RAF Mildenhall Hosts Retirement Ceremony for KC-135 Honoring ‘Wolff Pack’ WWII B-17 Crew

RAF Mildenhall Hosts Retirement Ceremony for KC-135 Honoring ‘Wolff Pack’ WWII B-17 Crew

Nov. 30, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force hosted an unusual retirement ceremony Nov. 23 at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. Instead of honoring the distinguished career of an Airman, the 100th Air Refueling Wing honored an aircraft. After 59 years, KC-135 Stratotanker tail code 63-7999 transitioned to its next career—the aircraft boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

During the retirement ceremony, service members and guests at RAF Mildenhall affixed a retirement “pin” to the aircraft and signed the fuselage before it headed back to the United States. The ceremony was narrated by Staff Sgt. Damon Hadbavny of the 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron; presided over by Col. David Hood, the 100th Maintenance Group commander; and featured guest speaker Robert Paley, the 100th Air Refueling Wing’s historian, according to the wing.

The KC-135 tail code 7999 carried “Wolff Pack” nose art in honor of Capt. Robert H. “Bob” Wolff, a pilot with the 100th Bomb Group during World War II. The unit earned the nickname the “Bloody Hundredth” due to extensive losses during the war.

The airplane spent 59 years in service with the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar; McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.; Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; and Kadena Air Base, Japan, before going to RAF Mildenhall. It recorded 3,000 sorties and 15,000 flying hours after entering service Nov. 13, 1963, though complete records are unavailable.

It was the first retirement of a KC-135 at RAF Mildenhall, the base said.

The story of the plane’s nose art and its history made the aircraft special to the team at RAF Mildenhall, according to the base. From July 1943, Wolff was stationed at RAF Thorpe Abbotts, a now-defunct air base about 30 miles from RAF Mildenhall. Wolff and his crew—dubbed the “Wolff Pack”—were assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron within the 100th Bomb Group.

Wolff and his crew were part of a harrowing mission to attack the Regensburg aircraft factory in Germany in a bombing run led by then-colonel Curtis LeMay. Nine aircraft were lost when the bombers came under attack, and Wolff’s B-17 was damaged.

Robert H. Wolff’s crew of the 100th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress. Left to right they are: Back Row: Ira Bardman, Alfred Clark, William ‘Casey’ Casebolt, James Brady Arthur ‘Eagle’ Eggleston, Willis ‘Browny’ Brown Front Row: Charles ‘Stu’ Stuart, Fredric ‘Buzz’ White, Bob Wolff, Lawrence ‘Mac’ McDonell. Photo courtesy American Air Museum in Britain.

On Sept. 16, 1943, the Wolff Pack were sent on a bombing run to a target in France, but as they attempted to divert to their secondary target due to poor weather, they were hit by enemy fire.

The B-17 turned back toward England but eventually lost three of its four engines.

“We were on fire,” Wolff said in an interview in 2015. “The B-17 won’t fly on one engine.”

Wolff was able to successfully ditch his plane off the coast of France in a water landing, and his crew climbed out.

According to Wolff, he stayed in the cockpit, turning off switches as the plane began to sink.

“Finally, I had enough of that and dove out the window on the pilot’s left side—which is pretty tight—but apparently, I went through it with my metal helmet on and everything else!” Wolff, now 101, said in an Air Force profile of him in 2022.

Originally, Wolff thought he had made it to friendly territory.

“I landed in the water and climbed up on the wing, which was still there,” Wolff said in the 2015 interview. “Here’s this French fishing boat coming, I thought, ‘Oh we’ve got it made.’ I looked around, and there’s this German patrol boat, a 30-foot boat with a machine gun on the bow and a guy standing there, and I thought, oh, four-letter word.”

Wolff was captured by the Germans and sent to Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp, which was run by the Luftwaffe. After 19 months, Wolff was freed from German captivity. Wolff received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

“I remember the day one of the 3rd Army tanks came in and knocked the gate down,” Wolff said in 2022. “It was April 29, 1945, and that tank disappeared under the bodies of every guy who could climb on top of it!”

In May of 2012, the 100th Air Refueling Wing unveiled its nose art honoring Wolff and his crew on tail code 7999, the wing said. Other 100th Air Refueling Wing aircraft have nose art honoring crews from the 100th Bomb Group. According to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, Wolff’s plane was shot down before his crew could add “Wolff Pack” nose art to their B-17.

In 2015 Wolff saw the KC-135 that carried the Wolff Pack nose art at a 100th Bomb Group reunion.

“They’ve kept it all these years, and I feel honored,” Wolff said earlier this year. “I had a boat and also named it ‘Wolff Pack,’ with the same insignia. I’ve since sold it, but my son has got a boat and named it ‘Wolff Pack 2’ I guess we want to keep that name with us forever.”

According to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, the name will stay despite the retirement of the KC-135 that carried the moniker.

“Wolff Pack nose art itself will live on at RAF Mildenhall, as it will be transferred to another tanker waiting to bear its legacy nose art,” the wing said.

PHOTOS: Eight B-2s Gather for Rare ‘Elephant Walk’ of Stealth Bomber

PHOTOS: Eight B-2s Gather for Rare ‘Elephant Walk’ of Stealth Bomber

Nov. 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Eight of the Air Force’s 20 B-2s assembled on one runway at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., on Nov. 7, for an extremely rare “elephant walk” of the service’s stealth bomber. 

The gathering of B-2s from the 509th Bomb Wing, along with the Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing, capped Exercise Spirit Vigilance, one of a series of “Vigilance” exercises that bomb wings across the Air Force perform throughout the year. “Elephant walks” involve aircraft taxiing in a close formation before rapidly taking off in a show of air power. 

“Exercise Spirit Vigilance is a routine exercise that serves to develop and challenge the skills of the 509th Bomb Wing and ensure our combat mission readiness,” a 509th BW spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

However, it is relatively uncommon for the Air Force to conduct bomber-only elephant walks. Eight B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., lined up for one in October 2020, and five B-52s participated in one in Guam in April 2020. But there have been no recent public reports of a B-2 elephant walk until now. 

The occasion garnered extra attention, as members of the community around Whiteman were invited to watch from near the flight line, according to images shared by the 509th BW. 

The B-2 entered service in the early 1990s as the Air Force’s first stealth bomber, and fewer than two dozen were produced. After a crash in 2008, the fleet was reduced to just 20 aircraft, meaning the elephant walk at Whiteman included 40 percent of the Air Force’s entire inventory of B-2s. 

According to a 509th BW press release, Exercise Spirit Vigilance tested Airmen’s ability to rapidly prepare and deploy the B-2 “under greater scrutiny and time restraints than the normal day-to-day flying mission,” with the goal of promoting “resilience, innovation, competitiveness, and process improvement.” 

“The B-2 bomber has never been more relevant than it is now. This plane was conceived at the height of the Cold War. Now we find ourselves 30 years later, and the B-2 is in the mission for which it was created: great power competition,” 509th Operations Group commander Col. Geoffrey Steeves said in a video explaining Spirit Vigilance. “An exercise like this is a reminder that the 509th Bomb Wing and the 131st Bomb Wing are ready and willing to execute its mission of nuclear operations and global strike, anytime, anywhere.” 

‘A Generational Leap’: Why the F-35 Needs GE’s XA100 Engine Today

‘A Generational Leap’: Why the F-35 Needs GE’s XA100 Engine Today

Nov. 30, 2022 | By Patrick Reardon

Retired Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella caught the bug for high performance engines 40 years ago. It was his first time taxiing down the runway in a T-38. He lit the afterburners on the GE J85, heard the engine thunder, and said to himself, “OK—now I get it.”

That exhilaration in 1982 propelled Angelella through a 34-year Air Force career as an F-16 pilot, where he had a front-row seat as the F-16’s engine variants grew and developed under GE’s innovation. In fact, most of his 3,200 flying hours were spent on GE engines: He piloted Falcons fit with the Block 30 “Big Mouth” during Desert Storm in 1991; he served as an F-16 instructor at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., in 1991 where GE was testing the improved performance F110-129; and he later flew F110-129 powered Block 50s as a squadron commander at Misawa Air Base, Japan, in 1997. At that time, Angelella considered the latter to be the acme of jet engine innovation.

“I thought, ‘This is it. We’re not going to be able to put anything else on [the F-16]. It’s maxed out,’” he said. “Of course, I was wrong. Each time I returned to the F-16, as a Wing Commander at Shaw AFB, and then later as the Wing Commander at Misawa, the F-16 Block 50 had more capability that required that increased power provided by the F-110-129.”

Retired Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella at Spangdahlem Air Base, circa 1998-1991. Courtesy photo.

America’s air superiority relies on continuous improvement, and GE Aerospace has historically and reliably delivered both. It’s a lesson that’s as pertinent today as it was 40 years ago, especially in an increasingly strenuous era when near-peer competitors and adversaries are catching up to U.S. capabilities.

Given the growing threat environment, the Defense Department has shifted its focus over the last 10 years from improving the F-16 to improving the fifth-generation F-35 strike fighter, specifically through the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP). One of the AETP offerings—GE Aerospace’s XA100—has been in development since 2016 as a replacement for the current F135 engine. After years of testing, the XA100 has exceeded the program’s original parameters set by the Air Force and offers a generational jump in mission capabilities.

In GE’s most recent trial under AETP, the XA100 exceeded the program requirements, delivering 30 percent better range, 25 percent better fuel efficiency, 20 percent greater acceleration, and twice the thermal management capabilities over the F135. Using cutting edge technology and materials, the XA100 can alleviate—even eradicate—the concern over durability, thus equipping the next generation of warfighters with an advantage over the adversaries on the horizon.

“The new material is a ceramic matrix composite,” said Angelella, who now consults for GE Aerospace after a six-year tenure as their vice president of military customer programs. “That really gives you increased durability. It gives you increased capability—an engine that you can run at temperatures that you can’t run in the current configuration. And so basically, the durability issue goes away. [Then the] power is increased and [you have] basically unlimited thermal capability for the weapon systems requirements on the airplane.”

Despite the evidence that the XA100 represents a vast generational leap in engine technology, leaping over the “valley of death”—from research and development to operational capability—remains a challenge. Some Pentagon officials and industry members remain skeptical, arguing that the XA100 has higher production costs, instead favoring “incremental upgrades” to the F135 as a more cost-effective alternative in the near-term. But Angelella argues that cost and time are two factors that only strengthen the case for moving forward with the XA100.

“Even if you spend the money for incremental capability right now, you still have this bill to pay later,” he said, referencing that the Pentagon has already spent $2 billion on AETP development. “Why not put that money in the program up front [and] get the full capability into the hands of the warfighter sooner?”

This fall, nearly 50 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle similarly urged the Pentagon to focus on improved technology in the face of increasing threats, in a letter calling for continued funding for AETP.

Generational improvements to combat propulsion performance have never been more pressing for the U.S. as it seeks to ensure continued air dominance in tempestuous theaters like the Indo-Pacific. The XA100 is the most advanced combat engine in the world, and if implemented it would power a strong future for the F-35, said Angelella.

Prior to deploying to Kuwait in 2002, Angelella said, he retrained in the F-16CG Blk 42 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. At that time, the increased weight and weapons growth in the aircraft had outpaced the engine power. That, combined with the high temperatures and pressure altitude at Luke, often required his students to take off with the radar and other systems turned off so they wouldn’t overheat. Again, he asked, why not add the revolutionary power to the F-35 now, ahead of the weapons growth?

“In this decisive decade, it’s important to create revolutionary change,” said Angelella, echoing prominent USAF leaders, including Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s operational imperatives and the Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. who has repeatedly cautioned DOD leadership that, “Good enough today will fail tomorrow.”

Just as Angelella reflects on how GE’s family of engines shaped the legacy of the F-16, he predicts future warfighters will look back on the decision to fit the F-35 with the XA100 as a pivotal point in the U.S.’s continued air superiority through the 21st century, because if the performance bar isn’t drastically raised today, it won’t be high enough tomorrow.

“Think about the risk reduction that has been done by testing this engine over 10 years working with Air Force Research Lab (AFRL),” Angelella said. “We’re not starting from scratch here … [and] we’re not going to be done. This aircraft, with this engine in it, will continue to grow. We’re talking about being able to do the Block 4 capabilities. How about Block 4 and beyond? How about NGAD? What will that look like? What will future propulsion look like? We can’t just skip a generation. It’s time to get this into production—it’s time to take that generational leap.”

Senators Introduce Bill to Give Premium-Free Health Care to Guard and Reserve Members

Senators Introduce Bill to Give Premium-Free Health Care to Guard and Reserve Members

Nov. 29, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The push to secure free health care for members of the National Guard and Reserve components regardless of duty status gained momentum in the past few days, as a bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation that would expand coverage and First Lady Jill Biden hosted National Guard leaders for discussions at the White House. 

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and titled the “Healthcare for Our Troops Act,” would provide premium-free medical coverage to members of the Guard and Reserve and their families through Tricare, the Department of Defense’s health insurance program. 

As the moment, eligible members of the Guard and Reserve can purchase plans from Tricare Reserve Select when not on Active-duty orders but must pay premiums under that plan. When on Active-duty orders for more than 30 days, they can get Tricare Prime, an option offered to Active-duty service members and their dependents that requires no out-of-pocket expenses. 

Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, has called securing premium-free health care for Guard members one of his top priorities, framing it as an issue of strategic and moral importance. 

Progress on the issue, however, has been elusive. The “Healthcare for Our Troops Act” is actually a companion to similar legislation introduced in the House of Representatives that was introduced back in May 2021—it was referred to the House Armed Services Committee and hasn’t moved since.  

Cost remains a key factor. In an interview with Air Force Times in August, Hokanson cited a year-old figure estimating the cost of providing basic Tricare insurance to part-time Guard members at $700 million. That estimate, however, doesn’t include dependents or Reserve members. A 2021 study by the Institute for Defense Analyses estimated the cost of premium-free Tricare Reserve Select coverage between $1 billion and $3 billion. 

In 2023, the Pentagon requested $55.8 billion for its Military Health System, with $36.9 billion of it going to the Defense Health Program that in part funds Tricare. That’s roughly in line with the past several years, with at least $34 billion being allocated for DHP every year since 2019. 

As things currently stand, Baldwin and Collins’ bill seems highly unlikely to get passed on its own before Congress adjourns and reconvenes for its next session, which would require the lawmakers to reintroduce the bill. With only a few weeks to go, Congress has to tackle a number of high-priority issues such as a government spending bill, the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, funding for Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, and bills affecting same-sex marriage and the Electoral College. 

However, the bill could still become law if it is incorporated into the NDAA, the annual policy bill that is considered must-pass legislation.  

Congressional leaders from both parties and both chambers are currently crafting a compromise NDAA for the House and Senate to agree on outside of the usual conference process, so Baldwin and Collins would have to lobby for the bill to be included in discussions instead of proposing it as an amendment on the Senate floor. 

While the legislature considers the issue, National Guard leaders also got to make their case inside the White House on Nov. 28 when First Lady Jill Biden hosted National Guard members, spouses, and children for a three-hour event. More than 30 states and territories were represented, and Guard members were able to meet with White House staff to discuss “how best to support the families of all those serving in the nation’s Armed Forces,” according to an NGB press release. 

Those discussions included “ensuring all Guardsmen have health insurance regardless of duty status,” the release added. 

Pentagon: China Making ‘Rapid’ Military Strides, May Have 1,500 Nuclear Warheads By 2035

Pentagon: China Making ‘Rapid’ Military Strides, May Have 1,500 Nuclear Warheads By 2035

Nov. 29, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

China is rapidly modernizing its nuclear forces and aims to flex its growing military clout, according to a Pentagon report released Nov. 29.

The annual study, the China Military Power Report, says China may have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.

“If you look at where we are compared to a couple of years ago, it certainly is a dramatically accelerated pace,” a senior defense official told reporters. “They’ve got a rapid buildup that is kind of too substantial to keep under wraps.”

The report comes one month after the release of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, which outlined China as the Defense Department’s “pacing” challenge.

“China is the one country out there that geopolitically has the power potential to be a significant challenge to the United States,” said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, at a recent news conference.

Previous Pentagon studies have focused on nearer-term efforts by the PRC, ending focusing on the 2027 time period. The new report adds two new goalposts: 2035 and 2049. Those timelines are more in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) goals, the Pentagon said. China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is the armed wing of the CCP.

The U.S. and Russia have long been the world’s major nuclear powers. According to the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. has about 3,700 nuclear warheads deployed or stockpiled. Russia’s nuclear arsenal numbers about 4,500 warheads. According to the Pentagon report, China has over 400 nuclear warheads, making it the third-largest nuclear state. The U.S. believes China will continue to build up its arsenal and is not currently interested in arms control talks, according to the China Military Power Report and the recently released Nuclear Posture Review.

According to the report, China launched 135 ballistic missiles for test and training purposes in 2021—more than the rest of the world combined, excluding conflict zones. China plans to build at least 300 new intercontinental ballistic missile silos, the Pentagon said.

“They’re doing things now that exceed really their previous attempts, both in terms of the scale, the numbers, and also the complexity and technological sophistication of the capabilities,” the defense official said.

Nuclear and missile capabilities are just one aspect of China’s modernization, according to DOD.

China has also begun to field the H-6N, “its first nuclear-capable air-to-air refuelable bomber,” the Pentagon said. The report said China is also developing new medium- and long-range stealth bombers.

According to the senior defense official, China has made progress “fielding modern indigenous systems, increasingly PLA’s readiness, and strengthening its ability to conduct joint operations across the full range of air, land, and maritime as well as nuclear space and counter-space, electronic warfare, and cyberspace operations.” Those capabilities are detailed in Pentagon’s 170-page unclassified report, the China Military Power Report, released to Congress every year.

At China’s recent National Party Congress, during which Xi Jinping stayed on for a third term as general secretary, China said it would complete its modernization goals by 2035. By then, China will have a “world-class” military, according to Xi.

China has adopted strong diplomatic stances, placing import bans on many Australian goods after it called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and placing trade restrictions on Lithuania after Bejing deemed its relations with Taiwan too friendly.

U.S. tensions with China have been high, the senior defense official said, and flights by Chinese forces into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone have increased along with missile tests and other demonstrations of force, particularly after Speaker of the House Nanci Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

In a recent meeting with Xi, President Joe Biden “raised U.S. objections to the PRC’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardize global prosperity,” according to the White House.

The official added that Chinese aircraft and ships conducting “centerline crossings” of the midpoint between China and Taiwan have become “sort of routine” and part of a “new normal.”

“In 2021, the PRC increasingly turned to the PLA as an instrument of statecraft as it adopted more coercive and aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region,” the report states. “PLA now sets its sights to 2027 with a goal to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization of the PRC’s armed forces. If realized, this 2027 objective could give the PLA capabilities to be a more credible military tool for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to wield as it pursues Taiwan unification.”

The Pentagon report expresses concern that a more capable Chinese military will be used to push countries Beijing’s way.

“Xi Jinping and the PRC leadership are determined that the armed forces should take a more active role in advancing the PRC’s foreign policy goals globally,” the defense official told reporters.

According to the Pentagon report, in 2021, the PLA unveiled a new “core operational concept” of “multi-domain precision warfare.” The Chinese model would use data across networked systems-of-systems and artificial intelligence to identify and strike targets. That goal shares much in common with the Pentagon’s own joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) effort.

In addition to new bombers, China aims to overhaul its air force and military aviation, according to the Pentagon.

“They’re improving in terms of the platforms that they’re developing and operating: the air-to-air missiles, the integrated air defense systems,” the senior defense official said. “We’re seeing improvements in all those kinds of areas, trying to make their training and their exercises more sophisticated, more realistic. That’s a path that they’ve been trying to go down for many years. … They talk sometimes about a world-class air force—which aligns with the 2049 goal for a world-class military. We’re tracking that they’re trying to really sort of progress rapidly on all fronts, from equipment to the training to the quality of pilots and other personnel.”

While the Pentagon expresses concern over China’s global ability to project power and “revise the international order in support of Beijing’s system of governance and national interests,” the DOD report does not view a military stand-off between the two countries as looming in the short term. While China insists it will take the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan by force if necessary, the U.S. official said the report did not indicate Beijing had plans to launch an all-out assault on the island in the near term.

“I don’t see any kind of imminent indications of an invasion,” the defense official said. “We’re definitely very focused on this level of more intimidating and coercive behavior and watching closely to see how things unfold.”

Dickinson: US Space Command Is Studying New Ways to Use Existing Satellites

Dickinson: US Space Command Is Studying New Ways to Use Existing Satellites

Nov. 29, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

U.S. Space Command is “making good progress” toward its goals to network the Defense Department’s space-based missile defense and other sensors and to transform single-purpose satellites to do more than one job, Army Gen. James H. Dickinson said Nov. 29.

The command’s leader since August 2020, Dickinson spoke during a webinar hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. He described the command’s priority as “to preserve freedom of access to, and freedom of action in, space. This is the priority of all joint and combined military space forces” such as the unified combatant command reestablished in 2019. 

Dickinson also serves as the DOD’s global sensor manager, he said, “able to kind of orchestrate … and synchronize” any efforts to network them together.

Taking into account the “speed of competition with China and Russia,” Dickinson said planning to incorporate new systems even five years down the road is too long. “So today I’m looking for what is good enough today that I can use right now. How can we get the most out of what we have today?”

Dickinson has promoted the concepts of space domain awareness and, more recently, space superiority. Space domain awareness, he says, furthers the conventional practice of tracking and identifying objects in space to also explore “the why” of activities taking place in Earth’s orbit. 

The even newer concept of space superiority, in turn, represents “a condition where we’ve secured freedom of action in the domain while denying … freedom of action to the adversary.” It also “requires coordinated offensive and defensive operations,” Dickinson added, and space domain awareness is “a critical requirement” of it.

Missile defense—such as detecting North Korean launches with “as much warning as possible”—makes up one mission area in which Dickinson wants to unite DOD, interagency, and even commercial satellites “into an integrated sensor network.” 

He characterized such a network as a “battle management system” to “link operational- and tactical-level planners, allowing them to choose the right platform to deliver the right effects at the right time” and to “shrink the kill web—to understand more fully and decide more quickly with confidence.”

Dickinson predicted that handing off the responsibility for space traffic management will help to free up people in the command to focus on improving space domain awareness. The Commerce Department is in the process of taking over the duties of notifying the world’s space operators when their satellites are in danger of colliding with other spacecraft or orbital debris.

U.S. Space Command is also exploring how to do more with individual satellites, Dickinson said, and he cited the Missile Defense Agency as having “done work in terms of looking at sensors that do solely missile defense, but how could they do space domain awareness, for example? … A lot of times people say, ‘Well, it was never designed to do space domain awareness.’ But it has the ability to do so, and so we are … actively pursuing that.”

The solutions in these cases amount to “software-type capabilities,” Dickinson said. 

“We’ve got some more work to do, but we’re making good progress.”

Northrop Grumman Offers New B-21 Raider Details Ahead of Rollout

Northrop Grumman Offers New B-21 Raider Details Ahead of Rollout

Nov. 29, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Days before the first B-21 Raider is set to emerge from Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., factory, the company revealed new details about the seven-year-old, largely classified bomber program. Northrop described complementary elements of the B-21 “family of systems”; confirmed a “digital twin” version of the aircraft; and, in a break with previous programs, eliminated the “block upgrade” approach to modernization.

The airplane is due to roll out of Plant 42 on Dec. 2, with its first flight forecast in mid-2023.

The bomber “has … been designed as the lead component of a larger family of systems that will deliver intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic attack and multi-domain networking capabilities,” the company said in a Nov. 29 release.

The statement confirms that the B-21—which Northrop Grumman describes as a “sixth-generation” combat aircraft—will rely on external support platforms or systems, although whether these are escort aircraft, bomber-launched vehicles, satellites, or some other technology is unclear. In recent months, Air Force officials have begun describing the B-21 as an ISR node deep within enemy-controlled airspace.  

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall recently announced he was abandoning plans to develop autonomous, long-range, collaborative combat aircraft meant to escort the B-21 deep into enemy territory, but that did not rule out the bomber launching decoys, jamming vehicles, or ISR-collecting drones.

The company said it has successfully demonstrated migration of B-21 ground systems data to “a cloud environment.” This demonstration included “the B-21 digital twin, that will support B-21 operations and sustainment. This robust cloud-based digital infrastructure will result in a more maintainable and sustainable aircraft with lower-cost infrastructure.”

A “digital twin” is a finely detailed digital model of a system that allows changes—and their ramifications—to be explored by engineers with far greater fidelity and speed than were possible using older design and development technology.

Because it has an open architecture, the B-21 will forego the usual pattern of block upgrades, Northrop Grumman noted.

“To meet the evolving threat environment, the B-21 has been designed from day one for rapid upgradeability,” the company said. “Unlike earlier generation aircraft, the B-21 will not undergo block upgrades. New technology, capabilities and weapons will be seamlessly incorporated through agile software upgrades and built-in hardware flexibility. This will ensure the B-21 Raider can continuously meet the evolving threat head on for decades to come.”

The statement added that, as a “digital bomber,” the B-21 “uses agile software development, advanced manufacturing techniques and digital engineering tools to help mitigate production risk” and “enable modern sustainment practices.”

The company said maintainability was set as “an equally important requirement to stealth performance” at the beginning of the program; and “long-term operations and sustainment affordability [have] been a B-21 program priority from the start,” the company said. Working collaboratively on maintainability with the Air Force, the company said it’s “driving more affordable, predictable operations and sustainment outcomes.” There are six examples of the B-21 in various stages of construction, the company noted.

Northrop Grumman described the B-21 as a “sixth-generation” aircraft, a term which has yet to be clearly defined. A fifth-generation aircraft employs a high degree of stealth in all aspects, and sensor fusion for a high degree of situational awareness.

Various descriptions of “sixth generation” circulating in industry would improve on that by adding an “optionally manned” capability—which the B-21 is meant to have—even better situational awareness, better stealth, and, potentially, use of directed-energy weapons, among other possible attributes.

On stealth, the company said it’s applying “continuously advancing technology, employing new manufacturing techniques and materials to ensure the B-21 will defeat the anti-access, area-denial systems it will face.”

The B-21 “benefits from more than three decades of strike and stealth technology,” the company said, referring to its work on the B-2 Spirit bomber, the YF-23 fighter prototype, the Tacit Blue stealth demonstrator, the AGM-137 Tri-Service Standoff Missile, and presumed numerous classified programs.

“It is the next evolution of the Air Force strategic bomber fleet,” Northrop Grumman asserted, describing the B-21 as a “visible and flexible deterrent.”

Developed “with the next generation of stealth technology, advanced networking capabilities and an open systems architecture, the B-21 is optimized for the high-end threat environment. It will play a critical role in helping the Air Force meet its most complex missions.”

The Raider “will provide the Air Force with long range, high survivability and mission payload flexibility. The B-21 will penetrate the toughest defenses for precision strikes anywhere in the world,” crucial for demonstrating the nation’s “resolve.” It will give regional commanders the “ability to hold any target, anywhere in the world at risk.”

Calling the B-21 the “backbone of the future for U.S. airpower,” Northrop Grumman said the B-21 will “deliver a new era of capability and flexibility through advanced integration of data, sensors and weapons. Capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads, the B-21 will be one of the most effective aircraft in the sky, with the ability to use a broad mix of stand-off and direct attack munitions.”

Northrop Grumman said it has built a supplier base of 400 companies “across 40 states,” comprising a “nationwide team” of 8,000 people “from Northrop Grumman, industry partners and the Air Force.”

The company noted that the B-21 was named “Raider” to commemorate the B-25 Doolittle raiders that bombed Japan early in WWII.

“The actions of these 80 volunteers were instrumental in shifting momentum in the Pacific theater,” and the mission served as a “catalyst to a multitude” of future achievements “in U.S. air superiority from land or sea.”

Austin to Lawmakers: Continuing Resolution Costing Pentagon ‘at Least $3 Billion’ Per Month

Austin to Lawmakers: Continuing Resolution Costing Pentagon ‘at Least $3 Billion’ Per Month

Nov. 28, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

With less than three weeks left before Congress’ latest continuing resolution funding the government runs out, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III sent a letter to leading lawmakers, urging them to pass a spending bill before the start of 2023. 

Austin sent copies of the letter Nov. 28 to the top Republican and Democrat in both the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the Appropriations Committees in both chambers. 

Politico and Punchbowl News first reported the delivery of the letter, and a spokesperson for the Senate Appropriations Committee confirmed its details to Air & Space Forces Magazine. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment. 

In the letter, Austin pleads with Congress to “complete a full-year, whole of government funding bill before the end of 2022,” warning that “failure to do so will result in significant harm to our people and our programs and would cause harm to our national security and our competitiveness.” 

In particular, Austin wrote that for every month the Pentagon operates under a continuing resolution—which keeps funding frozen at the previous year’s level—the Defense Department loses “at least $3 billion” compared to its 2023 budget request. 

Congress approved $728.5 billion for the Pentagon in its 2022 omnibus spending bill, while DOD’s 2023 request was for $773 billion—and there has been bipartisan interest in boosting that number even higher to deal with the effects of inflation.

But that interest has been tempered by political realities, a common refrain on Capitol Hill in recent years, as Republicans and Democrats still have not agreed to a spending bill. A continuing resolution was needed in late September to keep the government from shutting down through Dec. 16, and recent reports indicate that another might be necessary as negotiations drag on. 

While that happens, the Pentagon is stuck in a holding pattern with which it has become all too familiar over the past few decades, unable to start new programs or enter into new contracts, as funds are stuck in old accounts. And that delay, as much as any reduced spending power, carries consequences, Austin said. 

“The CR costs us time as well as money, and money can’t buy back time, especially for lost training events,” Austin wrote in his letter. “Under the CR, Congress prohibits the military from commencing new initiatives, such as those requested by our theater commanders in the Indo-Pacific and around the world or in support of service members and their families at home.” 

Austin’s warning is just the latest in a long line from Pentagon and Air Force leaders over the years. In May, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall made the case that a CR in fiscal 2023 would be “particularly negative” because it would limit the department’s ability to mitigate inflationary pressures. 

Those warnings, however, haven’t stopped Congress from passing at least one CR every year since 1997. In fiscal 2022, a full budget wasn’t passed until March, more than five months into the fiscal year. 

Austin referenced that pattern while pointing to the threat posed by China, the top priority identified in the recently updated National Defense Strategy. 

“We can’t outcompete China with our hands tied behind our back three, four, five or six months of every fiscal year,” Austin wrote. 

For what it is worth, Congressional leaders still say they want to pass a full spending bill before 2023 starts and a new Congress begins Jan. 3. 

“[Senate Appropriations Committee chair Sen. Patrick Leahy] is determined to produce a twelve-bill omnibus with Ukraine and disaster funding before the end of this Congress,” a Senate Appropriations Committee spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine in a statement. “At a time when inflation is impacting every American family and our national security, a CR is simply unacceptable.” 

Time, however, is running short, and other pieces of legislation may take up time before. One such bill is the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act—leaders still hope to debate and pass the annual policy bill in early December. 

Air Force Advancing ACE in Italian-Hosted F-35 Exercise

Air Force Advancing ACE in Italian-Hosted F-35 Exercise

Nov. 28, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

The U.S. and allied air forces engaged in a two-week exercise with F-35s over the skies of Italy and the Mediterranean Sea as part of a push by the U.S. Air Force to work better with allies and to operate from more bases in the region. An accompanying meeting of F-35 air chiefs included 11 countries.

The exercise Falcon Strike 2022 wrapped up Nov. 25 and involved a mix of American, Italian, and Dutch stealth F-35 fifth-generation fighters flying alongside American fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcons. Italian command and control aircraft, tankers, and other assets supported the sorties. In total, the nations contributed more than 50 aircraft to Falcon Strike, according to the Italian Air Force.

“Falcon Strike prepares our F-35 pilots to carry out missions against current and future threats worldwide,” Maj. Mirko van Meerlant of the Royal Netherlands Air Force said in a news release.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) supported the exercise with F-35As from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom and F-16s from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base in Italy. USAFE said the exercise focused on integrating advanced F-35s—and the ever-expanding number of countries that fly the jet—with existing capabilities in the region such as the F-16. A spokesperson for USAFE said Falcon Strike 2022 is one of the largest exercises the command’s F-35s have taken part in since arriving in Europe in December 2021.

Amendola Air Base, the main air base that hosted the event, also held a meeting of top leaders of many air forces that operate the F-35 to “crosstalk” ways to employ the fighter and to give updates on how each nation is using its aircraft, according to USAFE.

For the U.S., the exercise advanced a broader goal for the Air Force. Agile combat employment, or ACE, was top of mind for the Americans at Amendola. ACE aims to move toward distributed operations and the ability to operate with a smaller footprint. The Air Force sees ACE as the way ahead as large American air bases may be at risk from missile attacks or other strikes from China or Russia, which present the main security challenges according to the National Defense Strategy.

“Our partnerships in the European theater provide the backbone of USAFE’s Agile Combat Employment doctrine,” a spokesperson for USAFE said of the exercise.

Gen. James B. Hecker, the USAFE commander, said Falcon Strike and the accompanying air chiefs meeting would help the U.S. draw on allied resources in the future.

“There might be times when a U.S. F-35 has to divert to another air base, or maybe we can even plan on going to another air base and we don’t have the maintenance or the equipment to go with them,” Hecker told reporters at the air chiefs meeting in Italy, according to USAFE.

Hecker said such flexibility is a necessity, not a luxury.

“I think it’s really a war fighting imperative to be able to do that,” Hecker said of ACE.

The meeting of F-35 air chiefs included top air force leaders from the U.S., Italy, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the U.K. The Lockheed Martin-made F-35 has strong demand in Europe. Germany recently committed to buying 35 F-35s in light of Russian aggression.

“We looked at various options, and the F-35 is already being flown in Europe, and thus Europe has grown together,” German Parliamentary State Secretary Siemtje Möller for the Ministry of Defense told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “The F-35 was a big opportunity. We needed something we could buy now. We wanted to join the family of user nations. It will provide interoperability and shared capability throughout Europe and NATO.”

By 2034, more than 600 F-35s will be operating in Europe, according to Hecker, who also leads NATO Allied Air Command. In its statement on Falcon Strike, the Dutch Ministry of Defense said the event was “above all” focused on the F-35. Around 1,000 service members from the Netherlands, Italy, and the U.S. participated in the exercise, operating from multiple air bases on the Italian mainland and a training range in Sardinia.

Hecker hopes eventual deployments of U.S. F-35s to foreign bases can advance the goal of ACE. He said the U.S. and its allies aim to make the F-35 employable across Europe, irrespective of which air bases or air forces are involved.

“We’re trying to make it interoperable, so if any F-35 nation can work with any F-35, no matter what nation it comes from, it can work on it—not just refuel it, but rearm it as well,” Hecker said. “We want to get to that stage in the game, and this is the beginning of that.”