In Reversal, Biden Administration Will Help Ukraine Get F-16s

In Reversal, Biden Administration Will Help Ukraine Get F-16s

May 19, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

President Joe Biden’s administration will support allies providing modern, fourth-generation fighters to Ukraine, including U.S.-made F-16s, a senior administration official told Air & Space Forces Magazine on May 19. Biden informed allies of the plan at a meeting of the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, the official said.

The U.S. “will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force,” the senior administration official added.

Where the planes will come from remains unclear for now. The training effort includes the U.S., United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark.

“Our pilots can’t wait to begin the training,” a Ukrainian official told Air & Space Forces Magazine on May 20. The Ukrainian official said details were being worked out but “the ball started to roll.”

Britain and the Netherlands increased pressure on the U.S. with a May 16 push to provide fighters to Ukraine. U.S. approval is required for American-made weapons to be provided to a third-party nation.

The Biden administration had steadfastly refused to provide F-16s or support foreign delivery of American-made fighter jets, arguing that such a costly and advanced system would require too much investment and too much training time to make them useful to Ukraine in this conflict. Now that position has changed.

“This training will take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will require months to complete,” the senior administration official said. “We hope we can begin this training in the coming weeks.”

Previously U.S. officials had said F-16 flight training would take 18-24 months and providing the jets might cost at least $2 billion. Outgoing undersecretary of defense for policy Colin Kahl testified on that point in Congress. Kahl’s departure, set for July, was announced May 17, two days before the policy change. It is unclear if the two are related or coincidental.

Airpower experts say the cost and timeline to provide F-16s to Ukraine depends largely on the number, age, and types of F-16s provided. In his testimony, Kahl referenced the cost and timeline for new jets. But older aircraft that may be excess inventory from U.S. or allies’ fleets could be delivered much sooner.

The senior administration official said the U.S. have focused so far on providing near-term capabilities to support an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“To date, the United States and our allies and partners have focused on providing Ukraine with the vast majority of the systems, weapons, and training it requires to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer,” the official said. “Discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force reflect our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense.”

U.S. officials have always left open the notion of helping Ukraine acquire modern aircraft in the future but have opposed trying to do so for the current conflict.

NATO allies praised the change in position.

“We welcome the upcoming approval by the United States of the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets,” Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch minister of defense, said. “Together with our close allies Denmark, Belgium, and the U.K. we are working on the modalities. We stand ready to support Ukraine on this.”

British Prime Minister Rushi Sunak said the U.K. would help “get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs.” Britain does not own or operate F-16s but has discussed providing Typhoon aircraft. The U.K. recently provided Ukraine with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, which Britain says have already been used.

The U.S. senior administration official said the Western allies still needed to decide “when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them.”

Yahoo News reported May 18 on an assessment by the U.S. Air National Guard, which is evaluating the skills of two Ukrainian pilots who have trained on F-16s. The assessment concluded that “four months is a realistic training timeline,” and that the Ukrainian pilots were skilled enough to handle sophisticated challenges, including safely landing (in a simulator) following an engine flameout. But the report also indicated the pilots’ lack of English language skills presents a barrier and concern. In addition, the Ukrainian pilots were not familiar with Western-style flying and organizational approaches.

A Ukrainian official told Air & Space Forces Magazine earlier this month the Ukrainian Air Force has a “couple of dozens” of pilots proficient enough in English to train on F-16s.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the G7 summit meeting.

“This will greatly enhance our army in the sky,” Zelenskyy said. “I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated May 20 with additional comments from a Ukrainian official.

THOR Hammers Drone Swarm with High-Power Microwaves

THOR Hammers Drone Swarm with High-Power Microwaves

May 19, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

An experimental directed energy weapon developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory successfully disabled a swarm of drones last month—its first test on such a scale. 

The Tactical High-power Operational Responder, or THOR, has been in development for years now, generating high levels of interest within the military and beyond. THOR uses bursts of high-power microwave energy to disable small unmanned systems, causing them to drop from the sky. 

An April 5 demonstration at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., pitted “numerous” drones of a sort THOR had not faced before against the weapon in the “first test of this scale in AFRL history,” according to a release.

“THOR was exceptionally effective at disabling the swarm with its wide beam, high peak powers, and fast-moving gimbal to track and disable the targets,” said Adrian Lucero, THOR program manager, in the release.  

Ken Miller, AFRL’s high power electromagnetics division chief, declared the demonstration a “success.” 

An AFRL spokesperson declined to say how many or what kinds of drones were used or whether calling the test a success could be taken to mean THOR successfully downed every drone in the swarm. Regardless, however, defeating a drone swarm significantly exceeded the 2019 demonstration at Kirtland of the system knocking down a single drone.  

The 2019 test was followed in 2020 by an announced overseas demonstration alongside other directed energy weapons, but results of that demonstration were never disclosed. In 2021, the lab announced the U.S. Army was investing in the system.  

Also in 2021, AFRL announced it was developing a follow-on system to THOR called “Mjolnir,” the name of the hammer wielded by the Norse god Thor. In 2022, the lab selected Leidos to build Mjolnir, saying the new weapon would use the same technology as THOR “but will add important advances in capability, reliability, and manufacturing readiness.”  

Directed energy weapons have long been seen as promising, but as drones have become cheaper and more capable, military leaders have become increasingly worried about the threat posed by swarms of autonomous drones in a coordinated attack.  THOR was developed with that theat in mind.  

Using a wide beam, THOR can take out multiple drones at a time, using a video game-like interface. The weapon can be carried in a C-130 and quickly assembled on the ground. It can leverage other detection and targeting systems or use its own. 

“[THOR] is an early demonstrator, and we are confident we can take this same technology and make it more effective to protect our personnel around the world,” Capt. Tylar Hanson, THOR deputy program manager, said in a statement. 

Unique F-15E Paint Job Pays Tribute to WW2 Aviation

Unique F-15E Paint Job Pays Tribute to WW2 Aviation

May 19, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Eagle-eyed World War II buffs at the Wings over Wayne airshow in North Carolina this weekend will be challenged to catch all the historical references adorning the 4th Fighter Wing’s F-15E flagship jet. 

From nose to the tail, the F-15E Strike Eagle’s heritage paint job offers tribute to the wing’s historic lineage, which traces back to the 4th Fighter Group in World War II. Now based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., the wing highlighted the jet’s new look in a recent Facebook post.

Perhaps most striking: A portrait on the inside face of the right tail depicting renowned Ace Col. Donald Blakeslee, believed by many to have flown more missions and hours in World War II than any other American fighter pilot and credited with 17 aerial victories. Blakeslee scored the first air-to-air kill in a P-47 Thunderbolt and flew escort on the first bombing mission over Berlin. Under his command, the 4th Fighter Group destroyed more than 1,000 German aircraft. 

On the outside of the left tail, just above the tail code, the jet sports the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons emblem, recognizing the American volunteers who flew those planes in the early days of WWII before the U.S. entered the war. Those squadrons eventually became the 334th, 335th, and 336th Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Fighter Group. 

Other historic references in the paint scheme include a flaming spear meant to represent “the performance of the 4th Fighter Group in WWII and how the 4th Fighter Wing currently serves as the ‘tip of the spear’ for the United States Air Force,” a wing spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

Just below the cockpit is the blue and yellow National Star Insignia used by the 4th Fighter Group during the war. And near the nose, a cartoon “fighting eagle” that appeared on the planes of historic Aces William Dunn and Don Gentile 

“Invasion Stripes”—alternating black and white stripes—dress up the wing tops as they did on 4th Fighter Group aircraft during World War II and the Korean War.  

Finally, its green and gray camouflage pattern pays homage to the group’s Supermarine Spitfires, which flew from September 1942 to March 1943. 

It took more than a month for the 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron to complete the elaborate paint scheme, which made its debut April 25.  

Four other flagships—for the 333rd, 334th, 335th, and 336th Fighter Squadrons—each with their own references and homages, will also be on display at Wings over Wayne. The airshow is open to the public on Seymour Johnson May 20-21. 

USAF’s New ICBM Cancer Study to Examine ‘Everyone Possible’

USAF’s New ICBM Cancer Study to Examine ‘Everyone Possible’

May 18, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force is pressing to find out why some Airmen and former Airmen who worked wth the nation’s intercontinental continental ballistic missile fleet are being diagnosed with blood cancer—years after the service dismissed such concerns in the early 2000s.

A new Missile Community Cancer Study launched earlier this year aims to “make sure we get to the truth, whatever that truth is,” said Col. Robert D. Peltzer, a senior medical officer with Air Force Global Strike Command.

Air Force reviews of cancer rates among missileers in 2001 and 2005 could not identify an increased rate linked to missile service, but new medical knowledge has emerged since, Peltzer said. Doctors have “a better understanding” of factors that can cause cancer today.

“Look at [the herbicide] Roundup being one of those,” Peltzer said. “Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is the No. 1 cancer on the list when you look at it. We didn’t know [Roundup] caused those types of cancers back in 2001.”

Armed with greater knowledge and detection capability, the Air Force will also have better access to highly classified ICBM facilities and the health data for a broader range of personnel, including both those working in underground bunkers for 24-48 hours at a time.

Peltzer said maintainers, security forces, and food service workers—among others—will also be in the new study, not just those who worked in launch facilities. Members of the study team, which is led by the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, visited bases to better understand the facilities and potential exposure issues.

“We want to make sure we didn’t miss out or exclude groups that actually are just as much—or potentially as much—at risk, or more at risk, than those members,” Peltzer said. The research team is made up of experts experienced in conducting cancer studies, including one that showed increased risks of cancer among pilots in recent years. That study led to a broader Pentagon review that validated the Air Force study’s conclusions.

“This is the same team and through that they learned which data sources and what they could get and how long it took them to get it,” Peltzer said.

But to conduct a study, Air Force medical officials said, they first have to know what an ICBM base is and what ICBM forces do—from an “operational, occupational, and environmental” perspective.

Col. Tory W. Woodard, commander of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, told Air & Space Forces Magazine that seeing the bases was a new experience for the research team. “Many of the medical experts had not previously been to a missile base or been in the operational locations where the missileers work,” Woodward said. “This visit was extremely important in order to inform the future cancer studies.”

Woodard was on the team that visited three ICBM bases— F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.; Minot Air Force Base, N.D.; and Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. The visit took place from Feb. 27 to March 7 and included his staff, members of the AFGSC Command Surgeon’s office, and experts from the Defense Health Agency.

“The team did not see any acute risks that needed immediate attention,” Peltzer said.

But Peltzer said there was no intention to dismiss cancer risks as they reviewed the facilities and flagged other possible medical concerns, such as running vehicles too close to air vents, burning documents indoors, or signage that indicated the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have long been banned and should have been removed. Whether the signs were left behind after the PCBs were removed years ago is not clear. To locate traces of PCBs and a long list of other possibly toxic substances will require extensive sample testing, according to AFGSC.

ICBM facilities are often surrounded by private land where agricultural products may have been used without regard to the potential effect on missileers working nearby. The next-generation Sentinel ICBMs that will eventually replace today’s 50-year-old Minuteman III ICBMs will likely also be safer, given modern understanding. But an AFGSC official noted that even new missiles will have their own hazards.

Air Force officials said these first visits were not intended to draw definitive conclusions.

“It’s not the epidemiology study, so it wasn’t looking at cancer-related items,” Peltzer said. “That will be done later through the actual study itself.”

Interest and focused attention on the issue comes only after long-held concerns among some members of the missileer community pushed to the fore earlier this year, following a presentation detailing cases of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at Malmstrom by a Guardian who formerly served there. His Powerpoint slides later surfaced on Facebook, prompting AFGSC Commander Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere to call for and launch the study in February.

Bussiere, Woodard, and AFGSC Command Surgeon Col. Lee D. Williames briefed members of the ICBM community at a recent virtual hall, Air Force officials said. Bussiere directed his staff to explore the idea of assigning medical professionals directly to ICBM units, modeled on how flight surgeons support flying crews. Because of the remote and classified nature of ICBM work, that could yield more real-time access to sensitive areas.

While the study is inspecting the three current active bases, which have ICBMs spread out over five states, the service is going through military, federal, and state cancer registries. The study will then have to match that data with service personnel files. That is not a straightforward process as the Air Force has changed job titles over time. The study is expected to take 12-14 months from start to finish, according to Woodard. The time is largely due to the amount of data that needs to be collected and analyzed, Peltzer explained.

“They will look at everyone possible,” Peltzer said.

A number of since-shuttered bases will also be examined as the service reaches back four decades in its data gathering process. Only the on-site work is limited to those three-active bases.

Peltzer said researchers will use Air Force Specialty Codes, bases, and timelines. “We know them all and all locations that were active since 1983,” he said. “Those members will be captured into this data study because that seems to be a great concern, especially of those who are retirees or former retirees if they’ve already passed away.”

Former and current service members have expressed skepticism over previous Air Force health studies, criticizing them for leaving the Air Force to study itself. The new study leverages epidemiologists from the Veterans Administration and the National Cancer Institute to monitor the study and provide feedback.

“There’s going to be outside entities,” Peltzer said. They “will give us a fair and objective look at what we’re doing to make sure we’re aboveboard.”

Now: Medals and Promotions for Airmen, Guardians Who Refer Recruits

Now: Medals and Promotions for Airmen, Guardians Who Refer Recruits

May 18, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Looking to close a huge projected recruiting shortfall, the Air Force is dangling medals and promotions as an incentive for Airmen of all stripes who do some recruiting on their own.  

The Stellar Talent Acquisition Recruiting Referral program will award an Air and Space Achievement Medal to any enlisted Airman or Guardian up to senior master sergeant and any officer up to lieutenant colonel for referring a recruit who departs for basic training. 

Three referrals will score them a second medal. And any enlisted service member or officer up to colonel who refers five recruits will earn an Air and Space Commendation Medal. 

There’s more. The Stripes for Referrals program targets the Air and Space Forces’ most junior members, E-1s. An Airman Basic who refer two enlisted candidates can be promoted to Airman in the Air Force, or Specialist 2 in the Space Force. Refer four candidates “who join the Delayed Entry Program or Delayed Entry Training” and they can jump straight to E-3—Airman First Class or Specialist 3. 

To get credit for referrals, participants must use the Aim High recruiting app, specifically the “Refer a Friend” information fields. 

Both programs were formulated as part of the Department of the Air Force’s Barriers to Service Cross-Functional Team, championed by Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin. The team has now pushed several policy changes aimed at boosting recruitment and retention. 

While the Space Force continues to receive more applicants than it has jobs to fill, the Air Force is struggling to meet its fiscal 2023 goals, making 2024 look like it’s going to be just as hard. Officials blame declining eligibility among young people, low civilian unemployment, and perceptions of an overly politicized military. Lingering effects of the pandemic, the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and declining faith in the military have also been cited as factors.  

Air Force leaders anticipate missing recruiting targets by 10 percent this year for the Active force, and by even more in the Guard and Reserve. 

Other initiatives pushed by Allvin’s cross-functional team include restoring programs to help repay college loans for enlisted members and speeding up the citizen naturalization process for new recruits at Basic Military Training.  

The Air Force Recruiting Service is trying to expand its universe, plotting an ambitious new marketing campaign focused on women in sports, as well as paid partnerships with influencers on social media. And turning its non-recruiter Airmen, the Air Force launched its We Are All Recruiters program, which grants permissive TDY status to Airmen who agree to participate in recruiting events. 

B-2 ‘Safety Pause’ Lifted, Flights Set to Resume Within Days

B-2 ‘Safety Pause’ Lifted, Flights Set to Resume Within Days

May 18, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

The B-2 Spirit is returning to the skies, Air Force officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The first aircraft is projected to take off May 22 after a break in flying operations due to a safety pause.

The return to flight was recently approved by Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, after a roughly six-month safety pause following a mishap in December.

“The B-2 fleet safety pause is officially lifted,” Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara, commander of the 8th Air Force, which controls the nation’s strategic bomber fleet, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Gen. Bussiere, at my recommendation, made a final determination on the necessary actions taken and approved a return to flight.”

Gebara and other Air Force officials declined to say what the safety issue was or what was done that allowed the service to resume flight operations.

“I wish that the safety pause was not necessary,” Gebara said. “But I think that it was really important that we find out what happened and make sure that was all mitigated before you start flying again, and that’s what we did.”

Gebara said there would not be onerous restrictions on missions.

“I want them to come back in a disciplined, deliberate manner,” Gebara said. “But we will do full operational missions. So you’re not going to see one loop around and land kind of sorties. It’ll be a normal sortie. I actually am not concerned at all about the mission aspects of the force.”

He said there would be a “phased approach” as the fleet returns to flight, with the most experienced pilots getting in the seat first and “several weeks to get the entire community back up to speed.”

But Gebara added a cautionary note to America’s adversaries: “That is distinct, though, from having enough pilots for whatever mission is required if there was a crisis.”

The Air Force declined to reveal the exact cause of the mishap, which temporarily blocked the lone runway at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The service also declined to detail what actions were taken to lift the safety pause. The pause began in late December after a B-2 was damaged after an emergency landing December 10 at Whiteman—the only base to host combat B-2s, assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing and its Air National Guard associate, the 131st Bomb Wing.

Bussiere, a B-2 pilot and the former 509th Bomb Wing commander, took over AFGSC just days before the mishap.

Air Force officials said the aircraft remained ready to execute missions if needed, serving a critical role as the nation’s only stealth nuclear-capable bomber in service.

“The B-2 fleet could still fly missions if so required,” Gebara said. “Our ability to provide nuclear deterrence never stopped.”

B-2 pilots spent time during the safety pause in the advanced simulators at Whiteman and increased repetitions in T-38 trainers. Only 21 B-2s were produced, costing over $1 billion per plane, according to the Air Force. One was destroyed in a crash in 2008. Nineteen of the current airframes are at Whiteman—one of which is a test aircraft normally based at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. One combat B-2 has been parked at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, which shares runways with Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu after the safety pause went into effect while the aircraft was at the base. 

It is unclear what will happen to the B-2 damaged in December. The entire B-2 fleet will eventually be replaced by the B-21 Raider, which like the Spirit, is a stealthy flying wing produced by Northrop Grumman. The first B-21 is scheduled to fly later this year.

Air Force Global Strike Command has been conducting regular maintenance of all B-2s, and officials from the 509th Bomb Wing and Gebara said the stealth low-observable coating, which is critical for the B-2’s nuclear mission, was well taken care of.

“The way that the B-2 is we have a stair step approach to low observable maintenance,” Gebara said. “So a certain number of B-2s are fully low-observable ready to go.”

Despite a pause in operations, Gebara said America’s nuclear deterrence was not undermined.

“It’s hard to get inside the head of another country and figure out what they feel,” Gebara said. “I think it would not have been wise for them to doubt our deterrence, and I’m reasonably confident they don’t.”

In Secret Solicitation, Air Force Starts Bidding for NGAD to Replace F-22

In Secret Solicitation, Air Force Starts Bidding for NGAD to Replace F-22

May 18, 2023 | By Greg Hadley and John A. Tirpak

The Air Force kicked off the process for selecting the contractor for its Next Generation Air Dominance fighter on May 18, releasing a classified solicitation to industry for Engineering and Manufacturing Development. 

In a release, the service said it hopes to award a contract by 2024. 

The NGAD is the Air Force’s ultra-stealthy and highly classified successor to the F-22 Raptor, which the service has said it must retire by around 2030 because its capabilities will be overcome by systems fielded by China and potentially other global competitors.

Details of the solicitation are classified for the secretive NGAD program. But the Air Force noted in its release that the solicitation defines expected requirements for the aircraft, which is intended as the world’s first sixth-generation fighter and the centerpiece of a planned “family of systems” that are one of Secretary Frank Kendall’s seven operational imperatives. 

A service spokeswoman said the Air Force is “soliciting for an integrated weapon system,” and could not elaborate on the EMD statement as the program is “now in source selection.”

Typically, for a program of NGAD’s magnitude, there is a 60-90 day period in which offerors can ask questions about a draft request for proposals, followed by a similar period in which to respond to a final RFP, and then several months for source selection to be made, so late 2024 is a likely award timeframe. However, the NGAD may not follow a typical acquisition pattern.

“The NGAD platform is a vital element of the Air Dominance Family of Systems which represents a generational leap in technology over the F-22, which it will replace,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement. “NGAD will include attributes such as enhanced lethality and the abilities to survive, persist, interoperate, and adapt in the air domain, all within highly-contested operational environments. No one does this better than the U.S. Air Force, but we will lose that edge if we don’t move forward now.” 

The Air Force release noted NGAD will perform counter-air missions and be able to strike ground targets, confirming 2021 comments by Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, that the platform would also have “some” ground attack capabilities to provide theater commanders with options. The release also seemingly suggested the aircraft will have a Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) mission as well.

From an acquisition standpoint, the NGAD program strategy seeks to stimulate and broaden the defense industrial base, the Air Force said, requiring an open architecture to encourage future competition for upgrades and “drastically [reducing] maintenance and sustainment costs.”

Past programs have incentivized contractors to lower up-front costs while seeking to make up for narrow margins there with long-term sustainment revenue. Maintenance costs have been a major concern with the F-35, for example. 

The likely competitors include are not hard to guess. Last August, the Air Force awarded contracts to airplane builders Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman—in addition to engine-makers Pratt & Whitney and GE Aerospace—for the prototyping phase of its Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion engine program, which will power the future NGAD. Experts speculated then that their inclusion pointed to the importance of integrating engine and airframe designs. 

In June 2022, Kendall said NGAD had entered the engineering and manufacturing development phase, though he later clarified the program remained a competition.

The Air Force typically does not enter into an EMD phase until it has conducted a competitive prototyping phase. Former Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper revealed in September 2020 that at least one NGAD prototype had already flown and “set records,” though he did not say what they may have been. Other Air Force and industry officials have said privately that NGAD has progressed past the Preliminary Design Review phase with at least two companies.

The service could not immediately say if the solicitation is open to only those companies who may have competed in the prototyping phase—and how many might be in that group—or whether the solicitation is truly open to any comers.

Competition for the program is likely to be fierce—Kendall has said the aircraft will cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars” per tail, several times the $80 million-per-copy cost of the Air Force’s F-35A. The exact size of the planned fleet is unknown, but Kendall has suggested a notional figure of 200 airframes. Senior Air Force leaders have also hinted that NGAD may come in at least two variants—one shorter-range model intended for the European theater, and one optimized for the longer distances required to operate in the Pacific theater.

At one point, led by Roper, the Air Force planned building 50-100 examples of an NGAD and moving immediately to a next iteration or completely new aircraft, retaining each iteration only 8-12 years, then retiring it, the better to keep at the cutting edge of technology. But Kendall has seemingly poured cold water on that notion, saying the system is too complex for that quick a rhythm.

The Air Force’s 2024 budget proposal seeks $1.933 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation for NGAD, a figure that will only grow in the years ahead. USAF projects investments of $16.23 billion on RDT&E for NGAD over the next five years. That includes funding to develop uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft that will will fly alongside the manned NGAD fighter. 

The solicitation issued this month is independent of any CCA development, the Air Force said in its May 18 release. 

USAF Looks to Fill Intelligence Gaps from Space

USAF Looks to Fill Intelligence Gaps from Space

May 17, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

As the Air Force plans to retire many of its aging intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft in the next few years, its looking to the Space Force and Intelligence Community to fill potential gaps and gain persistent coverage around the globe, the service’s top intelligence officer said May 17. 

USAF budget documents show plans to divest the entire fleet of E-8s, U-2s, and RQ-4s by fiscal 2027, with the E-3 AWACS fleet also slated to be cut significantly. Deputy chief of staff for ISR and cyber effects operations Lt. Gen. Leah G. Lauderback said the changes are necessary and unavoidable.

“I think that the Air Force has had a difficulty messaging this,” Lauderback said during one of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Aerospace Nation events. “The truth is, [the divestitures] were backed up by a number of studies over the last number of years, that this is the right thing to do in order to get ready for a peer competitor.” 

Lauderback said the current ISR aircraft cannot survive in a conflict with China or Russia. But the fact that the divestments are happening without immediate replacements—at least publicly acknowledged ones—means there may be “small gaps” in ISR during the transition, officials have previously said and Lauderback confirmed.

“It’s not something that the Air Force is going to do by ourselves,” Lauderback said. “This is a team sport, and that team includes the intelligence community. We continue to have conversations with the intelligence community, primarily with the [National Reconnaissance Office], but also the combat support agencies, who are the functional managers for those capabilities.” 

The Air Force faces a short-term gap in capability at a crucial time when experts see China building capability with an eye toward a potential future invasion of Taiwan. 

“We all understand that we’re working in competition right now and then we’ve got to be prepared for conflict,” Lauderback said. “And none of us wants to have a gap. And so we’re going to address that as best as we can, … through Space Force as well as the intelligence community.” 

Space-based ISR will be pivotal in the years ahead, as new satellite technologies mature. “We’re going to have incredible amounts of sensors that are coming that are space-based and thus have a certain amount of resiliency, more resiliency or more survivability, certainly, than some of the airborne capabilities that [the Air Force is retiring],” said Lauderback. 

Satellites are also more persistent, able to stay on constant watch, something airborne platforms cannot do. When Lauderback was director of intelligence for Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East, the command lacked the ability to keep constant watch. “We didn’t have persistence to be able to chase ISIS around” with Joint STARS aircraft, she said. “The things that we had persistence with were [uncrewed] MQ-9s, Global Hawks would help us for sure. But in a permissive environment like that you can have that persistence. That persistence is very, very satisfying as a targeteer—somebody that wants to be able to track, in this case, ISIS maneuvering from one place to the next. We need to do that for peer competitors as well, for when or if we go into conflict, … before conflict even.” 

Of course, making all those connections and ensuring the Air Force and other branches have access to all the intelligence they need presents other challenges. Lauderback called for more table-top exercises for the Pentagon to help determine and inform what space-based ISR will look like in the coming years. 

But at the moment, she said she is encouraged by the Air Force’s conversations with the Space Force and Intelligence Community. 

“I would actually tell you that any space-based ISR—whether it’s owned by an intelligence agency today or if it is a DOD entity—you can use those things in tactical environments,” Lauderback said. “It’s just a matter of the scale that you can do, how long it is that you can use those in a tactical sense. So we certainly have experience using those in a tactical sense today and nothing that stops us from doing that in the future.” 

Lauderback’ has unique insight into how the Air Force and space-based ISR can work together, given her stints ‘s tour as the Space Force’s first deputy chief of space operations for intelligence and as U.S. Space Command’s director of intelligence give her particular insight into what space can do for the Air Force. And she’s hard at work trying to access whatever the IC can offer the military branches.  

“The space-based layer … does not necessarily [belong] to the Intelligence Community,” she said. “We’re in these conversations right now, the departments, both DNI and the DO. So we’ll see what comes out of that.” 

NORAD: Russian Warplane Flew Near US Airspace for Second Time in a Week

NORAD: Russian Warplane Flew Near US Airspace for Second Time in a Week

May 17, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A Russian warplane flew off the coast of Alaska during a large U.S. military exercise May 15—the second time Moscow’s military has gotten close to U.S. airspace in less than a week, according to the U.S. military.

In a short statement, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said it detected and tracked a Russian aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 15. In a departure from common practice, U.S. planes did not intercept the Russian aircraft, nor did NORAD disclose what type of aircraft Russia was operating. The ADIZ serves as a buffer zone in international airspace, extended past U.S. sovereign airspace.

A NORAD spokesperson declined to provide further details.

While Russia regularly flies in the ADIZ—NORAD says the number of flights is roughly six or seven per year—the latest incidents are notable in that they come during a large U.S.-led exercise, Northern Edge, occurring over Alaska and in waters off the coast. While the Russian aircraft did not present any risk to U.S. and allied forces or North American sovereign airspace, according to NORAD, they did necessitate monitoring.

“An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification, location, and control of all aircraft in the interest of national security,” NORAD said. “NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.”

Russia conducted a flight of six warplanes near Alaska on May 11, also during Northern Edge, which began May 4 and is scheduled to wrap up May 19. Thousands of U.S., U.K., and Australian troops are participating in the exercise, along with roughly 150 aircraft and five ships.

Northern Edge drills are “multi-domain operations designed to provide high-end, realistic warfighter training, develop and improve joint interoperability, and enhance the combat readiness of participating forces,” according to Pacific Air Forces. The exercise is taking place “in and over” the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Gulf of Alaska.

NORAD did not disclose either of the two most recent incidents until days after they occurred. There have been at least four Russian flights in Alaskan ADIZ this year—none of them were seen as a threat, according to NORAD.

“According to U.S. Northern Command, Russian military aircraft have flown in our ADIZ during large-scale U.S. exercises on occasion, so the timing of this most recent activity is not something considered particularly out of the ordinary,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said in a statement released May 15, the day the latest publicly known incident occurred but before it was disclosed.