Pentagon Wants to Fastrack Buy of Cheap One-Way Drones

Oct. 2, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit is soliciting industry to offer commercial, inexpensive, one-way drones to perform a variety of battlefield tasks—and the military wants them soon.

The DIU said that once a solution or solutions are chosen, there may be no further competition and that selected systems may go right into development “following a live flight demonstration during Phase 2 of the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) selection process,” according to an agency announcement. The Pentagon’s technology arm wants responses by midnight on Oct. 14.

Under the expedited format, the government is looking for heavy involvement of small businesses or “nontraditional” defense contractors.

The solicitation did not specify that the uncrewed aerial systems would be used by any particular military service. It also did not refer to the Pentagon’s year-old Replicator initiative, in which inexpensive, autonomous systems would be produced at scale to augment and enhance the fighting force.

“Recent conflicts”—presumably in Ukraine and the Middle East—“have highlighted the asymmetric impact low-cost, one-way unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have on the modern battlefield,” the DIU said. The Defense Department “must be able to employ low-cost precision effects at extended ranges. Reliable, affordable, and adaptable UAS platforms that allow for employment at scale will maximize operational flexibility for the joint force,” it added.

The Pentagon wants commercial systems that:

Can operate from 50-300+ kilometers with at least a 10 Kg payload; “ideally, 25+ Kg”

“Launch quickly and expeditiously” from the ground

Are “difficult to detect and track”

Navigate at low altitudes

Carry a variety of payloads

Operate beyond-line-of-sight in “disrupted, disconnected, intermittent and low-bandwidth (DDIL) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied environments.”

The DIU wants systems “capable of supporting high-speed, low-altitude, beyond-line-of-sight flight operations” under DDIL conditions, explaining that the UAS “should be able to execute its mission without continuous communication from an operator, though solutions that provide multiple pathways and mechanisms for two-way communications are desired.”

The announcement didn’t specify cost bounds for the submitted systems.

Replies are to be in the form of a short presentation that describes “the mechanism of ground launch, operational limitations, and rate of launch per team.” The DIU said it strongly recommends all proposals “be formatted as presentations no more than 12 slides in length.”

Responses are to explain “the ability of the platform to perform terminal guidance in denied environments and the capabilities available on the platform to support such maneuvers.”

Companies pitching a system have to provide details on “the precision, accuracy, and reliability of the proposed solution,” the number of flight tests accomplished so far, and “any information about testing environments, production facilities, and projected production capacities.”

Companies proposing a solution also have to “discuss the mission planning software that will be made available with the submitted platform.” That software should be “intuitive and integrate other first- and third-party platforms.”

The DIU noted that offerings will be assessed for their ability to “on the order of hours, integrate third-party software and hardware components (including payloads) in a modular, warm-swappable manner.”

Offerings must also use open hardware and software interfaces “that allow for seamless integration of third-party systems.”

The DIU isn’t interested in an intellectual property negotiation. It won’t accept any “proprietary interfaces, message formatting or hardware” requiring vendor licensing.

While DIU will accept “teaming solutions,” all proposals must “address the hardware and software requirements holistically.”

Any award made in response to the solicitation “may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures,” DIU said. The resulting “follow-on production contract or transaction will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of Defense and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the prototype” agreement.

Any prototype “Other Transaction” deal may result “in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures,” DIU said.

Air National Guard Delivers Lifeline on C-17 After Hurricane Helene

Oct. 2, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s wrath, the North Carolina Air National Guard has launched a relief effort to distribute 100,000 pounds of essentials across the state using C-17 Globemaster aircraft, the Guard said.

North Carolina is among the hardest hit states by the storm, with tens of thousands of residents in the western part of the state without running water and at least 90 lives reportedly lost as of Oct. 2.

The delivery included 48 pallets of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) and 24 pallets of water, with each pallet weighing about 1,000 pounds. The cargo plane transported them from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to Asheville Regional Airport, which has become a key distribution center providing aid to the western part of the state as local roads remain blocked by flooding and debris. With rural areas also cut off from regular supply routes, ground transportation is not an option.

“It was a big effort by the Aerial Port and some augmented personnel we had here in Charlotte,” USAF Master Sgt. Jesse Huneycutt of the 145th Logistic Readiness Squadron said in a release. “All cargo had to be prepped, loaded onto 463L pallets, inspected, and planned for safety before we could load it on the jet. Completing all of this in just a few hours took a lot of people working long hours at a fast pace.”

The 463L pallets, the service’s primary air cargo pallets, are used for transporting food, medical supplies, ammunition, and other types of cargo on military aircraft, including C-17s, and various civilian cargo planes.

The C-17 enabled the Air National Guard to deliver the equivalent of three fully loaded semi-trucks in just 30 minutes—compared to the seven hours it would take for vehicles to navigate the treacherous conditions, the ANG said. At Asheville Regional Airport, which is currently powered by generators due to outages, an advance team unloaded the cargo for the NC National Guard’s helicopter network, enabling the supplies to reach remote communities.

The statement added that the Air National Guard’s relief effort will continue “to ensure food, water, and essential goods reach every corner of the region affected by Helene” by partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local authorities.

The Kentucky Air National Guard has also deployed 11 Airmen to Hickory, N.C. to assist with the humane recovery of flood casualties. Members of the 123rd Airlift Wing’s Fatality Search and Recovery Team arrived in the state to assist coroners and local officials in their recovery efforts.

“The nature of the work is demanding, but absolutely the best part of the job is the closure we are able to bring families,” 1st Lt. Zachary Endicott, the team’s officer in charge, said in a release. “We are not, unfortunately, in the business of rescuing. However, to be able to deliver somebody back home to their family and their loved ones so that they can say their final goodbyes is something that really drives this team to complete the mission.” He said that the team is well-prepared for the challenging mission that could involve navigating downed power lines and potentially toxic floodwaters.

Members of the 123rd Airlift Wing’s Fatality Search and Recovery Team prepare equipment for deployment form the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 30, 2024, in response to massive flooding across North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The 11-Airman team left Louisville Oct. 1 and will operate from Hickory, N.C, where they will assist coroners and other local officials in the recovery of flood casualties. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck

President Joe Biden visited the state and South Carolina on Oct. 2 and took an aerial tour of Asheville while receiving operational briefings and engaging with first responders and local officials. Biden has instructed the Department of Defense to deploy up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers from Fort Liberty, N.C., to support the North Carolina National Guard in delivering supplies, food, and water to isolated communities. The department also has over 6,500 service members actively involved in relief efforts across six states, including 3,500 Guardsmen activated in Florida and 1,400 in Georgia.

“U.S. Northern Command is also providing active-duty support efforts to FEMA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing emergency power planning and response teams to Georgia as well as dam, levee, and bridge inspection to Tennessee and Kentucky and temporary power to North Carolina,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters on Oct 1.

Ryder added that a multi-state, multi-agency effort is in full swing, with over 80 Guardsmen and 13 helicopters joining more than 800 North Carolina Guardsmen to support the ravaged communities of North Carolina.

Six days after the hurricane slammed into Florida, the national death toll has risen to more than 180, with hundreds still missing, and many caught in flooding across southeastern states.

Air Force Report: Hurricane Hunters Stretched Thin Amid Brutal Storms

Oct. 2, 2024 | By David Roza

New storms may already be forming in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic, even as rain soaks the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene last week, which killed at least 130 people and closed two major Air Force bases.

That means hurricane season is far from over for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

Better known as the Hurricane Hunters, the squadron flies into storms to collect atmospheric data that help scientists at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predict the size of the storms and where they will make landfall, which in turn helps decision-makers make calls such as evacuation orders.

Their work makes a big difference, increasing weather model accuracy and hurricane track forecasts by 20 percent. That saves lives and money; it costs at least $1 million to evacuate a mile of coastline, so it helps when planners have a better sense of where to focus safety efforts.

Helene was a case in point. The 53rd WRS flew nine missions into the storm from Sept. 23 to 26, according to a press release.

“[W]e have been working around the clock to provide data for NHC forecasts,” the squadron wrote on Instagram as Helene approached Florida.

The squadron’s work is particularly important for rapidly intensifying storms such as Helene, which grew from a tropical storm into a Category 4 hurricane in just 64 hours.

“Rapid intensification is a phenomenon that is difficult to forecast and forecast models still have a hard time predicting it,” Capt. Amaryllis Cotto, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer, said in the release.

“This is a feature that Hurricane Hunters can analyze while flying the system, providing real-time insight of the storm,” she added. “By relaying how well or fast it’s developing, NHC forecasters then have the chance to make quick updates on their watches and warnings and quality check the current forecast trends.”

Bargain Hunting Hurricanes

But providing that data requires aircraft, personnel, and funding, and the 53rd WRS is stretched thin covering a longer hurricane season and an increasingly busy winter season. The squadron has seen an 18 percent increase in demand flying hurricanes since 2018, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported in May.

When hurricane season wraps up in November, the 53rd WRS switches to atmospheric rivers: bodies of water vapor flowing through the skies over the Pacific Ocean that can carry massive amounts of potential rain, snow, and flooding across the West Coast. Historically, winter was a chance for the squadron to recuperate after hurricanes, but the demand for winter missions has climbed 606 percent since 2018, with no new resources to meet it.

“The resources we’re working with today were established and set in 1996 and no significant changes have happened since then,” Maj. Chris Dyke, another aerial reconnaissance weather officer, said in April. “At that point it was resourced for a six-month hurricane mission. We are now a 10-month operational mission and a two-month road show. … To be honest, it’s not enough time for the aircraft.”

In last year’s defense spending bill, Congress required a report from the Air Force on whether the 53rd WRS has enough resources to meet requirements. The Air Force completed the report in April and Air & Space Forces Magazine obtained a copy late last month. The report lays out in greater detail why the squadron’s resources are insufficient today and will be even more so in the near future.

“Looking ahead to 2035, projections indicate a consistent rise in operational demands for weather reconnaissance,” Lt. Gen. John P. Healy, chief of the Air Force Reserve, wrote at the top of the report. “Despite the impressive contributions of the 53rd WRS, the report identifies substantial challenges due to resource constraints.”

The 53rd WRS’ requirement to fly hurricanes falls under the National Hurricane Operations Plan, which lays out that Air Force weather reconnaissance forces must provide 24/7 coverage of current or potential tropical cyclones threatening the U.S. or its interests on both coasts from up to three locations simultaneously.

The minimum force for covering one storm 24/7 is three aircraft, 54 aircraft maintainers, 18 aircrew members, and 23 support personnel, the report said. But as storms approach the mainland, that amount goes up by one aircraft, 13 aircrew, and three support personnel. That means to conduct operations any time during hurricane season (June 1 through Nov. 31), the squadron needs 10 operational and available aircraft, 164 maintainers, 67 aircrew, and 72 support personnel, the report said.

At first glance, the 53rd WRS appears to hit most of those numbers, with resources allocated for 10 WC-130J aircraft, 278 maintainers, 100 aircrew, and 57 support staff. But the number of missions keeps rising, and not all the squadron’s allocated people or planes are available to carry them out.

“The unit has averaged just above 50 percent available manning due to position vacancies, members in training, and members not medically available,” the report read.

Further more, only 110 of the squadron’s maintainers are authorized for mission generation, but the standard for C-130Js is 54 maintainers for three aircraft at each location, the report said. That means the squadron can support only two locations even if all its authorizations were available at all times.

“Given current challenges and compounded by the anticipated future growth in demand, we are not positioned to be able to fully support NHOP requirements,” the report states.

hurricane hunters wc-130j — Staff Sgt. Kyle Stoeger, of the 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., inspects the interior WC-130J assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s windows after it returned to Keesler from San Antonio Aug. 31, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman)

The squadron’s aircraft are in a similar situation. When it adopted the WC-130J in 1999, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was among the first units in the Air Force to fly the ‘J’ model, the latest version of the venerable C-130 aircraft. But 25 years later, the fleet is feeling the effects of a quarter century of rough skies. The average availability aircraft for the squadron was 65 percent, according to the report, with at least one aircraft in long-term depot maintenance and another in short-term maintenance at any given time. That leaves just eight available aircraft to handle requirements.

“Because it’s aging, it gets worse each year, and so the vast majority of your non-mission capable time is scheduled maintenance, and that increases each year,” Col. William Magee, commander of the 403rd Maintenance Group, said in April.

Hungry Winters

Why the rise in demand? Scientists need to identify tropical cyclones earlier in their development and provide more persistent coverage to spot changes in storm track and intensity, the report said, and advances in weather model capability make that coverage even more important. Mother Nature also has a vote, with the squadron expecting a bump from 15 to 16 storms per year today to 18 storms by 2035.

The squadron faces similar demands and challenges in the winter, which is covered by the National Winter Season Operations Plan (NWSOP). Like with hurricanes, the NWSOP requires 24/7 coverage of potential environmental threats on both coasts from up to three locations at the same time.

Fulfilling that requirement for one location at any given time requires the same minimum package of 3 aircraft, 54 maintainers, 18 aircrew, and 23 support personnel, the report read, but being ready to handle more than one location from Nov. 1 to March 31 takes more people than the 53rd WRS might have available at any given time.

The number of winter flying hours has gone up more than 600 percent since 2018, with Airmen flying missions all over North America. The squadron expects its winter storm flights to bump up from 50 today to 65-70 by 2035.

“Given current challenges and anticipated future growth in demand, we are not positioned to be able to fully support NWSOP requirements,” the report states.

A heads-up display shows the directional markers inside a U.S. Air Force WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, during a flight into Hurricane Harvey over the Gulf of Mexico Aug. 24, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Heather Heiney)

Then there are the dropsondes: the small cylinders which crew members drop out of the aircraft on a mission. Suspended by parachute, the dropsondes collect atmospheric data and transmit it to the aircraft as they descend through the storm. But as demand for weather reconnaissance has surged, so as the 53rd WRS’ use of dropsondes: the squadron burned through 1,796 this past year (868 for winter missions, 928 for hurricanes) for a total of $4 million when including training, the report said.

Though Congress provides regular budget increases for dropsondes, the squadron said it will need even more to keep pace with demand.

When It Rains, It Pours

Beyond its hurricane and winter requirements for the homeland, the 53rd WRS is also seeing more demand from U.S. European Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. For example, tropical cyclones “have been identified as the most significant environmental threat” across INDOPACOM, according to the report, particularly from July through December, which overlaps with both the hurricane and winter seasons.

That timing “would drive a significant increase to the demand already placed on the mission,” the report read. “Based on the currently limited resources of the 53 WRS (aircraft, flying hours, personnel and dropsondes), if these requirements were added, the mission capability would drop to approximately 25 percent.”

The squadron already has to decline some missions; Dyke recalled a moment last year where the 53rd WRS pulled aircraft out of the Caribbean island of St. Croix and sent them back to Keesler to track Hurricane Idalia, which was deemed the more important storm.

“That was an example where we’re asking the hurricane center, ‘OK, pick and choose, what’s your priority?’” he said in April. “There are impacts from the one we don’t fly. We’re talking about potential impacts to stateside readiness, homeland defense.”

Congress did not require the Air Force to estimate how many more aircraft, personnel, and other assets it would need to meet growing requirements, but it was clear from the report that today’s mix is not enough.

“Despite these expanded responsibilities and significant extension of the operational season, the number of aircraft in the 53 WRS has remained constant, challenging their ability to cover these diverse and increasing demands,” the report read. “As the frequency and severity of weather-related disasters rise, alongside the growing global strategic concerns, the demand for reliable weather data, especially in data-sparse regions has never been more critical.”

Pratt & Whitney Gets $1.3 Billion to Mature F-35 Engine Core Upgrade

Oct. 1, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

RTX’s Pratt & Whitney received a $1.31 billion contract on Sept. 30 to continue maturing its Engine Core Upgrade for the F-35 fighter’s F135 engine. If the program goes according to predictions, the first operational engine should be flying in 2029.

The cost-plus-incentive fee contract covers “design, analysis, rig testing, engine test preparation, developmental hardware, test asset assembly, air system integration, airworthiness evaluation and product support” as the ECU continues development. The Navy, which oversees F-35 contracting at this time, made the award.

The contract comes two months after Pratt said it completed the ECU’s preliminary design review, “affirming the ECU is on schedule.” The upgraded powerplant is intended to increase the durability of the engine, the life expectancy of which suffered in recent years as requirements increased and new equipment was added to the F-35 fighter. It also supports the additional demands that will be placed on the engine as the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade proceeds. The upgrades will require more engine performance, cooling, and electrical power.

Pratt said in July that it expects to conduct the Critical Design Review on the ECU—one of the last steps before fabrication begins—in mid-2025.

Jill Albertelli, president or Pratt’s military engine business, said the contract is “critical to continuing our forward momentum on this program.”

The award “allows us to continue work in the risk reduction phase with a full-staffed team focused on design maturation, aircraft integration, and mobilizing the supply base to prepare for production.”

The F-35 Joint Program Office has decided to make Lockheed Martin, the F-35 prime contractor, the “Lead Systems Integrator” for what is now known as the Power Thermal Management Upgrade to the Power and Thermal Management System, or PTMS, for the F135 engine.

In an Oct. 1 statement, the JPO said said that after “extensive market research” this year, only Lockheed was found to be capable of performing this function.

“Contract award for the upcoming phase of the PTMU program is expected in Fall 2024,” the JPO said. “We will work with Lockheed Martin throughout the entire process to ensure all known PTMU solution options are evaluated for performance and economical retrofitability to existing aircraft; bringing maximum capability to the warfighters while accounting for cost.”

It was not clear from the JPO’s statement whether Lockheed will select the PTMS contractor.

The Government Accountability Office has said a new PTMS is needed because the additional electronics that are part of the Block 4 upgrade will require a more robust cooling system. The existing system is “overtasked,” the GAO said in a May 2023 report, and requires the F135 engine “to operate beyond its design parameters,” increasing wear and tear on the powerplant and requiring excessive maintenance costs of up to $38 billion over the planned 58-year life of the F-35 program.

The existing PTMS is made by Honeywell, but Collins Aerospace—which, like Pratt, is part of RTX—has readied an Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS) proposal for a possible competition. Collins said last year it could be ready to enter an engineering and manufacturing development effort for EPACS as early as mid-2024.

The ECU was selected as the way ahead for the F-35’s propulsion needs after the Pentagon chose not to adopt either of the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) powerplants developed by Pratt and GE Aerospace. The AETP engines weren’t compatible with the Marine Corps F-35B short take-off/vertical landing variant and would have been difficult to adapt to the Navy’s F-35C version as well. The AETPs were expected to deliver as much as a 30 percent increase in performance over the F135.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said last year that one of his main regrets about the fiscal 2025 budget request was that the service couldn’t afford to develop and produce the AETP for its own F-35 fleet. The Pentagon insisted on the ECU instead to preserve commonality among the variants for all U.S. and foreign users of the fighter.

Pratt insists the ECU will take advantage of many AETP innovations.

A Pratt spokesperson said the company has delivered “more than 1,200 F135 production engines, with more than 900,000 engine flight hours recorded.”

Pilot Errors Led to $25 Million Loss of MQ-9 Drone in Africa: New Report

Oct. 1, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

A previously undisclosed crash of an Air Force MQ-9 crash in Africa in February stemmed from the pilot’s failure to follow the takeoff guidelines and to properly recover the descending aircraft, according to a newly released report.

The Feb. 11 incident, which occurred at an undisclosed location, caused no injuries or damage to civilian property, but it led to the complete loss of a $25.8 million unmanned aerial vehicle. The Reaper, belonging to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nev., struck the ground just beyond the runway’s departure end.

The Air Force has frequently used Reapers’ ISR capabilities for the U.S.’s counterterrorism efforts across the Middle East and Africa for more than 15 years.

The investigation highlighted two main causes of the crash: the pilot’s oversight in completing the throttle adjustment according to the checklist, and a lack of situational awareness to increase the throttle control in time. At the time of the accident, the MQ-9 was operated remotely by a pilot and a sensor operator from the 12th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron.

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper taxis in for a warm refuel test, where the aircraft is grounded and refueled while powered on but with the engine not running, at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, Sept. 2, 2021. Warm refuels can increase the MQ-9’s operational agility through reducing turnaround time on the ground. Tech. Sgt. Emerson Nuñez

At 8:30 p.m. UTC, the pilot announced that the Reaper’s Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) was on and continued to engage the ATLC seconds later, which commanded engine power to 100 percent. However, the pilot did not complete the checklist step to set the throttle to 100 percent leaving it at flight idle (0 percent). This meant there wasn’t enough power during the transition from automated to manual control of the aircraft.

“The cause of the mishap was the pilot’s failure to comply with the takeoff checklist guidance to move the throttle control to 100 percent after initiating an ATLC takeoff, causing thrust to decrease at the transition from ATLC to manual control,” the report noted.

The aircraft took off around 8:31 p.m. While climbing, the pilot indicated plans to turn off the ATLC sooner than expected and continued to disengaged it, triggering warnings of a rapid drop in engine performance. A little more than 30 seconds after takeoff, the sensor operator questioned why they were climbing slowly. Although the aircraft continued to climb briefly, it soon began to descend, leading the sensor operator to mistakenly believe they were experiencing a mechanical failure.

The pilot didn’t begin to increase the throttle until 22 seconds after turning off the ATLC. When the aircraft continued to fall, the pilot declared an emergency and just one second before the Reaper hit the ground, was able to command the throttle to 100 percent.

But by then, it was far too late to regain control, and the drone crashed at 8:32 p.m., just 44 seconds after takeoff, with a nose-low position and at slow airspeed. The landing gear was still retracting, and the engine was “near idle thrust,” resulting in insufficient power before impact.

“The pilot failed to accurately analyze the resulting situation in time and subsequently increased the throttle control too late to recover from a low altitude thrust-deficient descent, resulting in the aircraft impacting the ground,” the investigation concluded.

The analysis also revealed that if the pilot had responded appropriately to the decreasing thrust and adjusted the throttle within 18 seconds of the transition to manual control, the crash could likely have been avoided, as demonstrated by a simulator recreation.

“The Mishap Pilot should have prioritized analyzing the situation and flying the Mishap Aircraft, over transmitting the emergency radio call,” the board noted. “It is reasonable to expect that MP analysis of the situation and execution of the appropriate response should have required less than 18 seconds.”

The investigation also identified two other contributing factors to the accident.

Ineffective crew resource management created distractions during ground operations, limiting the crew’s ability to complete pre-takeoff checklists effectively. The report details that around 8:16 p.m., the mission support officer tried to discuss the Takeoff and Landing Data known as TOLD, but the pilot interrupted, saying, “we’ll get it on the roll.” Before taxiing, the crew was also “initially uncertain what data to load into the Mishap Aircraft” due to confusion with similar callsigns.

Additionally, the pilot turning off the ATLC just 21 seconds after takeoff at a low altitude, further complicated the situation. Although the pilot didn’t break any rules by doing this, waiting until reaching a higher altitude to switch to manual control would have provided more time to handle any problems.

“Delaying turning ATLC off until a higher altitude would have provided more time to recover manually from any anomalies during the transition from automatic to manual control,” the report noted. The report added that the 12th Special Operations Squadron crews were accustomed to turning ATLC off at a low altitude, due to “airspace requirements at Cannon AFB driving turns shortly after takeoff.”

The Air Force has suffered a string of MQ-9 mishaps over the last two years.

In January 2023, a contractor crashed a drone, causing $16 million in damages in California. In May 2023, engine failure led another MQ-9 to crash at an undisclosed location in Africa, where it was destroyed. And in September, another contractor was killed after she walked into the propeller of an MQ-9 during ground testing. The service has also disclosed at least one other MQ-9 crash this year—U.S. Air Forces in Europe announced that a Reaper crashed in Poland in January.

Iran Attacks Israel as More USAF Warplanes Arrive in Middle East

Oct. 1, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

Iran launched a large-scale attack against Israel on Oct. 1, just as additional U.S. Air Force assets rushed into the region.

A barrage of missiles was seen over Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities at around 7:30 p.m. local time. Just a few hours earlier, the White House warned that Iran was preparing a ballistic missile attack and said the U.S. would help defend Israel amid concerns that it would spark a full-scale regional war.

“Iran conducted a significant attack against Israel today, launching approximately 200 ballistic missiles targeting several locations in Israel,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters. “During the attack, the U.S. military coordinated closely with the Israeli Defense Forces to help defend Israel.” He said the majority of the missiles were intercepted.

Speaking at the White House, President Joe Biden said the “attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective.”

Multiple intercepts over us just now pic.twitter.com/AfzxFsF7Q7
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 1, 2024

All Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel. pic.twitter.com/bKXPdqMsBr
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 1, 2024

Iran vowed to respond to Israel’s forceful strikes on Lebanese Hezbollah, including one that killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sept. 27. Israel has also launched what it called a limited ground invasion of southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets on Sept. 30. The U.S. has repeatedly pledged to defend Israel from Iran, which backs Hezbollah.

The USS Bulkeley and the USS Cole, which were operating in the Mediterranean Sea, fired a dozen interceptors, Ryder said. American aircraft and land-based air defense systems were not involved in any interceptions, he added. Ryder declined to say if U.S. aircraft provided any intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance of the missiles before or during the attack or if U.S. aircraft were involved in the mission. U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft flew over the Persian Gulf and Iraq, according to open source flight tracking data.

“We have a wide variety of ISR capabilities throughout the region to monitor and track potential aerial threats, to include aircraft that do that,” Ryder said.

The Pentagon has ordered three additional squadrons of fighter and attack aircraft to the Middle East. A squadron of A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft has already arrived in the region, people familiar with the deployment told Air & Space Forces Magazine. On Oct. 1, U.S. Central Command said a squadron of F-16 Fighting Falcons and a squadron of F-15E Strike Eagles were also on their way to the Middle East.

U.S. fighter aircraft were ready if needed in case Iran launched drones and cruise missiles, a person familiar with the matter said. Fighters are effective against drones and cruise missiles, but have limited capability against ballistic missiles

“Fighter aircraft can perform a variety of missions, including taking down drones, taking down missiles—particular kinds of missiles—as well as providing ISR, electronic warfare, and those types of capabilities, so all of this comes together to provide us with options on how best to respond to any type of attack and to protect our forces,” Ryder said.

American F-15Es and F-16s helped Israel fend off a massive Iranian missile and drone attack in April by helping shoot down around 80 drones, part of an Iranian attack that also involved hundreds of cruise and ballistic missiles, totaling over 300 projectiles.

In that incident, Iran was retaliating for an April 1 attack by Israel on a facility in the Syrian capital of Damascus that killed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The scope of the latest Iranian strikes was twice as large as April’s attack, Ryder said.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem directed U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place, according to a State Department security alert. The embassy added that the U.S. government “reminds U.S. citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intrusions, often take place without warning.”

The U.S. is increasing the number of warplanes in the region by temporarily extending the deployments of current units so that they overlap with the incoming forces. It conducted a similar move in April before Iran attacked Israel and in October after Hamas attacked Israel.

Before the latest deployments were announced, the U.S. already had squadrons of A-10s, F-16s, F-15Es, and F-22 fighters in the region. The Raptors were sent to the Middle East in August due to concerns about escalation in the region between Israel and Iran. The additional squadrons of A-10s, F-16s, and F-15Es will boost the U.S.’s airpower presence.

In addition to land-based aircraft ordered to the region, the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group is headed towards the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pentagon directed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was scheduled to head home, to remain in the Middle East. The Lincoln has an aircraft wing that includes F-35C Lighting II and F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters.

Before the attack, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke to Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Sept. 30 and “reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other Iran-backed terrorist organizations,” according to a Pentagon readout of the call.

Austin and Gallant spoke twice on Oct. 1, including after the attack. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the event from the Situation Room, the White House said.

“We will consult with the Israelis on next steps in terms of the response and how to deal with what Iran has just done, and we will continue to monitor for further threats and attacks from Iran and its proxies,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. “Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran. … We have made clear that there will be consequences—severe consequences—for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.”

Looking to the Future of Electromagnetic Attack Systems

Oct. 1, 2024 | By Adam Stone

In high-end conflict with peer adversaries, the U.S. Air Force faces sophisticated integrated air defense systems and advanced command and control networks. Defeating those systems will require advanced electromagnetic attack systems that can deny, degrade, and disrupt opposing forces.

“Peer-nation adversaries have more sophisticated anti-access area denial capabilities—A2/AD—with kill chains or kill webs that are no longer stagnant,” said Stephanie Fehling, director of electronic attack solutions at BAE Systems. “They’re increasingly more complex and resilient. They’re using a much broader range of the electromagnetic spectrum for their combat operations, and they’re also quickly adapting commercial technologies for use in their operations.”

That changes what success looks like. It’s no longer a matter of using the electromagnetic spectrum, but also “denying our adversary’s use of that same spectrum,” Fehling said. “This is where electromagnetic jamming comes into play, using the spectrum to deny, degrade and disrupt enemy communications — really preventing them from transmitting essential information between themselves, their weapon systems, and their control networks, while preserving our own use of the spectrum.”

To defeat A2/AD strategies and systems, U.S. forces will need a combination of platforms and capabilities, both built-into fighter aircraft and standoff jammers that contribute from afar.

“In order for other platforms to perform their mission, we need to provide simultaneity, persistence, and computing resources — and of course power,” Fehling said. “That’s what a standoff jammer brings to the fight. It’s the base layer or foundation…required to dominate the spectrum.”

BAE Systems is involved in rehosting the Compass Call mission from its original long-time host, the EC-130H, to a Gulfstream 550 business jet. The new EA-37B —the EA is for electronic attack—is the Air Force’s premiere airborne electronic attack weapon system,” Fehling said.

The Compass Call mission “is to disrupt enemy command and control, communications, radars, and navigation systems,” Fehling said. “It’s there to restrict our enemy’s battlespace coordination.”

The new G550 jet platform is superior in almost every way, she added: “A platform that can fly faster, farther, and higher makes that whole team more effective, more lethal, and more survivable.”

Advances in technology are changing the way leaders look at platforms like Compass Call, Fehling said. “The Department of Defense is shifting from purchasing platforms to purchasing capabilities,” she explained. “Industry needs to adapt and provide platform-agnostic capabilities, modular payloads with open system architecture.”

Rapid advances in software and the underlying hardware mean next-generation electromagnetic attack systems will integrate new capabilities into operational systems more readily, Fehling said. The Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, will help make that possible. SOSA-compliant hardware will enable rapid upgrades to fielded capabilities, “minimizing the time required to bring important performance improvements to bear,” she said. Those could include instantaneous bandwidth changes, expanded, dynamic range, or faster processing speeds.

Likewise, a recently developed services-based open software architecture makes it possible to containerize applications, enabling more rapid app updates. “Designing an application to a common interface allows a broader segment of industry to participate,” Fehling said. “So that we can put the best of the best in the hands of the warfighter.”

In this modular environment, designers are handed hardware development kits and software development kits to design their applications using a services-based open software architecture. “This can be really important for a unique requirement or an urgent requirement. It really speaks to the agility that we need to outpace the threat,” she said.

With an open-standards approach, USAF will be better positioned to counter the rapidly evolving threats in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Anduril, in New Partnership, Takes Aim at Space

Oct. 1, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Anduril, the Silicon Valley defense startup that’s made a splash as a finalist in the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, now aims to get into the space business, as well.

The company announced a partnership with fellow startup Apex on Oct. 1; aiming to build payloads for Apex’s configurable satellite buses and to become a systems integrator for the platform.

In a conference call with reporters, both Anduril’s top space executive, Gokul Subramanian, and Apex Chief Executive, Ian Cinnamon, made clear that they are interested in helping the Pentagon and intelligence community to proliferate their satellite constellations.

“We believe in more mass in space,” said Subramanian. “We believe in higher quantity, higher volume, lower cost systems, and doing more and more autonomous processing in space.”

Cinnamon also called for “getting more attritable mass to orbit, getting a higher volume of systems out, and at an incredibly faster pace than we’re historically used to.”

Subramanian declined to name specific programs or opportunities of interest to Anduril, but given that Apex’s satellite buses are intended for low-Earth orbit, one likely target is the Space Force’s Space Development Agency. SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, now under construction, will be a network of small satellites in low-Earth orbit, comprised of satellites for both data transport and missile warning and tracking.

“We’re a big believer in what the Space Development Agency is doing,” Subramanian said. “With regard to which missions we’ll go after, I’m not ready to disclose that yet, but … we are going to compete on missions where we feel like Anduril can provide a superior solution or a real advantage to the customer.”

In a release, Anduril noted that it wants to deliver “rapid capability” in areas like “space situational awareness, proliferated LEO architectures, and missile warning and tracking.”

Subramanian told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the firm intends to compete for work from the entirety of the Space Force and the Intelligence Community.

In doing so, however, the company will face fierce competition, with a host of startups joining well-established prime contractors jockeying for work. SDA’s entire program is designed to leverage that competition, and it has so far awarded contracts to 10 vendors for its proliferated architecture.

SDA is also moving fast, awarding deals for the program’s first two tranches and having already released a notice to industry about Tranche 3.

Anduril thinks it can start competing for contracts faster by leveraging Apex’s architecture and by focusing on “missionized systems, software on unique payloads, all of those things,” Subramanian said.

The two companies collaborated on an Anduril payload for an Apex satellite in March; Subramanian described the payload as a “mission data processor,” giving the satellite edge processing capability.

“What we aim to prove is the ability for us to take images using the cameras that the spacecraft had, those were not provided by us, process those images, and we can do all sorts of on-orbit processing, actually manipulate the image on orbit, understand what we’re seeing and what we’re not seeing, and then downlink that data down to earth,” Subramanian said.

The firm’s core autonomy software, Lattice, provides command and control for the satellite, directing it where to move, where to focus its sensors, and how to process the data.

In 2025, Anduril plans to launch a satellite procured from Apex and upgraded with mission data processing and “infrared imaging capabilities,” according to a release.

Besides satellites, Anduril is also wading into other space business. On Sept. 27, Space Systems Command awarded the company a $25 million contract to create a mesh network for the Space Surveillance Network, the group of radar and optical sensors used to monitor thousands of objects in orbit.

“Traditionally, those systems have had a single way to communicate,” Subramanian said. “Those tend to be slow, they can be fragile, and what we’re doing is augmenting them with multiple modalities of communication … and offering our mesh networking technology to enable that data to get off the site, off the sensor site, and to where it needs to go.”

Founded in 2017 and backed by venture capital, Anduril initially focused on autonomous systems and accompanying software. More recently, it has made an aggressive push into multiple markets. In addition to its well-publicized work on CCAs, Anduril unveiled a new “family” of low-cost cruise missiles in September. The company is also working on an unmanned autonomous underwater vehicle, solid rocket motor supply, and a reusable autonomous air vehicle for ground defense.

Lockheed Gets $3.5 Billion for JASSM/LRASM Missiles as It Eyes ‘Extreme Range’ Variant

Sept. 30, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin received two Air Force contracts on Sept. 27, together worth $3.56 billion, for production of the AGM-58B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, the Pentagon announced. The contracts include missiles for the Air Force, Navy, and partner nations under the Foreign Military Sales program.

The company also recently unveiled plans for a larger variant of the missile with even longer range, called the JASSM-XR.

An Air Force spokesperson could not immediately say how many missiles are included under the contracts nor how many are for USAF and how many are for the Navy and FMS customers, but the larger contract, for $3.23 billion, covers JASSM Lot 22 and is to be completed by the end of July 2032. The Air Force said the quantities are “estimates only” as the contract is undefinitized.

The Air Force procurement portion of the larger contract was worth $1.5 billion, along with $2.1 million of operations and maintenance funding, while the Navy’s portion was $176 million and FMS was $752 million. The FMS portion includes missiles for Japan, the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland.

The smaller contract, worth $358.4 million, is a modification of Lot 8b of LRASM only. The Air Force portion was $145.5 million, while the Navy’s was $123.3 million, and the contract is to be completed by July 31, 2028.

The stealthy JASSM and LRASM are externally almost identical and have a 1,000-pound warhead.

The work for both contracts is to be performed at Lockheed’s Orlando, Fla., facilities. The Air Force’s Life Cycle Management Center awarded the contracts.

Lockheed officials said they are producing about 720 JASSMs per year, en route to about 1,100. The JASSM is one of several munitions for which the Air Force accelerated funding and production in its fiscal 2025 budget request.

An Airman assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, loads a joint air-to-surface standoff missiles into a 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1B Lancer on the flightline at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 9, 2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. David Scott-Gaughan

At AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 16, Lockheed announced it is working on the JASSM-XR, for “Extreme Range.”

The new missile is being developed by Lockheed with its own funds and features a missile body extended by several feet, the additional volume of which would be used for fuel. The company declined to state the exact dimensions of the missile or its expected range.

Michael Rothstein, vice president for strategy and requirements for air weapons and sensors at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a press conference at AFA that the range would be expanded “significantly” beyond that of the JASSM-ER, the Air Force’s current standard, adding the increase “is not minor.” The JASSM-ER reportedly has a range of about 500 miles, and industry sources speculated that the XR’s additional fuel capacity could double that to about 1,000 miles.

Lockheed officials at the conference said they are trying to anticipate what the Air Force will need relative to JASSM and LRASM and be ready when the service asks for it. Longer range “is an obvious ask,” one said, and the service is not interested in incremental improvements, but “step changes,” he said.

Rothstein said the missile could be test-flown in 2026 but is still “several years out” from being ready for production. Lockheed is “positioning” itself for a longer-range requirement, he said.

The additional range of the weapon would allow the U.S. to not just strike targets deeper within contested airspace, Rothstein said, but accelerate battle tempo, by allowing launch aircraft to fire sooner and return to a tanker or base right more quickly to reload and mount another sortie.

A Lockheed spokesperson said the XR “lays the groundwork for a more modular design, driving continuous improvements to capacity, capability, and commonality across missile variants, and providing low-risk, low-cost solutions to the government.” The spokesperson noted that the XR is not yet government-funded “or approved.”

The XR would have significant commonality with the JASSM-ER and LRASM, the spokesperson said, and could be carried by bombers, the F-35, F-15, and the F/A-18, but not the F-16. Because of its increased weight versus the standard JASSM or LRASM, If carried by a fighter, the aircraft’s range would be decreased, Rothstein said, but that would be offset by the missile’s longer range.

Modular, “smart” design can accelerate the overall JASSM/LRASM family production rate, Rothstein said, adding that the company has so far received positive feedback from the Air Force that a much longer-ranged weapon that takes advantage of a hot production line and gets to the field relatively quickly would be welcome.

The JASSM and LRASM are being built on “a mature” production line, Rothstein said, with qualified vendors and components, which means “you can markedly decrease your developments costs” and “development timelines” on a variant.

To take the JASSM/LRASM “to the next stage,” Rothstein said the company is looking for ways to increase modularity and digital design of the missile.