GAO Urges Congress to Separate Engine Upgrade From F-35 Program

GAO Urges Congress to Separate Engine Upgrade From F-35 Program

May 31, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Congress should direct the Pentagon to break out the F-35’s propulsion upgrade from the rest of the program to better to track its scope, schedule, and cost, the Government Accountability Office urged in a new May 30 report.

Meanwhile, engine-maker Pratt & Whitney added its own suggestion that the F-35 Joint Program Office decide quickly how it wants to meet the fighter’s rapidly-growing power and cooling needs, so the company can adjust its planned Engine Core Upgrade to better mesh with those requirements.

The Pentagon has previously declined GAO’s suggestion to break out the engine upgrade element of the F-35 program as a separate undertaking, which is why the GAO is now urging Congress to direct the change.

Cost increases and problems with the F-35 airframe and engine tend to be masked under the current arrangement, GAO said, and the magnitude of those cost overruns and schedule issues, if judged separately, could incur Nunn-McCurdy breaches—under the Nunn-McCurdy law of 1982, if a program has cost increases beyond certain benchmarks, it receives added scrutiny or may be automatically canceled.

Other GAO recommendations related to the F-35’s engine include defining long-term requirements for the powerplant.

The GAO agreed with the F-35 Joint Program Office’s business case analysis that found Pratt & Whitney’s ECU is a better and less risky approach to the F-35’s power needs than integrating a new engine from the Air Force’s Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), mainly because of the uncertainty and higher integration cost of a new engine. The AETP engines—GE Aerospace’s XA100 and Pratt’s XA101—also cannot fit the short takeoff/vertical landing F-35B or carrier-landing version F-35C without extensive extra development, the GAO found.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has said the difficulty of integrating an AETP engine with those models was the principal reason the service—in concert with Pentagon leadership–dropped plans for the new engine, although cost was also a big factor.

“You can’t do everything you want to do,” Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April.

Pratt’s F135 director Jennifer Latka said on a May 31 call with reporters that the company feels the GAO report “validates the Department’s decision to pursue the Engine Core Upgrade on the existing F135.”

But while the GAO report noted the F-35 office has completed the business case regarding a new engine, it also pointed out the Pentagon “has not fully defined the power and cooling requirements the engine and related components will need to support” Block 4 capabilities through 2035.

Specifically, the Joint Program Office has yet to fully assess the cost and technical risks of different engine upgrade and thermal management options, the report stated.

Pratt would like the Pentagon to complete that work, Latka said, so it can determine how it wants to meet the F-35’s increased needs from its Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), which provides cooling for avionics, radar, and other equipment, as well as emergency power, cockpit conditioning, some electrical power, and more.

Pratt officials have long argued the existing PTMS and engine can provide enough cooling for the F-35’s systems, but doing so requires more heat and stress on the engine, increasing maintenance and cost. Now, Latka said, it would be best from a design and development perspective for the F-35 Joint Program Office to decide its PTMS needs soon so they can be aligned with the Engine Core Upgrade.

For its part, the GAO report states that the current PTMS is already inadequate to meet the F-35’s cooling needs, and the planned Block 4 upgrade will place a heavier burden on the system. Running the engine hotter to produce more cooling is “reducing the life of the engine,” according to the report.

This problem was known back in 2013, and Lockheed wanted to change the F135’s design then to yield more air pressure from the PTMS, “but program officials determined it was too late to redesign the engine given the cost and schedule effects” of doing so, the GAO reported.

“Program officials decided to continue with the F135 engine’s original design with the understanding that there would be increased wear and tear, more maintenance, and reduced life on the engine because it would need to provide more air pressure to the PTMS than its design intended” the audit agency said.

“The misalignment of requirements with the engine and PTMS illustrates why it is important to fully understand the proposed designs at the beginning of an acquisition, prior to committing to development,” the GAO observed.

The GAO is projecting the F-35’s current cooling system won’t be able to meet the fighter’s future needs beyond 2029, particularly those planned for Block 4. Latka argued that is not exactly true but agreed the increased cooling will degrade the F135’s service life, requiring replacement or heavy, unplanned maintenance costs.

It’s “more an art than a science” knowing exactly when the Engine Core Upgrade and PTMS, which are separate systems, will become critical needs, Latka said, but she urged the Pentagon to get on with both efforts as quickly as it can.

“It’s really important to know that [the JPO doesn’t] have a Block 4 plan out to 2035,” Latka said. “They have increments of capabilities that are funded in the next few years that are coming on to the jet, and then they have some more thought-out ideas of what could come on to the jet …and then there are dreams of what we could put on the jet way into the future.”

The F-35’s high sustainment have been a headache for the Pentagon and a source of controversy in Congress for some time now, and the GAO is predicting an extra $38 billion in predicted life-cycle costs. Latka could not say how much of that could be avoided by Pratt’s engine upgrade and a new PTMS.

The GAO report also stated that late engine deliveries are affecting the F-35’s production line, including a chart showing that 97 percent of engines delivered in 2022 were late, up from 46 percent late in 2017.

Latka disputed that part of the report, saying it was based on old data. Deliveries of F135 engines and F-35s were paused for several months to investigate a December 2022 crash of an F-35B caused by an engine problem, and during that time, Pratt’s buffer of extra engine waiting at airframe-maker Lockheed Martin shrank. Now, however, it is back to normal, Latka said.

In a statement responding to the GAO report, the JPO said it’s waging a “war on cost” in the F-35 program, that new countries are indicating their confidence in the program by signing up to buy the jet, and that the JPO “looks forward to working with the GAO and program stakeholders” on its recommendations.

Biden Taps Air Force’s Guillot as New NORAD Commander

Biden Taps Air Force’s Guillot as New NORAD Commander

May 31, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

President Joe Biden nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot to add a star and succeed Gen. Glen D. VanHerck as head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The nomination was among several high-level nominations announced May 31. 

The Department of Defense also formerly announced Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.’s nomination to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh to head U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. 

Guillot, a battle manager by training, is currently deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, and led Air Forces Central before taking that role. He has been instrumental integrating air, missile, and drone defense systems across the Middle East—experience that’s applicable to the challenges facing NORTHCOM’s air and missile defenses. 

If confirmed by the Senate, Guillot will succeed VanHerck, who has led NORTHCOM and NORAD since 2020. In that time, VanHerck has advocated for more over-the-horizon surveillance capabilities and warned about potential gaps in domain awareness for protecting the homeland.  

VanHerck’s warnings took on new urgency when a Chinese spy balloon transited the entire continental U.S. earlier this year and examinations revealed that other Chinese balloons have slipped undetected past NORAD’s radars in previous years. 

“As NORAD commander, it’s my responsibility to detect threats to North America,” VanHerck said at the time. “I will tell you that we did not detect those threats. And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out.” 

VanHerck also advocated for increased attention and funding for Arctic defenses as China and Russia stake out their interests in the region, with shipping lanes opening up due to melting ice. 

Guillot’s prior assignments include a stint as director of operations for NORTHCOM and in high-level positions within Pacific Air Forces and Air Combat Command. He has also commanded the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

Should Guillot and Haugh be confirmed, four of the 11 combatant commands would be led by Airmen—Gen. Anthony J. Cotton heads U.S. Strategic Command, and Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost tops U.S. Transportation Command. 

The Pentagon also announced four three-star Air Force nominations May 31: 

  • Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse to command the Defense Intelligence Agency. If confirmed along with Haugh, that would put Airmen in charge of two key DOD intelligence agencies. Kruse currently advises Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on military affairs. 
  • Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton to command the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, which oversees the acquisition and sustainment of weapons systems. Shipton is now the military deputy to Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter. 
  • Maj. Gen. Heath A. Collins for promotion to lieutenant general and director of the Missile Defense Agency. He would succeed Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill and oversee continued development of the Next Generation Interceptor to combat advanced missile threats to the U.S. 
  • Maj. Gen. Michael G. Koscheski for promotion to lieutenant general and deputy commander of Air Combat Command. He would become the No. 2 to Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, whose nomination to command ACC is pending confirmation. Koscheski currently leads the 15th Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. 

These nominations join more than 200 others caught up as a result of a hold placed on general and flag officer nominations by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is using his power to hold nominations in protest of the Biden administration’s policy to reimburse troops who travel out-of-state to obtain legal abortions from bases in locations where such services are no longer legal. Neither Tuberville nor Democratic lawmakers have given any indication that a resolution is coming soon. 

How Maintainers at Hill Found A Cheap Way to Make the F-35 Even Better

How Maintainers at Hill Found A Cheap Way to Make the F-35 Even Better

May 31, 2023 | By David Roza

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah—The F-35 stealth fighter took more than 10 years and billions of dollars to develop, but three Airmen at Hill Air Force Base found a way to make it even better with just a 3D printer, some tough plastic, and an inventive spirit. In fact, their invention could save the Air Force millions of dollars and many headaches in the long-term upkeep of its newest fighter.

“This has caught a lot of attention here and elsewhere,” one of the maintainers, Staff Sgt. Christopher O’Donnell, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Every couple days we’ll get an email or a phone call [from another F-35 base] asking ‘how do we go about doing this?’”

The F-35 has a small cluster of sensors on the side of each nose that collects data on air pressure and other factors that can affect the aircraft in flight. When the jet is on the ground, maintainers keep the sensors safe from dust or moisture by covering them a tool that uses rubber seals and quick-release pins to stay in place. The trouble is that the tool, which costs more than $600, is difficult to use, the pins are easily broken, and the rubber seals often fail in hot weather. Maintainers at Hill’s 34th Fighter Generation Squadron wondered if there was a better way to do things, and they knew exactly who to ask for help.

“We’re the last line of defense to fix whatever we can and put it back into service so that the military does not have to purchase replacement equipment” said O’Donnell. “In some instances, the equipment is so old that nobody makes it anymore, but it is still needed.”

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An example of the older, more fragile, and expensive data port cover. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Nathan Poblete

O’Donnell is one of three technicians at Hill’s Air Force Repair Enhancement Program shop, where Airmen conduct homemade repairs or design replacement parts. AFREP shops exist across the country and have saved the branch millions of dollars, especially where older aircraft are stationed. For example, the AFREP shop at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. has saved about $86 million since 2001 coming up with fixes for the A-10, C-130 and HH-60.

When the Hill AFREP office heard about the issues with the F-35 data port covers, they got to work creating one that would be stronger, cheaper and simpler than its predecessor.

“We were like ‘let’s keep it as minimal as possible,’” O’Donnell recalled.

Instead of a complicated device with pins and seals, the AFREP Airmen 3D-printed a slab of rubber-like plastic that fit perfectly over the sensor cluster. Later they installed magnets and an O-ring to keep the cover fixed in place. The new design stuck on the jet through wind, rain, snow, and hail, keeping the sensors beneath it safe and dry.

“No mechanical parts, extremely durable, flexible, and it sticks to the jet,” O’Donnell said. “And the way it fits is universal so it can go on either side of the nose.”

Unlike the original part, the new covers cost only about $45 and about 22 hours to make in the shop’s 3D printers, which have been churning out covers for F-35s at Hill and other F-35 bases over the past few months. AFREP can print the covers in a variety of colors and include the squadron symbol of the unit receiving them. The Air Force is currently looking to patent the design.

“It will be awesome being able to say that I have a patent in my name,” O’Donnell said. “The Air Force will own the patent and the rights, but our names are credited for coming up with it.”

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Tech Sgt. Christopher O’Donnell holds an F-35 data port cover featuring the Black Widow mascot of the 421st Fighter Squadron. Future covers could be printed in squadron colors with squadron mascots to promote unit pride. Air & Space Forces Magazine photo by David Roza

O’Donnell and his AFREP colleagues, Tech Sgts. Justin Platt and James Dover, can see the impact of their work in the form of red data port covers gracing almost every F-35 on the flight line. But that is just one example of the many time- and money-saving fixes the three Airmen have made over the years. Others include a new alarm shutoff switch for Minuteman III launch controls, more durable computer connection boxes for F-22 maintainers, and a homemade device that can detect issues with the diagnostic wires that maintainers plug into F-35s.

AFREP Airmen take a course in miniature and microminiature electronic repair, which allows them to solder the small components that keep circuit boards running.

“If you pass, you get certified to work on the electronic equipment that goes into the jets or other planes,” O’Donnell said. 

With those skills, AFREP Airmen can get old equipment like a busted missile control oscilloscope back up and running again.

“We don’t want to spend $15,000 on a new oscilloscope,” O’Donnell said. “So I spent a week’s worth of work cleaning the board, putting new copper down, epoxying, and then soldering things back on very gently, and it worked perfectly.”

An extra perk of the AFREP program is that it brings in cash for maintenance groups. Platt explained that when a maintenance group fixes a part through AFREP, it can take the money that would have gone towards a replacement part and instead use it to improve the group through capital improvements or new equipment.

“The Air Force is still spending the money but they are rewarding it back to themselves,” Platt said.

Airmen routinely bring questions and broken gadgets to the Hill AFREP shop, and while some fixes come easy, others may sit on the shelf for years before a solution presents itself. 

“You never know who’s going to walk in the door with something new,” O’Donnell said. “One day I’m designing something on the computer to 3D print, that afternoon I might be fixing an electrical board, and then later I’m working on something hydraulics-related.”

The variety is part of why O’Donnell and Platt enjoy AFREP work. Before coming to the shop, O’Donnell put together bombs as a munitions systems specialist, while Platt worked as a crew chief. Those are difficult jobs, but AFREP presents a new challenge every day.

“You get proficient doing the same thing over and over again, but at the same time, it can get tedious,” O’Donnell said. “I want something different, which was great about this shop. Every day it’s something else.”

B-52 Re-Engining to Get New Program Baseline in the Fall, with ‘Some’ Cost Increase

B-52 Re-Engining to Get New Program Baseline in the Fall, with ‘Some’ Cost Increase

May 30, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

OKLAHOMA CITY—There will be “some” cost increase on the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) when it gets its new official baseline this fall—but concerns about a massive spike are unfounded, program officials said.

The new baseline will come as officials decide whether the program is ready for the engineering and manufacturing development phase, and it will add money to what had not previously been a fully-funded project, officials told reporters at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. But the new cost and schedule baseline have not yet been finalized.

The venerable B-52 is slated to not only get new engines in the coming years, but new engines, communications, and navigation gear too.

The centerpiece has been the CERP, though, and some in Congress voiced concerns last year that the program cost would jump 50 percent.

Air Force material lead Col. Louis Ruscetta said those reports are based on issues “taken out of context” and are inaccurate.

“There have been no Nunn-McCurdy breaches” on the CERP effort, he said. Under the Nunn-McCurdy law of 1982, if a program sees a 25 percent cost increase over current baseline, or a 50 percent increase over original estimates, it must be canceled.

The B-52 re-engining program won’t actually have a program baseline until Milestone B—which evaluates readiness for entry into the EMD phase phase—because it has until now been a Middle Tier of Acquisition program, Ruscetta said. Congress gives the services MTA authorities to speed up programs when a technology is sufficiently mature to skip some preliminary steps.

The B-52’s new engine—the Rolls Royce F130-200—is based on an existing engine already widely in use. Development in the program is largely focused on integrating the engine with the B-52’s wing, engine pylon, and cockpit controls.

The CERP is “graduating” to a “Major Capability Acquisition” with Milestone B, Ruscetta said.

“The projected cost of the program has increased in the last couple of years, as we know more,” Ruscetta said.

There has also been a reduction in expected fuel efficiency of the new engines, from the previous target of 30 percent improvement over the current TF33 engines to about 20 percent, Ruscetta acknowledged. However, fuel efficiency was not a key discriminator on the contract, which was weighted toward reliability, reduced maintenance, and expected ease of integration with the bomber.

The expected cost increase has also come as the program has matured, Ruscetta said—as the Air Force has gotten more suppliers on contract, “we understand where those costs are phased, and so then we can add money within the time of the (President’s Budget) … for me to match that phasing when it’s required.”

The Air Force’s fiscal 2024 budget request indicated about a $220 million increase over the next five years, but Ruscetta said the B-52 CERP “early on … was not fully funded.”

Now that it’s going to be a major acquisition program, the Air Force must create the new cost baseline and “certify … that all the funding’s available to the program,” Ruscetta said, adding that the service has “had a plan to lay that in in future years.”

Ruscetta added that the fiscal 2023 budget didn’t include complete development funding.

All of that will change this fall, when the Air Force reaches Milestone B. As part of that decision, the service will set a program baseline and a service cost position, explaining how and when it will fund the program.

At that point, “we have better independent cost estimates” from the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) shop, Ruscetta said, “as well as actual contract information from subcontractors … so we have a much more mature scope of the program.”

Milestone B is where programs are expected to have sufficient maturity to nail down cost and schedule and “actually grade yourself” on meeting those marks, Ruscetta said.

Although development costs will be higher in the new baseline, there will likely be reductions in estimated production costs, Air Force material lead Col. Louis Ruscetta said.

The milestone review and Air Force readiness will benefit from the digital design of the CERP upgrade now being at “Increment Two,” said Jennifer Wong, Boeing director of bomber programs.

Increment One was “engine-agnostic” for the integration of the B-52’s new systems, Wong said, because the engine had not yet been selected when that digital design was built. Now that the F130-200 is plugged into the design, “it is a much more mature virtual prototype,” she said, with additional features that were not included in the original version.

That helps with readiness because the Air Force will soon be able to start training maintainers to work on the upgraded power system, Ruscetta said, and they’ll be ready to go when the B-52 begins test flights with new engine. The Virtual Training System “has already started to deliver” to Global Strike Command and Air Education and Training Command, he said.

“They can start developing their tech manuals [and] their training curriculum. And all of that is happening now, pre-Milestone B.” Usually, he said, “that doesn’t start happening until you’ve actually modified the aircraft and you’re in flight test. So we can start that four years early. That is a key enabler and game-changer.”

US: Another ‘Unprofessional‘ Intercept of RC-135 by Chinese Fighter. Watch the Video

US: Another ‘Unprofessional‘ Intercept of RC-135 by Chinese Fighter. Watch the Video

May 30, 2023 | By Greg Hadley and Chris Gordon

A Chinese fighter jet conducted an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver in front of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 last week, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced May 30, and released footage of the incident. 

The intercept, which took place May 26, happened over the South China Sea in international airspace, according to an INDOPACOM statement.  

The video shows the J-16 fighter passing directly in front of the RC-135 Rivet Joint. That caused the American jet to fly through the Chinese fighter’s wake turbulence. Footage released by the U.S. shows the USAF plane appearing to shake after the maneuver.

A Chinese J-16 fighter passes directly in front of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint over the South China Sea on May 26, 2023. Courtesy video/U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

“The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate—safely and responsibly—wherever international law allows, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Joint Force will continue to fly in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law,” INDOPACOM said in a statement. “We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.” 

This marks the second time the U.S. has accused Chinese pilots of unsafe actions over the South China Sea—on Dec. 21, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) J-11 fighter “performed an unsafe maneuver” and came within 20 feet of another RC-135.  

The Pentagon released video of that incident as well, while the Chinese government later claimed the slower-flying RC-135 altered its flight and veered toward the PLAN fighter, though footage the Chinese released does not appear to show that. 

In 2015, a similar incident took place involving an RC-135 and two Chinese JH-7 aircraft, though officials said at the time there was no imminent threat of a collision. 

The Pentagon has increasingly used unclassified video to spotlight what it calls unsafe behavior by adversaries like China and Russia—in March, the department released footage from an MQ-9 Reaper drone showing a Russian jet dumping fuel in front of it, then crashing into the aircraft, which resulted in the American plane crashing into the Black Sea. 

Formal communications about such behavior have broken down, though. The Chinese government in particular has shown a “concerning lack of interest in the important lines of communication that underpin a stable defense relationship between our countries,” principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs Jedidiah P. Royal told Congress in April.

It has been months since Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III last spoke to his Chinese counterpart. On May 29, the Pentagon said that China—officially the People’s Republic of China or PRC—rebuffed a potential meeting during Austin’s upcoming visit for an annual security forum in Singapore.

“This is far from the first time that the PRC has rejected invitations to communicate from the Secretary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or other Department officials,” a senior defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Frankly, it’s just the latest in a litany of excuses. Since 2021, the PRC has declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defense for key leader engagements, multiple requests for standing dialogues, and nearly ten working-level engagements.”

It was not immediately clear if the U.S. and Chinese militaries have had any contact since this most recent incident.

China has shown “concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said in a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine May 29.

In a First, USAF F-35s Join Multinational Arctic Challenge Exercise

In a First, USAF F-35s Join Multinational Arctic Challenge Exercise

May 30, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

More than two dozen U.S. Air Force fighters and tankers—including F-35s for the first time—are participating in what U.S. Air Force leaders in Europe call the region’s “premier” Nordic exercise over the next two weeks. 

Some 150 aircraft from 14 countries are taking part in Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023, which kicked off May 29 and runs through June 9 at bases across Sweden, Finland, and Norway. 

Eight F-35s and 14 F-15Es from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., deployed for the exercise, with the F-35s going to Norway’s Ørland Air Base and the F-15Es to Finland’s Pirkkala Air Base. KC-135s from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, U.K., and the Maine Air National Guard will support the exercise from Ørland Air Base and RAF Mildenhall. 

Airmen from the 414th Combat Training “Red Flag” Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., deployed to Sweden’s Luleå Air Base to integrate with planners. 

The annual Arctic Challenge exercises started in 2013 pulling together the U.S., the United Kingdom. and the three Nordic countries. It has since grown into one of the largest aerial exercises in the Arctic region. This year’s participants include the U.S., U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. 

This is the first time U.S. F-35s have taken part, and Italy, Norway, and the Netherlands all sent F-35s as well. 

Also new this year: Finland took the lead in organizing and running the exercise, a notable step given its entry into the NATO alliance just months ago. Sweden is still waiting for admittance into the NATO fold.  

“By training and conducting realistic exercises in the High North, like Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023, U.S. forces and those of Allied and Partner nations hone skills, fine-tune interoperability, nurture key relationships, and acclimate to the inherent challenges posed by fighting in the Arctic’s extreme conditions,” a USAFE press release stated. 

Arctic Challenge Exercise comes amid a run of exercises in Europe. NATO’s DEFENDER 2023 exercise kicked off earlier this month with A-10s from the 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., split between Zaragosa Air Base, Spain, and Thessaloniki Air Base, Greece. Airlift aircraft soon followed.  

Meanwhile, the German-led Air Defender 23 exercise will begin June 12, featuring around 100 U.S. Air National Guard aircraft, including F-35s, F-16s, F-15s, A-10s, KC-135, KC-46s, C-130s, and C-17s. Operations will take place in Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Latvia. 

Wives of Top Air Force, Space Force Generals Share 5 Keys to Life as a Military Spouse

Wives of Top Air Force, Space Force Generals Share 5 Keys to Life as a Military Spouse

May 30, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Military families face many personal issues associated with their service, and the spouses of the top officers in the Department of the Air Force are not immune to them, they said May 30 during an Air & Space Forces Association United Forces & Families (F2) event, appearing alongside family advocates.

“I guess it worked out for the best 30 years later,” Jennifer Saltzman, wife of Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said. “I did not grow up in the military. I didn’t know what that life was about. And just thought I mean, he’s really a cute, nice guy. Let’s just do that. That’ll be easy. We won’t do it very long, right?”

Since then, Mrs. Saltzman—who appeared on a panel alongside Sharene Brown, the wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.—learned that being a military spouse was challenging, though rewarding. Here are five things Jennifer Saltzman and Sharene Brown have learned over the years—some big takeaways and other simple daily rituals.

The 20-Second Hug

“Time, definitely we never have enough of it,” Saltzman said. But her husband came home from a conference with an interesting suggestion offered by a speaker, which Mrs. Saltzman says the couple has now taken up.

“Take a deep breath and hug your spouse for 20 seconds,” Saltzman said. “It allows you to take those couple of deep breaths and then you kind of just re-center.”

Saltzman said that with all that military families are juggling, it is important to connect.

“Now it’s just almost a call in the house,” Saltzman said. “That’s a fun connection. But you’d be surprised if you really do count 20 seconds, it’s longer than think.”

Saltzman said families should find whatever works for them, whether it’s quirky or not.

“But always make sure you create the time because it goes by really quickly,” she said. “You don’t want moments to be few and far between. You want to make sure that you always capture your connection first.”

Fight for Yourself and Your Family

Sharene Brown’s signature initiative since her husband became Chief of Staff is “Five and Thrive,” focusing on five key concerns for military families. And two of those areas, childcare and education, are particularly important to the Browns, given their experience after one of their sons was diagnosed with autism.

“When you see something that’s happening with your family, you need to take as much of a proactive stance as you possibly can,” Brown said. “I tried to soak up as much information about what schools should require or do require for students as much as I could, because I knew the next location wouldn’t necessarily have all that information.”

But whatever the situation is, Brown said families are their own best advocates.

“To all of our family members, I say to you, you know, your family is really important because all the things that are going on in a military life, you’re thrown a number of different curveballs along the way,” Brown said. “It’s not so much what you’re thrown, but how you handle that and how you’re able to seek out those people around you and those resources that are out there for you. Because let me tell you, our military has a lot of resources, birth to grave, and we’re just overflowing with any sort of information that we’d like to be able to share with you.”

The Browns know firsthand that is not always easy, she said.

“Reaching out is probably the hardest thing to do initially,” Brown said. “If you recognize that there’s something that’s just not quite right, then investigate, explore, try to figure out what’s going on, and be proactive. Because ultimately, if you don’t engage early enough, you will be dealing with a number of challenges, either early on or later on in life. And the longer you wait, the harder the challenges become.”

Make Connections Outside the Military

Roughly two-thirds of military families live off base. Families should reach out to their civilian neighbors, military family advocates said.

“You can’t only rely on the military spouses around you,” said Kirstin Navaroli, the co-founder of Wives of the Armed Forces, who appeared alongside fellow spouse advocates Nicole Murray and Aaron Evenson. “We can’t only rely on your partner. You have to get creative.”

Navaroli recounted a time when she needed urgent help taking care of one of her kids. While she may not live in her current neighborhood for the rest of her life, civilian families are still willing to help out—if they know they can.

“Building relationships and building trust,” is key, Navaroli said, “so that when you need that text to go out and you know it’s going to be answered.”

Military members make frequent moves, but that doesn’t mean families shouldn’t try to connect with as many people as possible. Brown recounted her trepidation upon heading for her husband’s assignment to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C.

But, she learned, “people are people everywhere.”

Explore

Being a military family has many challenges, but America relies on an all-volunteer force. As the military struggles with recruiting and retention, Brown said it is most important for families to get everything they can out of their military experience.

“Get out and explore,” Brown said. “You never know how long you’re going to be in a location. I always tried to get out and see as much of wherever I was living and to meet as many people as possible.”

As Gen. Brown was sent to places like South Korea and Italy, the family got to experience the cultural rewards of those different environments.

But Saltzman said military families should try to make the best of any location they’re posted in.

“I take advantage of every opportunity in every place,” Saltzman said “Even if it’s not your first choice, and it was your second or your third, there’s going to be something fabulous there for you and your family. You just have to go out and find it.”

“Don’t be disappointed or scared if there’s a location that you’re going to that you weren’t quite sure about,” she added.

Be Flexible

“There’s only 24 hours in the day, even though some of you use those a lot more efficiently,” Saltzman said. “Be flexible.”

Despite her husband’s high rank and their new Space House quarters, Gen. Saltzman’s first posting with Jennifer was to Montana when he was a young missileer, and they have moved roughly 14 different times.

She recounted one story that illustrates the hectic life of military families when she was asked for an emergency contact.

“‘I don’t have one, I just got here yesterday,’” Saltzman recounted. “‘I think one time I made a person up, ‘What’s the area code here?’ That’s fine, I’ll just write a name. But there are other people experiencing those same things. Hopefully, you can just find that network of people because military families and military kids are the greatest ones out there. So I’ve always been honored to be able to be in that group. But you have to be flexible.”

Russian-Speaking Airmen Translate Rare Account of Ukraine War Through Invader’s Eyes

Russian-Speaking Airmen Translate Rare Account of Ukraine War Through Invader’s Eyes

May 30, 2023 | By David Roza

“Half of my guys changed clothes and wore Ukrainian uniforms because they were of higher quality and more comfortable. … Our great country was unable to clothe, equip, and feed its own army.”

Those are among the opening lines of a harrowing 77-page account from Russian paratrooper Pavel Filatyev, describing his part in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine—and now available to read in English thanks to five Russian-speaking Airmen who translated the text on behalf of the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC).

The full blog—titled “Zov,” a term that means “Calling” in English—made headlines in August after appearing on the Russian social media website Vkontakte. Though Russian soldiers had previously posted photos and videos of the war to social media, Filatyev’s blog was one of the first longform accounts to appear in public.

“I cannot remain silent,” wrote Filatyev, who later fled Russia for political asylum in France.

Airmen and the rest of America can now read the whole document on the U.S. Air Force’s Air University website. And while it may be impossible to verify all of the details in Filatyev’s account, his writing offers a rare glimpse of what went wrong in the Russian invasion.

Specifically for U.S. service members and leaders, “Zov” provides insight into how Ukrainian forces have been able to defy the odds and blunt the effects of a larger, technologically superior Russian military, one of the USAF translators told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“Before the invasion started, everybody was reporting that Ukraine would fall within weeks, and that clearly hasn’t happened,” Capt. Roman Obolonskiy said. “Now we have to go back and figure out what within our military intelligence community and analysis failed to predict this outcome.”

While military planners could estimate the number of Russian resources like tanks, troops, and planes, accounts like “Zov” shed light on intangible factors such as morale, motivation, and training.

“Is what’s on paper real? The writer would tell us, ‘Hey we were not issued the things we thought we would be issued,’” Obolonskiy said. “‘We did not have sleeping bags or winter clothing and we had rusty weapons that were out of sight.’ Having 200 rifles is great, but not if none of your 200 rifles can shoot straight.”

A destroyed Russian tank at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Oct. 2, 2022. Ukraine Ministry of Defense/Facebook

Challenges of Translation

Like his four co-translators, Obolonskiy is a member of the Language-Enabled Airman Program, an initiative within AFCLC where Airmen and Space Force Guardians who have significant experience in a foreign language can apply to serve as cultural and linguistic experts for their fellow service members.

The team of Airmen, which included Maj. Herman Reinhold, Capt. Mikhail Berlin, Capt. Abror Samatov,, and Master Sgt. Nadia Wolfe, read “Zov” the entire way through, split it into sections, assigned one Airman to each section, then worked together to ensure consistency throughout the translation. It was a difficult task: Filatyev wrote in a stream-of-consciousness style filled with military jargon, typos, and colloquial expressions that do not translate perfectly into English. 

“It was the use of language I found particularly interesting,” Reinhold said. “It is kind of a puzzle: how do I translate the F-word in Russian into English in a way that is understandable to the reader. I may or may not use the exact F-word equivalent. Maybe I’ll use different curse words to convey the meaning.”

Indeed, David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker and a fluent Russian speaker, wrote in 2014 there are thousands of variations on the four curse words that make up the backbone of Russian profanity. Besides profanity, the LEAP scholars also had to use their best judgment to translate colloquial or military terms.

“Some of the military jargon, slang, wordplay, and colloquial expressions would not make sense in English if translated verbatim,” said Berlin. “It was a fun challenge to find a creative way to convey the exact same meaning and find similar phrases that would be used in English.”

Lessons for the US

When the translation was complete, it provided firsthand perspective of what many analysts had seen from a distance: The Russian war effort has been hampered by poor logistics, communication, and leadership. “Zov” illustrates how those issues affect frontline troops.

“Who will be accountable for these lives lost and the wounded?” Filatyev wrote about a suspected incident of friendly fire. “After all, the reason for their deaths was not the professionalism of the Ukrainian army, but the mess in ours.”

The shortage of medical supplies and other equipment that Filatyev experienced reminded Wolfe, a medical logistics flight chief, just how important her work is to the larger U.S. military.

“In medical logistics, we do our job day to day and we do not necessarily see the outcome,” she said. “‘Zov’ brings the importance of what we do to light and is an example that I can use to motivate my people.”

Filatyev’s memoir also showed the impact a corps of noncommissioned officers, or lack thereof, can have on a battlefield. 

“There is a very large separation between officers and enlisted,” said Wolfe. “It was almost like they are not even working on the same side.” 

Obolonskiy came away with a greater appreciation for corruption in the Russian military and political system, which may have contributed to the dysfunction at the front.

“We’ve always known about corruption within Russia, but I don’t think we comprehended what that meant,” he said. “Throughout reading this, from start to finish, every link in their chains of supply, appropriations, and logistics was impacted by a level of corruption where people were just stealing everything that they needed for the war effort.”

A Ukrainian army soldier stands near the wreckage of a Russian vehicle at an undisclosed location on March 8, 2022. General Staff of the Army of Ukraine/Twitter

More Understanding

Despite Filatyev’s criticisms of the war and the Russian military, the paratrooper declares: “I’m not a coward! I’m a patriot! … I feel sorry for the Ukrainians, a fraternal nation to me! But even more, I feel sorry for the used Russian people and the nations of the great USSR, whose people were exploited by others, more unscrupulous individuals. Who are currently destroying the largest and the greatest country in the world!”

Filatyev may have witnessed war crimes firsthand. In March, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty alleged the paratrooper said he was aware some Ukrainians captured by his unit would later be executed. In ‘Zov,’ he wrote that he did not witness any acts of torture or rape, though he saw at least one mutilated dead body. The paratrooper expressed guilt for participating in what he felt was an unjustified invasion.

In writing “Zov,” he may have “tried to do something that would clear his conscience,” Wolfe said.

In reading the document, Americans must remember Filatyev’s experience may not reflect that of the entire Russian military, Reinhold said. “Zov” is a primary source document, and other sources are needed for a more holistic picture of the conflict. With those limitations in mind, Filatyev’s account could serve as a reminder that an army’s strength on paper may not hold up on the battlefield. 

“There is an opportunity to try and figure out how we can re-analyze other adversaries,” said Obolonskiy.  “Are we focusing on the right things when we try to calculate how capable a foreign military is?”

That mindset applies not only to adversaries, but also to allies, partners, and the U.S. itself.

“We need to look in the mirror as well and see what of this applies to us,” Obolonskiy said. “Do we provide the correct training, or are we boggled as well? Do we provide the proper equipment or do we also have five guns at a base of a thousand?”

Sharene Brown’s ‘Five & Thrive’ Earns Shout Out from President Biden

Sharene Brown’s ‘Five & Thrive’ Earns Shout Out from President Biden

May 29, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Sharene Brown and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. know a good slogan—and the importance of backing it up. The general is known for his signature “Accelerate Change or Lose” mantra, while Mrs. Brown has been tackling issues affecting Airmen and their families through her signature “Five and Thrive” initiative.

Launched in December 2021, Five and Thrive focuses on childcare, education, healthcare, housing, and spouse employment.

And now that Gen. Brown has been announced as President Joe Biden’s pick for the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—as which he’ll advise the commander-in-chief in the West Wing—Sharene Brown will have a partner in the East Wing with First Lady Jill Biden, according to President Biden.

“Sharene, you and C.Q. are true partners in our dedication to the health and well-being of the women and men in uniform and their families,” Biden said May 25 in a speech from the Rose Garden announcing Brown’s nomination. Biden also recognized the Browns’ sons, Sean and Ross. 


Sharene Brown, spouse of Chief of Staff of the Air Force, meets with squadron commander spouses during a tour at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., July 27, 2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Steven Cardo

Jill Biden, the mother of a former service member, her late son Beau Biden, launched her own program, Joining Forces, as Second Lady along with then-First Lady Michelle Obama in 2011.

President Biden said Jill Biden and Sharene Brown would work together in their efforts should Gen. Brown ascend to the job of the nation’s highest-ranking military officer

“Jill and I look forward to working even more closely with you on these issues,” Biden told Sharene Brown in his speech.

Joining Forces focuses on many of the same efforts as Five and Thrive, such as spouse employment, childcare, education, and the health of military families—and Jill Biden and Sharene Brown have even used similar language to describe their goals.

“We have an all-volunteer force—and it continues only because generations of Americans see the honor, dignity, and patriotism of military service,” Jill Biden said in April 2021. “How can we hope to keep our military strong if we don’t give our families, survivors, and caregivers what they need to thrive?”

First Lady Jill Biden helps Beverly Gardens Elementary School second-grade students with math problems during her visit March 29, 2023. During her stop at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Biden discussed the Joining Forces initiative with military families and educators and met with Airmen at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. U.S. Air Force photo by Brian Dietrick

President Biden said Five and Thrive is doing “important work to address the greatest issues affecting military families,” which work makes for a natural partnership between the First Lady and the wife of the next Chairman.

Five and Thrive and Joining Forces extend beyond catchphrases. The guidebook for Five and Thrive—which offers additional digital connections to resources—runs 62 pages. Five and Thrive publishes a monthly Spouse Situation Report, designed as a so-called SITREP, similar to any other important military operation. Joining Forces also offers resources and running updates on its efforts, with the most recent tangible step spurring an April 18 executive order by President Biden to support caregivers, including those support service members and veterans.

“That’s what it takes sometimes, the village,” Sharene Brown said at AFA’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in September 2022. “And if we could all go someplace or feel like that somebody could step in and help us out, I think we’ll all feel a little bit more comfortable.”

With the White House in the picture, Sharene Brown’s efforts are set to extend beyond the Air Force to all military families.

“Throughout Gen. Brown’s stellar career in the Air Force, C.Q. and Sharene have always put family first, and they both know from their own experience growing up in military families that it’s not just the person who wears the uniform who serves, the whole family—the whole family serves—and the whole family sacrifices on behalf of the nation,” Biden said.