SPACECOM Boss Wants Satellites That Can Maneuver to and from New Orbits

SPACECOM Boss Wants Satellites That Can Maneuver to and from New Orbits

June 26, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

U.S. Space Command is interested in orbits around Earth outside the traditional regions where satellites operate, and commander Gen. Stephen N. Whiting sees refuelable spacecraft as a possible key to getting to them. 

Not every satellite needs to be refuelable, Whiting adding during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on June 24. But for key missions, having the ability to run away from a threat or get closer to another spacecraft to inspect it will be important, the SPACECOM boss said. Vast regions of space that are relatively unoccupied now but could become important in the future, he noted.

“I want the ability to survey and to get to non-traditional orbits,” Whiting said. “Space is massive, there’s all this volume of places you can go, but we tend to operate in kind of these four areas. One is low-Earth orbit, out to about 800 kilometers, then medium-Earth orbit, where the GPS satellites are, and then Geosynchronous and then some at highly elliptical orbits.” 

There are many reasons why governments and businesses gravitate toward those four main orbital regimes, said retired Space Force Col. Charles Galbreath, a senior fellow for space studies at the Mitchell Institute.  

“There are some natural conditions we try to avoid,” Galbreath said of space. “ … There’s radiation from the sun and from cosmic sources. There’s micrometeorites, etc. It’s a nasty place. And there are the Van Allen Belts, where there are pockets of additional radiation that is collected, and that can make it difficult to operate in that region for a long period of time.” 

However, it is possible to harden satellites against radiation, and as places like low-Earth orbit become more and more congested, new orbits present opportunities. But it may not make sense to position satellites there permanently, Whiting suggested. That’s where the concept of Dynamic Space Operations comes in. 

“We want a maneuvering capability that allows us to maneuver through multiple orbital regimes,” he said. “We think that will help limit the opportunity for operational surprise. So it is a mission-by-mission, orbit-by-orbit determination, but absolutely we see certain missions, certain orbits where Dynamic Space Operations, sustained space maneuver makes great sense for the nation.” 

Whiting has endorsed the idea of maneuverable satellites before, and the idea has gained traction among Pentagon officials. Right now, satellites minimize movement in orbit as much as possible to conserve fuel. Once they run out, their service life is over. 

“It’s time to bring dynamic space operations and on-orbit logistics and infrastructure to the space domain,” Whiting said in April at the annual Space Symposium. “The days of energy-neutral positional operations in space need to end.” 

At the time, Whiting added that such a move would open up new tactics and operating concepts for SPACECOM operators. During the Mitchell Institute event, he offered examples of what those could be. 

“Imagine now, you’re a singular high-value satellite in geosynchronous orbit, for example, and maybe you’re being targeted by a red capability,” Whiting said. “And what if that red capability can refuel but you can’t. Now it can persistently chase you until you run out of fuel. And that’s not a state you want to be in. You want to be able to continue your mission.” 

Being able to maneuver between different orbits could offer several advantages in such a scenario, Galbreath suggested.  

“It may be just a transitory activity to get out of the way of a threat that maybe doesn’t have the fuel to follow you, or doesn’t have the radiation hardening to survive in a Van Allen Radiation Belt or something like that,” he said. 

An artist rendering shows a Blue Ring spacecraft, developed by Blue Origin, focused on providing in-space logistics and delivery. Blue Ring will serve commercial and government customers and can support a variety of missions in medium-Earth orbit out to the cislunar region and beyond. The platform provides end-to-end services that span hosting, transportation, refueling, data relay, and logistics. Blue Origin

Alternatively, should an adversary like Russia or China choose to deploy a satellite to a new orbit, the U.S. needs to have satellites of its own that can inspect the threat, Whiting said. 

“There’s a lot of volume of space in there to be surprised, and we want to reduce the opportunity for strategic surprise by being able to surveil and get to those,” he said. 

Top military space officials have said space domain awareness is a top priority given the evolving threat, and maneuverability is tied to that mission area, Galbreath suggested. 

“If we improve the maneuverability of our space domain awareness assets, we’ll be able to observe different regions of space and different activities going on in space, so it can help us improve domain awareness,” said Galbreath. “But on the other side, moving from a sort of energy-neutral position where you’re following Keplerian orbits and you’re very predictable, that reduces the requirements on domain awareness. Moving to a dynamic space operation … makes it much harder to know where you’re going based off of where you’re observed right now. And so that can complicate an adversary’s space domain awareness. And if they’re doing it to us, it could complicate ours.” 

Of course, maneuvering, refuelable satellites may not be the answer in every scenario, Whiting and Galbreath both noted. A proliferated constellation in low-Earth orbit, for example, puts up new satellites with such short service lives that refueling wouldn’t be worth the effort. But generally speaking, maneuvering satellites could take the U.S. out of “positional warfare” in space, Whiting said. 

“From a warfighting perspective, having the ability to maneuver is a valid requirement today,” Galbreath added. “It’s an unmet requirement by and large, but it is still a requirement that would help [SPACECOM] immediately. And so as soon as services, particularly the Space Force and industry, can demonstrate some means to increase the maneuver capability of satellites, the better for Space Command.” 

New DOD Security Clearance Czar Wants to End Years of Mismanagement

New DOD Security Clearance Czar Wants to End Years of Mismanagement

June 26, 2024 | By David Roza

The new head of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency told lawmakers he aims to reverse years of poor management of DCSA’s background check modernization effort, which is already more than five years behind schedule and half a billion dollars over budget.

“We’re 8.5 years into a three-year program. We spent $1.345 billion on a $700 million program,” DCSA director David Cattler told a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability subcommittee at a June 26 hearing. “It’s unacceptable that we’ve gotten to where we are and we need to turn this thing around.” 

Cattler was specifically referring to the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) program, which underpins a larger reform of personnel vetting called Trusted Workforce 2.0. The reforms began after a massive data breach at the Office of Personnel Management in 2015 exposed the data of about 22.1 million federal employees, contractors, and others with personal data on the office’s network.

NBIS is supposed to replace legacy background investigation information technology systems and serve as the federal government’s “one-stop-shop IT system for end-to-end personnel vetting,” complete with better data protection, integration, and usability. 

The system was supposed to be fully functional in 2019, and DCSA took charge of it in 2020. But four years later, it is still a long way from complete. The Government Accountability Office blamed the delays on DCSA, which it said ignored multiple recommendations since 2021 to implement basic management principles such as developing a reliable schedule and cost estimates and enhancing oversight, particularly for cybersecurity controls.

“These are key fundamental program management principles, and in the past the program has been so focused on moving out to deliver capabilities that they had told us it was an administrative burden and a waste of time, frankly, to develop a schedule or a cost estimate,” Alissa Czyz, GAO’s director for defense capabilities management, told lawmakers. “ … Well, now they’re years late and behind schedule and over cost too.”

In the meantime, the DOD suffered one of its largest intelligence leaks ever in 2023 when Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, a member of the Air National Guard, shared classified material on a social media site. The incident raised questions about insider threats and the vetting process for individuals requesting a security clearance.

Teixeira was not referenced in the hearing, but DCSA provides vetting services for 95 percent of the federal government, which equates to 2.7 million investigations per year, Cattler said in his testimony. The personnel vetting system and its outdated IT infrastructure has long been afflicted by “skyrocketing processing times which created a towering backlog of qualified individuals who could not start serving in national security roles,” said subcommittee ranking member Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.).

Mfume cited a January GAO report showing that 17 out of 31 federal agencies did not trust each others’ security clearance processes, leading to duplicative, time-intensive vetting at each agency.

“Extensive wait times force talented agency recruits to pursue employment outside of the government when their security clearance stretches for months and sometimes years,” Mfume said. “And can you really blame them?”

As the “one-stop shop” for personnel vetting IT systems, NBIS forms the “lynchpin” to Trusted Workforce 2.0, said Czyz. When it slows, so too does the overall reform effort. 

At this point, DCSA does not expect to fully sunset its legacy systems until fiscal 2028, but Czyz expressed confidence in Cattler, who became director of DCSA in March. She recalled the new director quoting from GAO’s past reports when GAO representatives visited DCSA in Quantico, Va., about six weeks after Cattler took the seat.

“He asked us point-blank how his agency had interacted with GAO in the past and that he was committed to having a collaborative relationship in implementing our recommendations,” Czyz said. “So I think we are very encouraged by his early leadership here.”

Indeed, when asked about accountability, Cattler said DCSA has “had some people move on,” and “fundamentally” changed internal and external communications, and taken “punitive measures” against some employees and contractors since he came on board. 

The agency is nearly at the end of a 90-day NBIS recovery plan which began April 1. Cattler expects the plan to yield a new roadmap for the system, a new leadership team, a reliable funding profile, an audit conducted by the DCSA inspector general, acquisition oversight from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and other actions meant to reset the process.

“While it’s not my fault, it is my responsibility to make sure DCSA delivers on this set of requirements,” Cattler said. “It’s critical that we do so.” 

B-52s Take Off from US Base with JASSM Cruise Missiles for ‘Unique’ Exercise

B-52s Take Off from US Base with JASSM Cruise Missiles for ‘Unique’ Exercise

June 26, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La.—Airmen at this sprawling bomber base carried out an unusual exercise earlier this month in which they loaded AMG-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, or JASSMs, onto B-52H Stratofortresses to test their ability to conduct long-range airstrike missions.

JASSMs were not launched during Bayou Warrior, which ran June 10-13. But the exercise enabled the personnel to practice executing a conventional strike with live munitions, something the Air Force rarely does with these weapons, which cost upwards of $1 million dollars apiece.

The B-52 has deployed a diverse variety of weapons throughout its 60-year history, and the platform still inspires awe as a symbol of U.S. nuclear might. 

But the Stratofortress has only been employed as a conventional bomber, and its likely future lies not with high-altitude gravity bombing or low-level penetration strikes but with the use of standoff cruise missiles from its bomb bay and massive wings.

“This one was a unique flavor,” Col. Michael D. Maginness, the commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing, which conducted the exercise, said in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine. “We actually flew the weapons, which was an outstanding opportunity for our aircrew.”

Wing leadership was also involved in the exercise as the Crisis Action Team went through the paces as if his bombers were actually employed in combat, Maginness said.

Air Force Global Strike Command’s inspector general office evaluated weapons loading and maintenance during the exercise. The 2nd Bomb Wing is AFGSC’s largest bomber wing and the host unit at Barksdale, which houses the major command’s headquarters.

“They’re going to come in, and they’re going give you a hard look at, “Are you ready to go?” said Col. Bryan J. Walter, who previously served as the deputy inspector general for AFGSC before taking command of the 2nd Operations Group at the end of May.

Maginness said the crews would benefit from the scrutiny. 

“I’d be scared if we didn’t find anything, to be honest, because it means we weren’t looking hard enough,” Maginness added. “This is like getting a math problem wrong on the test, except when you do, you owe the teacher back how you’re going to fix it for the future and then prove to her that it’s fixed.”

While the details of the simulated combat were classified, wing officials said that it replicated a real-world scenario. 

“We’ll develop some intelligence-based scenario that would drive us towards something where we would get a conventional tasking,” said Lt. Col. Amanda Goncalves, the 2nd Operations Support Squadron commander and the former inspector general of the 2nd Bomb Wing. “Here’s the U.S. response. This is how you got to this situation in this scenario. You are now being asked by a combatant command to generate so many aircraft, so many weapons, in so much time. So that sets the tone. That sets that real-world scenario for our crews, that, no kidding, you have a period of time you have to get these jets ready, loaded, and airborne.”

A B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing takes from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., June 11, 2024, as part of exercise Bayou Warrior. Photo by Chris Gordon/Air & Space Forces Magazine

For the B-52, each sortie is no small feat. Most hangers are far too small to fit the bomber, so the ramp at Barksdale is flush with B-52s. Just over half of Air Force B-52s are “mission capable” at any one time, according to Air Force figures, which the service defines as being able to perform at least one of its core missions.

Airmen acknowledged the challenges of getting a 60-year-old jet ready for simulated combat, comparing it to getting a team ready for a playoff game. 

“It’s a very old aircraft. It’s a lot of work, but our guys are great at their job,” said Master Sgt. Nickolas Shelton, production superintendent with the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “It’s about time management, people management, parts management. It’s nothing to worry about. The airplane’s going to make a decision on if it breaks or not. We just fix it.”

Air Force exercises and the process to improve are well established. Less so is the opportunity to train with the high-end weapons B-52s might employ.

Those weapons crews train with an array of inert weapons, including AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCMs), which are a key element of the nuclear weapons arsenal. But putting actual JASSMs on a B-52 was a rare experience.

“Due to some of the characteristics of the JASSM, the airplane flies a little different,” said Maginness, who has roughly 3,700 flight hours—400 of them in combat—on B-52s. With JASSMs on the wings, B-52s carry fuel in specific parts of the aircraft as ballast to keep the center of gravity in line.

“Getting to actually interface with the real weapon, and seeing the weapon, the weapon generated launch regions, and the weapon data on the screens, that’s a huge training opportunity,” Maginness added.

His Airmen agreed.

“It’s not that common for us to actually fly around with JASSMs on the pylons,” said Capt. Timothy Walraven, a weapon systems officer with the 20th Bomb Squadron who has participated in a live-fire JASSM test. “So this is a big deal because there are some differences between the indications of simulation in the jet versus actually having the shapes on the jet. It’s good for aircrew to fly with this because it makes them more proficient in the sense that they have a better idea of what they’re going to see, so that way, we can be ready to go anytime.”

Col. Kenneth Cordier, Fighter Pilot and Vietnam POW, Dies at 87

Col. Kenneth Cordier, Fighter Pilot and Vietnam POW, Dies at 87

June 26, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Col. Kenneth W. Cordier, an F-4 fighter pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam and spent more than six years as a prisoner of war, died June 18 at age 87.

Cordier grew up in Ohio and was commissioned in the Air Force through the University of Akron ROTC program. He became a Minuteman missile launch officer and instructor, but in 1963 was accepted for pilot training, earning his wings in 1964. He completed F-4 Phantom II training and served with the 45th Tactical Fighter Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., deploying with it to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in January 1965. He flew 59 combat missions from Ubon.

In June 1966, Cordier volunteered for a second tour in Vietnam and was assigned to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, South Vietnam.

He earned his first Silver Star in November 1966, leading an F-4 flight to attack a target in North Vietnam. The citation reads in part that Cordier’s “first pass in the target area drew heavy hostile reaction and his wingmen were downed on their initial passes. Completely disregarding his own personal safety, Capt. Cordier immediately initiated rescue procedures and delivered his remaining ordnance on the nearby target. [He] then remained in the area to provide assistance to inbound rescue aircraft until his low fuel state dictated his departure from the area.”

On Dec. 6, 1966, on his 176th combat mission, Cordier was flying an F-4C, escorting a B-66 over North Vietnam, when his group took heavy ground fire. Cordier made attacks on anti-aircraft positions, until his F-4 was struck by an anti-aircraft missile and he ejected. He was quickly taken captive and was held and tortured over the next 2,284 days, ultimately being repatriated as part of Operation Homecoming on March 4, 1973.

Due to his injuries during captivity at four different sites in North Vietnam, Cordier required hospitalization and convalescent leave but stayed in the Air Force and requalified to fly fighters.

After attending the Armed Forces Staff College and earning a Master’s degree from Troy State University, Ala., he was operations director first at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and then at Sembach Air Base, West Germany.

In 1976, assigned to Headquarters of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, Cordier was chief of the War Plans Division, where he was credited with making early use of threat-based computer modeling to establish weapons stockpile requirements for the European theater.

He later served as air attaché to the United Kingdom. Cordier retired from the Air Force in 1985 as a colonel.

Among his military awards were two awards of the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star medal with “V” for Valor device, six awards of the Air Medal, the POW medal, the Purple Heart, and Defense Superior Service Medal. He amassed more than 2,000 flying hours during his Air Force career.

After retirement, he worked as a representative of British Aerospace in Washington, D.C. He also held leadership positions with a number of veterans organizations—as president of the NAM-POWs and the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, and as a member of the Airpower Foundation Advisory Board, among others—and served as a private management consultant.

He wrote a book about his combat and POW experiences, “Guardian Eagle: A Fighter Pilot’s Tale,” with Chris Snidow.

Cordier led five veteran trips to Vietnam, visiting former prisons with fellow POWs, both to bring closure to their experience and improve U.S.-Vietnamese relations.  

DARPA Announces a New Flying-Wing Reconnaissance X-Plane: XRQ-73

DARPA Announces a New Flying-Wing Reconnaissance X-Plane: XRQ-73

June 25, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has assigned the designation XRQ-73 to its newest “X-plane,” an autonomous flying wing reconnaissance aircraft prototype with extra-quiet propulsion that is expected to fly this year, the agency announced June 24.

The new aircraft also goes by the program acronym SHEPARD, for “Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiR Demonstration,” and is being developed by Northrop Grumman and its Scaled Composites subsidiary. It is powered by a hybrid electric system which converts fuel to electric power and is part of DARPA’s X-prime program.

The program is builds upon hybrid technologies and other components developed as part of the “Great Horned Owl” predecessor project run by the Air Force Research Lab and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA said. The Office of Naval Research and AFRL are also partners on SHEPARD.

Other involved companies include Cornerstone Research Group, Inc.; Brayton Energy, LLC; PC Krause and Associates, and EaglePicher Technologies, LLC, DARPA said.

DARPA revealed that the XRQ-73 is described as a “Group 3” uncrewed aerial system, coming in at 1,250 pounds, just under the high end of that category’s weight range, between 55 and 1,320 pounds. Group 3 UAS also fly below 18,000 feet, and between 100 and 250 knots airspeed. The then-unnamed aircraft was expected to fly in calendar 2023, but DARPA did not offer an explanation as to why it did not.

The Great Horned Owl project began in 2011 and bore the designation XRQ-72. It used upper-surface propulsors, and so was not stealthy, but the XRQ-73 is a flying wing with engines buried in the planform, clearly intended to have radar low observability in addition to noise reduction. The GHO was to be powered by either gasoline or diesel, but it’s not clear if that requirement also applies to the SHEPARD. Most details of the program remain classified, but the hybrid electric approach is intended to significantly extend the travel and on-station time of a drone in this class.    

A DARPA image showing the evolution of the Great Horned Owl to the SHEPARD, although the layout of the final version differs from DARPA's other image of the XQR-73.
Image courtesy of DARPA

DARPA said the XRQ-73 could be “rapidly fieldable.” The SHEPARD effort has been underway for about four years.

The SHEPARD vehicle will have an “operationally representative fuel fraction and mission systems, while staying below the Group 3 UAS weight limit,” DARPA said on its website.

An IARPA program briefing slide from 2011 noted that noise is the “number-one signature” issue for low-flying UAS. A hybrid power approach was chosen to eliminate gearbox noise on the GHO.  

Scaled Composites is doing the fabrication; Northrop and its Scaled subsidiary are also working on the Defense Innovation Unit/Air Force Blended Wing Body demonstrator, seen as a potential prototype for a stealthy transport.

SHEPARD program manager Steve Komadina said in a DARPA press release that the idea behind DARPA’s X-prime program “is to take emerging technologies and burn down system-level integration risks to quickly mature a new missionized long endurance aircraft design that can be fielded quickly.”

The XQR-73 program “is maturing a specific propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense,” Komadina said.

DARPA did not say whether the XQR-73 will be officially connected to ongoing Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft projects, but a Pentagon official said such efforts are coordinated to find “aligned technologies.”

SHEPARD “is an existing option” to AFRL’s Great Horned Owl contract, Komadina said in an undated description on DARPA’s website. The SHEPARD will leverage what was learned on GHO’s hybrid electric architecture “and some of its component technologies, and quickly mature a new mission-focused aircraft design that can be fielded with the objective of first flight in 20 months.”

Air Force General Pleads Guilty To Two Charges. What Does It Mean and What’s Next?

Air Force General Pleads Guilty To Two Charges. What Does It Mean and What’s Next?

June 25, 2024 | By David Roza

An Air Force general’s decision to plead guilty to two relatively minor charges may be part of a strategy to build his credibility when defending against more serious charges, according to a military legal expert.

Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart is the second general in Air Force history to face court-martial and the first to face trial by a panel, the military equivalent of a jury. On June 24, Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of dereliction of duty under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for pursuing an unprofessional relationship. He also pleaded guilty to one count of violating UCMJ Article 134, for having an extramarital affair, a spokesperson for Air Education and Training Command confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Stewart has pleaded not guilty to three other charges: two counts of violating Article 120, which forbids sexual assault; one count of Article 133, conduct unbecoming an officer for allegedly inviting a subordinate to spend the night with him; and a second count of Article 92, for allegedly controlling an aircraft within 12 hours after consuming alcohol.

The only other Air Force general to have been court-martialed, Maj. Gen. William Cooley, was convicted of abusive sexual contact in 2022 by military judge alone. Stewart was relieved as the head of the 19th Air Force, which oversees all Air Force pilot training, by Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, the head of Air Education and Training Command (AETC), on May 9, 2023.

Stewart pleaded guilty to the two charges at the start of the second week of the trial, which began June 17 at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Panel selection took up much of the first week before concluding June 22.

Stewart’s rank made panel selection especially difficult—military panel members must either be ranked higher than the defendant or pinned on the same rank earlier than him or her. The initial pool of panel members for Stewart’s trial included an unprecedented two four-star generals, 12 three-stars, and two two-stars, including commanders and deputy commanders of Air Force major commands, members of the Air Staff, and more.

The partial guilty plea, made at the start of the trial’s next phase, may have been part of a strategy to boost the general’s defense against the other charges, a former chief prosecutor of the Air Force reasoned.

“You’d argue to the court ‘hey, he’s admitted what he’s done, so he’ll have an opportunity to be punished for what he did, but you shouldn’t punish him for something he didn’t do,’” retired Col. Don Christensen told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

The government cannot use Stewart’s guilty pleas as evidence for the other charges, he explained. Just because Stewart pleaded guilty to extramarital conduct with a subordinate officer does not mean that the conduct was non-consensual, a claim which the trial counsel seeks to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The difference in potential punishment is significant. The maximum punishment for willful dereliction of duty not resulting in death or grievous bodily harm is a bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months, according to the 2024 Manual for Courts-Martial. The maximum punishment for extramarital conduct is dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

The maximum punishment for sexual assault, where Stewart is charged with two specifications, is forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 30 years, with a mandatory minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge.

Why the defense team timed its plea after jury selection is unclear, but now the lawyers may argue a “mistake of fact” defense: in this case, Stewart had sex with a subordinate officer under a reasonable impression that she was consenting to it. 

Defense lawyers’ questions during jury selection seemed to indicate that approach, with lawyers asking potential panel members whether several minutes of open-mouth kissing or heavy petting demonstrated consent to any sex act. A few generals answered ‘no,’ or said it would depend on the context. 

At the trial on June 24, the alleged victim testified that the sexual encounter, which occurred at or near Altus Air Force Base, Okla. in April, 2023, occurred after heavy drinking, according to the San Antonio Express-News. While she “never told him no,” she feared the consequences for her career.

“It sounds so simple, but it’s not simple,” she said, according to the Express-News. “I was not prepared to have my entire universe blown up.”

A spokesperson for Stewart’s defense team declined to comment until the proceedings are complete. In the meantime, the general can choose whether he wants the sentencing decisions to be made by the panel or by the judge alone, Christensen said.

“It allows the defense to be more aggressive, because the judge knows not to hold litigation against them, whereas the jury might be like ‘you put us all through this, so we’re going to slam you,’” he said.

A change made to the UCMJ in late December limits sentencing to judges alone, but Stewart’s alleged offenses took place before that change, so the old rules still apply. His choice would apply to all charges, not just the ones he pleaded guilty too. The partial plea may help him achieve a lighter sentence for those charges.

“If he were to be sentenced by members, the judge would instruct them that the guilty plea is recognized as the first step towards rehabilitation,” Christensen explained. “So you do get some credit for pleading guilty.” 

Stewart’s charges include six specifications:

  • Two specifications of violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, failing to obey a lawful order or regulation, first for allegedly failing “to refrain from pursuing an unprofessional relationship” and second for allegedly controlling an aircraft within 12 hours after consuming alcohol. The first specification allegedly dates to March 6 and May 9, while the second allegedly dates to on or about April 14 at or near Altus Air Force Base, Okla.
  • Two specifications of violating Article 120 of the UCMJ, which covers rape and sexual assault, for alleged nonconsensual sexual contact, dated on or about April 13 and 14 at Altus.
  • One specification of violating Article 133 of the UCMJ, conduct unbecoming an officer, at or near Denver, Colo., on or about March 6 and March 8, where it alleges that Stewart, “while on official travel, wrongfully invite [redacted] to spend the night alone with him in his private hotel room[.]”
  • And one specification of violating UCMJ Article 134, which refers to “all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces,” for allegedly engaging “in extramarital conduct” on or about April 13 and 14 at or near Altus.
Promotions Blast Off: Three of Every Four Guardians Make NCO Ranks

Promotions Blast Off: Three of Every Four Guardians Make NCO Ranks

June 25, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Nearly every Guardian in the Space Force who was eligible for promotion to sergeant this year made it, with a selection rate of 95.66 percent, the Air Force Personnel Center announced June 24. 

Almost two-thirds—63.87 percent—of those seeking to become technical sergeants were also selected, as the Space Force grows its noncommissioned officer corps. 

Out of 484 specialist 4s, 463 were tapped to move up to sergeants. Out of 573 sergeants, 366 were picked to become technical sergeants. The promotion rates and the number of those eligible and selected are the highest for those ranks in the short history of the service. 

The competition was tougher for master sergeant—108 Guardians were picked from 506 eligible, a rate of 21.34 percent. That percentage lags the previous two years, though the overall number of those selected continues to climb. That declining rate echoes the rest of the Space Force senior NCO ranks—in December, the service announced slight dips in selection rates for both senior master sergeants and chief master sergeants

A full list of all those selected for E5, E6, and E7 will be available on the Air Force Personnel Center website on June 27 at 8 a.m. Central Time. 

Compared to last year, the number of Space Force promotions for non-senior NCO ranks nearly doubled, from 417 to 829. The selection rate similarly spiked, from 50.9 percent to 78.4 percent. 

Space Force Enlisted Promotion Rates

YearSergeantTechnical SergeantMaster Sergeant
202495.66 percent63.87 percent21.34 percent
202372.08 percent34.97 percent30.18 percent
202266.91 percent33.23 percent29.89 percent

That stands in marked contrast to the Air Force, where enlisted Airmen have faced some of their lowest promotion rates since the end of the Cold War over the last few years. The competition has been particularly brutal for the E5 to E7 ranks, with selection rates in the teens and low 20s. Service officials have said increased retention, along with a force grade restructuring, have led to the low numbers, which are expected to last into 2025. 

The Space Force, meanwhile, is still young and growing with a different force structure than its sister service. While enlisted Airmen outnumber officers around 4-to-1, there are roughly equal numbers of enlisted and officer Guardians. The largest enlisted rank in the Air Force is a Senior Airman at E4, the Space Force’s largest rank is sergeant, followed by technical sergeant. 

Guardians from Space Operations Command and U.S. Space Command pose for portraits wearing the U.S. Space Force rank insignia, June 10, 2022. U.S. Space Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kirsten Brandes
Two B-52 Bombers Fly Rare Mission in Support of SOUTHCOM

Two B-52 Bombers Fly Rare Mission in Support of SOUTHCOM

June 25, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Two B-52 bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base flew a mission in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility last week, a relatively rare trip below the equator.

The Air Force released photos of the long-range bombers from the 2nd Bomb Wing in flight, as well as a KC-135 from the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., refueling them during the June 19 sortie. A spokesperson for the 12th Air Force—Air Forces Southern—told Air & Space Forces Magazine that six KC-135s from multiple locations participated in the training.

The spokesperson declined to identify what countries and areas the B-52s flew over as part of the mission, but did say the exercise took place in compliance with “all international requirements and protocols in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Northern part of South America.”

Open-source flight tracking data showed a KC-135 from MacDill flying over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America, before approaching Ecuador and Peru from the east before returning home along a similar route.

“This mission was authorized by STRATCOM and closely planned with SOUTHCOM, the U.S. Embassies, and the appropriate partner nation government agencies to ensure maximum training and integration,” the spokesperson said. “STRATCOM Bomber Task Force missions help maintain global stability and security by demonstrating the ability to operate in different environments and locations while building ally and partner military capabilities.”

In a statement, Air Forces Southern said missions like this help “units to become familiar with operations in different regions” and show a commitment “to shared defense in Latin America.”

Unlike the Indo-Pacific, Europe, or even the Middle East, bomber deployments in the SOUTHCOM region are relatively rare. It has been a year since a B-52 last flew a mission over Latin America, and B-1s last participated in a SOUTHCOM mission in 2022.

This latest sortie comes on the heels of SOUTHCOM’s three-week multilateral exercise, Resolute Sentinel, which wrapped up June 14.

The exercise involved more than 1,500 personnel from all branches of the military participating, along with representatives from Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, and France, according to a 12th Air Force release. In air operations, over 326 flight hours were logged across 299 air tasking order sorties.

“Resolute Sentinel 2024, as part of Large-Scale Global Exercise 24, is a demonstration of our ability to seamlessly operate together to maintain global freedom and stability,” Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force commander, said in a statement.

The exercise primarily took place in Peru, with emphasis on improving medical readiness through field hospital drills and community healthcare to strengthen regional disaster response capabilities, particularly for earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods.

Representatives from the militaries of Peru, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, France and the United States pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony for Resolute Sentinel 2024 at Grupo 4 in La Joya, Peru, May 27, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Daryl Knee

The exercise featured the first blood delivery to Peru in its three-year history, from Joint Base Charleston, S.C., to Lima, using a C-17 Globemaster III from the 167th Airlift Wing of Shepherd Field Air National Guard, W.V.

“Resolute Sentinel tests the full spectrum of medic interoperability across the Americas, ensuring we can work with our allies to rescue wounded warriors.” said Col. Brian Gavitt, 346th Expeditionary Operational Medical Readiness Squadron commander, in a release.  

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Thiago Goes, 70th Aerial Port Squadron special handler/joint inspector, carries a box of donated blood from a C-17 Globemaster III during Resolute Sentinel 2024 in Lima, Peru, May 30, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Courtney Sebastianelli

Airmen from the U.S. and Peru, alongside Peruvian Coast Guardsmen, also participated in joint aeromedical evacuation training in Lima. They focused on practicing critical care procedures, such as IV administrations and mid-air blood transfusions aboard a C-130J Super Hercules.

Airmen from the U.S. Air Force, Peruvian Air Force and Coast Guard, transport a simulated aeromedical evacuation patient during Resolute Sentinel 2024 in Lima, Peru, May 30, 2024. U.S. Air force photo by Airman 1st Class Sir Wyrick
Air Force to Make First of 13 HACM Hypersonic Tests This Fall

Air Force to Make First of 13 HACM Hypersonic Tests This Fall

June 24, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force expects to fly 13 tests of the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile between October 2024 and March 2027, with a production decision to follow if the project is successful, the Government Accountability Office revealed in a new report.

GAO’s annual Weapon System Assessment report, released in mid-June, says the air-breathing hypersonic missile program is slated to undergo a critical design review in 2025 and transition from a rapid prototyping/mid-tier acquisition to a major defense program in 2027. However, the CDR will reflect an initial version of the missile, which will be refined as the test program progresses, and there will in effect be a “rolling” CDR. Production could begin as early as 2027.

Raytheon is the prime contractor for HACM, and Northrop Grumman is developing its scramjet engine.

Development of HACM will cost $1.9 billion, which will cover the 13 test missiles, associated engineering and materials, and an undisclosed number of additional all-up missiles when testing has concluded, providing a “residual operational capability.”

The arrangement is similar to that for the AGM-131 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, made by Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, which has largely concluded testing. However, the Air Force has been deliberately ambiguous about whether it has plans for further testing or production of ARRW.

Unlike ARRW, which is a boost-glide hypersonic weapon, HACM is a rocket-boosted, air-breathing system with longer range that can change course en route to target and therefore complicate defenses against it. The Air Force has long shown a preference for HACM because it’s smaller than ARRW, has a longer range, and can be carried on fighter-seized aircraft. The ARRW is limited to a large platform like the B-52 bomber, from which all its test fights were made.

Air Force budget documents for fiscal 2025 describes the two missiles as “complementary.”

HACM got its start in fiscal 2022 in a joint Air Force/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency effort called the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, which served as a prototype for HACM. Raytheon was chosen to develop the weapon over competitors Boeing and Lockheed in 2022.  

“According to officials, the launch aircraft, booster, payload, and guidance system, along with an interstage that connects the cruiser and booster, are new to HACM and make it operationally capable,” the GAO report disclosed.

The 2027 production date depends on “what capabilities the Air Force is willing to accept and whether production facilities are ready,” the GAO report added.

The program got underway without a formal schedule risk assessment, but one was approved in June 2023, the report said. “Our prior work has shown that this type of information is important to help decision-makers make well-informed decisions about [mid-tier acquisition] program initiation. This includes whether the program is likely to meet the statute-based objective of fielding a prototype that can be demonstrated in an operational environment and provide for a residual operational capability within 5 years of program start.”

The HACM has direction from Air Force leadership “to move as quickly as possible, and schedule risk assessments would likely note that higher level of risk,” the watchdog agency noted.

Requirements, an acquisition strategy, a formal technology risk assessment, and an independent cost estimate were all completed before the program was officially launched. The Air Force approved HACM requirements in November 2021, but the Joint Requirements Oversight Council has not yet “validated” those requirements, the GAO reported. However, this is expected to happen before HACM transitions to a major defense program.

The agency said the Air Force believes the “critical technologies underpinning HACM design were either immature or nearing maturity” at the program go-ahead, but “the program expects them to be fully mature by the end of the rapid prototyping effort.”

In addition to an iterative design approach, the HACM program is using digital design tools and “fully digital design reviews,” the GAO report states. However, the program is not creating a digital twin of the missile at this stage, although there may be one in the future.

The program office told GAO officials that digital reviews are challenging because of “the sheer number of tools, licensing restrictions, limited computing power, and the logistics of doing so in a way that is accessible to the large number of program stakeholders.”

GAO officials suggested “incorporating continuous user feedback” through the design cycles, something the program apparently isn’t planning to do.

“Program officials did state that users could provide some feedback during operational testing, but this would primarily serve to facilitate users learning the system, rather than informing the design,” the GAO report noted

Because all of the Pentagon’s hypersonic projects are vying for access to a limited number of facilities and test ranges, HACM is being integrated with the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment, a joint U.S.-Australian effort. The GAO report said “several” HACM tests will take place in Australia, launched off Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18s. Air Force budget documents refer to SCIFIRE as a “prelude” to HACM.

The Air Force budget said fiscal 2025 activities on HACM will include continuing design and integration on the F-15E and F/A-18E/F aircraft, and “free flight testing of HACM prototypes.”

The research and development budget for HACM calls for $516.9 million in 2025; $448.6 million in 2026, $274.1 million in 2027, $200.8 million in 2028, and $202.6 million in 2029, at which point development is set to conclude.