Pentagon Wants to Buy 1,000s of Small, Cheap, Autonomous Drones in Next Two Years

Pentagon Wants to Buy 1,000s of Small, Cheap, Autonomous Drones in Next Two Years

Aug. 28, 2023 | By Chris Gordon and John A. Tirpak

The Pentagon is launching a new effort to build up mass with inexpensive autonomous systems, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced Aug. 28. And the department wants lots of those systems fast—within 18-24 months.

The goal, Hicks said, is simple: “small, smart, cheap, and many.”

Speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association conference in Washington, D.C., Hicks specified that “many” will mean multiple thousands of “attritable, autonomous systems in all domains, which are less expensive, put fewer people in the line of fire, and can be changed, updated, or improved with substantially shorter lead times.”

Hicks will lead the “Replicator Initiative,” as she dubbed it, and be supported by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Innovation Unit.

The driving force behind the initiative is the Pentagon’s concern about the sheer size of China’s military. According to the DOD’s own accounting, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has the world’s largest navy, a 1,000,000 personnel ground force, and more than 2,000 combat aircraft.

“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the [People’s Republic of China]’s biggest advantage, which is mass: more ships, more missiles, more people,“ Hicks said. “We’ll counter the PLA’s mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, and harder to beat.”

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks speaks at the NDIA’s Emerging Technologies For Defense Conference on Aug. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of NDIA

Some defense experts welcomed the high-level focus on autonomous technologies.

“What this clearly communicates is DOD’s sense of urgency, which I think is totally appropriate,” Caitlin Lee, the director of the Acquisition and Technology Policy Program at the RAND Corporation, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “The sense of urgency is all about China.”

The Pentagon declined to reveal specifics on exactly which systems Replicator covers, but undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment William LaPlante told reporters at the NDIA conference that they will be distinct from systems such as the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), which will be more expensive and are not intended to be attritable in a conflict.

“I would put them into two different categories,” LaPlante said, adding that Replicator platforms could be “very complimentary” to CCAs, which will likely involve a “family of systems.”

LaPlante declined to offer too many details on Replicator, though, deferring to Hicks—who also did not go into the details in her speech.

“We’re going to be cagey in terms of what we want to share,” Hicks said in a question-and-answer session after her address, citing the desire for the Pentagon not to tip off Beijing to its plans. She did note, however, that whatever the platform, the Pentagon would have a “responsible and ethical approach to AI and autonomous systems.”

Other details, such as how the initiative will be funded, are still unclear, though Hicks did promise more in the coming weeks.

The U.S. military has a large but publicly unknown number of relatively cheap uncrewed systems. U.S. Central Command, in particular, has several “task forces” devoted to relatively cheap, commercially adapted systems—from maritime drones patrolling the waters of the Middle East to Air Forces Central’s Task Force 99, which has begun using small drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Meanwhile, there are service-wide initiatives. The Army has tested both small land-based systems and small tactical drones that can be used by infantry through its Project Convergence experiments.

LaPlante said Replicator will likely follow a similar model, using mostly commercial technology.

“What’s the quickest way to get into quantity?” LaPlante said. “That’s the challenge you give yourself.”

“We think we got the production capability going,” Hicks added. “We have a lot of work going on across the department. This is really about unifying those efforts and scaling them up.”

Many of the Pentagon’s nascent drone capabilities and some novel industry efforts have been sent to Ukraine as part of U.S. aid packages following Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022. The Ukrainians have also procured small quadcopter and first-person vision racing drones of their own. The Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, estimates Ukraine loses around 10,000 drones of all types per month, showing both their critical importance and the massive numbers needed in modern armed conflict.

“If you think you’re headed for a war, particularly if you think you’re headed for a protracted war, it becomes really important to be able to bring mass to the fight,” Lee said, though she cautioned not all the lessons learned from Ukraine are applicable to a conflict in the Pacific. But the fact that the West’s defense industrial base has strained to keep up with the demand to restock Kyiv’s forces is clear.

“Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks is correct to highlight the need to gain the advantage afforded by mass to meet mission requirements that exist today and tomorrow,” Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

To gain that mass, Birkey said there are a number of different approaches, such as buying more advanced manned aircraft like the B-21 and F-35, or developing and producing cheaper systems such as CCAs.

“The end answer is not all one way or all the other,” Birkey said.

Hicks clarified that Replicator will not represent a wholesale shift away from large weapons systems.

“America still benefits from platforms that are large, exquisite, expensive, and few,” Hicks said in her address. “Rarely have America’s war-winning strategies relied solely on matching an adversary ship-for-ship and shot-for-shot”

The Pentagon wants to “scale whatever’s relevant in the future again and again and again,” she said.

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Staff Sgt. Dhruva S. Poluru 

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Staff Sgt. Dhruva S. Poluru 

Aug. 28, 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 Staff Sgt. Dhruva Poluru, Mission Planner and Strategist for the Air National Guard’s 222nd Command and Control Squadron in Rome, N.Y. 

Poluru’s background is in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Interested in space since he was a kid, Poluru thought it was too niche of a career field to dive into right out of the gate. 

“When I found out that the Guard made space super accessible to stay in school and do space operations, I took the chance,” he said. 

Little did he know that by joining the Air National Guard in the spring in 2019, his future would become heavily space-focused when the U.S. Space Force stood up later that year. In fact, he was working on a space-domain awareness project when he was selected as the first Air National Guard member to become certified to serve as a Joint Task Force, Space Defense Commercial Operations Mission Director. 

As the director for the pilot program, Poluru collaborated with up to 85 companies around the world to crowd-source satellite telemetry tracking data and provide indications and warning tippers to domestic and allied mission partners in real-time. 

He was also a crucial piece of the U.S. Space Command’s Global Sentinel exercise, which develops international partnerships with countries to help them develop their own space programs. Poluru facilitated the mentorship of U.S. allies through the New York State Partnership Program with space operations through hands-on satellite cataloging and tracking instruction. 

“We’re trying to expand our reach around the world when it comes to space because it’s a relatively newer domain for a lot of countries,” Poluru said. “With my technical background [and] tool sets, and then also being a mission director for the Joint Task Force space defense mission that is shareable with our partners, I was able to form relationships with these international partners, and then also train them into this mission set as well, while giving them tips on how to set up their space units, and how to use certain tools, and what to look for.” 

Poluru also tested and checked out a $55 million suite of electronic warfare equipment—from antennas in the field to small server racks at the units—to help them cater to different squadrons around the world, while producing the operational verification of a counter communication system upgrade. The upgrade made an impact on five Air National Guard Squadrons, as well as several deployed Space Force units in U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.  

“A lot of products already exist, a lot of mission systems already exist, whether it’s within the military or outside, whatever the case may be,” Poluru said. “We wanted to take what was there and modernize it. So, we [aligned] with where the Joint Chiefs of Staff were going. We need to have things more mobile, we need to have people more diverse in their mission sets, and focus on different [mission strategies] rather than the one mission set.” 

Although Poluru said he couldn’t have foreseen being an Airman who primarily supports space operations, he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I’m super happy to be in this role,” he said. “You throw the words ‘new project’ at me and I’ll almost instantly geek out. So yeah, the fact that I get to work on development, get to work with training, and work with people… yeah, did not know it would turn out this way, but I’m super glad it did.” 

Dhruva Poluru, Mission Planner and Strategist for the Air National Guard’s 222nd Command and Control Squadron in Rome, N.Y. 

His penchant for learning new programs, tackling unfamiliar projects, and excelling in unforeseen roles is something he’s been doing his whole life. 

“The person with the most impact [on me] would have to be my dad,” Poluru said. “He’s been doing this forever, where he facilitated any sort of opportunity or challenge that I wanted. Ever since I was kid he was like, ‘Oh, you know how to swing a baseball bat? Cool, you’re playing Little League.’” 

Now that he’s being nationally recognized as one of the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year, Poluru said he’s grateful to everyone who has invested time and taken a chance on him—he said the way his family supported him in his career decisions is what allowed him to make such an impressive impact on the Air and Space Forces in the first place. 

“’Outstanding’ to me just kind of means more than just the job itself,” he said. “The job is [the main thing] for sure—you know, doing good at your job, excelling at whatever tasks you’re given—but more than that, it also means how you’re developing as a person too, or what impact you make [on] other people.” 

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

How Moody Maintainers Saved an A-10 Warthog from an Early Retirement

How Moody Maintainers Saved an A-10 Warthog from an Early Retirement

Aug. 28, 2023 | By David Roza

The A-10’s time at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., may be drawing to a close—with a final departure date projected in 2028—but in the meantime, the base’s maintainers are pushing hard to keep the legendary close air support aircraft flying, even one that had been tabbed for a premature retirement to “The Boneyard.”

Over the course of 14 duty days from Aug. 2-22, Airmen from the 23rd Maintenance Group spent about 290 man-hours performing a roughly 350-step operation to save the A-10 in question, tail number 79-0193.

A structural rib on the aircraft’s horizontal stabilizer was severely damaged by a May 30 midflight bird strike, leading Air Force engineers to declare the jet unfit for flight, the Group said in a statement sent to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Maintainers were able to bring the aircraft back by swapping tail sections with a different A-10 at Moody, number 79-0135, that was already grounded due to a previous condition and being used as a munitions and maintenance training aid.

A repair of that size is usually performed at the A-10 maintenance depot at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, but engineers there gave Moody’s 74th Fighter Generation Squadron and the 23rd Maintenance Squadron special permission and guidance to get it done in Georgia.

The tail swap required Airmen to disconnect wires, hydraulic actuators, and flight control cable assemblies; hook and hoist the vertical and horizontal stabilizers with a crane; and perform about 60 electrical, hydraulic, and flight surface rigging checks to make sure the swap was successful. 

It was the first tail replacement performed at Moody since 2008, and it may have saved both jets from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), the Boneyard in the Arizona desert where decommissioned U.S. military aircraft are stored.

“If not for the repair, both 79-0193 and 79-0135 would have been decommissioned (divested) and sent to the boneyard (AMARG),” a 23rd Maintenance Group spokesperson said in a statement. “This repair allowed 79-0193 to get back into the fight and increase aircraft availability.”

The jet is not out of the woods yet; before it can return to operational status, it must pass a Functional Check Flight, where an experienced pilot flies the jet to make sure its systems are in working order. Moody will continues to use the 79-0135 aircraft for munitions and maintenance training until it receives further guidance from higher headquarters.

Still, the potential return of a A-10 is a major accomplishment for crews at Moody, who have to perform large maintenance operations like this more frequently as the fleet ages.

“As the years go by, we are starting to see more issues arise, and work diligently to schedule down time to work through major inspections and rebuilds as the need arises,” the 23rd Maintenance Group said.

While Air Force leaders are actively planning the final stages of the A-10’s service life, pilots and maintainers in the field need to keep the aircraft flying for at least a few more years. Doing so is no small feat and extends beyond the tail replacement at Moody. More than a decade ago, the Air Force started the process of replacing the wings on all of its A-10s. Some at Moody are still waiting for the upgrade.

a-10
An A-10 Thunderbolt II flies over Grand Bay Bombing and Gunnery Range at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Feb. 18, 2016. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian J. Valencia)

This June, the Air Force announced Moody will replace its A-10s with two squadrons of F-35A Lightning II fighters starting in fiscal 2029, pending environmental impact assessments. Congress approved the service’s request to cut 42 A-10s across the fleet in fiscal 2024, including six at Moody. The service plans to retire the other 48 at Moody through fiscal 2028.

Russian Harassment of US Drones over Syria Drops After F-35s Arrive in the Middle East

Russian Harassment of US Drones over Syria Drops After F-35s Arrive in the Middle East

Aug. 28, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

After a series of incidents in the skies over Syria, Russian pilots appear to have become less aggressive toward U.S. forces following the arrival of F-35 stealth multirole fighters to the Middle East, according to U.S. officials.

Originally tasked to deter Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Arabian Gulf, the F-35s have added capacity and capability throughout the region.

“We’re flying them in a number of different areas,” a senior U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine of the F-35. “We are flying them on missions up in Syria” and around the Arabian Gulf.

Those missions seem to be having an effect on Russian behavior, at least for now.

For example, Russian pilots have stopped dropping flares in front of U.S. MQ-9 drones after doing so multiple times in recent months—damaging the U.S. aircraft twice last month and interfering with an anti-ISIS strike.

“We have seen a decrease in the level of aggressiveness of the Russian activities against our MQ-9s,” the official said.

Importantly, the U.S. has not changed where it flies MQ-9s on defeat-ISIS missions, the senior U.S. defense official said. Those flights often occur in northwest Syria, an area where ISIS militants have sought refuge but which the Russians consider airspace they share with the regime of Bashar Al Assad.

It is premature to say if the calmer skies are here to stay.

“It’s too early for us to tell if that’s a major change of behavior or just an aberration,” the U.S. official said of Russian operations. “Some of that may be in response to kind of our increasing presence as we brought the F-35 in.”

A U.S. Air Force pilot assigned to the 421th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron sits in the cockpit of an F-35 Lightning II after landing at a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Aug.15, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Christian Silvera

The U.S. drones have not escaped the Russians’ attention. The U.S. senior defense official said that as recently as last week, Russia was still “intercepting” U.S. drones with one to two aircraft but doing so less often and without trying to directly interfere with U.S. flight operations.

While U.S. officials do not consider these actions unsafe, they said they still see them as “unprofessional” because the Russian aircraft have been getting close to the U.S. drones, and manned Russian planes, which are capable of carrying both air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons, have been overflying Al Tanf Garrison in eastern Syria, where the U.S. operates an outpost to train and support local groups fighting ISIS. The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria, supplemented by airpower. Russia is in Syria supporting the Assad regime.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the reason for the apparent shift in Russian operations. 

“In terms of Russian aggression or unprofessional, unsafe behavior, I would refer you to the Russians to speak to that as into why there’s been a decrease,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Aug. 21. “We have, of course, always followed the proper procedures when conducting our own operations.”

In Europe, Russian pilots have been “relatively safe and professional” since crashing into U.S. MQ-9 over the Black Sea in March, U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander Gen. James B. Hecker said Aug. 18 during a Defense Writers Group event. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not reply to a request for comment on recent Russian interactions with U.S. drones.

In the Middle East, the fifth-generation F-35 fighters, which are also highly capable sensing platforms, appear to have made their presence felt. At times, the F-35 squadron in Central Command has dispersed to multiple air bases, simultaneously deterring Iran and Russia.

Air Forces Central (AFCENT) has four fighter squadrons in the region, up from three in the spring: an F-35 squadron, an A-10 squadron, and two F-16 squadrons. A Texas Air Force Reserve unit left the region earlier this month but has since been replaced by the 125th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, an Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 unit from Tulsa.

Over in the Gulf region, Harrier jets from the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship have also relieved some pressure from Air Force fighter aircraft, though they still require aerial refueling tanker support, and USAF still assists with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Space Force and DIU Ask Industry For Help Launching a Satellite on 24 Hours’ Notice

Space Force and DIU Ask Industry For Help Launching a Satellite on 24 Hours’ Notice

Aug. 25, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force is expanding its effort to be able to launch a satellite into orbit on a moment’s notice.

Along with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, USSF is asking industry in a new solicitation released Aug. 24 for the next capability in its “tactically responsive space” mission, dubbed Victus Haze. The goal: Combine ground stations, launch capabilities, and a satellite and be ready to launch on 24 hours’ notice, and mission-ready within 48 hours of reaching orbit.

That includes rendezvous and proximity operations, the ability to maneuver the satellite close to another satellite, and to “inspect and characterize a simulated threat,” the solicitation says. 

The satellite must also be able to remain operational for at least six months. 

Victus Haze builds on the Space Force’s other ongoing tactically responsive space mission, Victus Nox. Space Systems Command awarded contracts almost a year ago, in September 2022, to satellite maker Millennium Space Systems and launch services provider Firefly Aerospace. The two have been waiting for the call to action since April.  

Victus Haze will “focus on end-to-end execution using commercial capabilities,” according to a DIU release. “It is critical that we tap into and leverage commercially developed capabilities—ones that we can rapidly field to execute the VICTUS HAZE mission and then be able to count on for future [tactically responsive space] operational needs,” said Maj. Jason Altenhofen, deputy for the Space Safari Program Office at SSC, in the release. 

Specifically, the Space Force and DIU want ideas that are “novel in capability, responsiveness, and delivery accuracy.” The satellite must be flight-ready within 12-18 months and “scalable with different payloads.” 

After that, the launch provider, satellite-maker, and ground control segment will enter the “hot standby” phase, ready to set the stage for a launch within 48 hours. That is followed by an “alert” phase, where providers must remain ready for 30 days. Once given “notice to launch,” final preparations must be made in anticipation of launching in the next available launch window within 24 hours. 

Once in orbit, the satellite will conduct space domain awareness operations. 

“The number and complexity of adversary threats in space is constantly growing,” said Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough in a statement. “To rapidly respond to those threats, we need to deliver the most advanced capabilities the U.S. has to offer. VICTUS HAZE will help provide the advantage we need to assess the threats and continue our ability to freely maneuver in space.” 

Adversary threats include direct ascent anti-satellite weapons and “nesting doll” satellites that can fire projectiles in orbit, both of which Russia has tested in recent years. China has also tested a direct ascent weapon and a satellite capable of grabbing and “grappling” another satellite in orbit. 

In the face of those threats, Space Force leaders have emphasized the need for counterspace weapons of their own, larger groups of smaller satellites, and diversified orbits. Tactically responsive space adds one more dimension: the ability to reconstitute satellite constellations or compromised capabilities. 

Congress is supportive, adding $115 million to the Space Force’s budget over the past three years. USSF is asking for $30 million for tactically responsive space in 2024, and anticipates seeking the same in 2025. 

DIU has been instrumental in accelerating acquisition of a variety of experimental and rapid-development concepts since its launch in 2015. Its mission is to acceleration the infusion of commercial technology into the military by helping partners organizations across the Department of Defense to quickly field commercial capabilities to solve real-world operational challenges at scale. DIU is also working with the Space Force on projects like high-speed cargo delivery through space. 

Photos: Air Force Will Take on Navy in Special Doolittle Raider Uniforms

Photos: Air Force Will Take on Navy in Special Doolittle Raider Uniforms

Aug. 25, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

When Air Force takes on Navy for their annual football matchup on Oct. 21 in Annapolis, Md., the Falcons will be clad in special uniforms commemorating the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, a seminal moment in airpower history. 

The U.S. Air Force Academy’s special alternate uniforms, unveiled Aug. 15 as part of USAFA’s annual “Air Power Legacy Series,” feature design elements inspired by the daring 1942 mission in which 16 B-25 bombers, under the command of Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, flew some 750 miles from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, delivering the first retaliatory strike on the Japanese homeland since the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor 132 days earlier. 

Doolittle initially considered the raid something less than success. While the attack caused some damage and demonstrated Japan was not beyond reach of U.S. airpower, all 16 bombers were lost, and seven of his Airmen died or were executed after being captured. Four others spent the duration of the war as POWs. But the mission proved to be a major morale boost to the American public.

Doolittle was awarded the Medal of Honor for planning and leading the strike, and the “Doolittle Raiders” became giants in the history of the U.S. Army Air Forces and the eventual U.S. Air Force. The new B-21 bomber was nicknamed “Raider” in their honor, and the last of the Raiders died in 2019.

The special uniforms feature a B-25 bomber on one side of its chrome-colored helmets, and the Doolittle Raiders patch on the other. The patch includes heraldry from the 17th Bombardment Group and the 34th, 37th, 89th, and 95th squadrons, and featuring the French phrase “Toujours au Danger”—“Ever into Peril.”

Players will be in white, with “Air Force” emblazoned across and players numbers numbers stenciled in a steel-and-rivet design. A patch signifying the tail number of one of the participating aircraft—players will sport different tail numbers—will be worn on each player’s chest, and the Raiders patch will be afixed to the shoulders.  

“Toujours au Danger” will be reprised on one pants leg, while “Ever into Peril” will be on the other. 

“The Doolittle Raiders are not just Air Force heroes, but American heroes,” said Dr. Patrick Donley, Director of the Doolittle Leadership Center at the the Air & Space Forces Association and a 1991 USAFA graduate. “The Air Force-Navy game is also an ideal forum to highlight the Doolittle Raid. First, it was a great, early example of successful joint warfare, requiring tremendous cooperation and trust-building between the Army Air Forces and the Navy. And second, the raid demonstrated boldness, courage, and innovation—traits that are vital for Airmen, Guardians and, really, the entire joint force today. Finally, the Raiders put their lives on the line to fulfill their duty, a remarkable and fearless demonstration of sacrificial, selfless leadership.”

Doolittle is closely tied to AFA’s own history, Donley added. He was AFA’s first president, and photos of him and of his Raiders in action still adorn the walls of AFA’s headquarters today. AFA’s Doolittle Leadership Center provides hands-on leadership training for Airmen, Guardians, and civilians at all levels.

This marks the eighth “Air Power Legacy Series” uniform USAFA has unveiled since the program started in 2016. The uniforms have commemorated everything from the Space Force to the Tuskegee Airmen, with s nod to Operation Linebacker II from the Vietnam War in between. 

  • 2022: Space Force 
  • 2021: B-52 Stratofortress and Operation Linebacker II 
  • 2020: Tuskegee Airmen 
  • 2019: C-17 Globemaster III 
  • 2018: AC-130 Spooky 
  • 2017: F-35 Lightning II 
  • 2016: Tiger Shark Teeth nose art

Army and Navy have also sported numerous alternate uniforms in the past decade, commemorating memorable operations, campaigns, units, and more. 

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: SrA. Jacob J. Tawasha 

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: SrA. Jacob J. Tawasha 

Aug. 25, 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, Maryland. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Senior Airman Jacob Tawasha, a Fire Team Leader for the 349th Security Forces Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. 

Tawasha is a first-generation Arab American—his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Al-Karak, a small village in south Jordan, and he grew up learning Arabic from his mom. When he enlisted with the U.S. Air Force in 2019 and joined the 349th Security Forces Squadron at Travis, he had no idea his dual-language skills would end up breaking barriers during a deployment to the Middle East—much less, that he’d be teaching English to Jordanians to improve coalition interoperability. 

“Once I heard that we were deploying to that area, I kind of got excited,” Tawasha said. “[But] I didn’t know going into this deployment that I was going to be so helpful … I thought I was just gonna go there and sit at a gate and check IDs for 12 hours a day. But that was not the case.” 

Deployed to support Operation Inherent Resolve in 2022, Tawasha worked with a team to secure over 50 combat aircraft valued at more than $6 billion dollars. During his deployment, his bilingual skills resolved a longstanding border issue that had been preventing U.S. Air Force and Army convoys from transporting equipment between installations in neighboring countries. 

“The Air Force and Army tried to [cross the border on the ground] multiple times before me, [but] the neighboring countries would deny them,” he said. “When they brought me along, what changed the whole game was me being not only an interpreter, but me being a first-generation Arab American. I was able to tell them, ‘hey, you know, it’s okay. This is what we’re doing, this is what we’re here for, and that’s why we’re transporting these items across the border to the base that’s already in your country.’” 

With Tawasha’s help as a lingual intermediary, 11 convoys were able to cross international borders without delay or conflict. He was also selected to provide security for Exercise Agile Lion, safeguarding more than 100 personnel and protecting more than $2 billion in Air Force assets. 

While deployed, Tawasha’s duty schedule was three days on, one day off. He volunteered 28 hours of his off-duty days to teach Arabic and English to Jordanian, German, and U.S. personnel at an undisclosed location. 

“It’s hard to communicate and teach someone another language if you don’t know their primary,” Tawasha said. “I was able to break that and say, ‘Hey, let’s change up the training material and let’s do it like this.’”  

By speaking the same language as the Wing’s Jordanian partners, Tawasha was able to directly improve the interoperability between U.S. forces and their allies working together on a single installation. 

“When [our international partners] have someone in uniform speaking their language, that [tells] them, ‘Hey, you know what, they have a lot of cultural differences, they know what we’re about, because they understand our culture if they can speak our language,’” he said. “It shows them that we truly care and that we can trust one another.” 

The 2023 Outstanding Airman of the Year award is not the first time Tawasha has been recognized for showing talent as a Multi-Capable Airman. Across 25 assignments and patrols, he was recognized by the Company Grade Officers’ Council’s “Above the Bar Award,” the First Sergeant Council’s “Diamond Sharp Award,” and was a two-time “Defender of the Month.”  

Tawasha said that his drive throughout all these accomplishments comes from a place of simplicity, humility, and hunger to set new goals—three qualities modeled for him by his parents. 

“My [parents] grew up in a very poor environment,” he said. “My mom grew up with 10 other siblings in a one-bedroom apartment. So growing up, when my mom and dad explained these things to me, they wanted me to perform better both on the civilian side and when I joined the military side, and to better myself, so I can be better to them, for them—they didn’t immigrate to this country for me to slack off. I’m here to get the job done and to put my name out there for them.” 

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

Former Chief Scientists: Office Move May Hurt S&T’s Influence on Air Force Decision-Making

Former Chief Scientists: Office Move May Hurt S&T’s Influence on Air Force Decision-Making

Aug. 25, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

A number of former Chief Scientists of the Air Force are concerned that a planned office move for the position—away from the core work area of service leaders—will diminish its influence and send a negative signal to the scientific community, they told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

In the coming months, current Chief Scientist Victoria Coleman will move offices from the fourth floor of the E ring of the Pentagon, near the service’s Secretary and Chief of Staff, to the fifth floor on the D ring.

An Air Force spokesperson said the new offices are “67 percent larger” than the ones being vacated in the next few months, and that the move is one in a series affecting USAF leadership that started when the Department of the Air Force needed to find room for Space Force leaders.

“Office space assignments do not indicate the priority or importance of an office holder,” the spokesperson said.

The Air Force Chaplain organization is moving into the Chief Scientist’s office space, she said.

“No Chief Scientist would trade the E ring for a bigger office,” said Mark J. Lewis, who held the position from 2004-2008, and later served as the deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, from 2018 to 2021.

While office location “might seem … a trivial matter, in this case, it is not,” he added.

The Chief Scientist position holds no direct authority over budget or programs but retains significant impact through “influence … with the Chief, with the Secretary, and with the rest of the Air Force leadership,” Lewis said. “That’s why the location … on the E ring, as a fully recognized member of the Air Staff, is so incredibly important.”

Any visitor to the office “knows immediately that this is an office with influence. Not because of controlled money [or] managed programs, but because of the access and position that an E ring office confers,” Lewis argued. That location “is a powerful symbol across the entire Air Force [science and technology] enterprise, telling the many scientists” in the Air Force Research Laboratory and various commands “that they have a voice and a spokesperson at the highest levels of the Air Force leadership.”

The post is a symbol of the Air Force’s “special commitment to science and technology,” he added.

The Secretary and Chief need “the unvarnished, independent, and objective analysis” that a Chief Scientist can offer, Lewis said, and “the value of the office has always been that the holder can speak the truth, without fear of retribution or reprisal.”

Two former Chief Scientists said the relocation may spell the end of that unique status.     

Louis S. Metzger, who held the post from 1999-2001, echoed Lewis’s remarks that although the Chief Scientist “has no policy-making or fiscal authority or larger organization reporting to it,” the position’s “contributions are realized only through influence; in other words, by convincing others to take action.”

That influence is “enhanced by its access to the highest levels of Air Force leadership,” Metzger said, noting a track record of Chief Scientists who were able to wield their influence to benefit the Air Force.

“It would be unfortunate if the connection, real or perceived, between the [Chief Scientist] and top Air Force leadership is weakened in any way, as it could reduce [Chief Scientist‘s] beneficial impact going forward,” he said.

Michael I. Yarymovich, who served as the Chief Scientist from 1973 to 1975, said his position’s unique status as a civilian on the Air Staff, with a direct report to the Chief and Secretary, meant he could be completely frank with leadership. The Air Force especially needs candor now, at a time when it needs to reinvent itself and innovate, he said.

One former Chief Scientist who preferred not to be identified said they worried that move was prompted by “those who may not like an independent voice” on science and technology at the Air Staff table.

The Chief Scientist serves on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and most incumbents have developed technology forecasts, such as Technology Horizons, which look decades ahead to scientific developments that will affect how the Air Force operates in the future. The position also serves on the service’s Steering Committee and Senior Review Group.

The position—which is unique among the military services—got its start with Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who served as “special assistant for scientific matters” under chief of staff Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg in 1951. Later that year, a civilian—Louis N. Ridenour—was appointed to the role.

The Air Force spokesperson said changing the location of the Chief Scientist’s office “will not result in a change in the frequency of contact” with the Chief and Secretary. 

Though a floor away, “the new Chief Scientist office will actually be closer to the Secretary’s and Chief’s offices,” she said. There’s been “no change in the reporting structure or importance of the Chief Scientist,” she added.

Lewis said he and some other former Chief Scientists have discussed a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall urging him to keep the position physically located where it is now.

Coleman has been Chief Scientist of the Air Force since April 2021. Previously, she served as head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She has not indicated any plans to leave the post, the Air Force spokesperson said.

MTS-3060A SmartCan™ – Empowering ACE and Multi-Capable Airmen 

MTS-3060A SmartCan™ – Empowering ACE and Multi-Capable Airmen 

Aug. 25, 2023 | By Adam Wells and Stephen T. Sargeant

The Agile Combat Employment (ACE) operational concept, a proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase survivability while generating combat power, provides a starting point for Airmen to codify best practices.  However, this can be quite challenging for the aircraft armament maintainer when confronted with ineffective or outdated tools and test equipment.  Maintainers understand the challenges of using outdated and/or less-capable test sets to support both legacy and Smart weapon systems on 4th and 5th generation military aircraft, including long test times, inconclusive results, utilization of multiple test sets, increased training demands, and a large logistics footprint.

Efforts to develop and field a next generation armament test set capable of addressing these short-comings have resulted in an exceptionally effective solution: the MTS-3060A SmartCan.  The SmartCan is the most advanced handheld armament flightline test set available, capable of testing all Alternate Mission Equipment (AME) and Aircraft Armament Equipment (AAE) including pylons, launchers, bomb racks, POD interfaces and gun, and able to support 4th, 5th, and 6th Generation aircraft – today.  

Unlike legacy handheld testers that are only capable of performing stray voltage and continuity tests, the Smart Can’s test capabilities enable full functional MIL-STD-1760 test to ensure that armament systems are ready to support Smart weapons before they are loaded.  Simultaneous testing of multiple squib signals, combined with a unique cross-fire algorithm, delivers a robust test process that is superior to all O-Level armament test sets in service today. Coupled with munitions emulation communication channels supporting all existing weapons protocols, the SmartCan provides a full system test of all legacy and Smart weapons’ armament.

On-aircraft SmartCan demonstrations prove significant benefits for armament maintainers.

Developed in conjunction with armament maintainers and munition manufacturers, the ergonomic design, rapid test times, and ease of use all contribute to the proven success of the globally deployed MTS-3060A SmartCan in all flightline environments.  Incorporating over 30 measurement channels, electronic loads, communications interfaces (MIL-STD-1553, MMSI, Ethernet, CAN Bus, RS-485), dedicated/continuous multiple squib circuit monitoring, and with audio and video signal generators, the SmartCan delivers functionality previously found only in larger, multi-box test sets. 

The rugged, handheld construction of the SmartCan, when combined with the ability to operate in adverse weather conditions, enables field operation anywhere in the world, making it the ultimate tool for flightline armament test.  The unique power management system utilizes just six standard or rechargeable AA batteries that allows operation of the SmartCan for over 40 hours, without the need to replace or recharge the batteries.  An innovative calibration technique, utilizing NIST traceable high-precision references, has been incorporated into the design, eliminating the need to remove the SmartCan from the flightline for calibration, reducing down-time and support required from metrology, and simplifying logistics.

Test results and measurement variances for each weapon are displayed real-time for review, analysis, and fault isolation.  Test log files can easily be moved or copied via the removable SD card for printing and analysis. This improved availability of data for analysis and predictive maintenance activities can ultimately decrease troubleshooting and repair times, enhancing mission readiness. 

Live, on-aircraft demonstrations have yielded time savings as high as 89% per weapons station, over eight O-Level testers consolidated, true video and audio injection, six bomb racks tested simultaneously, and operationally representative weapons emulation. The chart below shows a few of the demonstrated improvements in setup and test times for F-16 pylons and launchers.

Advanced cybersecurity features and protections further differentiate the SmartCan, making this the most cybersecure O-Level armament test set available.  Data encryption, a custom-developed operating system, NIST certified software enabling Test Program Set (TPS) development, and a removable hard drive all contribute to the security of the SmartCan.

The ability to streamline TPS development and release cycles is another key advantage of the SmartCan.  MTS offers a TPS development suite, ATEasy® and SmartCanEasy™, to allow users to develop, create, and integrate their own test programs as new weapons enter their inventory. With this capability, armament test professionals can create and maintain test programs without the need for contractor support, greatly expanding the utility of the test set.  The rapid, organic TPS development capability will allow the air forces to keep their support equipment software synchronized with the aircraft under the rapid software development model.

The SmartCan provides outstanding armament test capabilities for all armed aircraft and their armament systems, supporting warfighters deployed under the USAF’s ACE CONOPS, and enabling the creation of true Multi-Capable Airmen.  One test set, all platforms, all armament systems.