F-15E Maintainers Ready to ‘Show Why We Are the Best’ at William Tell Fighter Meet

Sept. 7, 2023 | By David Roza

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series previewing the return of the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet next week. The first part, on the pilots preparing for William Tell, is available here.

Next week, some of the best aircrews, maintainers, and intelligence Airmen from across the Air Force will gather at the Air Dominance Center in Savannah, Ga., for the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet, a prestigious fighter competition last held in 2004. While the pilots battle in the sky, maintainers will face off to determine who is the best weapons load crew in the service.

“This is definitely a big deal for us, because it hasn’t been done in so long,” said Staff Sgt. Jashaunn Jasper, a maintainer with the 4th Fighter Wing out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., which flies F-15E Strike Eagles. Even being selected to compete is an accomplishment, Jasper told Air & Space Forces Magazine, and now he and his team get to “go down and show why we are the best.”

To succeed in a weapon load competition, teams must strike a fine balance between speed and accuracy, which means following all the technical and safety procedures in the multi-step process of uploading complicated weapons. At William Tell, the F-15E load crews will hang four AMRAAM radar-guided air-to-air missiles and two Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. At any time in the load, evaluators deduct points for technical or safety deviations.

Each team has three people: a ‘one-man’ who leads the effort; a ‘two-man’ who prepares the racks and rails on the aircraft where the weapons will hang, and a ‘three-man’ who drives the jammer, a tiny lift truck for carrying weapons, and loads the weapons on to the plane with the help of the ‘one-man.’

The 4th Fighter Wing team, with Jasper as the one-man, Senior Airman Grace Forgey as the two-man, and Senior Airman Aaron Woods as the three-man, has had plenty of practice working together over the past few years.

“We have chemistry because we’ve been working together for a while now,” said Woods. “It helps knowing what this person is supposed to do and what that person is supposed to do.”

Senior Airman Cassandra Romero, center, 333rd Fighter Generation Squadron weapons load crew member, lines up an unarmed practice AGM-158 JASSM munition to load it onto an F-15E Strike Eagle as Staff Sgt. Alexandro Diaz, right, 4th Maintenance Group loading standardization crew member, evaluates her during a weapons standardization load evaluation at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, June 9, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal.

That chemistry paid off when the team, which belongs to the 335th Fighter Generation Squadron, competed against load crews from the three other fighter generation squadrons in the 4th Maintenance Group for the chance to represent the wing at William Tell.

“It was a little bit intense … since we were pretty much going up against the best in the unit,” said Woods, who noted that just a few seconds separated the winners at a past contest.

Many weapon load competitions stay within a fighter wing, but at William Tell, the 4th Fighter Wing crew will take on crews from the 366th Fighter Wing, which flies F-15Es out of Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; and the 104th Fighter Wing, which flies F-15 C/D Eagles out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass. The winner of that contest will then face the best F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor load crews to figure out who is the best in the Air Force.

“Hopefully we’ll dominate that competition the first day so we can go on to compete against the other aircraft,” Jasper said.

There will be awards for top weapons crew overall and top weapons load per aircraft, and the attached bragging rights for each. Jasper and Woods are not alone in wanting to be the best: Capt. Andrew “PAÑIC” Munoz, one of the pilots representing the 4th Fighter Wing at the meet, is looking to do the same in the cockpit.

“Ultimately the goal is to win,” he said in an Aug. 14 press release. “I want to win, so that the 4th FW is named No. 1 in the air dominance category. It’ll show everybody that the F-15E is combat air power.”

An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Dec. 14, 2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rebecca Sirimarco-Lang.

The fighters will compete in one-on-one basic fighter maneuvers; two-on-two air combat maneuvering; and ‘fighter integration’ where the various jets flown by different teams (F-35s, F-22 Raptors, F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, and command and control aircraft) work together to take out visiting ‘Red Air’ adversary units.

The teams who work together best will receive the Maj. Richard I. Bong Fighter Integration Award, named after the top American flying ace in World War II. There will also be awards for the top wings in each fighter category, as well as functional awards for command and control, maintenance, weapons loading, intelligence tradecraft, and “superior individual performers.”

Fans can track the action by following scoreboard announcements posted each evening on social media, according to a July 27 press release.

The return of William Tell is a boon for Air Force fighter culture. The contest was held more or less every two years from 1954 to 1996 but dropped off for good after a 2004 revival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first contest. USAF’s renewed focus on China as a peer adversary and the potential for fighting in highly contested airspace is the inspiration for bringing the competition back to life. Maintainers are excited to get into the action.

“Somebody referred to it as kind of like the Super Bowl for us, and that’s how I look at it,” Woods said.

About 800 Airmen are expected to participate, Air Combat Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine, representing nine squadrons from the Active, Guard, and Reserve components. Among them will be:

Air Combat Command

F-15E Strike Eagles from the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah

Command and Control from the 552 Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Pacific Air Forces

F-22 Raptors from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 154th Fighter Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

Command and Control from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan

Air National Guard

F-15 C/D Eagles from the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington Air National Guard Base, Vt.

The Power of Partnership: Enabling Innovative Electric Technology

Sept. 7, 2023

Collins Aerospace has spent more than a half century developing electric power generation technologies that power aircraft around the world. Alongside its industry-leading engineering teams, Collins credits development of next-generation electric technology to its strategic partnerships. As technology continues to evolve in support of aircraft electrification, key relationships position Collins to help advance hybrid-electric propulsion technologies in support of sustainable aviation across both military and commercial sectors.

Advancing electric power systems for the military and beyond

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

Collins is currently developing a 1-megawatt electric generator for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as part of its Advanced Turbine Technologies for Affordable Mission-Capability program. The low-spool generator could have multiple applications for future manned and unmanned military platforms.

“We have a long history of working with the Air Force Research Labs and they do a lot of the cutting-edge technology for equipment that ultimately ends up on aircraft,” said Todd Spierling, Principal Technical Fellow for Collins Aerospace.

With the addition of advanced mission systems, avionics and high-energy weapons, the next generation of military aircraft will require an order of magnitude increase in electricity that current aircraft require today.

“Next-generation military aircraft will require increased power and operational capabilities to perform their missions, and we’re extending the work we’re doing with electrification to more and more defense applications,” Spierling said. “So how do we do that? What does that equipment look like, and how do we supply that power to the airplane?”

Collins Aerospace has been working with AFRL for several years now on the design and manufacture of the 1MW generator, which could be used to power these systems safely and efficiently. Collins is now moving into the building stage – and this piece of hardware will be one of the first pieces to be tested in The Grid.

The Grid is Collins’ new next-generation electric power systems lab located in Rockford, Illinois. The lab will be used to develop high-power, high-efficiency motors, motor controllers, generators and distribution systems, in addition to providing a space for extensive electric system integration.

Partnering on UAV technology

In collaboration with Pratt & Whitney, Collins is advancing hybrid-electric propulsion technology through a number of demonstrator programs addressing a range of aircraft applications from advanced air mobility vehicles to single-aisle airliners. For example, the Scalable Turboelectric Powertrain Technology (STEP-Tech) demonstrator aims to advance technologies for distributed hybrid-electric propulsion systems for smaller aircraft such as high-speed eVTOL and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The program completed its first engine run and integration test in early 2023. At the larger end of the scale, Pratt & Whitney and Collins are developing a hybrid-electric GTF engine demonstrator, as part of the SWITCH project, supported by the European Union’s Clean Aviation initiative.

As both Collins and Pratt & Whitney are businesses of RTX, the companies are uniquely placed to leverage collaboration between their closely integrated engineering teams, helping to accelerate the development of technologies for both commercial and military applications.

“When I think of aircraft electrification, what does it mean for the industry? What does it mean for our customers?” states Eric Cunningham, Vice President of Electric Power Systems at Collins Aerospace. “It means we’re going to start doing things differently and how we architect not just the systems, but the entire aircraft. If I think about what we did on the 787 and F-35 by going to a more electric architecture, Collins was the company that put those systems in place. And so, we’ve got a history of not just doing a component or two here and there, but we have the unique capability to integrate the entire electrical system including the generation, the control, the distribution, the emergency power.”

Military aircraft and the future fleet depend on the ability to execute unique mission profiles, pushing range, lethality and mission readiness. Demonstrator programs like STEP-Tech provide important opportunities for maturing technologies and exploring avenues to apply aircraft electrification to future applications, including military. The collaboration between Collins and Pratt & Whitney combines decades of expertise from each business’s specialties to execute advanced aviation systems utilizing electric architectures.

Cutting-edge advancements powered by partnership

With more than 100 years in military aviation innovation and advancements, Collins Aerospace understands the importance of partnership to truly transform the future of aerospace.

“We talk about this being the third era of aviation, when we went from piston engines to gas turbines and now to electrified propulsion. So, it’s a time to enter the industry when there there’s dramatic revolutionary things happening as opposed to periods of time when it’s more evolutionary,” muses Spierling. And these advancements couldn’t happen without the many partnerships that drive the future of electrified aviation.

Learn more about Collins Aerospace and the future of electrified aircraft.

Upgraded F-35 Deliveries Delayed to Mid-2024; USAF Prioritizes New Units in the Meantime

Sept. 6, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

The first F-35s with the Tech Refresh-3 upgrade—largely a processor upgrade upon which the Block 4 configuration of the fighter will ride—will be delivered before the middle of next year, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said Sept. 6.

Previously, TR-3 jets were forecast to become available in the last quarter of calendar 2023.

In the meantime, the Air Force is prioritizing deliveries of jets with the TR-2 configuration to new F-35 units, according to Gen. Mark Kelly, head of Air Combat Command.

Aircraft that come off Lockheed’s assembly line with the TR-3 hardware will be stored until testing clears them for acceptance by the services—flight testing began in January and is still ongoing. But the last aircraft delivered to the Air Force with the TR-2 configuration are earmarked for new F-35 bases, like Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Kelly said.

“We have updated our F-35 TR-3 schedule projections with a first TR-3 aircraft delivery between April and June 2024,” the Lockheed spokesperson said.

“As a result, we now expect to deliver 97 aircraft in 2023, all in the TR-2 configuration. We are continuing aircraft production at a rate of 156 per year while simultaneously working to finalize TR-3 software development and testing. Additionally, we remain focused on receiving the necessary hardware from our suppliers to deliver this critical combat capability for the F-35.”

Kelly, speaking at the Defense News conference in Arlington, Va., said a team comprised of ACC officials and the office of the deputy chief of staff for operations have worked out “a rather elaborate plan” which will “not delay the initial arrival of airplanes” at new F-35 bases.

He noted that Tyndall “just got their first four airplanes; we didn’t want to delay that. I believe that Alabama and the other units that are slated to get F-35s will get them on time.” The priority for new bases is so they can start to become practiced at operating and maintaining the jets as soon as possible, to make easier the absorption of more new jets later.

However, delay in follow-on deliveries to the new operating locations “will take an impact” on the combat air forces, Kelly said, “depending on the amount of the delay.”

Kelly said the Air Force needs the TR-3 with all possible speed, because “the high-end software, high-end hardware, high-end EW (electronic warfare) is hard business.”

“But we stay in lockstep with our industry partners. And we need to lock arms and help them work through this as a team, but there will be impacts,” he added.

When a unit converts to new airplane, Kelly said, “usually by the time they get their last airplane, the clock starts, and they need to be ready to go [to war] a year or so later. Well, that will delay and that will impact” the Global Force Management system.

Units in the process of receiving new equipment won’t be back in rotation for forward deployments on time, and that will affect USAF’s readiness, Kelly said.

The Air Force has long said it prefers to buy the minimum number of F-35s possible until the Block 4 is ready, and Kelly emphasized the service will continue to operate as best it can until TR-3 is ready. However, the upgrades are key to the future fight, he said.

“The whole idea of a challenging peer scenario is a very challenging electromagnetic spectrum [fight] and very capable threats,” Kelly said. “And if we’re going to engage that spectrum or engage those threats, we’ve got to have the fastest processing, the best jamming, the most coherent waveforms available. And that takes a really, really agile, stable software load to unlock those Block 4 hardware” [capabilities] and unlock the EW. That’s kind of the secret sauce that we’re going to need.”

Lt. Gen. James C. Slife—just nominated to become the new Air Force vice chief—echoed Kelly’s comments and added that “I wish we had the ability, when a crisis pops up somewhere around the globe, to be able to evaluate it and say, ‘Does this crisis need a TR-3 Block 35 or is a TR-2 Block 35 sufficient?’”

Instead, the Air Force is flying on “the knife edge of capability” because it’s short of fighters, he said.

“It’s frankly … check your pockets, see what you have in your pocket. And that’s what goes. So getting these jets on time and fielded is absolutely critical to our ability to meet the global demand signal on a day to day basis,” Slife said.

The Lockheed spokesperson said the TR-3 “remains our No. 1 development priority. We are applying critical expertise to deliver TR-3, with more than 500 employees, 15 labs and flight test occurring at Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Patuxent River.”

The software testing schedule has been delayed, the spokesperson said, “due to unexpected challenges associated with hardware and software development, component and system integration testing and qualification testing.” The Integrated Core Processor, which is the heart of the TR-3, is being built by L3Harris.

“We have deployed employees to L3Harris to help expedite hardware delivery and are working diligently with Raytheon on their delivery of the Next-Gen Electro-Optical Digital Aperture System (EODAS), which will also be integrated with TR-3,” the spokesperson said.

Airmen and Guardians Test Launch ICBM, Plan Another in November

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Airmen and Guardians joined forces to conduct an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile test launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., early Sept. 6.

Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and 30th Space Launch Delta Guardians launched the Minuteman III, equipped with three test re-entry vehicles, at 1:26 a.m. Pacific Time. The ICBM’s reentry vehicle journeyed about 4,200 miles to reach the Kwajalein Atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean.

“Test launches validate our deterrence capabilities to the American public and to our allies,” Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, head of AFGSC, said in a statement.

This is the third ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base this year, following launches on Apr. 19. and Feb 9. A fourth is scheduled for November this year, a spokesperson of Air Force Global Strike Command told Air and Space Forces Magazine. That would double the number of tests the command held in 2022.

These tests, as part of routine and periodic activities, verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent, according to the statement. Officials regularly stress that they are not in response to current world events.

Still, Col. Chris Cruise, 377th Test and Evaluation Group Commander, said this test launch sends a “visible message of deterrence on behalf of our joint forces and global partners.”

Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said at a press briefing on Sep. 5 that the Russian government was notified in advance of the test launch. Under the Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement signed in 1988, the U.S. and Russia agreed to give each other 24 hours’ notice before testing ICBMs.

In March, the Biden administration announced its decision to cease sharing biannual nuclear weapons data with Russia. The action followed Moscow’s suspension of participation in the New START treaty in February. The treaty, which came into effect in 2011, permitted inspections of weapons sites and the exchange of information concerning the placement and test launches of of intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles.

Earlier this month, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency revealed the deployment of an advanced ICBM system, Samrat. The head of the agency, Yuri Borisov, also confirmed the missiles have been placed on “active combat duty.” These silo-based missiles, colloquially known as ‘Satan 2,’ possess the capacity to carry multiple nuclear warheads and are designed to replace the R-36 ICBMs, which were designated as SS-18 ‘Satan’ by NATO.

The Minuteman III has been in operation since 1970, and boasts extended range, rapid retargeting capabilities, and the capability to deliver up to three reentry vehicles to different targets with high accuracy. Notably, it is the sole remaining U.S. land-based ICBM as the Air Force works to replace it with the LGM-35 Sentinel.

Replicator Drone Effort Part of Pentagon ‘Culture Change,’ Not a New Program, Hicks Says

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Within the next two years, the Pentagon plans to field thousands of drones in the sea, in the air, and possibly on land to counter the large size of China’s military under its new Replicator Initiative. And the Department of Defense’s No. 2 official insists the DOD needs no new money to carry out that plan.

“Replicator is not a new program of record,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who is heading up the effort, said Sept. 6. “We’re not creating a new bureaucracy and we will not be asking for new money in [fiscal 2024]. Not all problems need new money.”

The goals for Replicator are extremely ambitious: “multiple thousands” of drones in “multiple domains” within the next 18-24 months. However, the Pentagon does not have a budget passed for the 2024 fiscal year, which begins at the start of next month.

But Hicks said the initiative was less about creating any particular new system than shifting the mindset of the entire Department of Defense to focus more on “small, smart, cheap, and many” systems that are “attritable” with a shelf life of a few years to field what is “most efficient, effective, and relevant.”

“This is about driving culture change just as much as technology change, and about replicating best practices just as much as products so we can gain military advantage faster,” Hicks said at a conference hosted by Defense News. “This doesn’t require a joint program office or re-shuffling deck chairs in any other way.”

The systems Hicks is referring to already have a Pentagon acronym, ADA2—“all-domain attritable autonomy.” The goal is “systems that are harder to plan for, harder to hit, and harder to beat than those of potential competitors.”

The Pentagon has a variety of unmanned systems, with varying degrees of autonomy, that it has sent to Ukraine, which uses thousands of drones, both of military and commercial origin. Some estimates put the loss rate of those systems at some 10,000 per month. That is where “many” and “attritable” parts of Replicator come into the picture. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine conflict has influenced the Pentagon’s thinking about the need for more and cheaper platforms.

“We’ve seen in Ukraine what low-cost attritable systems can do, not to mention other commercial technologies,” Hicks said. “They can help a determined defender stop a larger aggressor from achieving its objectives, put fewer people in the line of fire, and be made, fielded, and upgraded at the speed warfighters need without long maintenance tails.”

The People’s Republic of China, defined as the Pentagon’s “pacing challenge” by the National Defense Strategy, is bigger than Russia’s military, making the need more acute to “help us overcome the PRC’s advantage of mass—more ships, more missiles, more forces.”

But without new money or a new program of record, how the Pentagon will field the thousands of systems Hicks talks about remains somewhat nebulous. She said the effort looks to bring together much of what the Department of Defense is already doing under one roof, led by her, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady, and the director of the Defense Innovation Unit Doug Beck.

Hicks said what both the services and combatant commands are already doing informed the effort. The Space Force, led by the Space Development Agency, is shifting to smaller, profiled satellite architectures. In the Middle East, U.S. Central Command has several task forces focused on drones, led by the Navy’s Task Force 59, which uses commercial-origin vessels to patrol the waters of the region to assist the limited number of manned vessels at its disposal.

‘We’re now approaching a future where the web of satellites we can draw upon is so great that attacking or disrupting them would be futile—a wasted effort and a highly escalatory one at that,” Hicks said. “That’s what small, smart, cheap, and many can do, and Replicator will help us accelerate the scaling of ADA2 to systems in even more domains.”

While Hicks declined to talk about specifics systems, she did offer a preview of how future platforms might operate.

“Imagine flocks of ADA2 flying at all sorts of altitudes doing a range of missions,” Hicks said. “They could be deployed by larger aircraft, launched by troops on land or sea, or take off themselves. Bigger picture, ADA2 systems let us think and act differently.”

Whether the Pentagon can achieve what Replicator sets out to do remains to be seen.

“We are worried about proving … that the department can actually lead itself through this, not getting mired in red tape,” Hicks said.

The Replicator effort is seemingly separate from the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program to build unmanned wingmen for manned platforms—service officials have said CCAs will not be attritable, and budget documents suggest CCAs will be introduced operationally around 2030. The notional plan is to acquire at least 1,000 of those aircraft.

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Master Sgt. Michael Galindo

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Patrick Reardon

The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 11-13 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Master Sgt. Michael Galindo, Chief of Weapons and Tactics with the 502nd Security Forces Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

Previously the operations superintendent for the 324th Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Galindo led the successful graduation of 328 Air Force and Guardian flights. He had the opportunity to serve as the squadron’s senior enlisted leader to coach, mentor, and train NCOs and senior NCOs as Military Training Instructors (MTI).

“[We] developed their fundamental skills: leadership, time management, instructor proficiency, academics, all within a challenging, high-paced environment,” Galindo said.

In another interim SEL role in 2022, Galindo oversaw the safety and security of 660,000 visitors during five base events at Randolph, Lackland, and Fort Sam Houston, including one which was the largest air show in Texas history. He coordinated the events’ safety and security forces with Defenders at all three installations.

Galindo also oversaw two flights of DAF civilians, Airmen, and Soldiers through 338 criminal responses at Fort Sam Houston, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Camp Bullis. The effort was the largest law enforcement mission in the Air Force.

“We also provide bailiff duties for some of the cases that are involved and that are going on there,” Galindo said. “[And] we did a new integration with the local school on base for active shooters. So, we built a pretty good partnership with them and started kicking off some training for not only our Defenders, but also the staff that works there as well.”

When he thinks about his time filling in as a senior enlisted leader, Galindo said the strong faith in his peers is what made the responsibility an easy one.

“We all worked well together. It wasn’t too complex,” he said. “I probably got lucky with some great teams and some good personalities within the teams, and some great attitudes who were willing to continue to get the mission [done]. We all take care of one another.”

Galindo recently established the first law enforcement-focused Weapons and Tactics Section for the 502nd Security Forces Group. The section conducts criminal intelligence analysis, integrates external stakeholders with the squadron, and creates development opportunities for around 900 Defenders—and with more than a decade of experience in security forces, an MTI certification, and his wealth of experience as a leader, Galindo embodies the perfect Airmen for the job as section chief.

“Things are constantly evolving, and we have to continue to adapt,” Galindo said. “So one of the things that my commander has charged the Weapon and Tactics Section, my section, with is still trying to still finding those innovative solutions … to solve these complex problems—[technology] helps improve the efficiency of the organization for us to focus on our duties elsewhere.”

The Outstanding Airman of the Year award recognizes Galindo as a model for Air Force leadership, a trait Galindo credits to the chiefs who have guided him through his career. He named Chief Master Sgt. Nicole Hicks as an especially inspirational leader who helped him grow from an NCO tactician into an NCO manager.

“They say you can see farther by standing on the shoulders of giants,” Galindo said. “[I’ve had] a lot of great people in my corners and just been given a lot of opportunities to work with great teams and great energies and just great leadership … a lot of my success is because of the relationships I’ve had with senior leaders, my peers, my Airmen, and NCOs.”

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

Tech. Sgt. Jennel L. Edwards

Tech. Sgt. Michelle Fernandez

Tech. Sgt. Micaela R. Mahan

Tech. Sgt. Kimberly R. Mastrocola

Tech. Sgt. Theodore Sebsibe

Staff Sgt. Dhruva S. Poluru

SrA. Ryan G. Hospelhorn

SrA. Kostiantyn Khymchenko

SrA. Jacob J. Tawasha

New Vice Chief: Slife Nominated for USAF’s No. 2 Job

Sept. 6, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

President Joe Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. James C. Slife for promotion to general and appointment as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the service’s No. 2 job, the Pentagon announced Sept. 6.

At a Defense News conference earlier in the day, Slife, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for operations, was asked to comment on reports he would receive the nomination to succeed Gen. David W. Allvin as Vice Chief.

“I’ve got full-time work where I am right now,” Slife said. “So I guess I’ll give that some more thought once we get further down the process.”

Allvin was nominated July 26 to become Chief of Staff, set to succeed Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In turn, Maj. Gen. Adrian L. Spain has been tapped to pin on a third star and succeed Slife as deputy chief of staff of operations, the DOD announced.

Slife’s three previous assignments before his current job were all in special operations:

Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command

Vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command

Chief of Staff at Headquarters, U.S. Special Operations Command

He has had 14 other assignments in special operations, having been a UH-1 and MH-53J Pave Low helicopter pilot, and he has commanded special ops units at the squadron, group and wing levels.

If confirmed, Slife will be the first AFSOC commander to become Vice Chief or Chief of Staff since the major command was founded in 1990. Between him and Allvin, the Air Force would have no fighter or bomber pilot in either of its top two jobs, an exceedingly rare occurrence.

The two would take over the Air Force at a key transition moment—Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has called for a sweeping review of the service’s readiness for potential conflict with China, leaders have pushed to retire old aircraft and invest in new platforms, and the branch has increasingly centered its operations around the Agile Combat Employment concept, in which teams of Airmen disperse to operate from remote or austere locations.

Slife’s other Air Force assignments include a tour with Air Force legislative liaison as an intern, a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow, and a stint as the director of the Air Force’s Emerging Capabilities Division from 2007-2009. He received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University, Ala.; a master’s degree in aerospace science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Fla., and a master’s in administration science from George Washington University, D.C.

In addition to Slife and Spain, the Pentagon announced four other Air Force general officer nominations Sept. 6:

Maj. Gen. Sean M. Farrell, to become a lieutenant general and deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command

Col. Matthew S. Allen, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as director of legislative affairs for SOCOM

Col. Trent C. Davis, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as command chaplain for Air Combat Command

Col. Lawrence T. Sullivan, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as the principal military assistant to the secretary of defense

DOD also announced Biden has nominated Space Force Maj. Gen. David N. Miller Jr. to pin on a third star and become the next head of Space Operations Command. Miller is currently special assistant to the vice chief of space operations, but before that, he was director of operations for U.S. Space Command.

If confirmed, Miller would succeed Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, SpOC’s first ever commander, who has been nominated to lead U.S. Space Command.

All these nominations, however, face an uncertain timeline. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has had a legislative hold on all general and flag officer nominations since March 8, preventing the Senate from approving them all at once by voice vote. Tuberville placed his hold to protest a Pentagon policy to provide paid leave and travel funds for troops requiring reproductive services, including abortions, who are based in states where those services are not available.

Hundreds of nominees have piled up over the last several months. The Senate could hold roll-call votes on individual nominees, but the Democrats in the majority have declined to do so, saying it would take months of floor time to vote on all of them and would encourage further blockades by other lawmakers unhappy over policy matters.

Hill F-35 Pilots Ready For the Return of Historic ‘William Tell’ Fighter Meet

Sept. 6, 2023 | By David Roza

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series previewing the return of the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet next week. The second part will run Sept. 7.

After nearly two decades away, William Tell is nearly back.

The Air Force’s premier fighter competition, the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet is slated to run Sept. 11-15 at the Air Dominance Center in, Savannah, Ga. Last held in 2004, the meet will feature some of the best air crews from across the service testing their offensive and defensive skills against simulated enemy aircraft, while ground crews will compete in loading weapons, aircraft maintenance, and intelligence operations.

While the return to competition is historic, the preparation for it is essentially business as usual at the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, which is sending one of the first F-35A Lightning II teams to participate in the meet. The 388th is an Active-Duty operational fighter wing, so the pace is always high, said one of the team members, Capt. Spencer ‘MOTOR’ Thompson.

“Just by the nature of going through our training cycles and our day-to-day flying, we’re already prepared for all these events,” he told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The events include one-on-one basic fighter maneuvers; two-on-two air combat maneuvering; and ‘fighter integration’ where the various jets flown by different teams (F-35s, F-22 Raptors, F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, and command and control aircraft) will “work together to kill a lot of bad guys at once,” explained Lt. Col. Jeffrey ‘BANGER’ Harding, a reservist with the 419th Fighter Wing who will also compete on the Hill team.

The simulated bad guys, also known as Red Air, will consist of six jets each from the 64th Aggressor Squadron from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and the 7th Fighter Training Squadron from Langley Air Force Base, Va., Air Combat Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Visiting Blue Air aircraft may also fill in as Red Air as needs arise.

Each 4-pilot team consists of an instructor pilot, a flight lead, a wingman, and another pilot of any qualification level, which ensures a good mix of experience levels. Individual skill level will be even more pronounced during the BFM events, where pilots will face off against the same aircraft from another unit.

“That really gets down to the purest sense of who’s the best,” Harding explained, “because it’s not about the airplane.”

The lieutenant colonel expects the F-35’s unparalleled ability to fuse sensor data will shine during the fighter integration event.

“Everyone brings different capabilities, so that we can ultimately win and effectively, from my perspective, kill the adversary with an extremely high kill ratio,” he said. “I would like to lose zero Blue fighters and I would like to kill all the bad guys, and I think the F-35 will demonstrate that with the [situational awareness] that we bring to the fight.”

f-35 europe — The 388th Fighter Wing’s F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter cruises in Eastern European airspace, Feb. 28, 2022, in support of NATO’s collective defense. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Edgar Grimaldo.

There will be multiple rounds of the fighter integration contest, and the teams that perform best will receive the Maj. Richard I. Bong Fighter Integration Award, named after the top American flying ace in World War II. There will also be awards for the top wings in each fighter category, as well as functional awards for command and control, maintenance, weapons loading, intelligence tradecraft, and “superior individual performers.”

Perhaps William Tell’s biggest win be its impact on Air Force fighter culture. From 1954 to 1996, William Tell was a biennial competition, but budget cuts in the wake of the Cold War ended the practice in the 1990s. With the exception of a 2004 revival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first contest, William Tell was finished—until now. USAF’s renewed focus on China as a peer adversary fighting in highly contested airspace is the inspiration for bringing the competition back to life.

Due to its 19-year hiatus, William Tell probably did not have the same cultural currency it once had for many present-day pilots when its return was first announced in April, Thompson said. But “as the months have gone on and we’ve gone through the planning process and found out all the history, how this spanned for 30-plus years … I think the hype has gotten to the point where it was in the past.”

That hype will no doubt continue at the competition itself, where Harding looks forward to meeting past William Tell participants.

“I’m excited to see that history and that culture of where the American fighter pilot came from, because culture is a big thing for us,” he said. “It’s been slowly degraded and reduced over the years and I think this is a step in the right direction to bring it back.”

It won’t just be bringing it back, though—it will be updating it for a new era.

“As all these details have emerged, all the pilots are pretty excited for it, at least within our own wing, to bring that camaraderie and bring our fifth-gen capability and kind of showcase that to the rest of the Air Force,” Thompson said.

About 800 Airmen are expected to participate, Air Combat Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine, representing nine squadrons from the Active, Guard, and Reserve components. Among them will be:

Air Combat Command

F-15E Strike Eagles from the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah

Command and Control from the 552 Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Pacific Air Forces

F-22 Raptors from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 154th Fighter Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

Command and Control from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan

Air National Guard

F-15 C/D Eagles from the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington Air National Guard Base, Vt.

FSI Defense Prepares Charlotte C-17 Learning Center

Sept. 6, 2023

The United States Air Force (USAF) relies on the C-17 Globemaster III and it’s extraordinary transport capabilities to quickly and safely conduct missions worldwide – and has for decades.

In August 2021, the C-17 and its aircrew expanded those powers, performing unprecedented actions during the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan. In one record flight, a C-17 aircrew evacuated more than 800 civilians to safety, including adults and children, with many sitting on their parents’ laps.

Multiple C-17s delivered troops and equipment, along with more flights airlifting Americans and Afghan allies out of Kabul during Operation Allied Refuge (OAR).

While he wasn’t flying active missions during those weeks in 2021, Jeremy Reich, then-Senior Wing Weapons Officer and former Director of Operations at the 145th Airlift Wing, Charlotte, North Carolina Air National Guard Base, knows the crews had a massive advantage on their side: simulator training.

“From scenario training to terrain modeling, OAR aircrew were prepared to execute the mission,” Reich said. “They kept all those airplanes, all those movements safe. They safely put the aircraft where needed and escorted the passengers to safety. Everyone executed their job – that is the greatest accomplishment.”

While the circumstances of OAR may never happen again, future aircrew face new missions ranging from the routine to the extraordinary. To meet those challenges, airmen will soon have a new facility to prepare for C-17 operations.

FlightSafety Defense Corporation (FSI Defense) is a wholly owned subsidiary of FlightSafety International Inc. and provides mission-critical training programs, simulation manufacturing and related services to military and government flight crews worldwide. In the near future, the company will open a C-17 Learning Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, taking its place as the newest learning center and simulator facility in its global network of training locations. Reich, a FSI Defense Instructor at Joint Base Charleston and retired USAF pilot, will become the Charlotte Learning Center site lead and tasked with preparing USAF aircrew for expected – and unexpected missions.

*These Air Force planes are part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and are being used to transport military personnel from air bases in Europe to the Middle East.*

Simulation Training for the Mission

Traditionally, Charlotte-based Air National Guard (ANG) aircrews traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, for simulator training. Once the FSI Defense Charlotte Learning Center opens, ANG personnel will spend less time traveling and more time training at nearby facilities allowing for uncompressed schedules.

Simulator training offers many benefits for new C-17 aircrew, as well as those who are retraining from other aircraft. Instead of special duty trips, aircrew will have direct access to the advanced-technology C-17 flight simulator, allowing aircrew to integrate scenario-based instruction into daily and weekly routines. As demonstrated during OAR, the repetition and volume of simulator training is critical to mission success.

Simulator training is cost-effective and more efficient than airborne training. Simulator instructors introduce weather, terrain and emergency conditions that allow the participating aircrew to practice teamwork while applying corrective actions. Furthermore, the simulator instructor can offer personal experience and lessons learned while resetting the scenario for the aircrew to try again. Resets are virtually instant and offer a safe and effective way to save time and fuel as well as eliminate wear and tear on the physical aircraft.

“You’re not burning actual fuel and there’s a significant decrease in aircraft maintenance,” Reich said. “There’s also no risk of a bird strike or other mishap that often result in a multi-million-dollar maintenance issue.”

“We make the training environment specific to customer requirements. We can change the visibility or make the winds as strong as necessary. We prepare aircrews for the worst possible scenario and train to levels not replicable consistently and safely on an aircraft.”

This scenario-based training also applies to KC-46 air refueling tankers, boom operators, and loadmasters.

Visual Systems and Global Training

Aircrew benefit from computer-generated visual system technology utilizing advanced modeling that allows personnel to train using a large database of real-world locations that show highly detailed terrain and airfield layouts. That knowledge, developed in a simulated environment, enabled C-17 aircrew to execute their mission in Kabul.

Another benefit is connecting Charlotte-based C-17 aircrew with participating aircrew at various locations.

“We can conduct airdrop training and place aircraft formations together – irrespective of their location,” Reich said. “For instance, a C-17 in Hawaii, one in North Carolina, another in Oklahoma, and other geographically separated aircrew can join together for an integrated event using distributed mission operations – it’s fantastic training.”

Continuity of Training

The Charlotte Learning Center extends FSI Defense’s decade-long support of on-site USAF C-17 training and providing NATO aircrew training and partner nation contract logistics support.

Like most FSI Defense instructors, Reich comes to the training mission as a former servicemember.

“I work in an environment where everybody raised their hand to serve our nation; we understand the mission,” he said. “It’s an enriching work environment and critical to our instruction. Aircrew learn from those with former experience. They’re learning from instructors who have been pilots for decades and honed their skills on the C-17 Globemaster. Our instructors have the training and expertise from hours of flight time and are passionate about sharing that knowledge to the next generation of aircrew.”