Air Guardsmen Pull Off ‘Remarkable’ Antarctica Rescue

Air Guardsmen Pull Off ‘Remarkable’ Antarctica Rescue

April 17, 2025 | By David Roza

A pair of Wyoming Air National Guardsmen, an Active-Duty flight surgeon, and a flight crew from the New York Air National Guard teamed up to play a crucial role in a dramatic rescue earlier this year, helping save the life of a man suffering from a heart attack in Antarctica, one of the most remote regions on Earth.

Maj. Nate Krueger, a flight nurse, and Master Sgt. Lyndsey Glotfelty, an aeromedical technician, are both assigned to the 187th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, but they were deployed to McMurdo Station, an American outpost which supports scientific research in Antarctica year-round. Maj. Thomas Powell is currently flight surgeon there. The U.S. military makes frequent appearances at McMurdo as part of Operation Deep Freeze, the nearly 70-year-old ongoing mission to keep McMurdo and other stations in Antarctica supplied and supported.

The deployment heated up Feb. 13 when a 60-year-old man collapsed in McMurdo’s galley. A civilian contractor who had participated in more than 20 Deep Freeze Missions, the man had a “widow maker” heart attack “caused by a complete blockage of the left anterior descending artery,” according to an April 16 press release written by Wyoming’s 153rd Airlift Wing.

First responders—including Powell, Krueger, Glotfelty, and medical professionals from McMurdo’s fire department and the National Science Foundation—started CPR and gave the man several defibrillator shocks on the way to the McMurdo clinic. About 40 minutes of CPR, epinephrine shots, and eight defibrillation shocks later, the patient was stable, but he needed higher care immediately.

air guard antarctica
Master Sgt. Lyndsey Glotfelty, 187th Wyoming Air National Guard aeromedical evacuation technician, provide in-flight care for a heart attack victim aboard a LC-130 in route to Christchurch, New Zealand, Feb. 13, 2025. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)

That was a challenge: temperatures were around negative 31 degrees Fahrenheit, and one rescue attempt was abandoned due to severe blizzards. A Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft with more medical staff onboard landed on McMurdo’s ice runway, but it was a U.S. Air Force LC-130 that flew the patient to Christchurch, New Zealand: a seven-hour, 2,500 mile flight.

Also known as the Skibird, each of the Air Force’s 10 LC-130s are operated by the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing, thought it was not immediately clear if the rescue LC-130 was already at McMurdo or flew in from another location.

All told, it was about 12 hours in between the patient’s collapse and his arrival at the hospital in Christchurch, where he received two stents to reopen his arteries, according to the press release. He walked out of the hospital just a few days later.

Due to its remote location, McMurdo is not an ideal place to have a heart attack, but the smooth teamwork of the providers on site saved the man’s life, Krueger said.

“This was a truly remarkable case,” he said in the press release. “From the moment of collapse to the successful evacuation, every step was executed with precision and urgency. The coordination between emergency responders, the clinic team, and the flight crew made all the difference.”

Maj. Thomas Powell, McMurdo’s flight surgeon, described the rescue as “a win through teamwork and rapid emergency response.”

“Having a robust cooperative partnership between the National Science Foundation and the military was key to ensuring rapid medical care and evacuation of the patient,” he added.

Still, it wasn’t the only Anatarctica rescue mission flown in recent months. A March press release by the 109th Airlift Wing wrote that its Airmen carried out nine medical evacuations during its Antarctica support season from October to February. Five aircraft and 400 Airmen were deployed to McMurdo, where they moved 1,076 passengers, 900 tons of cargo, and 120,000 gallons of fuel as part of Operation Deep Freeze. 

Northrop Grumman Says Sentinel Program Not Affected by Promontory Blast

Northrop Grumman Says Sentinel Program Not Affected by Promontory Blast

April 17, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

The building destroyed by an explosion at Northrop Grumman’s Promontory, Utah, solid rocket motor complex on April 16 wasn’t directly supporting the LGM-35A Sentinel strategic missile effort, and the accident won’t delay that program or others, a company spokesperson said.

“The incident at our Utah facility on April 16 will not affect our progress on any Northrop Grumman programs,” a company spokesperson said. “Specifically, nothing produced in the building supports the Sentinel program.”

The Air Force had no comment and referred all queries about the accident to Northrop.

The company declined to say what specific activities were conducted in the building, which was largely destroyed by an explosion at about 7:35 am local time, although industry sources said the building was used in part to store materials used to make solid rocket motors.

Company officials said there were “no major injuries” to personnel near the building. The building’s sides were blown out by the explosion, leaving only framing and what appears to be interior large-diameter piping and ductwork. A fire inside was put out by first responders.

An industry source said the accident won’t affect Northrop’s ability to meet its commitments, and that the company has “other sources” for the materials destroyed in the blast.

Local news outlets said Northrop had not yet responded to their questions about what chemicals may have been released as a result of the explosion.

Company officials were anxious to dissociate the accident from Sentinel, as that program is already under intense scrutiny after cost and schedule overruns triggered a review mandated by the Nunn-McCurdy Act last year. The Pentagon has certified the program to continue, but the expected cost has skyrocketed to around $140 billion.

Pentagon leaders have told Congress the bulk of the added cost has to do with the massive civil engineering effort needed to deploy the missiles in new or renovated silos, with associated launch control facilities. They have said that development of the Sentinel missile itself is on track and cost.

Northrop’s sprawling Promontory complex, in a desert area north of the Great Salt Lake, is spread out precisely because the work there involves highly volatile materials, and has now been the scene of four serious accidents over the last 40 years, three of which took place under previous owners:

  • In 1985, building M-75 was destroyed by an explosion attributed to static discharge which ignited rocket motor materials. The plant was at that time operated by Morton Thiokol.
  • In 1987, five people were killed by an explosion while working with a rocket motor associated with the M-X, or Peacekeeper strategic missile.
  • In 2005, when the facility was operating under Alliant Tech Systems/Thiokol, one person was killed and another injured when an explosion occurred as they were transferring the chemical compound triethoxy-trinitrobenzene, or TETNB, from filter trays into five-gallon buckets.
  • No cause has yet been identified for the April 16, 2025 explosion. Northrop said the accident is being investigated, but did not comment on what agency or agencies are conducting the investigation.

Northrop acquired Orbital ATK and its solid rocket motor business in 2018. The unit has since been reorganized as Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

Industry sources said Northrop may withhold further details of the accident and its impact on company activities until Northrop leaders conduct their first-quarter results on April 22.

Air Force Tests Out New Air-to-Air Training in Europe Focused on Drones

Air Force Tests Out New Air-to-Air Training in Europe Focused on Drones

April 17, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

U.S. Air Forces in Europe is using one of its premier F-16 squadrons to develop and practice new tactics and weapons to counter drones. 

The exercise stems from the service’s experience in the Middle East, fighting off Iranian and Houthi attacks.

The 555th Fighter Squadron, based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, participated in the Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP) exercise this month in the United Kingdom. The exercise, commonly known as Combat Archer, is typically held in the United States at ranges at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Hill Air Force Base, Utah. 

Air Force experts were on hand to assess the air-to-air performance of the squadron.

In a statement, U.S. Air Forces in Europe boss Gen. James B. Hecker said hosting the exercise in the U.K. saves millions of dollars and provides much-needed training for its units in what it hopes is a repeatable model.

Traveling to the U.S. for training would normally cost millions of dollars—likely cost-prohibitive as a standalone exercise—and require tanker and airlift support to get equipment and personnel across the Atlantic, USAFE officials said.

“Holding the exercise in the European area of responsibility provides significant strategic advantages, reducing the need for transatlantic aircraft movements, and resulting in substantial cost savings,” Hecker said.

Over seven days of flying this month, the F-16s from the 555th or “Triple Nickle” Fighter Squadron flew approximately 70 sorties, firing off around 10 AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles and over 60 rockets at target drones at the U.K.’s MOD Aberporth range on the west coast of Wales near Cardigan Bay, a USAFE spokesperson said. 

The squadron practiced on Banshee Jet 80 and Banshee Whirlwind drones from the British company QinetiQ, a defense tech company that operates the drones and ranges. That’s different from previous Combat Archer exercises in the U.S., which use the QF-16—old F-16s turned into unmanned targets—and the BQM-167A, another high-performance target drone.

“We don’t really want to shoot at a threat that is representative of a jet. We’re looking to shoot at things that are smaller and that are a better threat representation,” Lt. Col. Eric “Diesel” Kitaif, the commander of the 555th Fighter Squadron, told Air & Space Forces Magazine in a video interview.

“They’re much smaller with a lower infrared signature than the traditional drones that people shoot at Archer,” Kitaif said. “For what I am trying to train my squadron to do, the threat that we are fighting out here is perfect. They’re slow, they’re hard to detect with the radar, they’re low IR signature. We actually get to see all those things and we’ve learned a lot from fighting those two threats.”

Pilots, weapons, and maintenance personnel and equipment from Aviano’s 31st Fighter Wing deployed to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, for the exercise, including:

  • 555th Fighter Squadron
  • 555th Fighter Generation Squadron
  • 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron
  • 31st Munitions Squadron
  • 31st Maintenance Squadron
  • 31st Operations Support Squadron.

The rocket system being tested is the AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS)—Hydra-70 rockets that have been converted with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions. It was designed for air-to-ground use but has been used to shoot down Houthi drones in the past year, U.S. officials previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

The rockets cost less than $40,000, the officials say, a significant advancement in driving down the cost of defeating the hundreds of drone attacks in the Middle East. To shoot down drones, the Air Force has previously used AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range radar-guided missiles, which cost roughly $1 million each, or short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders, which carry a price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the variant, with the costly AIM-9X model commonly used by the USAF.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flies through the sky to launch a missile during Combat Archer UK at RAF Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zachary Jakel

“We’re training to a new threat and a new weapon to handle that threat,” Kitaif said.

To judge the exercise, the 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron from Tyndall brought a 33-person team, fulfilling a pre-deployment air-to-air weapons employment evaluation requirement for the 555th Fighter Squadron, a spokesperson for U.S. Air Forces in Europe said. USAFE has often provided combat airpower in the Middle East in recent years, including F-16s from Aviano’s 510th Fighter Squadron and the 555th Fighter Squadron.

”We want to learn while we’re here. WSEP is evaluating us, but in my book, we are training,” Kitaif said.

“Most of us have never shot a missile,” he added. “So getting to see that, in and of itself, is a training opportunity you don’t get anywhere. And that can directly translate to combat.“

The F-15E Strike Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing at Lakenheath helped defeat Iran’s attack on Israel in April alongside other U.S. Air Force and coalition aircraft, downing dozens of drones. The drone threat is also a real-world concern in Europe, as Russia has used some of the same types of drones seen in the Middle East to attack Ukrainian troops, infrastructure, and cities.

“We were deployed just before them,” Kitaif said of the 48th Fighter Wing. “We were also tasked to do this type of defense against the one-way attack drones. … We did not have the opportunity for the training prior to go to actually see what it would look like in our targeting pod, to run an intercept against something that is that difficult to attack at air speed and shoot missiles at it. Back then, we were loaded up with AIM-9Xs, ready to attack one-way attack drones. Now we are training to the AGR-20 FALCO system. I can carry a lot more of them, and they’re much, much more cost-effective against one-way attack drones.”

One drone was shot down with an AIM-9M, but most shots did not use live warheads and were instead “kinematic” kills so the drones can be reused, a USAFE spokesperson said.

Some Air Force F-16s in the Middle East have been seen fitted with infrared targeting pods and one or two Hydra rocket pods, as well as AMRAAMs and AIM-9s—F-16s can carry 14 rockets per station, up to 28 rockets. To guide an APKWS rocket, the target must be laser-designated or “lazed,” unlike more expensive “fire-and-forget” missiles. This means air-to-air use of the rocket pods is most suited to defeating slow-flying targets such as one-way attack drones. That’s practice the 555th Fighter Squadron needs.

“Employing these is challenging to do,” Kitaif said. An F-16 can employ the rockets on its own, but it must laze the target and fire the rocket, so multiple F-16s make the job easier.

“I need to put it in the right regime, and I need to make sure that there is laser energy on the target. And so getting both of those things to happen can be challenging to be the person both employing the munition and the person lazing that munition,” Kitaif said. “None of us have ever trained to [use rockets] air-to-air, and almost all of us have never trained to it air-to-ground either. So it’s beneficial to be able to carry these out here and get to train to it.”

Explosion Destroys Building at Northrop Grumman Solid Rocket Motor Facility

Explosion Destroys Building at Northrop Grumman Solid Rocket Motor Facility

April 16, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

Editor’s Note: This story was updated April 17 with additional details from Northrop Grumman. Further coverage is also available here.

An April 16 explosion destroyed a building at Northrop Grumman’s Innovation Systems plant in Promontory, Utah, where the company makes solid rocket motors for government and commercial customers.

There was no immediate report of casualties, which occurred at 7:35 am local time. Local officials said they are investigating the accident.

Northrop officials say the accident will not delay any of its programs. The Air Force referred inquiries to Northrop.

A Northrop spokesman would not characterize the function of the building, and whether it was involved in production of solid rocket motors, or SRMs. Industry sources later told Air & Space Forces Magazine the building was used in part to store materials used to make solid rocket motors.

Northrop’s Innovation Systems—formerly Orbital ATK—accounts for nearly 90 percent of the SRM capacity in the U.S., a capability that supports Air Force, NASA, and commercial space launch activities.

A local television station flew a helicopter over the building, showing no active fire but major wreckage.

Crucially for the Air Force, Northrop plans to use large solid rocket motors developed in-house for the new LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. However, Northrop officials said the destroyed building is not involved in the Sentinel program.

The facility is located north of the Great Salt Lake and northwest of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, which has responsibility for Minuteman III rocket motor sustainment, among other systems.

What is now Northrop Grumman’s Innovation Systems was once the Thiokol company, which was acquired by Alliant Tech Systems in 2001. Alliant Tech Systems became ATK, and merged with Orbital Sciences Corp. in 2015. Three years later, Northrop acquired Orbital/ATK.

The nation’s large solid rocket motor capacity is so concentrated with Northrop that it had to agree to be a merchant provider of SRMs to Boeing in the competition to build the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, now known as the Sentinel system. Northrop was selected for the contract in 2020, after Boeing announced it would not bid, claiming it could not compete with Northrop’s in-house SRM advantage.

The next-largest producer of SRMs in the U.S. is Aerojet Rocketdyne, since 2023 a part of L3Harris.

AFSOC Command Chief Relieved, Investigation Ongoing

AFSOC Command Chief Relieved, Investigation Ongoing

April 16, 2025 | By David Roza

The top enlisted Airman in Air Force Special Operations Command was relieved of the position April 14, but few details are available amid an ongoing investigation. 

AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Mike Conley relieved Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green “due to a loss in confidence in his ability to fulfill his duties,” according to an April 15 press release. 

“I want to assure you that this decision was only made after careful consideration of the circumstances,” Conley wrote in a message to AFSOC that day. The message was posted on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page and Lt. Col. Rebecca Heyse, director of public affairs for AFSOC, confirmed its authenticity. 

“As Airmen, we are entrusted with incredible responsibility and held to the highest standards of conduct,” Conley added. “Upholding these standards is non-negotiable, and maintaining good order and discipline is fundamental to who we are.”

When asked which standards Green may have allegedly failed to uphold, Heyse said AFSOC could not comment at the time. She said an investigation is ongoing but could not comment as to whether the probe was being conducted by the Office of Special Investigations, an inspector general’s office, a commander-directed investigation, or some other entity.

The process to determine where Green will be assigned and who will replace him as AFSOC command chief is also ongoing.

“AFSOC is committed to the welfare of all our Airmen and maintaining good order and discipline which is necessary to preserve the trust placed in us to execute our critical global missions,” Heyse added.

Green joined the Air Force in 1995 and worked in C-130 maintenance for much of his career, according to his biography.

Green is the latest in a string of Airmen in leadership positions facing scrutiny. On April 15, a military judge sentenced Col. Christopher Meeker, former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to 21 days confinement, a reprimand, and forfeiture of $14,000 after a court martial where Meeker pleaded guilty to charges of fraternization and willfully disobeying a superior officer. The government dismissed a charge of extramarital sexual conduct as part of the plea agreement. Meeker was relieved of command in December 2023.

A career Air Force civil engineer, Meeker said his actions demonstrated a lack of personal and professional discipline, according to an April 15 press release.

Last week, Col. Susannah Meyers was removed as commander of Pituffik Space Base in Greenland after Military.com revealed an email she wrote to base personnel distancing herself from Vice President J.D. Vance’s criticism of Denmark’s control of the island that the vice president made during a visit to the base. A Space Force spokesperson indicated that Meyers’ comments were political, leading to her dismissal.

Air Force Seeking ‘Emerging Technologies’ for E-7 Wedgetail—or Successors

Air Force Seeking ‘Emerging Technologies’ for E-7 Wedgetail—or Successors

April 16, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is still a few years away from getting its hands on its first E-7 aircraft for airborne early warning and control, but the service is already seeking industry input on new systems to either enhance or replace the sensor capabilities of the Wedgetail—or possibly even acquire new capabilities for an entirely different targeting and battle management platform.

The plan is to start an engineering and manufacturing effort in fiscal 2027, around the same time as the first E-7 gets delivered.

In an April 15 solicitation, the Air Force explained that the first few E-7s are being acquired under a rapid prototyping program to cover “urgent capability gaps” caused by obsolescence and diminishing availability of the E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet. But in order to go fast, “the government intentionally did not include emerging new capabilities” in the program. Now it is interested “in identifying industry partners to provide cutting-edge capabilities and technologies.”

The Air Force’s Wedgetail Advanced Capabilities branch at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., issued the solicitation.

“Following the EMD phase, the Government is considering retrofitting USAF E-7A aircraft with EMD modifications, producing new E-7 aircraft, or a combination of retrofit and new aircraft,” the Air Force said.

Among the E-7 capabilities the Air Force is looking to either improve or replace are:

  • The E-7’s distinctive Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array radar
  • Advanced infrared sensors
  • Electronic Support Measures (ESM) replacement
  • Electronic Warfare Self-Protection (EWSP) replacement
  • Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT)
  • Link 16 High Power Amplifier (HPA)
  • Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) connectivity
  • Combat Identification (CID)
  • Next-generation Tactical Data Link (TDL)
  • Advanced missile data link capabilities
  • Other next-gen tech for battle management, command and control, targeting, communications, or position, navigation, and timing.

Notably, the Air Force solicitation states that it wants the technology around 2027 to start integrating onto “the baseline E-7 platform, or an equivalent AMTI/BMC2 platform.”

The Air Force plans to acquire 26 E-7s from Boeing by 2032, fewer than the 34 E-3s the service bought in the 1970s and ’80s. Officials have said they consider the Wedgetail a stopgap solution for the moving target indication mission, with plans to migrate the mission to space-based platforms in the 2030s. The long-term future of airborne command and control and targeting is not yet clear.

The E-7 is hosted on the 737-700 airframe, and Boeing will integrate the sensor and battle management systems the aircraft will carry. Northrop Grumman is the contractor for the large MESA radar on the top of the airframe, which vastly improves on the capabilities of the rotodome radar on the E-3.  

Last August, the Air Force ordered the first two “operationally representative” E-7As under a contract worth $2.56 billion. Those aircraft are to be delivered in fiscal 2028.

There seems to be some urgency in the new solicitation, as the Air Force moved up the response date from May 7 to April 22 just a week after the solicitation was issued. That suggests that potential providers are already well aware of the Air Force’s requirements and are ready to respond.

The Air Force will require “delivery of at least two (2) integrated weapon systems (Advanced E-7 weapon system and associated ground equipment) within 7 years,” potentially starting in 2027, it said in the RFI. But it also noted that  “baseline documentation for the E‑7A will not be available until [the third quarter of fiscal 2028], or potentially later. This documentation will not include detailed drawings or analyses of any commercial parts.”

Northrop Grumman is well along in testing its Electronically-Scanned Multifunction Reconfigurable Integrated Sensor (EMRIS), on which it completed its first “campaign” of test flights last year. The sensor, which can combine radar sensing functions with communications and electronic warfare, is intended to equip much smaller platforms than the E-7; Northrop sized it for use on autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft and fighters. This may explain the Air Force’s reference in the new solicitation to “other aircraft” that could fulfill the AMTI/BMC2 role.

B-1s Deploy to Misawa for First Ever Bomber Task Force Based in Japan

B-1s Deploy to Misawa for First Ever Bomber Task Force Based in Japan

April 16, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

B-1Bs have landed at Misawa Air Base for the U.S. Air Force’s first-ever Bomber Task Force rotation based in Japan, Pacific Air Forces and Air Force Global Strike Command said. 

The Lancers, from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, touched down at Misawa on April 15, having already flown a training mission with South Korean fighters earlier that day. 

The Air Force introduced the Bomber Task Force concept in 2018 after it ended its continuous overseas bomber presence. Pentagon officials tout the BTF rotations, which can last several months, as a way to operate with more flexibility while being less predictable, and Air Force officials have steadily expanded the number of locations where they have based bombers. 

In the Indo-Pacific, the Air Force had previously hosted Bomber Task Forces in Guam, Australia, and Diego Garcia. From there, bombers had flown missions to and over Indonesia, South Korea, and the Philippines. 

Bombers have also landed in Japan before—a B-52 made an emergency landing at Yokota Air Base in April 2024, and B-1s conducting the first BTF of 2025 from Guam landed at Misawa in February for hot-pit refueling. 

But this is the first time the B-1 will be based out of Misawa for a rotation. It’s also one of the first times in decades that the Air Force has positioned bombers in Japan for more than a few days. In the 1960s, B-52s were stationed at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa as part of the Vietnam War. 

“BTF 25-2 showcases the U.S. commitment to deterring threats and maintaining regional stability,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Travelstead, director of operations for the deployed squadron. “These missions in the Indo-Pacific ensure our B-1 crews are highly trained and ready to respond anytime, anywhere, to defend U.S. interests and support our allies, securing a stable Indo-Pacific—where all nations operate freely under a rules-based order while promoting global peace and prosperity.” 

The B-1s also add to the U.S. bomber presence in the Indo-Pacific; six B-2s are currently stationed on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. 

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., taxis after landing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, to conduct a hot pit refuel during Bomber Task Force 25-1, Feb. 20, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany Kenney
In Pursuit of ‘Space Control,’ USSF Gets First Upgraded Jammer

In Pursuit of ‘Space Control,’ USSF Gets First Upgraded Jammer

April 16, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—As Space Force leaders grow more vocal and direct in calling for space weapons to control the domain, one official revealed last week that the Space Force has received a major upgrade to one of its few acknowledged space weapons. 

The Space Force formally accepted its first “Meadowlands” system, said Col. Bryon McClain, program executive officer for combat power and space domain awareness, during last week’s Space Symposium. Meadowlands updates the Counter Communications System, a ground-based offensive platform designed to jam and disrupt adversaries’ satellite communications. 

“It is now ours to really move forward into the formal … developmental testing and operational testing,” McClain said. “We’ve had good success with the contractor testing, and [now government testing] is moving forward.” 

L3Harris won the contest to upgrade CCS in 2021, and the company announced in April 8 that its system passed a system verification review. 

Both McClain and L3Harris have described Meadowlands as including hardware and software improvements to provide the Space Force with increased capability and flexibility.  

In a statement, L3Harris vice president of surveillance systems Andy Builta said Meadowlands was “designed to be small, transportable, and cost-effective.” McClain noted that it will have the ability to be operated remotely, so “we can reduce the number of people that are physically sitting by the antenna, turning knobs and pushing buttons. The farther we can separate that, that gives us a lot of flexibility for the warfighter.” 

Both officials also noted that this Meadowlands upgrade will allow future updates to CCS to be deployed more quickly. McClain called it a “fundamental upgrade of computer systems;” L3Harris said the open architecture software system will make it “easier to make software updates” in the future. 

Meadowlands is just a small part of McClain’s weapons portfolio, most of which is classified. Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman’s increasing emphasis on space superiority points to future investments in space and counter-space weapons.

U.S. Space Command boss Gen. Stephen N. Whiting echoed that call at the symposium. “It’s time that we can clearly say that we need space fires and we need weapon systems,” Whiting said. “We need orbital interceptors. And what do we call these? We call these weapons, and we need them to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight.” 

McClain stands to see growth in his budget areas as the Space Force forges that future. “I would not be surprised if there’s continued growth there,” he said. Talking about it, however, may take longer still. “The challenge is Gen. Saltzman is able to talk very broadly about the concepts,” McClain explained. “Where it comes down to me, is doing the specifics. And that’s where the wall [goes up on] what I can and can’t say.” 

In an on-stage interview, Space Forces-Space commander Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess hinted that Saltzman and Whiting’s calls for space weapons are already translating into market research and early acquisition work. 

“To get after protecting the joint force from space enabled attack, I need the capability to deny, disrupt, and degrade those red kill chains,” Schiess said. “I need that from our commercial partners, and I’ve talked to many of you this week, and we need to continue to build up to that.” 

Air Force Piloting Hydrogen Energy Tech for Agile Combat Logistics

Air Force Piloting Hydrogen Energy Tech for Agile Combat Logistics

April 15, 2025 | By Shaun Waterman

Editor’s Note: This story was updated April 21 to clarify the technology is being piloted at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, not Hickam Air Force Base, and to clarify certain capabilities of the HyTEC unit and its accessories.

Novel energy technology backed by the Air Force innovation arm AFWERX could provide electrical power and hydrogen fuel in the kind of isolated and austere outposts the Air Force will need in the Pacific theater for its new Agile Combat Employment way of warfare. 

The technology, being piloted at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, was developed by a majority veteran-founded startup based in Houston. It employs wind and solar power to use electrolysis to make hydrogen from water in the atmosphere. The compressed hydrogen can then be converted into electric power via a hydrogen fuel cell, or used to fuel drones powered by the same kind of high-tech fuel cell. Any of the water extracted that remains can be used for drinking.  

But what really caught the eye of the military, explained Rick Harlow, CEO of NovaSpark Energy Corp., was the form factor. He recently returned from Hawaii, where Novaspark demonstrated their Hydrogen at the Tactical Edge of Contested logistics (HyTEC) unit for INDOPACOM and at the 2025 Pacific Operational Science & Technology conference Field Experimentation event, called POST FX. 

HyTEC is a portable unit, smaller than two porta-potties, which can be airdropped on a parachute, towed by a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), and takes less than 30 minutes to set up. “The Marines told us, ‘we need to be able to move up to five times a day, because we don’t want to be a sitting target,’” Harlow told Air & Space Forces Magazine. For the Air Force, being able to airdrop the units means rapid deployment to isolated environments—as envisaged by Agile Combat Employment.

Above all, by providing a source of power almost literally out of thin air, said Harlow, HyTEC can help eliminate dependance on a long logistics tail for fuel resupply in the vast, ocean-spanning, Pacific theatre.  

The HyTEC hydrogen fuel generator was demonstrated in April 2025 at POST FX at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Courtesy Novaspark Energy Corp.

When it comes to air transportation, space is always at a premium. And the biggest consumers of space are often fuel and water, Air Force officials say, both of which can be provided by the HyTEC unit, which generates about 4.5 pounds of compressed hydrogen every 24 hours.  

“You don’t have to fly diesel [or other fuels] around where it could cost as much as $400 to $500 a gallon by the time it’s delivered,” Harlow said.  

HyTEC is accessorized with portable briefcase-sized hydrogen fuel cells that can output 4 kilowatts of electricity to power satellite terminals or other communications and IT equipment in the field.

As an alternative to diesel or gasoline generators, the HyTEC/fuel cell system has heat and noise signatures that are both much lower, said Novaspark Chief Innovation Officer Lanson Jones.

“The sound from the HyTEC unit is a slight hum. Less than 30 decibels. More quiet than a dishwasher, and there’s really no heat signature,” he said. More importantly, unlike a diesel generator, it can run 24/7 for long periods of time.

“I call it the Swiss Army knife,” Jones said of the HyTEC, “because not only can you create hydrogen to fuel drones, or make electricity, but you can also use the compression equipment to refill tires, and, if the hydrogen tank is full and you want to keep it, you can tap directly into the power from the wind turbine and from the solar panels without using that hydrogen. And you can do other really cool stuff, like make water for the troops.” 

The hydrogen HyTEC produces can be used to fuel a new generation of drones like Lockheed Martin’s Stalker, and ground vehicles being developed by the U.S. Army, added Harlow. 

“With hydrogen, you can not only go further than batteries, but you can actually go further than with diesel” or other fuels, said Harlow.  

“So in practical terms with the drones, you’re looking at going two to three times as far and carrying two to three times the payload compared to batteries. There’s a huge strategic advantage,” he said. 

The HyTEC system was first developed with funding from the Defense Innovation Unit, Harlow explained.  

“We won a contract with the DIU, and they funded us to build the unit and to prove out that it works. So we were able to use non-dilutive funding without having to give away a bunch of the company in the process of getting investment.” 

They then won an AFWERX Commercial Solutions Offering contract, which was recently extended, Harlow said, as well as an Other Transaction Authority contract from the Army Contracting Command in Picatinny, N.J. 

“Any military agency or element can buy off that contract, and so can the different National Guards in the various states.” 

The National Guard’s ability to buy off that contract is significant, Harlow said, because the company is looking to expand into the disaster relief sector, where the Guard is very active.