Brookings Panel: Pentagon Progressing Slowly in Meeting New Challenges

Brookings Panel: Pentagon Progressing Slowly in Meeting New Challenges

Nov. 15, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Four years after the National Defense Strategy reset the American military focus from counter-extremism to “Great Power Competition”—and two weeks after the Pentagon’s new NDS named China the pacing threat—the Defense Department is only sluggishly taking concrete steps to change its operating constructs, although the Air Force is setting the right tone, defense experts said in a Brookings Institution webinar.

In a Nov. 14 program titled “U.S. Defense Innovation and Great Power Deterrence,” experts said the U.S. is not yet fielding the right equipment or moving quickly enough to change its way of war.

“The legacy approach we took to the ‘junior varsity’ adversaries—the Iraqs, the Serbias, the Libyas—consistently fails when it’s tested in our wargaming against a China or Russia; at least, pre-2022 Russia,” said David Ochmanek, senior researcher at RAND Corp. and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force planning.

“We need to buy more and better stuff … but that in and of itself is not going to move the needle,” Ochmanek said. “In addition to changing what we buy—accelerating the purchase of certain things; buying less of old things, more of new things—we have to think about the new concept of employing them,” he said.

Ochmanek said the Joint Staff has been laboring over a new Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) for three years, but the document, which he said is now in its third draft, is “a pretty well-informed essay about the demands of fighting in the highly contested environment that can be created by China, or Russia,” but it is “not a blueprint for how to fight.”

The gold standard for such a blueprint was the AirLand Battle concept of the 1980s, which “actually told combatant commanders how to employ forces at their disposal to locate, engage, and destroy the enemy,” Ochmanek said. “It drove posture … modernization … training and doctrine. I am not aware that we have that today,” he said. “And, without that, force planning … is a little hard.”

The NDS released last month did not specify a force-sizing construct for the armed forces, except that they must be able to fight an undefined major war with one peer adversary while deterring a second.

The JWC should precede “the equipping and the posturing of the force,” Ochmanek said, but he has not seen any actions that would “move the needle” on posture, either. The Navy will add a fifth submarine in the vicinity of Guam, he said, but the Air Force is removing its F-15s from Kadena Air Base, Japan. They are important to reassure allies, he said, but would be “targets, not assets” in a war with China, which has hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at Kadena.

To get a sense that things are really changing, “watch posture,” Ochmanek said.

He noted that it took five months in 1990 for the U.S. and its coalition forces to get ready for the war to eject Iraq from Kuwait, but “We may have [only] five days to get our war-fighting posture together in a future … fight with China.” The old “expeditionary approach to power projection … is not appropriate for defeating aggression by highly capable adversaries” who can create a highly contested environment and “make it very difficult to deploy forces into the theater, and then employ forces once they arrive.”

Ochmanek assigned a letter grade of “D” to the armed services on posture but said the picture is “a little better” with equipment.

He gave high marks to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall for being “highly focused on China” and redirected resources to “several priority areas” he thinks are key to deterring the People’s Republic.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger also “seems to get it,” proposing some “fairly radical changes” to the Marine Corps force structure and spending priorities, Ochmanek said, which have largely been met with criticism from former Corps leaders.

The Air Force and Navy are also pushing toward the right munitions with the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), which is a variant of the stealth Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM); and the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER).

The Air Force is also “investing in those prosaic things that make air bases harder to kill,” such as fuel bladders and greater agility for forces. He also praised the Air Force’s efforts toward low-cost attritable autonomous aircraft, especially those that can take off without a runway.

“The words coming from Secretary Kendall are fairly encouraging,” he said.

Christian Brose, chief strategy officer of Anduril Industries and a former Senate armed services expert who has written a book called “The Kill Chain,” said, “we’re starting to make progress, but it’s not as much or as fast as it needs to be.”

He noted that the notional date of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan “keeps moving to the left,” though not as fast as it needs to be.” The signs of a new peer threat “were there” in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and China was well into its island-building campaign, so the Pentagon is behind the power curve, he said.

“Where we are right now … is positive,” he said, with three Administrations in a row, across the political spectrum, now agreeing that China is the priority and the way to frame reform of force sizing, posture, and equipment.

“It feels like a pretty enduring consensus around the most important strategic priority,” he said.

The big question, he said, is “are we serious or not?” Because there have been other “pronouncements” of new directions that were then followed by adherence to entrenched ideas.

He praised the approach of Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William A. LaPlante, who is focused on “production of capability. We can talk all we want about new ideas, new technologies, new R&D efforts … but it really only matters if we’re driving real investment into production … to have things at the ready.”

Brose said new things “take time. Even ramping up production of things we have takes time, as the war in Ukraine has put into high relief. You want more Javelins? You want ore GMLRS? Yeah, that’s going to take years.”

He also pushed for more low-cost, autonomous standoff weapons as a key item to deal with China, but urged that the military take a “realistic” view of what the industrial base is capable of. China has more than half the world’s shipbuilding, he noted, while the U.S. has less than five percent.

“Let’s be honest: We’re not going to win the shipbuilding race,” he said.

Instead, he urged increasing production of weapons “we’re going to need and would be able to have inside the next 2-4 years. And not just 20-year-old things … but new things … new capabilities in service of new CONOPS.”

If the services are “serious,” he said, “we’re capable of doing remarkable things on rapid timelines.”

Ochmanek noted that pursuing ideas such as the Air Force’s palletized munitions concept—launching volleys of cruise missiles or other munitions out the back of a cargo plane—are good ideas that impose costs on China to counter. He’s also keen on building the B-21 bomber.

Both Ochmanek and Brose said that if the U.S. military focuses on what it will take to deter or defeat China, then any other scenario will easily be managed as a lesser included case. A Chinese “multi-domain invasion of Taiwan is the appropriate scenario for evaluating our force,” Ochmanek said, because “it is, inarguably, highly plausible,” given long-term Chinese rhetoric about compelling unification by force if necessary. Also, China relying simply on “coercive strategies” could take longer than Beijing has the patience for: “They will be very uncertain in their effects, and I don’t think the Chinese are looking to get involved in a war that would involve the United States, where they can’t have some control over the end game.”

It’s also the most appropriate scenario “because it’s the most demanding,” he said. Even so, he said, “I think it’s more likely that we’ll end up fighting China over some issue in the South China Sea [or] some issue in the East China Sea that involves Japan, [or] something on the Korean peninsula.”

None of those other scenarios, though, “has the time pressure of a Taiwan scenario,” Ochmanek noted. The Chinese could land “100,000 troops on that island in two weeks. That is a tremendously stressing problem for the combatant commander.”

He agreed with moderator Michael O’Hanlon’s characterization that “the glass is a little more than half full” in regards to U.S. capability vis a vis China, but added that “there’s a hole in the bottom of the glass. They’re still cranking out hundreds and hundreds of accurate ballistic and cruise missiles every year. They now have the largest Navy in the world. And it’s not just hardware; their training is getting more realistic. They’re getting after their … human capital … So we’ve got to run pretty hard to stay even with that.”

Ochmanek said the Pentagon is on “Step 1 of a 12-step program: They recognize they have a problem,” he said.

Pentagon Says Ukraine Airspace Still Contested Amid Russian Missile Attack; Strike in Poland Being Investigated

Pentagon Says Ukraine Airspace Still Contested Amid Russian Missile Attack; Strike in Poland Being Investigated

Nov. 15, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A barrage of Russian missiles struck Ukraine on Nov. 15, causing widespread power outages. Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said U.S. officials assessed that the missiles were likely standoff weapons launched from Russian aircraft outside of Ukraine as airspace over the country remains contested.

But as reports emerged that at least one Russian missile had flown into Poland, killing civilians and damaging facilities in a small town near the Ukraine-Poland border, Ryder said the Department of Defense is still assessing the situation.

Ukrainian officials characterized the missile strikes, which Reuters and other outlets reported to be mainly targeting cities and energy facilities, as the most extensive yet in Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.

They come just days after Russian forces retreated from the city of Kherson, a major strategic blow, and as global leaders—including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian ministers—gathered in Indonesia for the G20 Summit.

Yet despite the large wave of missiles—Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov wrote on social media that more than 90 were fired—the skies above Ukraine have not become more permissive for the Russian Air Force, Ryder said in a press briefing.

“The airspace over Ukraine continues to be contested. Again, without going into a lot of detail, I would say that we assess that these strikes are probably being conducted outside of Ukrainian territory. So in other words, standoff types of strikes,” Ryder said.

Ryder also said the Pentagon has assessed that the missiles were “launched from airborne platforms, so Russian aircraft,” but he pushed back on any assumption that Russia is leaning more heavily on its air force now.

Ryder also said he was unable to confirm how many of the missiles the Ukrainians were able to shoot down, but the Ukrainian Air Force has claimed it took down roughly 70.

The missile strike garnering the most attention, however, was the one that reportedly landed in the Polish village of Przewodów, some 15 miles from the Ukrainian border, the Associated Press reported.

The strike killed two Poles, and images of its destruction have quickly spread across social media, sparking alarm over the potential of NATO being drawn into conflict with Russia—U.S. President Joe Biden has previously pledged to defend “every inch of NATO territory.”

“We are aware of the press reports alleging that two Russian missiles have struck a location inside Poland on the Ukraine border. I can tell you that we don’t have any information at this time to corroborate those reports and are looking into this further,” Ryder said, while reiterating Biden’s pledge to defend NATO territory.

Throughout the rest of the press briefing, Ryder repeatedly declined to detail how the Pentagon would investigate the reports. He also wouldn’t speculate on what kind of response the U.S. and NATO might have if it is determined to be a Russian strike.

“We have a wide variety of means at our disposal to verify information, and so when we have something to provide, we will,” he said.

On social media, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also wrote that the NSC is aware of the reports and is working to gather more information but cannot confirm anything at this time.

Russia, for its part, has denied that it was responsible for the strike, according to media reports.

Under Article 5 of the NATO alliance, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, with member nations obliged to assist in whatever response is deemed necessary. Article 4, however, calls for consultation and discussion between member states before any action is taken.

Lunar Activities Advance as Cubesat Enters Orbit, AFRL Awards ‘Oracle’ Contract

Lunar Activities Advance as Cubesat Enters Orbit, AFRL Awards ‘Oracle’ Contract

Nov. 15, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

A cubesat sent to blaze a trail for NASA’s next space station arrived in lunar orbit Nov. 13—the first cubesat known to ever have done so—after a voyage that proved tense at times. Meanwhile, the small company that created the tiny spacecraft secured a new deal with the Air Force Research Laboratory to demonstrate more activities near the moon.

Owned and operated by Advanced Space and built by Terran Orbital, the CAPSTONE cubesat—short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment—launched June 28 via Rocket Lab on its NASA-backed mission. It’s intended to demonstrate the unusual near-rectilinear halo orbit envisioned for NASA’s Gateway, a future moon-orbiting station conceived as a place for astronauts to transfer from their transport ship to a landing craft that would take them to the moon’s surface.

Trying out the trajectory will help to hammer out aspects of mission design, navigation, and operations in the elongated orbit, which NASA says has never been attempted. 

The insertion maneuver to place CAPSTONE into its orbit represented “the most critical event of the entire mission,” said Advanced Space CEO and CAPSTONE principal investigator Bradley Cheetham in a news release. Two “clean-up maneuvers” were planned for the five days following the orbit insertion to “refine” CAPSTONE’s orbit, according to NASA.

While the insertion maneuver was considered most critical, it likely wasn’t the scariest moment in the mission, as controllers lost contact with CAPSTONE early on.

Advanced Space already had an agreement to freely share data from the CAPSTONE mission with the Air Force Research Laboratory. Then AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate announced Nov. 10 that it had awarded the company a $72 million contract to take part in the development of the lab’s Oracle spacecraft targeted to launch in 2025 (until recently called the Cislunar Highway Patrol System, or CHPS).

The contract is “to demonstrate space situational awareness, object detection, and tracking” near the moon to support “a resurgence of interest in lunar exploration and development across civil, commercial and international space agencies,” according to AFRL’s announcement. 

Space Force Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said earlier this year that he thought the U.S. would need to be able to surveil the space relative to the Earth and moon within five years, and space domain awareness is part of Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s No. 1 “operational imperative”: to “define resilient and effective space order of battle and architectures.”

Both the CAPSTONE and Oracle spacecraft have secondary missions. Advanced Space plans to also test navigational software, and Oracle will demonstrate a green propellant and refueling port being developed by AFRL. 

Ukraine War Shows Importance of Counter-UAS, Air Defense, Distributed Ops to Air Warfare

Ukraine War Shows Importance of Counter-UAS, Air Defense, Distributed Ops to Air Warfare

Nov. 14, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Even relatively unsophisticated drones are playing a critical role in modern air warfare, underscoring the importance of air defense systems that can cope with them, experts said in a Stimson Center streaming seminar, “Ukraine and the Future of Air Warfare.” Another theme: Distributed operations are clearly the way to go for militaries.

“We’re really witnessing a remarkable case study on the potential strengths and weaknesses of complex and integrated air and missile attack,” said Tom Karako, director the missile defense project and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there’s a lot of lessons here.”

First, the intensity of air attacks by Russia and its use of drones—including those it imports from Iran—make air defense the “No. 1 refrain” in requests from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Karako said. Without sufficient munitions to counter these attacks, “that could portend another darker chapter in the war if Russia is able to operate in the air uncontested,” he said. He voiced approval for the approach being taken by William A. LaPlante, the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment chief, to make sure key munitions are built in significant numbers and stay in production. LaPlante has been “very vocal” on this point, he noted.

“Another big takeaway is the importance of distributed operations,” Karako said.

“Some reports suggest that 75 percent of the fixed-site [surface-to-air missiles] were, in fact, destroyed in the first week” of the conflict. “But those that were moved … had a better chance of survival,” he said. This shows that the U.S. Air Force is going in “the right direction” with its agile combat employment scheme of spread-out basing and rapid movement.

“This is a good … indicator of the value of the distributed operations that the United States military services have been developing for the past number of years,” Karako said. It’s also a strong “reminder of the challenge of integration,” which he noted is a clear U.S. desire but “really tough in practice.” While Spanish Hawk missiles, American Stingers, and other NATO missiles can be “kluged together,” it’s a challenge, he said.

LaPlante, in a recent speech, said the Pentagon has adopted the term “MacGyver” to describe Ukraine’s use of dissimilar sensors and missiles, improvised into an air defense network.

Karako applauded a move in the House to create a “Critical Munitions Fund” that would make monies available to step up production of staple weapons. It’s needed because munitions procurement has been on a seesaw and led to several instances of extremely low stocks, especially in the last administration.

“That ‘munitions minimalism’ … should be a cautionary tale for this administration and for future ones.” The Critical Munitions Fund “is a good start. But I think it’s going to take more. In fact, I suggest that we’ll [create] a strategic munitions reserve on the part of the United States, for ourselves and for our allies.”

Samuel Bendett, a Russia studies expert from another policy center, CNA, said Russia quickly turned to Iran for help with drones after realizing that Ukraine’s “integrated air defense is powerful enough to negate any significant Russian advantage in both manned and unmanned aircraft systems.”

Drones are made in many countries, and the cost of entry to this capability is very low, Bendett said.

Iran “has been able to manufacture a relatively light and cheap system,” costing between $10,000 and $50,000, he said.

A loitering drone with military capabilities can be made for $20,000 out of “almost entirely … civilian components and with light manufacturing that could be easily replicated in Russia,” he said.

The weapons are ideal for Russia’s tactic of trying to break Ukraine’s morale by “going after economic and civilian targets” to put pressure on Ukraine to “force them to the negotiating table, one way or another.”

The drones Russia has gotten from Ukraine are slow, “but they do have low radar signature” and are hard to track on radar, he said.

Bendett and other panelists said it’s unlikely that Russia has figured out how to use drones with an artificial intelligence such that they coordinate with each other through machine intelligence, but they are sometimes used in “swarms” that make targeting a challenge.

“A better word is, ‘mass,’” rather than swarms, he said. While many are shot down—Bendett said he’s seen figures from 60-90 percent—”all it takes its for one of these UAVs to make it through” to take out power plants, water distribution systems, and other civilian infrastructure.

“Russia is shifting its tactic as its military is getting pressed on the battlefield,” he said. There’s also evidence from Russian media that its industry “is capable of manufacturing these on a very large scale” with simple commercial components from Iran.

What’s lacking is Russia’s ability to operate such drones at long range or with heavy payloads, he said.

Margarita Konaev, deputy director of analysis and a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said the evolution of Russia’s air campaign is simple evidence that “Russia does not have the initiative in this war.”

The push against Ukrainian civilians, she said, is an indication of “the hope that the erosion of morale in the population will manifest itself in Ukrainian battlefield accomplishments.” This is unlikely, she and other panelists said, because the Ukrainians are fully mobilized, and they have high morale and a determination to defend their own land.

“Air defense isn’t going to win the war for you,” Karako said. “But the lack of it could lose it pretty quick. And so it’s having an effect, I would say, just by contesting and countering Russian aerial forces.” He added that “it doesn’t have to have a super-high [probability of kill] percentage to be able to have that effect. It deters certain activities or the freedom of action … [in] Ukrainian skies. That’s a pretty good effect.”

Space Force Makes Its Premier Exercise an International Affair

Space Force Makes Its Premier Exercise an International Affair

Nov. 14, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are sending military members to join in the U.S. Space Force’s newly expanded Space Flag exercise next month.

Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) confirmed the roster of international coalition partners joining Space Flag 23-1 in December. 

Space Flag exercises started in 2017 before the Space Force was established. Air Force Space Command led the original exercises, which USSF describes as “the tactical-focused exercise for space warfighters.”

Space Flag was accredited as a Joint National Training Capability this year, a prerequisite to inviting other U.S. military services to join. Space Flag events began incorporating more cyber and intelligence personnel this year, as well, STARCOM’s commander, Space Force Maj. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton, said in September.

Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. were the first international partners to join the Combined Space Operations Initiative for national security, and are among seven nations that jointly published the “Combined Space Operations Vision 2031” earlier this year. The vision establishes a shared set of principles and objectives.

In addition to Space Flag, STARCOM is also beginning to stage a new series of exercises, known as the Skies Series. Black Skies, a live-fire electronic warfare exercise, took place in September. A new Red Skies exercise will focus on orbital warfare, and a Blue Skies series will eventually focus on cyber.

Six Killed in Crash Between WWII-Era Planes at Dallas Air Show

Six Killed in Crash Between WWII-Era Planes at Dallas Air Show

Nov. 14, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

A World War II-era bomber and fighter collided during an air show performance in Dallas on Nov. 12, killing six members of the Commemorative Air Force who were flying as pilots and crew.

On Nov. 14, the CAF posted the names of the volunteers flying the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and Bell P-63F Kingcobra:

  • Terry Barker
  • Craig Hutain
  • Kevin “K5” Michaels
  • Dan Ragan
  • Leonard “Len” Root
  • Curt Rowe

“We are heartbroken to announce that the following members of the Commemorative Air Force went west … at the Wings Over Dallas WWII Airshow while performing,” the organization said. “Please join us in mourning the loss of our good friends and fellow airmen.” 

The CAF owns 180 vintage airplanes in the U.S. and Europe, flying about 6,500 hours a year in performances and training, said Henry “Hank” Coates, the organization’s president and CEO, in a press conference later the day of the crash. The CAF produced the Nov. 12 event at the Dallas Executive Airport, which is where the CAF has its headquarters.

Coates described the show as “a World War II flight demonstration-type air show where we highlight the aircraft and their capabilities and what actually happened in World War II—it’s very patriotic.” About 4,000-6,000 people were estimated to be in attendance.

At about 1:15 p.m. local time, the two aircraft were flying in a formation the CAF refers to as “bombers on parade,” Coates said.

Videos recorded by witnesses show a number of aircraft flying in formation when the P-63 appears to approach from behind and collide with the B-17.

“The B-17 normally has a crew of four to five—that was what was on the aircraft. And the P-63 is a single-piloted fighter-type aircraft,” Coates said.

“The maneuvers that they were going through were not dynamic at all.” 

He couldn’t speculate on the cause of the crash pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. He said a preliminary report will come out first, followed at “a significantly later time” by the findings of a more thorough investigation involving engineering analysis and interviews.

“What I can tell you is, you’ve seen the same video that I’ve seen,” Coates said. “Until the FAA allows me to speak to what happened, it will be inappropriate for me to speculate.”

Volunteers maintain and fly the CAF’s fleet, adhering to what Coates described as “a very strict process of training and hours. All pilots are vetted very carefully. Many of them have been flying for us for 20 or 30 years or longer. So this is not … their first rodeo. These guys are very well versed. … Many of them are airline pilots, retired airline pilots, retired military pilots like myself.”

He said his wife recently rode in the B-17, “and I’d put her in it again. This is not about the aircraft. It’s just not, let me tell you. The aircraft are great aircraft. They are safe. They are very well maintained. The pilots are very well trained.” 

He said families and others involved or who witnessed the crash are receiving counseling.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, President of the Air & Space Forces Association, said in a statement that the association “extends its deeper sympathies to the families of those lost in the Nov. 12 crash of the Commemorative Air Force’s B-17 Flying Fortress and P-63 Kingcobra. The individuals who lost their lives in this tragic accident were working ardently to educate the public about America’s airpower history and also honoring America’s Air Force veterans.

“This is an incredibly important mission, keeping alive this crucial period in our nation’s history. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the lost.”

B-52s Fly Bomber Task Force Mission Over CENTCOM With Israeli, Saudi Fighters

B-52s Fly Bomber Task Force Mission Over CENTCOM With Israeli, Saudi Fighters

Nov. 14, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

Two B-52H Stratofortresses flew over the Middle East on Nov. 10 in the latest demonstration of American air power in the region. U.S. partners also participated, escorting the bombers with fighter jets and helping coordinate the mission.

Bomber task forces (BTF) routinely deploy around the world in the place of a U.S. permanent bomber presence. The recent BTF mission in the Middle East, however, comes at a time of increased tension in the region. According to media reports, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have intelligence indicating Iran may be planning an attack against Saudi Arabia, which hosts U.S. forces. The B-52s involved in the BTF mission are assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

“This Bomber Task Force is a clear reflection of enduring U.S. commitment to the region,” Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, commander of Air Forces Central (AFCENT), said in a statement announcing the mission. “Together with our partners, we can rapidly inject overwhelming combat power into our common operating area.”

The U.S. also recently deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. F-22s have previously been called into the CENTCOM region to assure partner nations in response to threats from Iran and its proxy forces. B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., participated in a BTF mission over the CENTCOM area in September.

“In this dynamic environment, no one can go it alone, and each BTF we execute allows us to deepen interoperability and practice key operational tasks with our allies and partners,” Grynkewich added.

The mission involved U.S. forces along with 13 partner air forces, according to CENTCOM, though the command declined to provide specific details of each nation’s participation. The Israel Defense Forces and Royal Saudi Air Force publicized their involvement in the mission, which included fighter escorts of the B-52s, in separate statements. Israeli and Saudi aircraft did not fly together and joined the B-52s at different points in the mission.

Grynkewich, who took command of AFCENT in July, has stressed that he wants to increase the participation of allied forces with the U.S., particularly at the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

The CAOC, or 609th AOC as the center is also known, coordinates air operations in the region. U.S. Air Force and coalition partners support Operation Inherent Resolve, the counter-ISIS campaign, and fly missions to protect U.S. forces on the ground. The U.S. and its allies also conduct counter-drone exercises, among other missions. The bomber task force adds another element to help improve coordination, the senior Canadian officer at the CAOC said.

“The 609th Air Operations Center has witnessed an exponential increase in partner nation integration and cooperation with respect to day-to-day operations as a result of the coalition teamwork derived from the execution of BTF missions,” Royal Canadian Air Force Lt. Col. Terry Wong said in a statement.

Wong said BTF missions would continue.

“We are both enthusiastic and optimistic that future BTF missions will continue this trend of collaboration and solidarity,” he added.

The Israeli Air Force escorted the B-52s over Israeli air space with two F-35I Adir fifth-generation fighters. The IDF said its participation was part of “increasing cooperation” with the U.S. military. Israel came under CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in 2021 and deepened security ties with some Arab states in the region.

The Biden administration has said it will reevaluate the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia following the kingdom’s move to keep oil prices high as part of the OPEC+ cartel. For now, the U.S. has stressed that it will continue military cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense released photos of two F-15 and two Typhoon fighters flying with at least one B-52 over Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Ministry of Defense said in a tweet that the sortie shows “the joint work between the two forces to contribute to efforts to enhance security and stability of the region.” Saudi Arabia also completed a weeklong maritime exercise dubbed “Nautical Defender” with the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the U.K. Royal Navy. The drill, which concluded Nov. 7, involved training events ashore and in the Arabian Gulf, with participation from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard and multiple U.S. vessels, including a guided missile destroyer.

B-52s CENTCOM
Air Force to Start Testing XQ-58 Autonomous Aircraft at Eglin

Air Force to Start Testing XQ-58 Autonomous Aircraft at Eglin

Nov. 14, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A new aircraft will soon be in the skies for testing above Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The Air Force has transferred two XQ-58 Valkyrie drones to the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin, the 96th Test Wing announced Nov. 9—a key development as the service moves quickly to develop and field unmanned, autonomous aircraft that can pair with manned systems.

The 40th FTS will use the XQ-58s, developed by contractor Kratos, to test autonomous aircraft operations, airspace, and safety processes. An Autonomous Aircraft Experimentation team within the 40th FTS will lead the testing, partnering with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office.

Some of that testing will include the software developed as part of the Air Force’s “Skyborg” program, which was aimed at developing an artificial intelligence-enabled system to control unmanned aircraft. But it will also include autonomy software “provided by third-party government and industry partners,” according to the 96th Test Wing’s release.

It’s all likely to play a key role in developing “Collaborative Combat Aircraft”—the name the Air Force has given to its plans for uncrewed aircraft that will fly in loose formations with crewed fighters, directed by the live pilots but carrying out tasks autonomously. 

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has made the CCA program a priority as one of his “Operational Imperatives” for the service to focus on, with hopes of producing aircraft in the very near future.

In order to develop the necessary requirements and prove out capabilities, however, the Air Force needs test data.

“The data generated during previous tests, along with feedback provided from our user community, show that in order to rapidly develop and mature tactical autonomy on an appropriate timeline, investment in, and utilization of, appropriate military range resources is required,” Matthew Niemiec, AFRL autonomous aircraft experimentation portfolio lead, said in a statement.

And so the XQ-58 has arrived at Eglin, with plans to start flying by December. Infrastructure and logistics for the drone still have to be built, the release noted, but given the urgency associated with CCA and autonomous software, the 40th FTS’s Autonomous Aircraft Experimentation team will have to move quickly.

Already, Maj. John Nygard, the team lead, has said the goal is to start experimenting with “crewed-uncrewed teaming display solutions” by the fall of 2023.

The XQ-58 has been a part of the Skyborg program for a few years now and recently was part of tests with autonomous software that Kratos announced in July. First developed as part of AFRL’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology portfolio, the Valkyrie has also flown tests showing capabilities such as releasing another drone in flight and carrying technology allowing an F-35 and F-22 to share data in-flight.

Most recently, Kratos announced Nov. 3 that the aircraft, flying at the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, had completed a successful flight test showing it can fly longer, higher, farther, and at a heavier weight. 

And while the 96th Test Wing’s release emphasized the Valkyrie’s role in testing autonomous aircraft systems, Kratos executives have expressed hope that the XQ-58 can be tested and used in other ways as well.

“There are other activities going on with the Valkyrie system right now,” Jeffrey Herro, a senior vice president in Kratos’ unmanned systems division, said in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine. “We’re very happy with the performance of it. The performance on these last flights … was very good. We’re really happy with that. And we’re continuing to evolve other capabilities for other platforms. … Because at the end of the day, we’re building an airplane. And we’ve presented this airplane as a multi-mission-capable system.”

Space Force’s X-37B Lands After More Than 900 Days in Orbit; What Comes Next?

Space Force’s X-37B Lands After More Than 900 Days in Orbit; What Comes Next?

Nov. 14, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force’s X-37B space plane returned to Earth on Nov. 12, concluding its longest mission yet after nearly two and a half years in orbit.

The orbital test vehicle touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility early the morning of Nov. 12, the Space Force announced in a release. The vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., on May 17, 2020, and spent 908 days in orbit.

In its release, USSF highlighted several of the long-term payloads and experiments the X-37B hosted during its long stint in space, including a ring-shaped service module attached to the back of the plane that allowed it to host more experiments. That service module was separated before landing “due to the aerodynamic forces experienced by the X-37B vehicle upon re-entry,” the release stated.

In addition, the X-37B deployed the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat-8 while in orbit. The small satellite was built and is currently operated by USAFA faculty and students. The X-37 also hosted the Naval Research Laboratory’s experimental Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module, which converted solar energy into RF microwave energy.

The Space Force also highlighted a pair of NASA experiments on board the space plane. The first, Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS-2), “included thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials, and candidate radiation shielding materials.” The second involved plant seeds, as scientists are eager to understand the effects of long-term space exposure, particularly radiation, on seeds. The results will inform plans for crop production in space for future interplanetary missions and permanently manned bases in space. 

Many of the experiments and payloads on the X-37B, however, are classified and undisclosed.

Space Delta 9 operates the uncrewed, Boeing-built plane, which belongs to the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron. In July, the X-37B eclipsed its previous endurance record of 780 days.

The Space Force hasn’t said how many more missions the X-37B will fly, but officials have indicated that they are looking forward to replacements. 

In 2020, then-Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said the service had gained invaluable lessons and insights from the reusable vehicles, but that the X-37B was “an example, maybe, [of] technology that has served its purpose and it’s time to start looking at the next available capability.”

A little more than two years later, now-Gen. Saltzman is the Space Force’s second Chief of Space Operations, and a new commercial reusable spaceplane is slated to launch in mid-2023.

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser space plane is intended to deliver cargo to the International Space Station on its first flight. The timeline for that mission has slipped several times, with current estimates putting it in the summer of 2023. It will be launched on board United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket and be capable of flying back to Earth and landing on runways.

There are also plans for a crewed version of Dream Chaser, though such a version is still several years away.

While Dream Chaser is a commercial vehicle, organizations in the Pentagon have shown interest. Sierra Space has already signed an agreement with U.S. Transportation Command to develop concepts and plans for how Dream Chaser could be used to transport military personnel and supplies. 

The Department of the Air Force is pursuing a similar idea, with a so-called “Vanguard” program to study using space launches to deliver cargo across the globe.

X-37B
X-37B orbital test vehicle concludes sixth successful mission. Photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks