Key Lawmaker Is ‘Hugely Supportive’ of This Pentagon Proposal. Now He Has to Convince Skeptics in Congress

Key Lawmaker Is ‘Hugely Supportive’ of This Pentagon Proposal. Now He Has to Convince Skeptics in Congress

May 16, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

The House Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat endorsed a new Pentagon legislative proposal designed to work around Congressional gridlock and field new technologies faster.

Spearheaded by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, the DOD is seeking a “rapid response” authority that would allow initial work to begin on critical new technologies to meet “urgent” needs.

“I’m hugely supportive of it,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said at a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations on May 16. But Smith warned many of his colleagues had less favorable views of the idea.

The legislative proposal is called “Rapid Response to Emergent Technology Advancement or Threats.” The Pentagon wants up to $300 million per year in development funds that could be used “in response to urgent operational need”—creating a discretionary pool of money and the Congressional authority to get started on vital projects.

Kendall, who formerly served as Pentagon’s top acquisition official, has noted that Congress is reluctant to give up any authority when it comes to what the DOD can buy, but he argues the proposal is limited in scope. With Smith’s support, the proposal does have some influential supporters on the Hill. Smith said he has pitched the idea to his colleagues, but members of the powerful Appropriations Committee remain wary.

“I understand where the appropriators are coming from,” Smith said. The HASC’s ranking member said he discussed the issue at a recent dinner with some of his fellow representatives, who argued “‘We can’t give DOD that much money without exercising aggressive oversight,'” according to Smith.

“I get that, but I just disagree, because innovation is so crucial right now,” Smith said.

Smith said he agrees with the Pentagon’s view that the current process costs at least a year in wasted time as promising new systems go through the arduous budgeting and authorization cycle—which is almost certain to be delayed this year due to congressional gridlock.

With Congress unlikely to pass a 2024 budget by the start of the new fiscal year in October, the government will probably have to operate on a continuing resolution, known as a CR, which doesn’t allow the Pentagon to start new programs. Frustrated not only by the normal budgeting cycle, Kendall said CRs are an unnecessary “gift” to America’s adversaries that the Pentagon’s rapid response idea would help counter.

“This is a limited authority,” Kendall said in April when he first pitched the proposal. “It would allow us to go through the preliminary design review phase.”

Smith agreed it is a cheap process that would save valuable time.

“If you’re out there, and you got an innovative idea on a drone or counter drone or missile or any number of different things, you got a decent shot of getting [Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation] funded,” Smith said. “We’re not good is buying it once we decide that it works, and that’s a challenge. That’s something that’s really, really limiting our ability to take advantage of innovative technologies,” such as artificial intelligence or hypersonic weapons.

Smith outlined a disheartening outlook for some companies whose products the Pentagon wants but is not allowed to acquire.

“You do all this work, you spend all this money to develop it, you go to the Pentagon, the Pentagon says ‘I love that, I want to buy that,’ and we’ll get back to you in like two years on whether or not we can do it,” Smith said of the current process.

The Pentagon has taken steps to more rapidly develop key technologies, such as standing up the Defense Innovation Unit, which recently gained elevated status with its new director, former Apple executive Doug Beck, reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense. Even with organizations like the DIU, the Pentagon’s current culture and authority to field new systems is still antiquated, some former officials say.

“It’s mechanized to go to war the way that we did in past decades, but it’s surely not mechanized for innovation,” Will Roper, the Air Force’s former top acquisition official, said at the Ash Carter Exchange defense conference May 9.

Nevertheless, Congress remains skeptical of Kendall’s plan.

“I have not been able to convince a single solitary appropriator because they are very reluctant,” Smith said. “I think we need to work on that discussion because it’s really hampering our ability to innovate in DOD.”

F-15 Skids Off the Runway into Canal in Oregon; Pilot OK

F-15 Skids Off the Runway into Canal in Oregon; Pilot OK

May 16, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

An Oregon Air National Guard F-15D slid off the runway and into an irrigation canal at Kingsley Field, Ore., on May 15. But the pilot was able to walk away from the mishap with only minor injuries and was quickly released from the hospital, the 173rd Fighter Wing announced. 

The accident took place at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time after a routine training mission, according to press releases from the wing. Despite being a two-seat F-15D, the aircraft had only one crew member on board at the time—an instructor pilot—according to a release.

“We are so grateful that our pilot was able to walk away from this mishap,” Col. Micah Lambert, 173rd Fighter Wing vice commander, said in a statement. “Our Team Kingsley responders acted quickly and with professionalism thanks to the extensive training and safety mindset of our team.” 

No cause for the mishap was given, but the wing said that a board of officers has been assigned to investigate. 

In a release, Lambert also noted that the wing did not believe the aircraft was leaking any fuel into the water. 

“Minimizing the environmental impact is one of our main priorities; we have taken precautionary measures and placed absorbent booms around the aircraft to prevent the flow of fuel, or other substances, downstream in the event there is a leakage,” Lambert said. 

A spokeswoman for the 173rd Fighter Wing said there is no timeline yet for the aircraft to be removed from the water, nor has any determination of the severity of the water damage to the plane been made.

The Air Force has only a few F-15Ds left in its inventory—18 as of September 2022. Most of those are in the Air National Guard, and they are on average more than 30 years old. 

In 2020, the Air Force announced it was replacing its F-15C/Ds at Kingsley with its F-15EX schoolhouse. However, the 173rd announced in February that the department is reconsidering that decision. 

Will myEval 2.0 Improve on the Air Force’s Rocky First Attempt?

Will myEval 2.0 Improve on the Air Force’s Rocky First Attempt?

May 16, 2023 | By David Roza

The Air Force launched a revamped version of the personnel evaluation web application myEval earlier this year in an effort to improve on last year’s 1.0 version, which was so difficult to use that the service stopped using it in November.

“Our initial attempt at the system was overly reliant on custom code and failed to leverage the new software as a service in the way it was designed,” Air Force spokesperson Tech Sgt. Deana Heitzman told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “When the team collectively understood the implications of the initial design, we realized the best path forward was to start over with a completely new design, leveraging lessons learned from myEval 1.0, as well as those from other organizations’ implementation of this type of capability.”

An Air Force official said myEval 2.0 launched March 13 and has fewer pop-up windows and other hoops to jump through, such as having to download and re-upload PDFs in order to input personal data. For now, only chief master sergeants and officers can access myEval 2.0, but access will expand to other ranks in the coming months, the official said. Air Force Times first reported the news on May 9.

When it was first introduced in January 2022, myEval 1.0 was meant to be a “21st century application” that would integrate personnel information from other applications and be easy for all stakeholders to use. Talent management systems like myEval are important for submitting promotion or award packages.

“The myEval application reduces administrative burdens, enhances the user experience, and provides leaders with performance data to assist in making informed talent management decisions,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, then-Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services, in a statement shortly before the platform came out.

Instead, users reviled myEval, saying the system was confusing, buggy, and frequently failed. Many said it often took several tries to perform a single step before forms or changes were recorded; data that was pulled was incorrect and hard to change; character limits and spacing created appearance issues on performance reviews; and other problems. Airmen expressed concern on social media that the problems could potentially cost promotions, assignments, or awards, not to mention the day-to-day stress of dealing with a dysfunctional program.

 “The system is not able to seamlessly process reports into a member’s official records,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass acknowledged in a November Facebook post about myEval when the system was put on hold.

Heitzman said there is no direct tie between myEval and retention, which has ranged from 89.5 percent to 91 percent for enlisted Airmen and from 93.1 percent to 94 percent for officers over the past five years. But hopefully the digital transformation and modernization of the Air Force talent management network will make day-to-day life in the service easier.

“We understand the key role our Talent Management Systems play in the Airmen experience—and by extension, the choices they make, to include retention—and we are committed to remaining agile while developing customer-centric solutions,” Heitzman said.

There still may be some kinks to work through, and Heitzman said the Air Force will “continue to evolve this product as we continue our agile approach.”

Senators Maneuver for Edge in Stalemate Over Abortion and General Promotions

Senators Maneuver for Edge in Stalemate Over Abortion and General Promotions

May 16, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Senate Democrats remain locked in a struggle in which the Alabama Republican refuses to relinquish his hold on general and flag officer promotions as long as a Biden administration policy to reimburse troops who travel out-of-state to obtain an abortion remains in place.

Yet while both sides agree the 2024 National Defense Authorization bill is the likely mechanism for resolving the dispute, that leaves a growing list of nearly 200 nominations in limbo until Congress takes up the measure. Last year’s bill wasn’t signed until Dec. 28.

Among the 197 pending nominations, 89 belong to the Department of the Air Force, and dozens more are stacked up in the Pentagon.

Any senator can put a hold on nominations, and historically, the power has been used to address particular issues related to a specific nominee. But when Tuberville placed his hold on all general and flag officer nominations March 8, preventing the Senate from confirming them by unanimous consent, he created an unprecedented backlog.

Tuberville opposes the Pentagon’s new reproductive health policy, created in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. In response, the Department of Defense said it would provide paid leave and travel expenses for service members located in states where abortion services were not available.  

Tuberville maintains the Senate can vote on nominees one at a time, instead of relying on unanimous consent to quickly clear all of them at once. But Senate Democrats and administration officials have criticized the hold.  

In a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, in a letter said the delay in action on nominations harms national security and military readiness by threatening the Pentagon’s ability to function. 

Tuberville countered in a speech on the Senate floor on May 11 that Austin’s letter was “long on opinion, short on facts,” and asserted the DOD policy violates the Hyde Amendment, a law that prohibits federal funding for abortions.  

“The United States Senate has had more than 30 days off already this year,” Tuberville said. “If we want to pass this, let’s vote. But we’ve had 30 days off. That’s not including weekends. The rhetoric just doesn’t match the reality. This is more than enough time for us to have confirmed literally all of the nominations we’ve been talking about. We could’ve already done this.” 

The problem is that such votes are procedurally burdensome under Senate rules, which require at least 16 Senators to sign a cloture motion to end debate on each pending nomination. After that, the motion must “ripen” for two days, then a vote is required to end debate, followed by two more hours of consideration before a final vote to approve or reject the nomination. 

Cloture motions can be “stacked” so the two-day waiting period does not constantly restart. But the two hours of consideration cannot be skipped without unanimous consent, and every roll call vote in the Senate takes time. Roughly speaking, it would take around three hours to get through the necessary cloture vote, final consideration, and nomination vote for each of the 197 nominees.  That adds up to around 590 hours, or more than 24 days of non-stop exclusive Senate action.

Stretched out over a more regular schedule, it would take months to work through all the nominations individually, according to a Senate Democratic aide said.  

Alternatively, the Senate could select which nominations to take up. For example, if as expected Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is eventually nominated to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lawmakers could take up that nomination alone.  

The Senate aide said, however that there are no plans to do that so far. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder—whose own promotion to major general is among those pending—declined to comment on the possibility of individual votes.

Contact between the Pentagon and Tuberville’s office has been minimal. An official in the senator’s office confirmed that there has been one contact at the staff level in the past month. 

Pressure to push the nominations through is growing as the summer moving season and planned retirements and rotations get caught up in the delay. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark A. Milley’s term as Chairman ends Sept. 30, and his successor will have to go through the normal vetting process with hearings and meetings with Senators. Work on the annual defense bill is behind, both because the Pentagon was late in delivering its budget to Congress and because Congress has been delayed as lawmakers negotiate over the looming debt ceiling.

When Congress does turn its attention to the NDAA, there are still hurdles to overcome. 

Democrats want Tuberville to try to overturn the Pentagon’s policy by offering an amendment to the NDAA prohibiting the Pentagon from providing travel expenses and time off for troops seeking abortions out of state. They say lawmakers have agreed in the past to drop holds or other procedural maneuvers in exchange for a public vote on an issue of concern.  

But Tuberville and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) argue that the Pentagon should first suspend its policy, then ask Congress to approve such spending. Tuberville’s office confirmed that he would drop his holds if the administration followed that process. 

Either way, resolution on the abortion matter would remain in limbo for months. Only once in the past decade has Congress passed an NDAA before Nov. 25. 

In a release, Tuberville’s office noted that “holds” by Senators on nominations are not uncommon. Indeed, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been one of the leading critics of Tuberville’s hold, placed a hold on the nomination of Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in 2021 until he agreed to extend his industry recusal from two to four years.  

Beyond the sheer number of nominations Tuberville has on hold, another issue at play is whether or not the selection of Huntsville, Ala., survives as the future home of U.S. Space Command. The Air Force identified Redstone Arsenal, Ala., as its preferred location in 2018, but accusations of political favoritism instantly followed and a final decision is still pending years later.

Tuberville wants the Air Force to finalize its choice and proceed with Redstone, while Colorado’s Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, is fighting to keep the command headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, where SPACECOM is today. Tying the two together is Bennet’s argument that Alabama’s restrictive abortion laws would negatively affect female service members, a factor he says should be counted against Redstone as a suitable location.

NBC News reported on May 15 that the Biden administration might backtrack on plans for SPACECOM at Redstone, quoting anonymous officials saying the reason was in part due to Alabama’s restrictive abortion laws. But that doesn’t mean Redstone holds the key to resolving the issue.

In fact, it seems there is one issue on which Tuberville and the White House see eye to eye: that there is no connection between the SPACECOM headquarters decision and the promotion hold. According to NBC News, White House officials said did not see the two as related. As for Tuberville, his office said that even if the White House agrees to move the SPACECOM headquarters to Alabama, he’s not ready to drop his promotion holds.

Meet the X-65: DARPA’s New Plane Has No External Control Surfaces

Meet the X-65: DARPA’s New Plane Has No External Control Surfaces

May 16, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

A groundbreaking aircraft being designed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency now has an experimental designation—the X-65. 

DARPA announced the “X” designation on its social media accounts May 15, a little less than five months after announcing its selection of Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to produce a detailed design for DARPA’s Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. 

The X-65, shown by DARPA in an artist’s rendering, seeks to enable active flow control using bursts of air rather than moving flight surfaces on the exterior of the wings and tail to control its flight. 

By “removing jointed surfaces,” such a design could improve flight and reduce cost and wear and tear, and also theoretically enhance the aircraft’s stealth characteristics.

The X-65 will include “modular wing configurations that enable future integration of advanced technologies for flight testing,” DARPA noted in a January release. 

CRANE has been in the works for several years now, and the contract with Aurora Flight Sciences marked the beginning of the program’s Phase 2, which will include the development of flight software and controls and a critical design review of an X-plane demonstrator. 

The contract includes an option for a Phase 3, which would involve flying the 7,000-pound X-65. 

The new X-65 is the first “X” aircraft since the Air Force redesignated the NF-16D Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft as the X-62A in August 2021. That puts it in an exclusive club that has helped shape cutting-edge aeronautical research for decades, including the Bell X-1, the first airplane to break the sound barrier, and the hypersonic X-15. Other more recent examples include the X-37 space plane, the hypersonic X-51 Waverider, and the X-61 Gremlins. 

DARPA is working on several other “X-plane” programs, including the “Liberty Lifter,” a long-range cargo seaplane, and the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program, for U.S. Special Operations Command. 

F-22 Raptors Deploy to Estonia to Bolster Baltic Air Defense

F-22 Raptors Deploy to Estonia to Bolster Baltic Air Defense

May 15, 2023 | By David Roza

Air Force F-22 Raptors flew to Ämari Air Base, Estonia, earlier this month to demonstrate NATO’s integrated air defenses along the alliance’s eastern flank, according to a May 14 press release. 

The 12 fifth-generation stealth fighters are assigned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis’ 94th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and deployed to Powidz Air Base in Poland starting in early April before flying to Ämari on May 8, the release stated. Though it was not clear how much time the fighters spent in Estonia, the release said the deployment was meant “to deter aggression in the Baltic Sea region.”

Though much attention is still focused on Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine a few hundred miles southeast of the Baltic states, national security experts warn the region is a significant strategic and economic area where Russia may attempt to undermine NATO.

“Gray zone operations are underway, and the United States, NATO, and their partners need to be ready to act in unity against an increasingly hostile Russia that is now trying to distract attention from its military shortcomings in Ukraine,” wrote security experts Courtney Herdt and Matthew Zublic in November for a Center for Strategic & International Studies report on Russian operations in the Baltics.

“In this effort, Russia’s playbook will test the limits and try to exploit the seams of the alliance,” they continued. “An exacting response is needed to deny Russia control and ensure full conflict is avoided.”

Indeed, late last month, German and British Eurofighters intercepted two Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters and one Ilyushin Il-20 while the Russian aircraft were flying without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, according to Reuters. The NATO fighters were part of the alliance’s Baltic air policing mission, one of several efforts to defend the region against Russian air attack. 

“The Baltic nations—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—are situated on a critical air, land, and sea corridor, which requires a coordinated approach between allies to maintain and sustain international freedom of maneuver throughout the region,” the Air Force release stated.

Another effort is a Spanish National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) deployed to Latvia and coordinating with the Latvian Control and Reporting Center. The arrival of the Raptors makes the region’s air defenses even more secure.

The fifth-generation F-22, with its low observability, advanced sensors, and maneuverability, would make an attack on the Baltics a much more daunting prospect for Russian war planners. The Air Force release said the Raptor movement to Estonia was “an Agile Combat Employment deployment,” referring to the Air Force’s plan to complicate an enemy’s targeting process by moving air assets quickly between small air bases throughout an area of operations. 

By “rapidly fielding” the F-22s in Estonia, the service emphasized “the operational readiness of the coalition forces throughout the European theater and their ability to respond to defend NATO territory,” the release said.

CSO to Guardians: Space Force Needs a Better Mission Statement

CSO to Guardians: Space Force Needs a Better Mission Statement

May 15, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Quick: What’s the Space Force’s Mission Statement?

Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman challenged Guardians in his latest force-wide “C-note” to come up with a clearer, better mission statement. In the message, distributed May 15 and provided to Air & Space Forces Magazine by a source, Saltzman called a service’s mission statement “one of the most important expressions of service ethos.”  

“How many Guardians can recite the current mission statement of the Space Force? My guess is very few,” Saltzman said. That means it’s not doing it’s job.

Today’s Space Force mission statement is 36 words long: “The USSF is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.”

Saltzman argued a successful mission statement should be: 

  • Informative 
  • Memorable 
  • Inclusive 
  • Earn buy-in 

The current mission statement falls short because organizing, training, and equipping only covers functions performed by headquarters staffs, Saltzman said. But “Guardians deliver capability. Guardians operate some of the most technologically advanced systems in the world. In doing so, they deter aggression and, should deterrence fail, protect U.S. interests with military force.” 

Nor is the existing statement memorable, so it doesn’t generate buy-in from Guardians. Instead, he said, it’s “long and cumbersome.” Indeed, it’s four times longer than the Air Force’s mission statement: “To fly, fight, and win … Airpower anytime, anywhere.” 

“We can do better,” Saltzman said. Staff is already developing alternatives but Guardians can join the fight now. Saltzman asked for feedback and suggestions.

The CSO did not offer a timeline for when a new mission statement might be unveiled. 

NORAD Intercepts Russian Warplanes Near Military Exercise in Alaska

NORAD Intercepts Russian Warplanes Near Military Exercise in Alaska

May 15, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

U.S. fighter jets intercepted six Russian warplanes off the coast of Alaska on May 11 while a large multinational U.S.-led military exercise was underway in the state, the U.S. military announced.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and intercepted a mix of Russian bombers, tankers, and fighters in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The ADIZ serves as an early-warning buffer zone beyond U.S. airspace.

“These flights occurred as several planned large-scale U.S. military training exercises are ongoing within Alaska,” NORAD said in a statement. The command stressed the Russian planes remained in international airspace.

The Russian aircraft were Tu-95 Bear bombers, Il-78 tankers, and Su-35 Flanker-E fighters. The NORAD intercept mission included F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22 Raptors, KC-135 Stratotankers, and E-3 Sentry AWACS.

“It’s not the first Russian flight,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters May 15. “It probably won’t be the last.”

Ryder said that the U.S. “responded appropriately.”

Exercise Northern Edge 23 is ongoing in Alaska. Northern Edge is a massive multinational exercise involving the U.S., U.K., and Australian militaries led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Thousands of American service members, five ships, and more than 150 aircraft are participating, according to officials. The roughly two-week long exercise began May 4.

“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,” Ryder added later in a written statement.

Northern Edge is practicing “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 detail how many of each type of aircraft—Russian or American—were involved in the episode, or if the American aircraft that conducted the intercept are regularly assigned to NORAD. With Northern Edge ongoing, the U.S. has significant airpower in the area.

“NORAD tracks and positively identifies all military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, routinely monitors aircraft movements, and as necessary, escorts them from the ADIZ,” the joint U.S.-Canadian command said in a statement. NORAD hosted its 65th anniversary celebration just a day after the intercept at its headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo.

In its statement, NORAD stressed it did not see the Russian flight as a direct threat to any U.S. or allied forces in Alaska, nor any other part of the U.S. and Canada.

“This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD said.

A spokesperson for NORAD declined to provide further details of the incident.

U.S. intercepts of the Bear bombers and other Russian aircraft were commonplace during the Cold War. In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a resumption of long-range flights near North America, and NORAD intercepts of those aircraft have occurred with varying frequency since then, averaging six to seven incidents a year. It has happened at least three times before in 2023.

While Russia’s latest excursion into the ADIZ was not out of character, NORAD said, it was prepared to take action against a variety of threats if necessary.

“We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty,” the command said.

DOD Needs to Pick Up the Pace of Hypersonics Testing, Experts Say

DOD Needs to Pick Up the Pace of Hypersonics Testing, Experts Say

May 13, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

It’s urgent the Pentagon invest in more hypersonic test capabilities and accelerate the pace of testing if it’s to catch up to Russian and Chinese developments in the field, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), chair of the House hypersonics caucus, said May 12.

“We must expand testing and make it cheaper and more accessible. Testing is fundamentally in a logjam,” Lamborn said at a seminar discussing the National Defense Industrial Association’s Emerging Technologies Institute’s new report on deficiencies in the national hypersonics industrial base.

The lack of adequate test facilities—compounded by the need to test other other strategic programs—is “impeding forward progress in many defense technologies, but specifically hypersonics,” Lamborn said.

While “deconflicting test range schedules among other programs is challenging enough,” it becomes “all but impossible” to maintain a steady test-assess-retest rhythm, the congressman noted.

Each time a hypersonic test occurs, the military must position a series of tracking vessels, known as the “String of Pearls,” in the ocean to collect data. The process is so fraught with delays and hiccups, “it’s enough to make some want to throw up our hands and walk away from the endeavor entirely,” Lamborn said.

Specifically, the NDIA report noted the existing pace of hypersonic test flights is around a dozen per year or less.

That is “inadequate to effectively move production forward,” the report states, recommending an expanded test schedule. “Some experts believe testing should occur on a weekly basis.”

In order to increase the number of test flights, the report authors recommended the Pentagon partner with industry to cut costs.

A steady pace of testing is crucial, Lamborn noted, because it helps to develop expertise even if—or perhaps because—systems fail.

“I believe it’s true that we learn just as much from failures as we do from successes, if not more; this is what ultimately accelerates progress,” he said.

Seminar panelist Mark Lewis, former ETI director and former director of defense research and engineering, said the cadence of “being able to test early and often, on the ground and in the air, get things flying, break them, figure out why they broke, fly them again,” is the key to hypersonics progress.

The Air Force recently said it will “close out” its AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) boost-glide hypersonics program. The pace of testing the ARRW amounted to only a couple of shots per year at most, a tempo that hypersonics experts have said is too slow to work out the bugs in nascent technology.

Beyond simply more test flights, the report also had other recommendations for ways to enhance testing, such as more specific tests on different parts of a hypersonic system, as opposed to testing the entire thing.

Limiting the number of “simultaneously tested variables reduces the complexity of the overall experiment and should contribute to rapid progress,” the paper noted.

The report also recommended that test articles, which traditionally fall into the sea after a test, be recoverable to save time and money.

Similarly, the report urged exploiting new digital technology to accelerate development and testing.

“Creating digital models of the entire hypersonic system allows engineers to increase and improve testing before building physical prototypes and increases the speed of finding interferences,” the ETI noted. “Expanded digital testing provides substantial opportunities for cost reduction and rapid advancement.”

Testing infrastructure also needs to be upgraded, experts said, both in industry and at academic institutions. These facilities include wind tunnels and other capabilities to replace an overall “aging infrastructure” for high-speed testing, the report said.

Experts in hypersonics surveyed for the paper said “the most pressing need is for additional arc jet facilities providing ground-based hyperthermal environments” to support testing of thermal protection materials and vehicle structures, according to the paper.

Building arc jet facilities at academic institutions will help students get hands-on experience in the field, it argued, and help mitigate a shortage of skilled workers and designers in the field, which ETI called out elsewhere in its study.

A byproduct benefit would be that students “could be placed under contract” so they could “receive clearances prior to graduation,” expediting their entry into the professional hypersonic workforce, ETI said.

Congress has a role to play in supporting the hypersonic test enterprise too, the report noted, urging lawmakers to direct the Pentagon to “maintain a continuously-updated assessment of the testing infrastructure needed to support” hypersonic research and development, and production of components and vehicles.

With the help of regular assessments from the Pentagon’s Test Resource Management Center, Congress should avoid funding programs that don’t have enough test infrastructure “planned or in place to support stated goals for development and production,” the report stated.

Lamborn, for his part, noted that Congress has “consistently added funding for expanded testing capabilities” over the last few years, including the National Hypersonics Initiative. And he said he is encouraged by the creation of the Multiservice Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH TB)—a modular, experimental glide body being developed by Dynetics and Kratos that will provide DOD with a way to test hypersonic capabilities early in the process.

But “there’s still a lot of room for improvement” in hypersonic testing, Lamborn said, suggesting more such adds will be coming in the House version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.