SPACECOM Nominee Wants More Commercial Tech

July 26, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

U.S. Space Command should work with and buy from commercial industry as much as possible, said Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting during a July 26 hearing on his nomination to become SPACECOM’s commander .

“Partnering with commercial entities enables [SPACECOM] to adapt faster, innovate more reliably, integrate cutting-edge technology on an accelerated timeline, bolster space architecture resilience, develop a better understanding of the space domain, expedite decision making, and devise economical solutions to strategic problems,” Whiting wrote in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

During the hearing, Whiting highlighted in particular his experience at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., working with the Commercial Integration Cell that is underneath SPACECOM.

“We brought in the 10 companies that we contract with the most for capability through the Department of Defense,” Whiting said. “And in that cell, we share intelligence at the highest level, we get insights into what’s happening in their constellations. Because we believe if we all have that insight, we operate better together. So that’s just one example of the ways that if confirmed, I would want to continue to drive our ability to leverage American industry because of the advantages it brings forth.”

SPACECOM has already announced plans to expand the cell to include more contractors, highlighting the explosive growth of the modern space industry.Whiting said he wants to encourage growth through a “buy first” mindset in which the Pentagon seeks leverage commercial technology before considering developing capabilities from scratch.

“At all times, we will encourage the Services and other acquisition organizations to first look to buy existing commercial capabilities when it can meet our requirements, then look to exploit available commercial technologies for military purposes, and finally, to build military-unique systems only when required,” Whiting wrote in his testimony.

Whiting’s comments align with what Space Systems Command and the Space Development Agency leaders have pushed for, and Whiting endorsed SDA’s approach in response to written questions about whether the agency should continue to acquire and rapidly field satellites.

In addition to buying commercial technology, Whiting also said he wants to work with industry to take advantage of existing space capabilities already have in orbit, such as sensors and communications capacity.

Separately, Space Systems Command released a draft framework on July 25 to formalize how commercial space capabilities might be leveraged in a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve. Similar to the Air Force’s Civil Reserve Air Fleet, this industrial capability would supplement military capabilities in time of war. The document details different levels of conflict and how the U.S. government might be able to utilize commercial satellite constellations in a crisis, even to the point of taking over exclusive access to those satellites. Commercial partners would also provide some level of capability in peacetime and benefit from “improved info and threat-sharing.”

The blurring of distinction between military and civilian uses could have long-term implications in terms of what constitutes civilian vs. military targets. The framework notes the potential for government-backed “war risk insurance” for companies whose satellites are used in conflicts—highlighting the risk that adversaries could harm those satellites with counterspace weapons.

Whiting demurred when pressed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on whether an attack on U.S. commercial satellites constitutes an act of war. That’s a policy question, he said, but he added that SPACECOM is required to have options at hand to defend commercial space capabilities. It’s important for government and private industry to work together to minimize risk, he said.

“We must continue to partner with those companies, so that they look to build resilience into their systems,” Whiting continued. “and then partner with them, that if we do need to actively defend them, we have the communication avenues open to be able to do so.”

F-35s Arrive in CENTCOM Amid Threats from Russia, Iran

July 26, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A dozen U.S. Air Force F-35s have arrived in the Middle East to beef up U.S. Central Command’s airpower in the region and deter Iran from seizing oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the service announced July 26.

The deployment of the aircraft also comes as Russian fighters have stepped up their harassment of U.S. aircraft over Syria.

“The F-35’s increased capacity and capability will allow the U.S. to fly in contested airspace across the theater if required,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) spokesman Col. Mike Andrews said in a statement.

The F-35 deployment was first announced last week by the Pentagon as part of a package of forces heading to the region, including a destroyer and the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship with U.S. Marines after Iran attempted to seize commercial vessels near its waters earlier this month.

Since then, U.S. forces have had yet more run-ins with Russians over the skies of Syria. On July 23, a Russian Su-35 fighter unleashed flares that damaged a propeller blade on an American MQ-9 drone. The episode was similar to one in March when a Russian fighter crashed into a U.S. MQ-9 over the Black Sea, forcing U.S. operators to down the Reaper in the sea, according to the Pentagon. On July 26, another Russian fighter damaged an American drone over Syria with flares, U.S. officials said. The Associated Press first reported the July 26 incident.

A U.S. official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Russian fighter was intentionally trying to damage the U.S. MQ-9 on July 23.

There have been other confrontations over Syria as well. Earlier in the month, a Russian fighter flew near a U.S. turboprop MC-12, endangering the lives of the four crew members when the plane was caught in the fighter’s jet wash, according to AFCENT commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich.

Russia also flew a surveillance plane of its own, an An-30, over the U.S. military’s Al Tanf garrison in eastern Syria for a prolonged period earlier this month. The U.S. did not have a fighter presence up over base at that time. The F-35s will aid the Air Force’s ability to respond to threats throughout the region, U.S. officials said.

The F-35 deployment consists of a squadron of stealthy multirole fighters from the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah. There are now four fighter squadrons in CENTCOM: two F-16 squadrons, one A-10 squadron, and one F-35 squadron.

“This deployment demonstrates the U.S.’s commitment to ensure peace and security in the region, through maritime support and support to the coalition’s enduring mission to defeat ISIS in Syria,” Andrews said.

Air Forces Central declined to say which locations the F-35s are operating from or discuss the length of the deployment, citing “host nation requests” and operational security.

Over Syria, the F-35s could aid the USAF by conducting defensive counter-air missions or combat air patrols.

The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria and partners with Kurdish groups to defeat the remnants of ISIS. U.S. aircraft support the effort by providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, force protection, and airstrikes, including one by an MQ-9 on July 7 that killed an ISIS leader in western Syria as he was riding on his motorcycle.

Russia is in Syria supporting the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

In recent months, however, MQ-9s operating against ISIS have been harassed by Russian aircraft, even though ISIS is ostensibly a common foe. In November 2022, a Russian-controlled surface-to-air missile fired at a U.S. drone, in addition to the most recent incidents.

U.S. officials have charged that recent Russian aerial actions over Syria complicate the fight against ISIS.

“We do not seek escalation; we do not seek war with Russia,” deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters July 25. “But there’s no excuse for Russian forces’ continual harassment of our MQ-9s, especially after years of operating within the region and after years of also being very clear on what our goals are, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

Meanwhile, Iran has stepped up its attempts to seize oil tankers as they transit the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.

That prompted the Pentagon to add F-16s to the A-10s that were originally aiding the U.S. Navy in patrolling the skies over the Gulf.

“In coordination with our regional allies, partners, and the U.S. Navy, the F-35s will partner with A-10s and F-16s already in theater helping monitor the Strait of Hormuz,” Andrews said.

On July 23, Iran said it was commencing an annual air force drill. State media said more than 90 fighters, bombers, and drones were participating in the exercise, called “Devotees of the Supreme Leader-11.” One U.S. official described coordination between Iran and Russia in the region as “covert.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated with details of a July 26 incident between Russian and American aircraft.

Your Next CSAF: Allvin Chosen to Succeed Brown as Chief

July 26, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

President Joe Biden has nominated Gen. David W. Allvin to be the next Air Force Chief of Staff.

If confirmed, Allvin, currently Vice Chief of Staff, would succeed Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., whose nomination to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee but still awaits confirmation by the full Senate.

Allvin has been the front-runner for the job for months. His nomination was first published in the Congressional Record, then confirmed by the White House in an announcement July 26.

“I am honored and privileged to be nominated as the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force,” Allvin said in a statement. “If confirmed, I will continue the tradition and legacy of integrity, service and excellence that this position requires. Gina and I are humbled to serve our Air Force, our Airmen and their families.”

A career mobility and test pilot with an extensive operational and staff background, Allvin maintained a low profile for most of his tenure as the vice, but began taking a more public role at the start of the year, laying the groundwork for him to become the face of the force.

Allvin, the 40th Vice Chief of Staff, would be the 10th vice chief to become Chief of Staff and the third in the past 20 years, following Gen. David Goldfein, Chief No. 21, and Gen. T. Michael Moseley, No. 18. He would be only the second Chief, and the first since Gen. Norton A. Schwartz (No. 19), to have been neither a fighter nor bomber pilot.

As an Air Staff leader, Allvin was a visionary who helped to craft the joint force operating concepts advanced by three successive chiefs: Gen. Mark Welsh, No. 20, along with Goldfein and Brown. He helped write “America’s Air Force: A Call to the Future” in 2014 and the “Air Force Future Operating Concept” in 2015, both critical precursors to what would become Goldfein’s vision for multi-domain operations and, ultimately, what is now known throughout the services as Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

More recently, he has been a leading voice tackling the service’s challenges with recruiting and retention.

“Gen. Dave Allvin is the right leader for this defining decade, as our Air Force continues to adapt to the evolving global security environment, and ensure we have the culture, concepts and capabilities needed to compete and win in a highly-contested environment,” Brown said in a statement. “His expertise in strategy and planning will be crucial to the service’s success in this era of sustained strength and deterrence.”

Assuming he is confirmed, Allvin should find many familiar faces among his fellow Joint Chiefs, joining several fellow vice chiefs who fleeted up: Army Gen. Randy George (nominated to be the next Army chief), Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti (nominated to be the next Chief of Naval Operations), and Gen. Eric Smith (nominated to be the next Commandant of the Marine Corps). All four served on the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, and all four are expected to be confirmed as service chiefs.

However, Allvin’s and the other vice chief nominations are in limbo—along with hundreds of other general officer nominations. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) continues his legislative hold on all general and flag officer nominations, which he began on March 8. That hold has prevented the Senate from approving those nominations at once by voice vote. Tuberville’s hold is in protest of a Pentagon policy to provide paid leave and travel funds for troops and family members who seek reproductive services, such as abortions, that are not available where they are based. The policy was created to ensure equal access to those services in the wake of Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

While Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Tuberville have spoken several times in the past few weeks, there has been no progress in resolving the issue. In the meantime, more than 250 nominations remain stalled.

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

Right now, the Senate is focused on passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act before lawmakers leave Washington D.C. for the August recess. Assuming Tuberville’s concerns are not resolved through the bill, all the nominations will remain pending until at least September.

RTX Expects Even More Demand in the Next Year to Replenish Missiles Sent to Ukraine

July 25, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

RTX, maker of the Patriot, AMRAAM, Sidewinder, Javelin, Stinger, and other missiles featuring significantly in the war in Ukraine—and in the defense preparations of neighboring NATO countries—has logged about $2 billion in replenishment orders as a result of the conflict and expects to top that figure in the coming year, chief executive officer Greg Hayes said in a July 25 earnings call.

Separately, President Joe Biden’s administration on July 25 announced yet another drawdown of weapons from U.S. stocks to be provided to Ukraine worth $400 million, including many of those same systems Hayes referenced.

Hayes said the company—until recently known as Raytheon Technologies—is “so bullish” on defense systems sales “for the next couple of years” because it has logged large orders for AIM-120 AMRAAM and other missiles, and that all 18 countries using the Patriot air defense system are or will be ordering new Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) rounds for their Patriot launchers.

“We have orders coming from NATO,” he said. “I think in the back half of the year … we’re planning on significant order intake on both AMRAAM and GEM-T, as well as, of course, Excalibur,” which is a guided, extended-range artillery shell. “We got the Javelin order [and] we had the Stinger order already,” Hayes noted. “Those orders will continue to grow.”

“Right now, we still have only seen $2 billion of orders associated specifically with Ukraine replenishment,” Hayes said. “We think there’s probably another $2.5 billion coming in the next 12 months, associated with just the Ukraine replenishment, on top of the GEM-Ts.”

AMRAAM sales through the Air Force channel of the Foreign Military Sales program have been $1.2 billion this year so far, with German and Ukrainian orders in that package, Hayes noted.

Company officials also pointed to $265 million in orders for the Javelin anti-tank missile and $251 million in orders for the AIM-9X Sidewinder dogfight missile.

Chief financial officer Neil Mitchell said Raytheon booked $1.1 billion in classified awards in the second quarter but also reported “headwinds” on several classified programs amounting to “$40-$50 million” in the Raytheon Intelligence and Space business, “and that happened just as we closed out the quarter.” He could not describe the affected programs, but said they are “in the test phase” and that the company is “learning through that phase,” which has “a bit longer to go.”

Hayes, meanwhile, noted that the House and Senate were supportive of major RTX programs while marking up the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, including hypersonics, the nuclear Long-Range Stand-Off missile, and the Pratt & Whitney unit’s F135 engine upgrades.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in announcing the latest defense assistance to Ukraine, said the package includes “air defense munitions, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and anti-armor capabilities, as well as other equipment essential to strengthening Ukraine’s brave forces on the battlefield, helping them retake Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and defend their fellow citizens.”

According to the Pentagon, the lasts package specifically includes:

Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)

Stinger anti-aircraft systems

Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)

155mm and 105mm artillery rounds

120mm and 60mm mortar rounds

32 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers

Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles

Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets

Hornet Unmanned Aerial Systems

Hydra-70 aircraft rockets

Tactical air navigation systems

Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing

Over 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades

Night vision devices and thermal imagery systems

Spare parts, training munitions, and other field equipment

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the military services are fully consulted on what is provided in these “excess” materiel packages provided to Ukraine and can “weigh in on what they have available on their shelves.” The U.S. will always “maintain a level of our readiness, while also being able to support Ukraine” and will “continue to assess what we can flow to them without dropping below our own readiness level.”

How US, UK, and Australia Aim to Cut Costs, Speed Delivery of E-7 Wedgetail

July 25, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia agreed to “generate, operate, and sustain a fleet of interoperable E-7 aircraft,” according to a document signed by each countries’ air chiefs and released to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The trio of air forces want to share costs, minimize duplicative efforts and differences in design, and “accelerate E-7 capability delivery,” a vital need as aging U.S. AWACS aircraft become fewer in number and harder to sustain.

The E-7 Wedgetail Joint Vision Statement, announced on July 17, was not immediately released to the public. But the full text of the agreement signed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, and Royal Australian Air Force Chief Air Marshal Robert Chipman was provided to Air & Space Forces Magazine July 25.

The statement does not formally commit the partners to specific plans or objectives, but it demonstrates how closely the three nations plan to work together to develop and deploy the next-generation airborne early warning and control aircraft.

Australia already has six E-7 Wedgetails, and both the U.S. and U.K. plan their own acquisitions. The RAF plans to buy three Wedgetails and reach initial operational capability in 2024; USAF projects a fleet of 26 aircraft, with first delivery in 2027.

Partnering should benefit everything from “capability development, evaluation and testing, interoperability, sustainment, operations, training, and safety.” Specifically, each air force has its own needs:

RAF: Simplify the Wedgetail’s entry into service for the RAF

USAF: Accelerate development, testing, and fielding

RAAF: Accelerate upgrades

The partners will “engage in joint discussions to identify and develop future opportunities for cost sharing, minimize duplicative efforts, cooperate on technical maturation, enhance interoperability, accelerate E-7 capability delivery, and align sustainment where there is a shared need.”

Saving money is of prime concern to Britain. The U.K. Defence Committee in Parliament complained two weeks ago that the E-7 represents “extremely poor value.” After the RAF cut its planned buy from five to three Wedgetails, the service remained liable to pay for five Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radars, greatly reducing its savings. All told, the program’s projected cost is £1.89 billion ($2.5 billion), compared to the original plan of £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion).

The U.S., meanwhile, is most concerned about time. The Air Force is retiring its AWACS fleet quickly, potentially leaving a gap in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and target indication. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall met with U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey in February, discussing ways to accelerate procurement and fielding. USAF’s unfunded priorities list included more than $600 million for advance procurement to speed up the process, and lawmakers in Congress have repeatedly pressed for faster procurement.

Reducing duplicative efforts could save money and time, and follows on previous suggestions that the countries share testing data. That’s one reason standardization across the fleets is important. The Joint Vision Statement states that the three countries “recognize a joint desire to maintain similar configurations.”

The partners also agreed to “leverage existing international cooperative agreements, or jointly develop new arrangements that further enable this vision.” While not mentioned by name, the so-called “AUKUS” defense technology-sharing agreement between the U.S., U.K., and Australia could be one such agreement that can be leveraged to further enhance E-7 cooperation.

Bones, BUFFs, and B-2s: All Three Bomber Types Fly in Alaska Exercise

July 25, 2023 | By David Roza

All three Air Force bomber types—the B-1 Lancer, the B-2 Spirit, and the B-52 Stratofortress—gathered in Alaska from July 18-19 to practice operating from an unfamiliar airfield, a rare assembly of the trio of different aircraft and a demonstration of flexible deployment for America’s heavy-hitters.

For the B-2 in particular, the occasion also marked the first major exercise for the aircraft since a six-month, fleet-wide safety pause was lifted in May following a mishap in December.

“The concerted effort by all the bomber Airmen is a testament to the flexibility and agility of the force to operate in unfamiliar environments,” Justin Oakes, the director of public affairs for the Eighth Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The bombers operated from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER)—the B-1s came from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; the B-2s from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.; and the B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D. JBER, which does not host bomber units, functioned as “a notional forward operating base” for the bomber units, a service release stated.

Operating from unfamiliar or austere airfields is a central tenet of Agile Combat Employment, the Air Force’s operating concept in which Airmen and aircraft disperse from a central base to smaller, more austere locations in order to complicate an adversary’s targeting.

“The ability to perform training and integration exercises at a location that does not traditionally host bombers is what defines this exercise as an Agile Combat Employment mission,” Oakes said in an email.

Once gathered at JBER, the bombers practiced “fighter integration, strategic communications, and targeting exercises performed by the bombers,” he added.

b-52 — A B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 69th Bomb Squadron from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, taxis down the runway at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 16, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Wright

The Alaska mission marks the latest entry in a busy calendar for Air Force bombers. While the B-2 was grounded, B-52 or B-1 task forces visited Guam, Indonesia, Japan, Sweden, the Middle East, and other locations around the world, often in a demonstration of the bombers’ long reach.

“As a force provider, how we deliver bomber airpower has a definite strategic impact to all operations across the spectrum of conflict,” said Maj. Gen. Andrew Gebara, commander of the 8th Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, in the press release about the JBER mission. Gerbera was on-site to observe the bombers arriving there.

“The bombers seen here today are proof of our reach and flexibility as they arrived from different areas of responsibility to a location we do not routinely occupy,” he said.

The exercise marks the most public appearance of the B-2 following its six-month safety pause. When the pause ended in late May, the Air Force did not reveal the exact cause of the December mishap, nor what actions allowed the aircraft to fly again. The B-2 is America’s only stealth nuclear-capable bomber in service.

“The B-2 fleet could still fly missions if so required,” Gebara said in May. “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.

Now that the B-2 is flying exercises again, Air Force officials hope allies and partners take notice of the tri-bomber gathering.

“Pacific Air Forces routinely exercises the ACE concept to ensure we can move forces fluidly across theaters of operations,” Gen. Ken Wilsbach, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, said in the press release. “To enhance that capability within our bomber force is crucial to ensuring we can provide a credible, effective deterrent and respond to any crisis across the globe.”

All three kinds of Air Force bombers gathered for a flyover of Super Bowl LV in 2021, an event that took months of coordination to pull off. The trio also flew together over Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of an exercise in the Indo-Pacific in 2016.

A B-1B Lancer sits on the runway at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in support of a bomber Agile Combat Employment exercise, July 18, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Wright

Russian Fighter Damages Another US Drone, This Time Over Syria

July 25, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A Russian fighter damaged a U.S. drone over Syria earlier this week, the top Air Force commander for the region said July 25, in the latest escalation between American and Russian aircraft.

“Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead, with only a few meters of separation between aircraft,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said in a statement.

“One of the Russian flares struck the U.S. MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller,” according to Grynkewich. “Fortunately, the MQ-9 crew was able to maintain flight and safely recover the aircraft to its home base.”

The incident took place at approximately 7:23 am Syria time on July 23. The U.S. declassified video of the incident two days later. The incident involved a single Russian Su-35 fighter, a U.S. official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

This latest incident follows a pattern of close calls in the past month over Syria, where Russian and American planes both operate. It is also the first time one aircraft has inflicted damage on another since a Russian Su-27 clipped the propeller of an MQ-9 over the Black Sea in March. Unable to operate the drone safely, U.S. operators downed it in the sea.

On July 23 Russian military aircraft deployed flares, damaging a U.S. MQ-9 while conducting a defeat-ISIS mission. For the full statement by Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, Commander, 9th AF (AFCENT) visithttps://t.co/5cQm8MQ6aQ @CENTCOM @DeptofDefense @usairforce @CJTFOIR pic.twitter.com/ViVTI3P05i
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) July 25, 2023

Over Syria, U.S. MQ-9s regularly assist anti-ISIS missions. In recent months, however, they have been harassed by Russian aircraft, even though ISIS is ostensibly a common foe. In November 2022, a Russian-controlled surface-to-air missile fired at a U.S. drone, and a steady stream of incidents has followed since.

Russian aircraft have regularly overflown U.S. troops in eastern Syria since March 1, and come close to manned American aircraft, flying within 500 feet, actions Grynkewich has repeatedly called out as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

On July 16, a U.S. MC-12 Liberty, a small turboprop surveillance plane, was caught in the jet wash of a Russian fighter. Grynkewich said the incident put the four MC-12 crew members’ lives at risk.

The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria and partners with Kurdish groups to defeat the remnants of ISIS. U.S. aircraft support the effort by providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, force protection, and airstrikes. Russia is in Syria supporting the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

“Russian unsafe and unprofessional behavior in the air not only degrades our Defeat ISIS mission, it risks unintended escalation and miscalculation,” Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, said in a July 25 statement.

Russian fighter damages MQ-9 Reaper over Syria — The propeller of an MQ-9 Reaper Drone, damaged by a flare from a Russian fighter during a defeat-ISIS mission in Syria July 23, 2023. Courtesy photo/Air Forces Central

Elsewhere in the region, the U.S. is rushing military forces to the Arabian Gulf, where Iran has grown more brazen in seizing oil tankers as they transit the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.

U.S. officials have warned of an increasingly close defense partnership between Iran and Russia. F-35s, the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship, and Marines are joining A-10, F-16s, and U.S. ships in an attempt to deter Iran.

For now, the Pentagon does have “any indication that says that this is a coordinated effort between Russia and Iran,” according to deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

“We do not seek escalation; we do not seek war with Russia,” Singh told reporters July 25. “But there’s no excuse for Russian forces’ continual harassment of our MQ-9s, especially after years of operating within the region and after years of also being very clear on what our goals are, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

Singh said increased U.S. assets moving into CENTCOM were “specifically to address what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz” and not Russia’s aerial maneuvers in Syria.

While that remains the case, “it is at the commander’s discretion if he feels that these assets need to be moved or need to be used in a different way in a different part of the region,” Singh added.

A senior U.S. defense official previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the F-35s could be used near the Strait of Hormuz if the airspace became contested, as well as over Syria if Russia presented a more significant threat. F-22 Raptors were deployed to the region in June but were scheduled to depart.

“Having that fifth-gen capability up in Syria doing defensive counterair gives us more capacity up there,” the senior U.S. defense official said. “It’s effective against some of those Russian provocations that we’ve previously countered with the F-22.”

In a video released by Air Forces Central, the Russian fighter that harassed the MQ-9 on July 23 was painted with the Russian military’s signature “Z” symbol, first used by units involved in the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not reply to a request for comment on the latest incident.

“The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich said. “We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.”

STARCOM Gets a New Commander at a ‘Hinge in Space Force History’

July 24, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

Brig. Gen. Timothy Sejba took over as the head of Space Training and Readiness Command on July 20, succeeding Maj. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton as the Space Force looks to upgrade its test and training infrastructure and develop new doctrine and tactics.

In a ceremony at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman called this moment a “hinge in Space Force history,” saying command of STARCOM is “a huge responsibility.”

“The challenges before us are immense,” Saltzman said. “But so too, are the opportunities. From advancing our technological prowess to enhancing our capabilities in the domain, we must remain at the cutting edge of innovation. Our ability to adapt, to stay ahead of emerging threats and seize new frontiers will be instrumental in maintaining our superiority in space. And that begins with our Guardians and the doctrine, testing, training, and education that STARCOM provides.”

Saltzman has emphasized test and training since his confirmation hearing to be CSO, telling lawmakers at the time that the Space Force needs simulators and testing ranges to ensure Guardians are practiced in operating space systems under stress, when adversaries are trying to jam or attack space capabilities. He has also called for developing new operational concepts and tactics.

STARCOM is at the forefront of Saltzman’s drive to field “resilient, ready, combat-credible forces.” Bratton outlined some of those efforts during a May webinar with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, noting he wanted to shift away from traditional classroom learning for Guardians.

“Now the discussion is, ‘Why aren’t we flying a spacecraft in training? Why aren’t we getting some sort of reps and sets, some sorties in, in the training environment?’” Bratton said. “And that alleviates some of the training burden that we placed on the operational units.”

Bratton, who has been nominated for a third star to become deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, had a productive tenure at STARCOM. Under his leadership, STARCOM created a Space Force Basic Military Training curriculum and pioneered the Space Force’s unique approach to a War College, partnering with Johns Hopkins University for that kind of leader developmental education. STARCOM also stood up and expanded new exercises like Polaris Hammer and Black Skies.

The command also had a hand in culture: Under Bratton’s watch, STARCOM launched the USSF’s unique patching ritual, in which BMT graduates receive their first Space Force patch as a hand-me-down from a seasoned Guardian, along with a letter by that other Guardian to inspire the start of their Space Force careers.

“There are three things needed to set those conditions for culture,” Bratton said July 20. “One, the sense of joining an organization that is greater than yourself. Two, the sense of achievement by accomplishing something difficult. And three, the use of ceremony and ritual in positive ways. And we’ve done all three of those things for the Space Force.”

Bratton now awaits confirmation to his new post, along with some 250 other general and officers whose promotions are on hold, caught up in a political stand-off pitting Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville against the Biden administration over a Defense Department policy that pays for travel and leave for members seeking abortion or other reproductive services not available where they are stationed.

He passed the guidon to Sejba, previously USSF’s program executive officer for battle management and command, control, and communications. Perhaps the biggest task on Sejba’s plate: Developing the the National Space Test and Training Complex (NSTTC), a collection of sensors and assets on the ground and in orbit that Guardians will use to try out new tactics and new systems.

At the same time, he’ll oversee a field command still in transition—the Department of the Air Force announced in June that it has selected Patrick Space Force Base, Fla., as the preferred location for STARCOM’s permanent headquarters, with the goal of moving there starting in the fall of 2024. That’s in addition to four of its five Deltas that still need to move to their permanent homes.

“We must continue to push, to increase our capacity and capability to field combat-ready forces,” Sejba told Guardians at the change of command ceremony. “This includes fully standing up the command and finalizing the basing of our Deltas. It also means delivering an operational test and training infrastructure that enables Guardians to test, train, and develop tactics in an operationally relevant environment to achieve full spectrum readiness.”

In the meantime, there will still be plenty to do, Bratton said. “There’s more doctrine to write, more exercises to host, more systems to test, classes to teach, more readiness to build,” he said. “There are always more Guardians to prepare.”

Air Force Dropping ‘Vice’ Commander Title; Now It’s ‘Deputy’

July 24, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is switching up how it refers to No. 2 officers for most of its organizations, moving away from the longstanding “vice commander” title to “deputy commander” at all levels from the major commands on down, the service announced. The change is effective August 1, and is being made to better align the Air Force with the terms used by the other military branches.

The change doesn’t affect the overall service’s No. 2 officer, the Vice Chief of Staff. The MAJCOMs’ No. 2 designation changed from “vice” to “deputy” commanders in 2017. No new authorities are being granted to or withdrawn from those holding these positions, and the office symbol “CD” will replace “CV” as the shorthand designation for deputy commanders.

The changes were announced in a July 19 memo from Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. released by the service July 20.

In the memo, Brown said joint operations are becoming increasingly important, and “we must ensure we are best aligned to meet these challenges with a clear, unambiguous structure.” The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps use the term “deputy commander,” and it is the term used by the unified combatant commands, as well.

The “vice” to “deputy” change affects “Numbered Air Forces, centers, wings, groups, and any other unit currently utilizing the duty title Vice Commander,” Brown wrote. It applies to the Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve. A temporary revision will be issued to Air Force Instruction 38-101, “Manpower and Organization” until the next complete review of the regulations.

Brown said the redesignation “is one of the several changes in motion to ensure we can execute our missions to ‘Fly, Fight, and Win…Airpower Anytime, Anywhere,” but he did not elaborate on those other moves.

The last such major nomenclature change to better align with the other services was in 2006, when the Air Force changed its Air Staff numerical designators to conform to Joint Staff designators J1 through J8. Air Staff designations A1 through A8 (Manpower, Logistics, etc.) were matched to the joint nomenclature, and in 2008, USAF added two more: A9 (Studies, Analyses and Assessments) and A10, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration.

A smaller tweak took place in October 2021, when the service changed how it referred to top enlisted Airmen in detachments, squadrons, and groups—going from “superintendents” to “senior enlisted leaders.” Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass cited the need to align with joint nomenclature for that move as well.

The term “vice” comes from the Latin for “in place of,” and was a carryover from British military organizations which served as a template for fledgling U.S. military air organizations. A U.S. Navy three-star flag officer will still be called a “Vice Admiral.”

Due to the ongoing Senate hold on thousands of military promotions, many “vice” commanders are already “acting” commanders, as senior officers retire without a confirmed successor.