th Fighter Squadron to the skies above North Africa and Italy, where the unit tallied “more than 400 victories, including 199 air-to-air enemy kills” while flying the P-38 fighter, according to one account.

In the decades after that, the squadron flew a range of jets including the F-86, the F-102, the F-106, the F-15C/D, and most recently the F-22 before the unit was inactivated in 2019. But despite taking on a new aircraft, the 95th will keep its old heritage alive in the form of Mr. Bones, a full-scale, medical school-quality model skeleton who wears a flight jacket and often attends parties, temporary duty travel, or events such as the squadron activation.

There are two versions of Mr. Bones, and the first has been with the squadron since at least its F-15 days. He was buried in 2010 when the squadron was deactivated a separate time, and a new Mr. Bones joined up in 2013 when the squadron was reactivated as an F-22 unit. The second skeleton was also buried in 2019, but Col. Chris Bergtholdt, commander of Tyndall’s 325th Operations Group, exhumed the two skeletons in February to save them from being ground up under construction equipment.

“There was a whole culture around Mr. Bones, kind of this aura and personality around him even though obviously it’s this inanimate object,” Bergtholdt previously told Air & Spaces Forces Magazine. “That whole area is being dug up and all of our new facilities and hangars on the flightline are being constructed at the moment, so we just didn’t want that history to be lost.”

95th fighter squadron — Mr. Bones, the mascot of the 95th Fighter Squadron, holds down the fort at the squadron’s front office. (Courtesy photo by Lt. Col. Michael Powell).

Sure enough, one of the Mr. Bones sat alongside Powell and Bergtholdt as the squadron’s next chapter began at the ceremony last week.

“I have personally witnessed the excitement and buzz with current or past military Airmen and community members these past two weeks, as they have seen the 95th patch and asked, ‘Is Mr. Bones really back?'” Powell said at the ceremony. “Well, as you can see, Mr. Bones is back! [He’s] even sporting a genuine and very historical World War II jacket in the hot and humid month of June. … Must be due to the lack of body fat.”

Powell and Bergtholdt spoke at the ceremony from a lectern decorated with the squadron’s emblem, a grinning skull in a top hat, which was officially approved in 1954.

“Emanating from a cloud, a death’s head with an arrogant expression is symbolic of the squadron’s dauntless capability of accomplishing the mission in any weather, day or night; primarily stalking the enemy to destruction,” wrote Peter Coffman, historian for the 325th Fighter Wing. “The lightning is representative of the unit’s rapid striking power. The full dress, particularly the top hat, represents the squadron personnel’s sentiment that the unit is ‘tops.’”

Austin Urges Turkey to Support Sweden’s NATO Entry

June 19, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

BRUSSELS—With Sweden’s bid for NATO entry hanging in the balance, the U.S. and key allies are doing their best to push Stockholm over the finish line.

“My message has been now for many, many months that actually Sweden has delivered and that’s the message from allies,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said June 16.

After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO. Finland was swiftly approved and joined the alliance in April.

Decisions on membership, however, need to be made unanimously by all member nations, and Turkey has raised a variety of objections, ranging from allegations that Kurdish extremists are living in Sweden to more recent complaints over anti-Turkey protests in Sweden. So the Swedes have had to wait.

U.S. officials’ hope is that the alliance’s decision to admit Sweden as its 32nd member will come when NATO holds a critical summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania in July. By then, officials say, Turkey’s resistance may fade since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected to another term and his election year politics are behind him.

To press Sweden’s case, NATO sent a delegation to Turkey just before the defense ministers meeting got underway.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III also raised the issue when he met briefly on June 16 with Turkey’s new defense minister, Yasar Guler, who assumed the position in early June.

“Of course, (I) seize every opportunity to encourage him to move forward and approve the accession of Sweden,” Austin said in response to a question from Air & Space Forces Magazine during a June 16 press conference.

Sweden has long worked closely with the U.S. and other Western militaries. Current and former NATO officials say Sweden would bring a lot to the table for NATO.

“We have trained with them in a number of cases, and so being interoperable in a very short period of time, it would be no challenge with Sweden,” Austin said. “It will enhance our ability to be aware of what’s going on in the maritime and the aerial domains.”

Underscoring the two countries’ close ties, two B-1s from a U.S. Bomber Task Force landed in Sweden on June 19, according to the Swedish military. And Sweden recently joined NATO nations in a two-week air exercise, Arctic Challenge Exercise. As part of its assistance to Ukraine, Sweden has even offered to train Ukrainian pilots to fly Gripen multirole fighters.

“Sweden is a strong democracy and it’s a country with substantial military capability,” Austin said. “They’ve invested a lot in their force.”

Retired Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, agreed.

“They have exercised with us at the highest levels of sophistication, technology, tactics, techniques, and procedures,” Breedlove told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “They have been doing that for some time. They bring the capability to this alliance the moment they hang their flag on the pole, and that’s to be celebrated.”

Some analysts say Sweden works so closely with NATO that it will remain a close partner even if it doesn’t formally get into the alliance.

“I am pretty chill about this whole thing,” Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Sweden is already a partner that is so close to NATO that most military collaboration and planning is already rock solid. It does not border Russia so its vulnerability is limited.”

But Sweden left no doubt that it feels that it belongs in NATO and is trying to hasten the process.

Pal Jonson, Sweden’s defense minister, was a prominent presence at NATO and was pictured walking the hallways with Stoltenberg and in friendly discussions with Austin.

Jonson also wrote a joint article with Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson, noting that their country would allow NATO to base forces and equipment on its territory even if it is not a member of the alliance yet.

“The government has decided that the Swedish Armed Forces may undertake preparations with NATO and NATO countries to enable future joint operations,” they wrote.

“The preparations may consist of temporary basing of foreign equipment and personnel on Swedish territory. The decision sends a clear signal to Russia and strengthens Sweden’s defense.”

Top Lawmaker Wants to Slash $550 Million in NGAD Funding. But It Wouldn’t Go to F-22

June 16, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force’s request for funding for the Next Generation Air Dominance program is slashed nearly a third—some $550 million—in the House Armed Services Committee chairman’s mark of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

But while the amount of the reduction roughly matches what the Air Force has said it is pulling out of the F-22 program to fund NGAD, the draft NDAA doesn’t appear to put that $550 million directly back into the F-22.

Instead, the bill notes the $550 million as a “deferment” from the Air Force’s $2.326 billion request for NGAD. No further explanation was provided, and a spokesperson for chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The fact that it’s described as a deferment suggests the funds may be shifted to a later year.

The full committee will meet to vote on amendments and approve the NDAA on June 21.

In mid-May, the Air Force said it was starting the clock on the NGAD contractual effort, issuing a request for information to industry expected to culminate in the selection of a contractor next year.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has also asked Congress to let it retire 32 Block 20 F-22s, which have been used for training and which the service says are the most expensive aircraft in the fleet to maintain.

The Air Force made a similar request in the 2023 budget, and Congress instead passed a provision prohibiting the service from retiring any Raptors until October 2027. The 2024 chairman’s mark does not change that requirement, and HASC members have voiced concerns the Air Force is reducing its “fight tonight” combat capacity too much to pay for future capability, suggesting they are once again unwilling to let the F-22s be mothballed.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has responded that there is no time to spare in developing and fielding the NGAD, as Chinese fifth-generation fighters are advancing in capability. He said the reduction of the F-22 fleet to increase NGAD development accounts is a calculated risk, but one he is comfortable taking.

In April, Air Force deputy chief of staff for plans and programs Lt. Gen. Richard Moore Jr. broke with the tradition of not describing to Congress the specific dollar tradeoffs between budget items. He told the HASC tactical aviation panel that the funds saved by not operating the 32 F-22s would remain within the air dominance portfolio and go directly into NGAD.

At a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event a few days later, Moore said it costs $485 million per year simply to operate the 32 Block 20 Raptors, and that figure would not cover upgrades and new equipment needed to bring those aircraft up to date against known and predicted threats. The Block 20s have been used for training and lack many of the improvements on the combat-coded Block 35 F-22s.

To bring the Block 20s up to Block 35 would cost an extra $3.5 billion, Moore said, adding that it would not be a worthwhile investment because the F-22 is slated to retire circa 2030, and it would take years to build up the industrial capability needed to develop and install the upgrade.

In fact, Moore said, the Block 35s themselves already need to be upgraded. Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the F-22 and F-35, has a limited number of engineers, he said, and “if we were to stand up an effort like this, it would be reasonable to expect they would have to pull some engineering talent off of F-35 … to get this accomplished.”

A HASC member staffer would not speak directly to the NGAD cut, but noted the law prohibiting any retirement of F-22s is still in effect. He said the Block 20s could still be “very capable in some theaters” and if they are stood down, the Block 35s would have to fill the training role and that means “more wear and tear on them.” Air Force officials have said, though, that the Block 20s and Block 35s are so dissimilar that pilots are acquiring bad habits in the older jets.

The staffer’s only comment regarding NGAD was to note that it’s still in “a very early stage” and “we have some time to adjust that program.” He also noted that there may be some overlap”with the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and that effort got a roughly 50 percent boost in the chairman’s mark, from $118.8 million to $176.1 million.

If Congress continues to block the divestiture of the older F-22s and the Air Force is obliged to keep operating them, Moore has claimed, “that’s a half-billion dollars of something else that won’t get done.”

The draft NDAA did not have a surge in F-22 funding to match the NGAD cut, however. The F-22 squadrons line item in the research, development, test, and evaluation account saw only a $15 million increase, from $725.9 million to $740.9 million, to improve the jet’s “cyber resiliency.” Procurement funding remains the same.

The F-22 continues to be in high demand—the Air Force dispatched an undisclosed number of them to the Middle East in mid-June in response to what the Pentagon called “unsafe and unprofessional” air-to-air encounters between Russian and U.S. aircraft.