Air Force Has Flown More Than 50 Missions to Gather Intel at the Southern Border

April 9, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force has conducted more than 50 surveillance missions around the U.S. southern border with crewed and uncrewed aircraft, as the Pentagon seeks to gather intelligence on foreign cartels, drug and human trafficking, and illegal migration.

Newly disclosed statistics issued by the service show that 53 sorties have been flown as of the beginning of April to support U.S. Northern Command’s effort to strengthen border security. More flights have been carried out since then.

“Protecting the homeland is our top priority and it always will be,” Air Force Chief of Staff David W. Allvin said in a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Airmen have executed over 50 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights in support of U.S. Northern Command.”

According to a service spokesperson, the missions have been carried out by:

U-2 spy planes from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence collection aircraft from the 55th Wing from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft—long-endurance, high-altitude drones—flown by the 319th Reconnaissance Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

Allvin said the crews operating those aircraft had logged more than 570 flight hours. Airmen on the ground have also been analyzing intelligence data and carrying out logistical operations at Guantanamo Bay, which has been used to hold migrants following the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The Air Force has also carried out deportation flights out of the United States using C-17s and C-130s and has been conducting flights to move personnel and equipment to support thousands of extra troops that have been ordered to the border.

Those missions “help maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States,” Allvin said.

The U-2s can collect high-resolution imagery, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) from altitudes over 70,000 feet.

The original U-2 first flew in 1955, but current models date to the 1980s, when production restarted. The aircraft has been modernized since then and can carry a range of payloads, including advanced optical, electro-optical/infrared imaging, synthetic aperture radar, and signals intelligence sensors. The Air Force’s fleet of more than two dozen U-2s is based at Beale, but the aircraft are also deployed to forward operating locations worldwide.

Offutt’s RC-135s, which also deploy around the world, have been observed via flight tracking data operating from their home base in Nebraska on border surveillance missions. RC-135s date back to the 1970s, but they have been continuously upgraded with refreshed intelligence-gathering equipment since then. They have flown along the border and off the Mexican coast of the Baja Peninsula.

The Air Force flights are part of a joint effort by the U.S. military that also involves Army UH-72 Lakota and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and MQ-1 Grey Eagle unmanned aircraft.

A U.S. government surveillance drone taxis past U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters after landing at Libby Army Airfield in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., April 3, 2025. Chris Gordon/Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Navy has been flying multiple sorties per week with P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which can function as intelligence-gathering planes over land and sea with their advanced radar and sensors.

The U.S. government is also operating several aerostat radar balloons around the southern border, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection also operates MQ-9 d rones for surveillance, the officials added.

The U.S. Navy has deployed two destroyers—one off each coast—to patrol the waters off the U.S. under the direction of U.S. Northern Command.

The Joint Intelligence Task Force-Southern Border, based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., helps oversee the joint service effort. Its intelligence analysts work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As of March, NORTHCOM had assigned some 40 Air Force intelligence analysts to the border mission.

Mexican drug cartels have also stepped up their aerial activities, including surveilling U.S. troops along the southern border with drones, said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Naumann, commander of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. Naumann also serves as the commander of the 10th Mountain Division, which provides a headquarters-level command, based at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., for some 6,600 Active-duty troops along the border.

The border town of Naco, Mexico, seen from a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over southern Arizona, April 3, 2025. Chris Gordon/Air & Space Forces Magazine

Air Force Rescinds Service-Wide Family Days, Commanders Can Still Schedule

April 9, 2025 | By David Roza

The acting Secretary of the Air Force rescinded a policy that scheduled extra days off for Airmen, Guardians, and their families across the service in conjunction with 11 federal holidays throughout 2025.

In an April 7 memo that took effect immediately, Gary Ashworth said “a blanket designation of pass days, often called family days … does not support our ability to execute the mission with excellence while maintaining our competitive advantage.”

Commanders, directors, and supervisors still have authority to set pass schedules for troops and families, though Ashworth encouraged “commanders at all levels to re-evaluate their pass structures to best align with warfighter readiness” in accordance with Air Force regulations.

An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the memo, which was first shared on social media.

“The Air Force and Space Force are focused on enhancing lethality and readiness,” the spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Providing blanket designations of pass days to align with all 11 federal holidays throughout the year does not support our ability to execute the mission.”

The guidance comes about two months after a Feb. 11 memo in which the Air Force said it would evaluate family days “to ensure they align with our ability to support warfighter readiness.”

Last March, then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall designated 11 family days, one around each federal holiday, in recognition “of our teams’ contributions to the mission and our families’ enduring support of our efforts,” Kendall wrote at the time.

Each command has its own family day schedule, which can vary from year to year. These schedules are generally determined and announced well in advance, sometimes as much as two years ahead of time. For instance, Air Force Global Strike Command scheduled 11 Family Days for 2025, while Air Education and Training Command planned to include six days, starting with a Friday before Memorial Day.

Federal law prohibits Air Force civilians from taking additional leave, but Kendall encouraged directors and supervisors “to treat family days as ‘liberal leave’ days to the maximum extent possible, for which use of leave, previously earned compensatory time, or previously approved time-off awards may be applied, as eligible.”

The Air Force memo issued in February emphasized that civilians must either be at work or on leave during family days, and the April 7 memo makes the same point.

The memo is the latest move by Air Force and Defense officials to demonstrate a focus on readiness. In January, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin issued revised uniform, grooming, and appearance standards that rescinded the wear of duty identifier patches and certain nail polish colors, among other changes. Allvin also directed quarterly inspections to ensure troops were meeting the new standards.

“Complying with and enforcing standards demonstrates shared commitment to our winning team, as well as an understanding of the gravity of our profession in today’s volatile security environment,” Allvin said at the time.

The backlash on social media to the changes, from the patches to the family days, has been fierce, with some Airmen and Guardians arguing the moves hurt morale and do not improve actual mission readiness.

The Defense Department has also phased out telework agreements for thousands of troops and civilians in the name of restoring “lethality and readiness,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in January. But a week later the Air Force had to exempt some employees due to a shortage of workspace.

Initial reactions on social media to the April 7 memo rescinding service-wide family days were also negative, with users concerned it would lead to fewer opportunities to spend time with family.

The Air Force spokesperson said all service members “are encouraged to use their 30 days of paid annual leave as an important part of maintaining overall well-being, morale, and readiness.”

The Army and Navy both have their own versions of family days called special passes and special liberty, respectively. Neither announced service-wide schedules for 2025, and neither has announced any changes to its policies this year.

Navy Eyes ‘Interchangeable’ CCAs with Air Force, Lessons from MQ-25

April 8, 2025 | By Matthew Cox

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—While the U.S. Air Force plans to spend big and make Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones an essential part of its tactical fleet in the near future, the U.S. Navy is working to team manned and unmanned aircraft as well.

And while the two services are planning separate acquisition programs and efforts, senior Navy officials said April 8 at the Sea-Air-Space conference that they’re coordinating with their USAF counterparts and may even want to share the drones once they’re available.

The Navy’s future CCAs will not be the same platform as the Air Force’s but will have common standards like architecture, mission planning, control stations, said Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, director of air warfare for the Navy. That will “allow us not only to be interoperable but have our platforms and our vehicles interchangeable,” Donnelly said, adding that the Navy is doing a lot of work on the CCAs that is out of the public sphere.

For now, the centerpiece of the Navy’s efforts is its new unmanned tanker. Officials said they hope lessons learned from the challenges of operating that drone, the MQ-25, on aircraft carriers will ease future headaches when it shifts to combat drones to team with its fighters.

The Air Force has been working on semi-autonomous CCA drones to pair with fighters for more than a year and a half now, to the point that it has unveiled two full models and designations for them—General Atomics’ YFQ-42 and Anduril Industries YFQ-44.

CCAs will serve as drone wingmen for the Air Force’s F-35 and new F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance manned fighter.

The Navy, meanwhile is poised to announce the winner of its own sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter but is relying on the Air Force to prove out the teaming of manned fighters with CCAs before introducing them to the harsh conditions of carrier operations.

“We want to understand the basics the Air Force is introducing, and then we can make that shipboard-capable,” Donnelly told Air & Space Force Magazine following a panel discussion on modernizing the future of naval aviation.

“The Navy is moving out, but we are doing it very smartly so it’s informed by the developments of the other services,” he said.

Donnelly said the Navy is in a “tri-service agreement with both the Air Force and the Marine Corps in the development of CCAs. … We are working on different aspects of the CCA that are not directly related to the air vehicle.”

A Boeing unmanned MQ-25 aircraft is given operating directions on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brandon Roberson

During the panel, Navy and industry officials discussed how the service will use the new MQ-25 Stingray, scheduled to make its first flight in 2025, as a pathway for introducing drone aircraft to carrier operations.

Boeing won an $804 million Navy contract in 2018 to develop the MQ-25, an unmanned tanker capable of transferring 14,000 pounds of fuel to aircraft like the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-35 at a distance of 500 miles from a carrier in highly contested airspace.

“When we fly this aircraft later this year, it will be the safest unmanned aircraft that we have ever produced,” Boeing’s Dan Gillian said.

Commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic Rear Adm. Doug “V8” Verissimo said the Navy needs to get the MQ-25 “into the hands of Sailors and start incorporating it into the system … adapt and overcome challenges along the way, and I guarantee those opportunities are going to be bright and shining lights that give us future capabilities, both with the MQ-25 and other manned-unmanned teaming.”

Donnelly said the MQ-25 is going to establish a baseline standard that is going to be relevant for all of the Navy’s future unmanned aircraft.

“As we develop future Collaborative Combat Aircraft with the Marine Corps and the Air Force, the MQ-25 is going to provide that forward pathway for our operating environment, which is different from operating on a 6,000- or a 10,000-foot runway,” Donnelly said.

Introducing the new drone tanker to carrier operations will be the first challenge, Donnelly said after the panel.

“All of the flying on and off the aircraft carrier from a basic standpoint is fuel-critical,” Donnelly said. “When we come back and land, we do it with a very fuel-constrained environment that is unpredictable in terms of sea-state and weather, so it’s a very tight sequence of a ballet to get the aircraft on the aircraft carrier in a very finite timeline and a very tight sequence of events. And integrating unmanned systems into that is something very different.”

To Donnelly, mastering carrier operations will likely be much more complex for the MQ-25 than the combat missions it is designed to fly.

“That is going to be a lot of essential learning, and it is going to allow us to proceed very rapidly in what we are learning from the partnership with the Air Force and what they will be demonstrating very shortly,” Donnelly said.

F-35 Office Seeks to Clarify $2.1 Trillion Cost Ahead of Budget Release

April 8, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

For months now, a big number has been attached to the F-35: $2.1 trillion.

That’s the new estimated lifetime costs for the program, a massive sum that has become an oft-cited figure in coverage about the fighter.

Now, the F-35 Joint Program Office is trying to put context around that number, releasing a “clarification” April 8 explaining those costs.

In a press release, the program office noted that the $2.1 trillion F-35 program estimate, which came to light last spring, is an all-inclusive figure covering 94 years of procurement of an eventual 2,456 aircraft, development, upgrades and modifications, spare parts, operating costs, personnel, the depot enterprise and even fuel, among other expenses. It also includes foreign investment.

Asked why it issued the statement, a JPO spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine that Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the program executive officer, “asked our team to work through a cost narrative to clarify information that he has seen in numerous reports (both internally and externally). He wanted to provide a breakdown of costs and provide context directly from the program.”

The breakdown comes at a potentially tenuous moment for the F-35.

The Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget are putting the finishing touches on the fiscal 2026 defense budget request, and President Donald Trump’s administration has given no overt indication of how it views the F-35’s place in the budget. While Trump himself has been complimentary of the program, his close adviser Elon Musk, who oversees the “Department of Government Oversight” commission, has derided the program as an obsolete “jack of all trades, master of none,” and a victim of a “broken” requirements process. Musk has for several years touted the position that uncrewed, autonomous aircraft are the future of military aviation.

On April 7, Trump said the 2026 defense budget would, for the first time, eclipse the $1 trillion mark, a major increase.

After the budget is revealed, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees typically hold hearings on fixed-wing tactical and training aircraft, and such hearings are often dominated by discussion of the F-35’s costs.

Finally, the JPO and Lockheed Martin reached a preliminary agreement on Lot 19 of the F-35 in late 2024, saying the specific costs of the three F-35 variants in the lot will be revealed when the contract is finalized. The JPO has said that will happen in spring 2025. No announcements have yet been made.

Amid all of this, press reports have frequently referred to the F-35 as the “$2 trillion fighter,” a sobriquet the JPO wished to address.

The program release, titled “Providing the Facts Behind the $2T Number,” noted that the Pentagon’s 2023 Modernized Selected Acquisition Report quoted a $2.1 trillion estimate “over [the F-35’s] 94-year life cycle, from 1994 through 2088,” and that this “comprehensive estimate” reflects not only the U.S. investment in the program, but that of its 10 original international partners, as well.

“This figure accounts for all costs associated with the development, production, and sustainment of the F-35 air system,” the JPO said, noting that it must make an educated guess on such mercurial figures as inflation and fuel prices more than 53 years into the future.

Included in the cost estimate:

The full development, procurement, and modernization of 2,456 production aircraft by 2049 across the U.S. Air Force (F-35A), U.S. Marine Corps (F-35B and F-35C), and U.S. Navy (F-35C)

The establishment of depot repair capability to support organic operations

Initial spares and sustainment operational support

Military and civilian personnel costs

Fuel, aircraft repairs, software maintenance, modifications, and other support services

Inflation adjustments spanning the entire 94-year life cycle. Notably, the F-35 program uniquely captures a 40-year forecast of through-life development costs at the outset, “a first-of-its-kind approach for a program of this scale.”

About half the $2.1 trillion estimate is inflation, the JPO noted. The overall figure is “calculated in ‘then-year’ dollars, meaning it is inflation-adjusted to reflect the projected value of money over the program’s 94-year span. Around $1 trillion of this total is influenced by inflationary effects over the years.”

The JPO said three main factors drive the program’s cost. The first is “scale,” as the F-35 is “set to become the largest single air system procurement in DOD history, with thousands of units planned for production.”

The second is concurrency: “The program’s 40 years of development and modernization, along with simultaneous efforts in development, production, and sustainment, contribute to its increased complexity and cost.”

The third factor is “duration.”

“The long-term nature of the program, spanning nearly a century, results in significant inflationary effects. This unprecedented scale, along with the simultaneous management of development, production, and sustainment, underlines the scope of the F-35 program and its associated costs.”

The F-35’s cost is likely to be an important consideration in final budget deliberations, as the Air Force pursues development of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, development of which is expected to cost about $20 billion through the end of the decade. The Navy is also expected to pursue its own next-gen fighter, called F/A-XX, and a contract is nearly ready for award, according to reports.

It’s not clear whether each service’s fighter portfolio will have room for both aircraft, as well as the autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft which will partner with all current and future crewed fighters, even with the defense budget increase Trump said is coming.

Space Force Satellite Refueling Demos Coming in 2026 and 2028

April 8, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Space Force will have one of its satellites refueled for the first time next summer, an initial step toward a future in which satellites can maneuver like aircraft in the sky or ships on the sea to dodge threats and hold adversaries at risk.

However, there is also uncertainty about whether the Pentagon will invest heavily in the capability and what model for refueling it might pick as the best option.

Startup Astroscale announced the summer 2026 target date for the first refueling mission at the Space Symposium. Its APS-R spacecraft will launch to just above geosynchronous orbit, refuel a Space Force satellite, refuel itself from another spacecraft built by fellow startup Orbit Fab, then refuel another Space Force bird.

Typically, operators try to conserve satellites’ fuel as much as possible. Once the spacecraft runs out, its service life is functionally over. Space Force leaders have suggested they want to be able to maneuver “without regret” to adapt to an increasingly congested and contested environment. To do so will likely require some kind of logistical infrastructure.

“Logistics are no longer theoretical. They are operational,” said Clare Martin, Astroscale’s executive vice president. “It’s about enabling sustained maneuverability, extending the life of critical space assets, and giving our national security community the ability to adapt quickly in a dynamic space domain.”

Astroscale’s mission has a six-month window, but the actual refueling will happen much quicker, said Ian Thomas, the project manager at Astroscale. Both Astroscale and Orbit Fab’s satellites will stay above GEO so that they can avoid interfering with other satellites in the orbit and drift relative to them, getting closer to potential client satellites as needed.

Astroscale and Orbit Fab had previously announced a partnership in January 2024—Orbit Fab wants to build fuel depots that function as “gas stations in space” where refueling “shuttles” like APS-R can collect fuel to carry to other satellites.

space force refueling mobility — An artist’s rendering of one of Orbit Fab’s fuel depots in space. Graphic courtesy of Orbit Fab

Orbit Fab’s first depot will launch on the same rocket as Astroscale’s refueler in June 2026, Adam Harris, chief commercial officer at Orbit Fab, confirmed in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The mission’s funding is coming from multiple sources—a sign of both the broad interest in refueling’s potential and its uncertain market.

Space Systems Command awarded some $44.5 million in contracts back in 2022 for two “Tetra-5” satellites that will be refueled.

The Defense Innovation Unit awarded a $13.3 million contract for Orbit Fab’s depot as part of its RAPIDS program.

The Space Enterprise Consortium, which exists to reach out to nontraditional contractors and small businesses, awarded a $61 million contract to Astroscale for the refueler satellite.

Space Force and industry officials alike said the demo mission is critical for the future of in-orbit refueling. Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant told reporters during a separate media briefing that he’s still not entirely sure the Space Force should go all-in on the idea, given how much it may cost to launch fuel depots or refueling satellites. First, he wants to see how the demonstration goes.

“One of the biggest things that we want to get out of it is to help us flesh out the requirements and [concept of operations] and understand the real feasibility,” Garrant said. “And does it make sense? Is this a good business case? Does it make sense to do that, particularly when you talk about [the cost of] launch, or is it to better spend money on a cheaper satellite that’s just cheaper to replace?”

Unsurprisingly, Orbit Fab doesn’t think so.

“Is refueling less expensive than building and launching a new satellite? In almost all cases, our answer is yes,” Harris said.

Given the Space Force’s limited budget, the question of cost is especially important. The service put just $20 million toward space access, mobility, and logistics in its fiscal 2025 budget, but it has outlined no further plans, and Garrant raised the possibility that new forms of propulsion may eventually mean spacecraft are not as limited by fuel.

Regardless, there is clear interest from operators in being able to maneuver their satellites. U.S. Space Command boss Gen. Stephen N. Whiting said in a keynote speech at the symposium that his command is working with the Space Force’s innovation arm, SpaceWERX, on that demand.

“We will soon be identifying 10 proposals for $1.9 million each in funding over a 15-month period of performance,” Whiting announced. “This effort will continue to invest in the most promising technology from commercial industry to help us solve the sustained space maneuver challenge.”

In the past, Space Force and industry officials have talked about the military’s need for space maneuver so that satellites can dodge attacks by China or Russia and keep performing their mission. Now, they’re adding another operational factor into the calculus.

‘There’s also the proactive side, or offensive side,” said Harris, “Which is, ‘I want to move my spacecraft to a new theater. I’ve gone from this area, and I need to surge to a new place.’ Lots of examples of how that could work, whether it’s communication or missile warning or those type of things.”

“Clearly, if we’re going to have an offensive or defensive capability, it has to be able to maneuver to the target or maneuver to the high-value asset that it’s defending,” added Garrant. “So all of those consume a limited fuel capability. So how do we make it so that we’re not limited by the fuel?”

Astroscale and Orbit Fab aren’t the only firms trying to answer that question. Northrop Grumman has developed its own refueling interfaces, as well as its own tanker spacecraft that will have enough fuel to maneuver between satellites and refuel them.

Last week, Northrop announced it had received contracts of its own from Space Systems Command for a program called Elixir—a satellite bus and refueling payload that can perform rendezvous and proximity operations, which will dock with a Space Force “Tetra-6” satellite spun off from the “Tetra-5” program.

An artist’s rendering of Northrop Grumman’s GAS-T spacecraft. Courtesy of Northrop Grumman.

A spokesperson for Space Systems Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine the demonstration is expected to occur no earlier than 2028.

In a statement, Northrop’s program manager for in-space refueling Lauren Smith touted the company’s demo as a way to “unlock new possibilities for dynamic space operations, providing the sustained maneuverability our customers need in a complex environment.”

Northrop’s model for refueling doesn’t require depots to work, while Orbit Fab and Astroscale’s is meant to be a long-term solution, with its satellites available for operations for years.

In either case, Garrant had a word of caution.

“You could have the best gas tank idea in the world as a satellite provider, but we still have to get you to the orbit of the target of interest,” Garrant said. “And if that’s GEO, that’s a high-energy launch, that’s not an insignificant investment from a launch perspective. So I advise these companies that are looking at abilities to create maneuver without regret, don’t forget to close the business case on launch too.”

With F-15C Gone, Kadena Gets Fresh Rotation of F-15E and F-35 Fighters

April 8, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

F-35A and F-15E fighter jets touched down at Kadena Air Base in recent days, marking the latest rotation of fighters as the Okinawa base awaits its new permanent F-15EX fleet.

The stealthy F-35s came from the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska; the Strike Eagles came from the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. They arrived at Kadena from April 3-6, Kadena’s 18th Wing said in a release.

The combination of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters at the strategic U.S. outpost in the western Pacific is aimed at “deterring potential adversaries,” the release added.

“The men and women of the 355th EFS are excited to be back at Kadena Air Base,” said Lt. Col. Erik Gonsalves, commander of the 355th EFS. The squadron was previously assigned to the location in March 2023. “I have spent the majority of my career in PACAF and am looking forward to enhancing our squadron’s proficiency in the asymmetric advantages we share in this AOR.”

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 3, 2025. While deployed to the Keystone of the Pacific, the 355th EFS will work in conjunction with additional heavy, reconnaissance, and fourth and fifth generation fighter assets that are both augmented to and stationed at Kadena to ensure continued steady-state fighter capabilities in the region. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez

The new fighters are the first to arrive at Kadena since the base’s last original F-15C had its final flight in January—the last operational F-15C flight across the entire Active-Duty Air Force. A few of the aging fighters are still at Kadena, decommissioned as training aids for maintainers.

In the long term, Kadena is set to get 36 F-15EX Eagle IIs to replace 48 F-15C/D Eagles that had defended Japan’s southernmost major island for 45 years.

The 18th Wing is expecting its first batch of the EX fighters to touch down at the base between March and June 2026.

Since the F-15C/D began phasing out in 2022, the Air Force has been rotating fourth- and fifth-gen fighters, including F-15Es, F-16s, F-35s, and F-22s, to supplement Kadena’s airpower. Given that previous deployments of a squadron typically lasted about six months, the F-35As and F-15Es will likely be swapped out for other fighter squadrons later this year.

Col. David Deptula, 18th Operations Group commander, added that these rotations “ensures the continuation of our long-standing mission to defend Japan and maintain an open and free Indo-Pacific.”

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 3, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez

The ongoing fighter rotation at Kadena will continue until the base receives all three dozen Eagle IIs and achieves full operational capability, though the timeline remains murky for now.

In previous rotations, once new squadrons arrive, the previously assigned fighters and aircrews returned to their home stations within a few weeks. The most recent shift took place in January, when the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-35s arrived at the Okinawa base.

“We are looking forward to putting our skills and training to the test and taking our mission execution to the next level here on Okinawa,” said Maj. Chris Burson, 336th Fighter Generation Squadron commander. “Kadena is a fantastic opportunity for us—working alongside our mission partners, sharing experiences and techniques, will be invaluable and will ensure we are an effective fighting force in the Indo-Pacific.”

How to Win a War in Space: SPACECOM’s 5 Keys

April 8, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—U.S. Space Command has defined five factors it believes will be key to victory should it ever need to fight a full-fledged war in space, Gen. Stephen N. Whiting said April 8 at the Space Symposium.

The factors, which Whiting called “Elements of Victory,” include efforts U.S. military space leaders have emphasized before, from resilience to a first strike to coordination with commercial and allied partners. But Whiting’s focus on how to prepare to win a conflict marks another step in the Pentagon’s shift to treat space as a warfighting domain in its own right.

Space Force leaders have talked about space as a warfighting domain before. Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has made space superiority a calling card of his tenure and formulated a theory of “Competitive Endurance” for how the service will seek to manage competition and deter conflict with the likes of China and Russia.

But while the Space Force organizes, trains, and equips forces, Space Command is responsible for actual operations in the domain and thus has to think about and prepare to fight, Whiting said.

“We are a combatant command, and like all other combatant commands, we must be dominant at warfighting and war-winning,” Whiting said. “And dominant warfighting in space requires credible, acknowledged kinetic and nonkinetic capabilities, fires and weapons. Acknowledging this reinforces a distinct space warfighting ethos, ensures that threats are met with the right capabilities, and restores credible deterrence in space.”

The challenge leaders have faced is that there has never been a war in space, so establishing exactly how to win one is still theoretical. The elements Whiting identified “are informed by lessons learned in other domains, from the best thinking across our Joint Force exercises, and modeling and simulation,” he said.

They include:

Operating through a first strike

Transition from crisis to conflict

Synchronize and integrate joint, commercial, allied, and partner capabilities

Sustain and bolster space capabilities beyond initial stages of conflict

Achieve space superiority

For each element, Whiting highlighted SPACECOM’s efforts to build up its capabilities. Dating back to 2024, the command established strategies for experimentation and artificial intelligence, expanded its Commercial Integration Cell and Joint Commercial Office, and worked to field better command-and-control systems.

U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Bryce Carlson, Space Delta 5 Current Operations Division director, speaks to members from the Australian Space Operations Centre, Canadian Space Operations Centre and United Kingdom National Space Operations Centre, during a 3-day working group in support of Operation Olympic Defender at U.S. Space Forces – Space headquarters on Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Nov. 4, 2024. U.S. Space Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Luke Kitterman

One of the biggest moves SPACECOM has made to bolster its posture for conflict is to “operationalize” its ties with allies, Whiting said—essentially building the relationships to the point where they would work smoothly if a space war breaks out.

Just recently, he revealed, the U.S. and France “conducted our first ever bilateral rendezvous and proximity operation to demonstrate combined capabilities in space in the vicinity of a strategic competitor spacecraft.”

More broadly, SPACECOM expanded Operation Olympic Defender, a coalition of allies who coordinate their space efforts, share data, and work together to defend against threats.

In 2024 and 2025, Germany, France, and New Zealand joined the operation, alongside the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. At the symposium, Whiting said Olympic Defender has reached initial operational capability with its new roster of allies.

“Together, we’ve conceptualized requirements for our multinational force, we’ve developed the first [Olympic Defender concept of operations], we’ve outlined national contributions … and we’ve created a space domain awareness concept of operations,” Whiting said. “And this week, we’ll sign and publish our first ever [Olympic Defender] campaign plan.”

SPACECOM has also written its own campaign plan, and the Space Force made campaigning in orbit one of the central tenets of its “Competitive Endurance” theory. Whiting said such plans are one of the keys to transition from crises to sustained conflict.

Ultimately, Whiting stressed that the final element—space superiority—is both a necessity to winning a conflict and enabled by the other elements.

“The complexity and expanse of space challenges the notion of having superiority at all times and all places. However, space superiority can be achieved at a time and place of our choosing, to close friendly kill chains and disrupt adversary kill webs,” Whiting said.

In that regard, he and Saltzman appear to be singing from the same sheet of music. At last month’s AFA Warfare Symposium, Saltzman said the Space Force will do “whatever it takes” to achieve space superiority, up to and including destroying adversary satellites, a once verboten concept in military space.

At the Space Symposium, Whiting was just as outspoken, going even beyond previous comments he has made calling for “space fires.”

“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.”

Space Force Went Fast for Its Last GPS Launch. Now It Plans to Go Even Faster

April 8, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force is switching up rockets for its next GPS mission—and trying to go faster than ever in preparing the satellite for launch.

Space Systems Command announced April 7 that GPS III Space Vehicle-08 will now launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Fla., on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than the end of May. The satellite had previously been assigned to a rocket from United Launch Alliance.

The goal is to take the satellite bus from storage to orbit in around three months, well ahead of the 24 months it can sometimes take the military to pull a satellite from storage, integrate it with the launch vehicle, and go through readiness checks and processing.

“This mission represents an outstanding collaboration across multiple teams and agencies,” Space Force Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of Mission Delta 31, said in a statement. “It highlights our ability to rapidly deploy an additional M-Code-capable satellite and continues to push the boundaries of traditional launch timelines.”

That aggressive timeline—which started in late February or early March—builds on what the Space Force did in December, switching its previous GPS mission from ULA to SpaceX and taking just five months to prep the satellite for launch.

In both cases, the GPS satellites have been ready to go for a few years now but ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur vehicle, assigned for the launches, wasn’t yet certified. Space Force officials, concerned about the satellite constellation’s resilience, decided to fly the missions with SpaceX rockets, which are certified. To do so, they have swapped later GPS missions to fly on ULA rockets.

Vulcan Centaur was certified in late March and is now preparing to conduct multiple launches in 2025. ULA has a backlog to get through, however, and Space Force officials are eager to get more GPS satellites in orbit.

“We have been harping on getting more GPS III satellites on orbit to be able to give us more M-code,” Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, commander of Space Forces-Space, said in December.

M-code is the jam-resistant GPS signal for military use. While other GPS satellites can transmit M-code, the GPS III spacecraft can take advantage of the full capability, including the ability to beam the signal at target areas.

In addition to more M-code, the Space Force’s push to go fast on these last few GPS satellites fits with its broader goal of “Tactically Responsive Space”—having the ability to put a new satellite in orbit on rapid timelines to respond to crises or contingencies.

The signature part of that effort is a series of “Victus” missions in which the service challenged contractors to build satellites quickly, take it from storage to the launch pad in just a few days, then be prepared to launch on a moment’s notice.

But those missions involve smaller payloads and are not part of the National Security Space Launch program, which requires lower risk and higher assurance that the mission will succeed. The GPS launches are.

Ukraine Flying Its F-16s ‘Every Day’ Against Russia, with More Coming: EUCOM Boss

April 8, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Ukrainian Air Force pilots are operating F-16 fighters “every day,” targeting missile threats and striking Russia’s eastern region, the top U.S. general in Europe told lawmakers..

“They fly every day; they’ve defeated large number of cruise missile threats, and they’ve delivered an awful lot of offensive attacks as well, specifically bombing attacks in the east,” Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, dual-hatted commander of Supreme Allied Commander Europe and U.S. European Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.

Cavoli’s testimony comes as the war rages on into its fourth year. The U.S. helped mediate a partial ceasefire last month, in which Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, but both sides have since accused each other of breaking the deal. Last week, Moscow launched ballistic missile strikes that claimed the lives of more than 20 Ukrainians in the central city of Kryvyi Rih.

Without divulging exact numbers, Cavoli mentioned that the current F-16s operating in Ukraine are “mainly from northern European countries, Netherlands and Denmark.”

The U.S. government greenlit the transfer of the American-made fighters in 2023, and the Netherlands and Denmark began sending the jets last summer, with plans to deliver a total dozens of F-16s between the two of them.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, second from left, and Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte inspect an F-16 on August 20, 2023, at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands. The Netherlands will supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as will Denmark. Office of the President of Ukraine

Belgium and Norway also had initially planned to begin sending their jets last year; Norway is donating six aircraft. Last month, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned that Kyiv had recently received more F-16 fighter aircraft, though he didn’t specify how many or which country sent them. U.S. European Command did not immediately respond to confirm whether any of the Norwegian F-16s have touched down in Ukraine yet.

Meanwhile, Belgium, which plans to send 30 jets, announced in March that deliveries would be delayed until next year, according to the Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

“There are more F-16s prepared to be deployed there,” Cavoli added. “There are more pilots in the training pipeline.”

Last month, the Ukrainian Air Force released an interview with one of its F-16 pilots. The pilot, whose identity was kept confidential for security reasons, disclosed that over 80 percent of the missiles fired by these jets successfully hit their targets, eliminating Russia’s Shahed drones and cruise missiles launched from the air, sea, and land.

The pilot added that the multirole fighters carry out offensive counter-air missions, in addition to conducting multiple ground attack operations “each day” over Russia, and its occupied territories in Ukraine.

That’s a marked progression from last fall, when U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander Gen. James B. Hecker told reporters that Ukraine, still new to the F-16, was taking a cautious approach toward employing its new jets and not putting them towards the riskiest missions.

After gaining nearly 4,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in 2024—seven times the amount gained in 2023—Russian forces now occupies approximately 20 percent of Ukraine. The majority of these advances are concentrated in eastern Donetsk.

However, Cavoli noted that Ukrainian troops have also taken control of the Russian region near the border, pushing back in key areas.

“There is a Ukrainian force that is holding on inside Kursk Oblast, they’ve got quite a bit of terrain,” noted Cavoli, adding that Kyiv is also holding defensive terrain in the Belgorod region, about 90 miles south of Kursk along the border. “The Ukrainians, a couple of weeks ago, pushed a smaller counteroffensive back into Russia [in Belgorod]. We still have a back-and-forth going up in that area.”

According to Cavoli, the Patriot air and missile defense system the U.S. provided Ukraine has been a “success story,” despite his initial apprehension regarding the complex system. The $1 billion defense platform, which includes interceptors, radar, command and control, and other support elements, requires about 90 personnel to operate.

“We train guys for a long time to be able to operate it, and the Ukrainians put their really their best people against it, and took to it like a fish to water,” Cavoli said.

In response to Zelenskyy’s request for additional Patriot systems, Washington agreed to work with Kyiv to explore available options, particularly in Europe.

Cavoli also said that Russia has lost more than 4,000 tanks so far in the war, with an estimated 3,000 tanks, 9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems, and over 400 air defense systems lost in the past year alone. However, Moscow is “on pace to replace them all.”

“They have expanded their capability to produce some things—artillery shells, cruise missiles—tremendously,” warned Cavoli.