Air Force: No Increase in Cancer Deaths Among Missile Community, but Study Continues

Jan. 31, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force has not found a higher death rate from cancer among missileers and other service members who served decades ago near America’s nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, service officials said Jan. 30.

“Basically, for all mortality calculations, cancer rates were lower or similar [in] the missile community versus their comparison group,” said Col. Richard O. Speakman, a medical doctor who commands the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. USAFSAM leads the comprehensive Missile Community Cancer Study that has been going for nearly two years now.

In a Jan. 27 memorandum, Speakman noted that missile community’s overall cancer mortality rate was lower than the general U.S. population. It was also lower for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, lung and bronchus, prostate, and colon and rectum cancers.

“The overall distribution of cancer deaths were similar between the missile community and the non-missile community, with lung and bronchus cancers accounting for the highest number of cancer deaths in both, followed by colon and rectum cancer deaths, and then pancreatic cancer deaths,” Speakman added Jan. 30 during a virtual town hall for members of the missile community, to which Air & Space Forces Magazine was granted access.

All told, the Air Force found a “significantly lower cancer mortality rate in the missile community compared to the non-missile community. This trend was consistent with both males and females,” he said.

The overall epidemiology study covers former and current missile community members and other service members who served from 1976-2010. That time frame was chosen because the Air Force wanted a “10-year follow-up period” after a possible exposure to ensure that it would not miss cancers that developed slowly. In preparing the study, the Air Force consulted with the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

For years, the Air Force dismissed concerns related to health issues among missileers and other career fields that help maintain and guard America’s ICBMs. Some elements of the current Minuteman III infrastructure date back to the 1960s, when maintaining the U.S. nuclear readiness during the Cold War was the chief concern and there were far fewer workplace protections.

But in early 2023, Air Force Global Strike Command began to investigate the health concerns following reports that cases of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a blood cancer, might be on the rise at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, who leads the command, later ordered that the investigation, which is formally known as the Missile Community Cancer Study, be expanded to cover environmental and epidemiological factors.

Bussiere, who was diagnosed with cancer as a mid-level officer flying fighter jets, has pledged to take a comprehensive approach and has been clear he feels previous Air Force studies of ICBM health concerns in 2001 and 2005 were unsatisfactory and incomplete.

The latest assessment is formally known as Phase 1C and updates the ongoing Missile Community Cancer Study investigation. Focusing on cancer mortality, it reported that members of the missile community did not have a higher rate of mortality from cancer compared to the broader U.S. population and other former service members when adjusted for age, race, gender, and rank across 14 common cancers.

Phase 1C only dates back to 1979, officials said, because the National Death Index, a government database that is used to inform medical studies, does not cover earlier years.

Phase 1C is not the last word on the problem. The Air Force will now focus on Phase 2 of the epidemiological study, which will pool data from state government cancer registries.

“Phase 2 will provide significant, larger numbers, so that will help us have a more wholesome understanding of the exposure for the missile community operators that have served at least from the database, from ’79 to 2020.” Bussiere said. “In my mind, just as important is that we’ve institutionalized a mechanism to document exposure across the fabric of the decades so that members that retire or separate can have that readily available if needed for the appropriate services from the Veterans Administration.”

Speakman said the Phase 2 study will gather two to three times more data, although some of the information may overlap. That data is projected to be available in December 2025, added Col. Gregory A. Coleman, Air Force Global Strike Command’s surgeon general.

The ongoing work represents a steady expansion of earlier efforts. In February 2024, the Air Force Phase 1A study drew data from Department of Defense electronic medical records dating back to 2001, capturing those who were diagnosed with cancer through the Military Health System (MHS), including through the Tricare health insurance program.

The Phase 1B study, released in October, was expanded to include data from the Department of Veteran Affairs electronic medical records and both the Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs’ cancer registries, going back as far as 1976, according to the Air Force.

The Missile Community Cancer Study also include an environmental review at the three active Minuteman III ICBM bases—Malmstrom Air Force Base; F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo; and Minot Air Force Base, N.D.—and ICBM facilities used to test missiles at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.

A test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Chris Gordon/Air & Space Forces Magazine

Over 8,400 samples have been collected, and the Air Force is using that information to develop a comprehensive health risk assessment.

Coleman, AFGSC’s surgeon general, said this review should be available this spring.

“We’re not done, but we continue to move forward deliberately in this process,” said Bussiere.

“A full, comprehensive epidemiological study should include both the incidence and the mortality together,” Speakman said. “These measures of disease provide a more full picture of cancer trends, public health impact, and areas where intervention might be needed. While we are focusing on the cancer mortality today, we will return to cancer incidence during Phase Two of this Missile Community Cancer Study.”

“The congressional interest and support for this effort has not waned. It’s actually increased,” Bussiere said. He added that the new Acting Air Force Secretary Gary Ashworth also asked for an update on the study.

Northrop Reveals Another B-21 Contract, in Talks with USAF About Faster Production

Jan. 30, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

Northrop Grumman received a second low-rate initial production contract on the B-21 bomber before the end of 2024, the company said, and it has held preliminary talks with the Air Force about accelerating the rate of production on the new bomber.

Executives also said Northrop is meeting milestones on the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program and suggested the company could compete for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program if it is re-opened.

Company president and chief executive officer Kathy Warden, speaking on a Jan. 30 earnings call, noted “an award for the second LRIP lot on B-21 in the fourth quarter.” She had telegraphed the award in an October 2024 earnings call but gave no details in either call about the number of aircraft the contract covers or its value. The Air Force has kept many details about the B-21 secret, to include financial details of its acquisition.

The Air Force has acknowledged there are at least six B-21s in some stage of production, and at least one has been in flight test since November 2023. The actual production rate on the aircraft is classified, although Air Force and Pentagon officials have suggested it is around seven per year. Former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment William LaPlante—who was a key figure in structuring the 2015 contract when he was the Air Force acquisition executive—has said the rate was deliberately kept very low to protect the program from budget cuts.

However, Warden said Northrop and the Air Force have had preliminary discussions about potentially accelerating production.

Warden was asked if the aircraft would be priced like those already under contract or if there would be an “open negotiation” for additional bombers.

“We would work with the Air Force to look at when those units would come into the contract, and obviously we are accumulating more and more actual performance [data] to help inform discussions with them about the right pricing,” she said. “So it would be premature for me to comment on where we expect that to land, but it would be a discussion.”

The Air Force has sent mixed signals in recent months about whether it wants more B-21s. Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin has said that by the time the B-21 program reaches its currently planned total of 100 aircraft—sometime in the mid-2030s—there are likely to be new technologies the service would want to pursue instead.

However, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who stepped down Jan. 20, told Air & Space Forces Magazine in early January that accelerating the B-21, “If it could be afforded, would make some sense.” Kendall said the Air Force should “rebalance” its forces away from an excessive focus on short-range fighters and toward more long-range capabilities like the B-21.

Kendall said he had ‘talked to industry about the possibility of higher rates than we currently have planned,” but said that the contracts for the initial lots of aircraft—which have a fixed-price component to them—means “there’s only so much we can do” to accelerate the program in the next five years or so.

Warden has previously said that, due to aggressive pricing, there will be little if any profit on the B-21 in the early years, but that the company expects it to be a good financial performer beyond the initial lots.

She said the B-21 team is “driving efficiencies and implementing performance improvement initiatives” and as a result, “headwinds” on the program are milder than expected. For 2025, “we’re continuing to expand on B-21 but the team has opportunities, given those efficiencies, to continue to drive performance improvement and allow us to maintain that mid-to-high nine percent level returns.”

On the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program—which has suffered a massive, $40 billion overrun—Warden said the company is working through a restructuring process and meeting its obligations.

“We are working with the government on the restructure, but in the meantime, we are performing and meeting important milestones [on the] EMD contract. The government has said that they project the restructure will take 18 to 24 months, and we’re still very much in that window … even though they have paused work on some small infrastructure efforts in the command and launch segment,” Warden said, adding that the project will be more profitable in 2025.

Asked about the Next-Generation Air Dominance Program—the Air Force’s future air superiority platform, currently paused as the new administration considers its options—Warden said “we’re certainly watching that space, and as we have described before, we believe we are well positioned to offer sixth-generation aircraft based on our successful B-21 performance and experience to date.”

The Air Force was expected to award a contract for NGAD by the end of 2024, but Kendall punted that decision to the new administration, which he said should get to decide on the program because it will “own” it through its early development. Options for NGAD include proceeding as planned; switching to what Kendall called a cheaper “multirole” aircraft more tailored to managing drones, or something else. Those options may include re-opening the project for competition if the requirements are different enough from previously set ones.

Warden said the NGAD doesn’t figure into the company’s forecasts, “given the uncertainty of timing, particularly [on] the Air Force program,” where she said “we’re not a prime but we are a contributor to the program through mission systems.” Northrop is competing for the main element of the Navy’s counterpart F/A-XX, however, and is looking forward to an award in 2025.

Focus on Your Self: Space RCO Wants Satellites to Sense Nearby Threats, Hazards

Jan. 30, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force operates satellites that can track threats hundreds of miles away, like missile launches on Earth or other spacecraft in orbit. Now, one of the service’s acquisition arms wants to make sure USSF satellites can also spot dangers right next to or on board them.

The Space Rapid Capabilities Office announced its new “Prime Fusion Pilot Accelerator” program with the venture studio FedTech on Jan. 29, pairing small, innovative companies to work together on what the office is calling “own-ship awareness.”

It’s a new term the Space RCO has come up with to describe a mission that’s slightly different from space domain awareness and space situational awareness—areas where the rest of the Space Force is investing significant money, said Matt Fetrow, director of strategic communications at the Space RCO.

“All that’s great, and all that’s super important, but that’s not exactly what we need here,” he told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “We really want to focus on the operator’s needs for awareness. There’s someone on console who is responsible for the health of that satellite, responsible is [for?] deciding where to move it or not, and that person needs awareness of their own ship.”

That means putting sensors and software on-board that can give operators awareness of “anomalies, hazards, and threats” to their satellite, per a Space RCO release. Fetrow said that could include anything from an adversary trying to attack to something breaking on the satellite. The Space Force has ways of tracking such problems, but the RCO wants to find ways to make sure operators can understand them as they’re happening.

Putting things like cameras, imaging systems, and radio frequency sensors on satellites is nothing new, Fetrow acknowledged. But there are challenges to doing so for own-ship awareness that need to be solved.

One is finding the right balance of own-ship awareness sensors to other payloads—the Space Force could load up its satellites with sensors to make sure it is aware of any threats in any direction, but that “would overwhelm the satellite, you’d have no space for anything else,” Fetrow said.

Another is making sure these self-protection sensors come integrated or standard on satellite buses. Right now, the Space Force often buys its payloads and buses separately and has to integrate them after. But the Space RCO doesn’t want to follow that model, given its focus on fielding things fast.

“We buy full systems that are intended for operational use,” Fetrow said. “We buy systems that our operators will be able to count on to do their missions. And so we don’t buy sensors or algorithms or piece parts. I need to buy a full system.”

To attack the problem, the Space RCO is pairing 10 companies into five teams to work on solutions and new technology for own-ship awareness over the next eight weeks, before presenting their ideas in a March pitch event at the RCO’s headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M.

The teams are:

Active Vigilance, which has developed an automated, on-board diagnostic system for spacecraft, and Turion Space, a satellite builder focused on cleaning up orbital debris and non-Earth imaging.

Digantara, which is working space situational awareness capabilities, and Anduril, the buzzy defense startup looking to break into space with its automation software

Geost, a payload builder that makes small cameras and sensors, and Impulse Space, which focuses on “space transportation” and maneuvering in orbit.

Raptor Dynamix, a software firm focused on “AI-enabled space operations, on-orbit dynamic space operations, and threat characterization” and True Anomaly, which builds both spacecraft and mission control software to create a common operating picture.

TRL11, which touts the use of video and AI for spacecraft operations and situational awareness, and BlackVe, a new, little-known firm working on national security missions for spacecraft.

Fetrow said the Space RCO doesn’t have a procurement program set up to immediately start buying pitches from the five teams in March. But the office, which is typically tight-lipped about many of its programs, is hopeful that it can incorporate what it sees into future efforts, he said.

NORAD Sends Fighter Patrols to Monitor Russian Military Flights in the Arctic

Jan. 30, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

U.S. Air Force F-35s and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s conducted combat air patrols in response to Russian military aircraft operating in the Arctic early this week, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a news release Jan. 30.

NORAD also said it sent two U.S. Air Force F-16s from Alaska to Greenland, “exercising its standard agreement with Greenland to forward posture NORAD presence in the Arctic.”

The Russian aircraft were operating in international airspace and did not enter the Alaskan or Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones or sovereign airspace, NORAD said in its release. The command did not identify the type of Russian planes, with a spokesperson citing “operational security” concerns, but NORAD indicated they were not seen as a threat.

“Under its mission of maintaining comprehensive domain awareness in the Arctic, NORAD launched a combat air patrol from its Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) to the northern region of Canada, and an air patrol from its Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) off the coast of the Alaska/Yukon border, to further track the activity,” NORAD said of the Russian aircraft.

The patrols occurred Jan. 28, a NORAD spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Canadian patrol comprised two Canadian CF-18s and one KC-135 refueling aircraft, and the U.S. patrol consisted of two U.S. F-35s, one E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne warning and command and control aircraft, and two KC-135s.

On Jan. 28, an F-35 crashed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The pilot ejected from the F-35, was taken to a local military hospital, and has been released. The incident was unrelated to the NORAD activity that occurred on the same day, a spokesperson for the command said.

NORAD did not specify where in Greenland its F-16s deployed, but the territory does host the northernmost U.S. military installation, Pituffik Space Base, a Space Force missile warning and satellite control site. Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, dates back to the 1950s when it was established as a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War before transitioning to its early warning missile mission. Four Air Force F-35s deployed to Greenland in January 2023.

President Donald Trump has said he wants to buy Greenland from Denmark because of its strategic importance in the Arctic. Denmark has rebuffed that request.

“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” the command added in his latest statement.

Air Force Conducts More Deportation Flights with Armed Security Forces ‘Ravens’

Jan. 29, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

The U.S. Air Force carried out deportation flights to Ecuador and Guatemala earlier this week, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine, as the Pentagon continues to fly migrants out of the country at the direction of President Donald Trump.

On Jan. 28, a U.S. Air Force C-17 carrying detained migrants took off from Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas. It landed in Ecuador later that evening.

A C-17 transporting a deportation flight also took off from El Paso on Jan. 27 for Guatemala, the third such flight to the country.

The flight to Ecuador has not been previously reported, and neither flight has been officially announced.

Another C-17 flight took off from El Paso to Guatemala on Jan. 30, according to flight tracking data.

Those C-17 flights follow a high-profile spat with Colombia, which turned away two C-17s on Jan. 26. Colombia later relented in the face of pressure from the Trump administration and sent its own air force planes to transport the deportees.

U.S. aircrews participating in the deportation missions have included armed Air Force Security Forces personnel, known as Phoenix Ravens, defense officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

A photo released by the Department of Defense of the inside of a C-17 deporting migrants on a flight out of Tucson International Airport, Ariz., shows at least two U.S. service members carrying what appear to be M4 rifles.

“We can confirm the C-17 aircrews conducting deportation flights include RAVENS, who are specially trained Security Forces personnel dedicated to providing force protection for Mobility Air Force aircraft transiting through austere locations with potentially high terrorist and criminal threat levels,” a defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “These personnel are strictly responsible for the security of the aircrew and aircraft and they do not engage in interdiction or law enforcement activities.”

In-flight law enforcement on the deportation flights is the responsibility of Department of Homeland Security personnel, officials said.

U.S. Airmen and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency personnel prepare to load people being deported from the U.S. onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Tucson International Airport in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 23, 2025. Dept. of Defense photo by Senior Airman Devlin Bishop

From the outset of the Pentagon’s effort to rush 1,500 troops to the border and transport migrants, which it first announced Jan. 22, defense officials have said U.S. military personnel are not carrying out law enforcement activities. U.S. troops are prohibited from performing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act.

Trump said in an executive order that the use of the U.S. military is justified because he has declared a border emergency to stop “forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.”

The border deployments have included U.S. military police, who were transported on USAF aircraft.

The military’s role may expand in the days ahead, the Trump administration indicated Jan. 29.

Trump directed the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security to “take all appropriate actions to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States,” according to a memo issued by the White House.

“We’re ramping up for the possibility to expand mass deportations because President Trump is dead serious about getting illegal criminals out of our country,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Fox News.

Lockheed Looks to Deliver Up to 190 F-35s in 2025, Loses $1.9 Billion on Secret Programs

Jan. 29, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin will deliver up to 190 F-35s in 2025, including both newly built aircraft and jets that have been in storage pending test progress on the Tech Refresh 3 upgrade, company president and CEO Jim Taiclet said this week.

Taiclet also said Lockheed is taking more than $1.9 billion in charges on two secret programs, at least one of which the executive described as vital to the Air Force.

“We continue to expect [F-35] deliveries will exceed the production rate over the next few years, and estimate 170 to 190 F-35 aircraft deliveries in 2025,” Taiclet said during an earnings call on Jan. 29.

That would mark a significant increased from 2024—when Lockheed delivered 110 jets, including 62 in the last quarter—and 2023, when the total was just 98. Deliveries can sometimes exceed annual production because of a variety of factors unrelated to technical problems, in which aircraft built in a previous year are not delivered immediately, a company spokesperson said.

Taiclet said he’s “confident” that production of new F-35s will reach the company’s target of 156 in 2025, reflecting strong demand from both the U.S. and international market. That would indicate the company expects to hand over anywhere between 14 and 34 of the stored aircraft this year.

Neither the Joint Program Office nor Lockheed have disclosed how many aircraft went directly from the production line to storage, but industry officials estimate the final total was around 110 airplanes. The government declined to accept the jets at the time because they were built using Tech Refresh 3 hardware and software, which had not been fully tested when production of that configuration commenced.

The delivery hold was lifted last July, when Program Executive Officer Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt determined that the TR-3 software was stable enough for safe operations.

In October, Lockheed said it was delivering about 20 of the deferred-delivery jets per month, in addition to new aircraft coming off the line. Due to sequencing and customer needs, a mix of new and stored jets are being delivered.

The Joint Program Office also said Lockheed is receiving bigger incentive payments on delivered F-35s. The company was being docked $5 million per jet for various reasons involving the hold and TR-3 testing, but that penalty has been lightened to $3.8 million each, a JPO spokesperson said Jan. 29. The company will eventually be able to recoup the withheld funds.

“Lockheed Martin has satisfied criteria to reduce the original withhold by approximately $1.2 million for each aircraft,” the spokesperson said.

Taiclet reported the TR-3 continues “to progress in test flights. We completed qualification testing on a set of key TR-3 capabilities in 2024, and we’re making solid progress on system performance and remaining TR-3 deliverables. We expect to release additional capability this year, with further upgrades to follow.”

He noted that the JPO and Lockheed have reached an agreement in principle on Lot 18 of the F-35, and this brings the F-35 backlog to 408 aircraft. An actual definitized contract is expected “during the first half of 2025,” he added. He did not comment on Lot 19 or 20 negotiations. Lot 19 is believed to have been negotiated alongside Lot 18, and Lot 20 is expected to be the first under a multiyear contract.

Asked whether he thinks the F-35 is well positioned for continued Pentagon funding, Taiclet noted that Israel was able to operate the F-35 with impunity inside Iran, demonstrating its advanced capabilities. He also argued that having the jet in production at a meaningful rate bolsters deterrence against China.

“A part of deterrence theory is that you have to have the capability to make the adversary reconsider an adverse action against you,” Taiclet said. China “has increased production of the J-20—which is their fifth-generation airplane—to over 100 units a year. We’re doing 156. We’re ahead of them. I think if there was a dramatic change in the U.S. order book and production, that might be a signal that would be adverse to maintaining an effective deterrent to them.”

Taiclet continued that “there are some very capable people coming into the administration. They understand deterrence theory. The last thing I think this President and administration would want is to create a period of vulnerability with any of our major adversaries in the next few years. So I feel really confident about F-35 production.”

He further noted that the F-35 has demonstrated an ability to control up to eight drones in a formation, which could be crucial for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and can also do “some classified things” in the area of manned-unmanned teaming in concert with the F-22.

Losses

Lockheed took a charge of $410 million for a secret program in the Aeronautics unit and a $1.4 billion charge on a secret munition being developed by the company’s Missiles and Fire Control unit.

Taiclet said he couldn’t divulge much on the programs, but that the financial situation will improve on the Missiles and Fire Control project.

“Outside of the fixed pricing related to this next phase … the pricing would be open, and we would expect to return to reasonable-type margins” on the program. He doesn’t expect it to “bounce back to [typical Missiles and Fire Control]-like margins, and at that point in time, there still would be kind of a ramp-up that you’ve got to deal with. But certainly the margin profile will get substantially better, and we expect this to be a long-lived program based on the technology and the value to the U.S. government.”

He added that based on his experience as a former Air Force pilot, “I can assure you, this is something they will want.”

Industry experts speculated that the program in question may be the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), the successor to the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The JATM—a very long-range air-to-air missile meant to restore parity with China’s long-range missiles—was supposed to become operational in 2022 or 2023, but the Air Force has steadfastly resisted providing any public information about its progress. Service officials have only acknowledged that the weapon entered testing in 2023.

Two years ago, then-vice chief of staff for plans and programs Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore said an uptick in purchase of AMRAAMs in the fiscal 2024 budget request did not signal a problem with JATM. That budget, he said, included “some facilitization money that will help us get to JATM faster. Once we can start procuring it, we’ll want to get to quantity as fast as we can.”

Industry sources said the other classified program on which Lockheed took a charge may be an advanced drone for surveillance.

Air Force Shuts Down Athena Programs for Review in DEI Purge

Jan. 29, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force’s various “Athena” programs focused on women’s readiness issues at the Major Command level are shut down as the service conducts a review of programs linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as ordered by President Trump.

A service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the major commands have “paused their Athena Programs while the Air Force reviews them to determine if their focus aligns with optimizing operational readiness, lethality, and warfighter innovation.”

The Athenas, so named because the first one formed at Air Combat Command dubbed itself Sword Athena in reference the Greek goddess of war, were conceived as a means to identify and overcome barriers to combat effectiveness for women in the Air Force.

There are now Athena groups at every major command. Each MAJCOM described its plans in its own way in memos circulated on social media and verified by Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Air Combat Command boss Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach wrote that the “Sword Athena 2025 Summit and all other Sword Athena events are canceled,” but said his staff would “assess efforts currently underway and determine the best way forward.” The summit had been scheduled for late February, and the volunteer team had just completed a virtual kickoff event before Wilsbach’s notice.

Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard leaders wrote in their memo that the “ARC Athena charter and program are terminated immediately.”

Reach Athena announced it had ceased all official actions on behalf of Air Mobility Command in accordance with a Jan. 21 memo from Acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth to “disestablish” all Department of the Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Groups.

The DAF-wide Women’s Initiative Team (WIT) was also shut down as directed by that memo.

It is possible the Athena programs could start back up again after the Department of the Air Force finishes its review, but that could take a while. Under a Jan. 27 executive order, the Pentagon has 30 days to issue guidance to its different departments, and reports on implementation must follow after 180 days. In theory, these tasks could be completed sooner.

The fate of the WIT is less clear. It was launched in 2008, 11 years before Sword Athena was formed in a grassroots effort at ACC in 2019.

In all cases, volunteers say they sought to identify problems or barriers that prevented female Airmen from performing their jobs or hurt readiness. They said at no time did they propose anything to favor women over men.

“It was never done for the sake of diversity. It was never done for the sake of inclusion,” one WIT volunteer told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It was done for the sake of, we need every able-bodied person to be able to do their job.”

It’s about being as lethal as we can be and removing barriers to readiness,” an Athena volunteer lead added. “So everything that we did, all of our initiatives, always tied back to [commanders’] priorities.”

Some initiatives the WIT and Athena programs focused on included developing equipment built for female Airmen like flight suits, body armor, and bladder relief in the cockpit.

“The intent was just a way for our Airmen, our aviators, to be able to get appropriately fitting flight suits and gear,” the Athena lead said. “And what we said was, I mean, we showed studies that showed that especially ejection seat pilots, if they do not have properly fitting gear, then their survivability decreases.”

Another effort was to push for changes to hair regulations after years of female Airmen saying tight buns were giving them headaches and even causing hair loss. Other initiatives called for better access to basic hygiene products, child care, family readiness, and recruiting—issues volunteers said were needed to make sure they could focus on the mission.

“I don’t want [Airmen] worrying about their families back home. I don’t want them worrying about personal hygiene or anything like that,” Lt. Col. Meghan O’Rourke, a member of AFSOC’s Dagger Athena, said at the 2023 event. “I want those barriers tackled. … I want those tackled so that they can do their job as well as they possibly can.”

The WIT volunteer noted that the team was chartered under the Air Force’s equal opportunity program, not its diversity and inclusion office. That left some hope that the work can continue.

“What I’m passionate about is that there being a mechanism where tactical-level warfighters have the ability and access to senior leaders to highlight the barriers that are impacting their operational readiness,” the WIT volunteer said.

The Athena lead, however, cautioned that the work the volunteers have done could also go away.

“I know that the current climate is such that I can see it not coming back, because that would be easier than to try and redefine this,” she said.

Patches, Nail Polish, Shaving: Here Are the New Air Force Dress and Grooming Standards

Jan. 29, 2025 | By Chris Gordon and David Roza

Airmen will be subject to new uniform, grooming, and appearance standards starting Feb. 1, senior Air Force leaders announced Jan. 29.

Among the changes: Duty Identifier Patches are no longer authorized, hair cannot touch a male Airman’s ears, Airmen must shave every day if they do not have a medical or religious waiver, and female Airmen must comply with tighter restrictions on nail polish. Airmen with a shaving waiver will have to be reevaluated within 90 days of their next Periodic Health Assessment (PHA), starting March 1.

The updated appearance standards are outlined in a memorandum from Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, who sent a message to the force about the changes on Jan. 29. The Air Force also issued a separate memorandum on the updated shaving waiver process.

The new guidelines come about three weeks after Allvin announced a review of dress and appearance standards and said the Air Force would begin to more strictly enforce regulations.

“Earlier this month I released a video explaining why our service is reviewing certain policies and standards to ensure they are easy to understand, easy to comply with, and easy to enforce across our entire Air Force. Today, I am following through on my promise to swiftly distribute updates,” Allvin wrote to Airmen in an email that was provided to Air & Space Forces Magazine. “As you review the memoranda and take action to ensure compliance, never forget that discipline and accountability are, and always will be, the backbone of an effective and lethal fighting force. 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 also released a video explaining why he was getting rid of Duty Identifier Patches, which are also known as Career Field Identifier patches—such as “SF” for Security Forces, “MUNS” for Munitions, “PA” for Public Affairs, and much more. The patches have become commonplace on the sleeves of many Airmen’s fatigues, but they are no longer authorized as of Feb. 1.

According to Air Force Instruction 36-2903, more than 130 patches have been authorized.

“This is a lot of tabs,” Allvin said. “Under the principle that we have of ‘easy to understand, easy to comply with, easy to enforce,’ this fails that test. But there’s a bigger issue at play here: as we identify ourselves as one type of Airman or another, with one specialty or one skillset or another, we really diminish ourselves. While that is a contribution we make, our real value is our integral part of a winning, warfighting team. And that’s what we want to emphasize: that we value the team over the individual.”

Still allowed are arch-shaped tabs signifying a special, unique qualification or training, such as “Air Advisor” or “Arctic,” as are graduate patches, such as ones from the Air Force Weapons School, and command patches.

Shaving Waivers

The new shaving waiver guidance covers both the Air Force and Space Force comes about five years after the Air Force began issuing five-year medical shaving waivers for Airmen with pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), also known as razor bumps, a skin condition caused by ingrown hairs that makes shaving painful and can lead to scarring if skin is not given a chance to heal.

The problem with that policy is that it did not give clear guidance on differentiating PFB from shaving irritation, which can be avoided or treated with proper shaving technique and topical steroids, said Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. John J. DeGoes in a Jan. 27 video statement.

“This lack of standardized guidance has led to inconsistencies in how shaving profiles are issued and managed across our force,” he said.

A memo from DeGoes said extended duration shaving profiles are generally reserved for severe cases of PFB, “while mild-to-moderate cases may benefit from more frequent management, follow-ups, and temporary shaving profiles.”

New guidance will arrive starting March 1 that should make it easier for providers to differentiate between PFB and irritation, DeGoes said. But that means all Airmen with a waiver must be reevaluated by a health care provider. Current shaving profiles are valid for now, but they will expire 90 calendar days after the profile holder’s next periodic health assessment (PHA). The policy does not apply to religious accommodation shaving waivers.

An anonymous health care provider told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the goal is to use new tools, including a clinical algorithm, updated guidance, and a workflow in MHS Genesis to make PFB waiver decisions more consistent.

“We’re going to take a second look at every waiver, and we’re trying to provide healthcare providers with more tools to make more informed decisions, just to ensure that everyone who’s on a waiver actually needs that waiver,” the provider said.

The algorithm is not perfect, because even experienced dermatologists can have a tough time differentiating PFB from skin irritation. In the civilian world, it’s not a problem to avoid shaving, so there is not as much research and guidance to find the discrepancies between PFB and irritation.

But if an Airman or Guardian is on the edge between irritation and PFB, the provider might recommend they try different techniques and topical steroids to avoid irritation. If that doesn’t work and they are not interested in laser hair removal, then there’s still the five-year waiver option.

Reevaluating all shaving waivers is likely to create a massive administrative toll. Every Airman and Guardian takes a PHA, but those are often conducted virtually and exist more to refer patients to specialists.

“Airmen and Guardians are going to have to make a separate appointment with their provider to then have it looked at,” the anonymous provider said. “It’s a huge administrative burden that they’re going to be putting on the providers to support this over the next 365 days.”

Those providers may themselves refer patients to dermatologists, some of whom already have three-month waitlists.

“They’re basically just going to be running shaving waiver clinics,” said the provider, who anticipated that most providers would make the same waiver decision simply to get through the backlog of reevaluations ahead of them.

Readiness

The new policy for nail polish restricts female Airmen to “clear or French and American manicure,” which typically consists of white tips and a clear or skin-colored base. The move seemingly slashes dozens of colors that were approved last year, and service officials could not immediately provide a guide for what shades are now permitted.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David A. Flosi issued a statement touting all new rules as necessary for readiness.

“Our unmatched war winning capability is built on the strength and readiness of our Airmen. Clear and enforceable standards are the bedrock for our ready and lethal flying force,” Flosi said. “Our Airmen live a life of service; we are in the Profession of Arms. We are committed to defending our nation, deterring our foes, and, if necessary, we will defeat them.”

The Air Force said the changes were not made in response to recent executive orders by President Donald Trump that have sought to make cultural and policy changes to the military.

“Gen. Allvin and service senior leadership—both officer and enlisted—have been collaborating on an approach to renew our force’s commitment and adherence to standards for months now,” Lt. Col. Karl Wiest, a spokesperson for Allvin, said in an email. He said the issue was discussed at senior leader meetings, including the high-level CORONA gathering last year, which occurred during the Biden administration.

“These updates were not directed by the new administration, but they do effectively contribute to the Department of Defense’s renewed focus on lethality, accountability, standards, and readiness,” Wiest added.

Pentagon Hands Out $7 Billion for NGAP; RTX Sees ‘Tailwind’ for Military Propulsion

Jan. 28, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney received matching $3.5 billion contracts to prototype their versions of the Next-Generation Adaptive Propulsion engine this week, and the CEO of Pratt’s parent company, RTX, said things are looking up for the military engine business, even if the platform that could use NGAP is in some doubt.

“We’re continuing to develop our NGAP solution,” Chris Calio, RTX president and CEO, said on a company earnings call Jan. 28. “This funding will help us continue … to drive down risks on the key requirements” for the program. “With that award, we think we’re going to have a very competitive offering … regardless of where NGAP is in the timing.”

NGAP was originally planned to be the engine for the Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter, the Air Force’s crewed stealthy platform meant to succeed the F-22. It includes technologies developed under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program, in which Pratt and GE Aerospace prototyped powerplants that could serve as a mid-life propulsion upgrade for the F-35. But because not all variants of the F-35 could use the AETP engines, the program was halted and the remaining resources put toward NGAP.

Yet last summer, the Air Force put a “pause” on NGAD. Frank Kendall, who stepped down last week as Secretary of the Air Force, said the factors contributing to that move were the NGAD’s extremely high unit cost and concerns whether changing technology meant it was still the right approach for future air superiority. Kendall deferred the decision on NGAD’s future to the new Air Force leadership under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has not indicated when it may make any decisions about it.

In a contract announcement, the Pentagon described the new NGAP deals as “technology maturation and risk reduction” efforts, the same phrase used to describe work being done on NGAD by unnamed airframe contractors while awaiting an NGAD decision by the new administration.

“The work includes design, analysis, rig testing, prototype engine build and testing, and weapon system integration,” the Pentagon said in announcing the NGAP awards. “The contract modification … is focused on delivering a state-of-the-art propulsion system with a flexible architecture that can be tailored for future combat aircraft operating across various mission threads; and digitally transforming the propulsion industrial base.”

Officials have said little about the NGAP engines, but they have noted the powerplants will be smaller than the F135 engine that fits the F-35, and smaller than the AETP engines.

A government official told Air & Space Forces Magazine, however, he is concerned there are no guarantees the NGAP engines will ever be produced.

Trump technology advisor Elon Musk has been critical of the F-35 fighter and has called for eliminating fighter pilots and moving directly on to autonomous systems, which might not require the advanced propulsion NGAP offers, the official said.

“You’ve got a potentially hostile administration that may dump NGAD,” he said, “and in the last 20 years, we dropped three new [fighter] engines,” referring to an alternate engine for the F-35 developed by GE and the two AETP prototypes.

“If we don’t do NGAP, the ecosystem for cutting-edge military engines is going to fall behind” what is happening in China, Russia and elsewhere, the official said. “We can’t discount Chinese engines anymore,” he added. “They’ve invested to fix their problems” with designing and maintaining high-performance fighter engines.

Yet Calio projected an optimistic outlook on military propulsion. The Air Force has tapped Pratt to develop an Engine Core Upgrade to the F135 that will, to a lesser degree, meet some of the increased performance needs of the Block 4 F-35. Calio said the ECU and the NGAP creates “a tailwind” for the military engine business.

“I see this as continuing to grow,” he said. He noted that the Air Force continues to fly older aircraft, and so “the aftermarket remains strong. So I’d say, by and large, this is a tailwind for Pratt. And [we’re] happy to see this funding being put in place over the next number of years to continue this development.” He also said Pratt got F135 sustainment work valued at $1.4 billion across 2024.

The engine GE developed for AETP was given the designation XA100 and Pratt’s was the XA101. It is expected that the NGAP engines will be the XA102 and XA103, respectively.