Hybrid Approach to Imaging Advances Space-based ISR

Hybrid Approach to Imaging Advances Space-based ISR

July 1, 2022

Multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is a key tool for counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts in the post-9/11 era. But the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine is highlighting new use-cases for ISR as well as the advantages of integrating a hybrid approach – multiple types of ISR imaging satellites – to capture a fuller picture of developing threats.

“The modern threat is more advanced and it’s evolving to the point where we need these satellite-based ISR systems more and more because airborne systems are vulnerable,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Millennium Space Systems. “A wide range of ISR imaging capabilities is more important than ever. With the current conflict in Ukraine as an example, whether ISR is being used for the threat environment or for disaster relief, small satellites bring unique advantages to the table.”

Panchromatic imagery is a pivotal imaging sensor for military defense missions. Kim calls it, “the workhorse of ISR.”

“It supports battlespace awareness, technical intelligence, as well as other non-ISR applications like natural disaster response and humanitarian relief operations,” he said. “Panchromatic imagery provides useful insight into areas of interest, especially with image resolution getting better than ever as the technology advances.”

When used alone, panchromatic imagery has its drawbacks.

“One limitation of high-resolution panchromatic imagery is that as you get higher and higher resolution, your coverage area gets smaller,” Kim said. “This means your ability to look at large swaths of area suffers with higher resolution. Another limitation is that you need daylight and clear weather to get good images.”

But when combined with other types of ISR imagery, those limitations can be overcome.

“When you combine [panchromatic] with other types of imagery, like multispectral and hyperspectral, you can really increase things like spectral resolution and identification and detection of targets, enabling overall better image quality,” Kim said. “Together, these sensors help paint a complete picture of the battlespace and provide continuity of custody for the warfighter so that they never miss anything.”

Hyperspectral imaging, especially, can provide significant advantages for ISR missions.

“Hyperspectral imagery is different because it’s not based on high resolution, it’s breaking each image pixel down into hundreds of adjacent spectral channels,” Kim explained. “You’re not just looking at the spatial 2D image of the target, you get a better contrast from the background and information on the materials of the surface and the elements surrounding the atmosphere. A good example is detecting a methane gas leak.”

Kim says that’s why using multiple types of ISR imagery together is the future of space-based ISR missions.

“With its large swath of coverage, hyperspectral imaging is more of a bellringer in that it can tip and cue the high-resolution panchromatic sensors to look at the specific area warfighters are really interested in,” Kim said. “When hyperspectral is combined with panchromatic, it helps you find targets through camouflage to detect hard-to-find things like landmines by distinguishing between different surfaces. That’s why a hybrid approach of panchromatic and hyperspectral imaging gives you the best of both worlds in terms of capability.”

With a hybrid approach is implemented through a constellation of small satellites, more advantages can be realized through lower costs, e.g., low time latency between image collection and distribution.

“With the conflicts we’re seeing today occurring in large, countryside areas, if you have a ‘soda straw’ type of viewpoint that panchromatic imagers offer, it’s going to be very challenging to synoptically search an entire area in a very timely manner,” Kim said. “This would require a high number of satellite-based panchromatic sensors and that becomes an expensive proposition. But a low-cost constellation of small satellites enables frequent revisit times to refresh technology, keeping ahead of the threats and making coverage more affordable.”

“What makes Millennium different is that we can get more performance out of these hyperspectral imagers because we’re able to bring over two decades of experience supporting national security space missions,” Kim said. “We work very closely with our customers. We listen to them, and we work with them on providing the end-to-end solutions because at the end of the day, they need that data fast to win the mission and we’re able to focus on giving them solutions rapidly and affordably.”

ISR capabilities can be further enhanced with additional imaging sensors like Synthetic Aperture Rader (SAR) and Radio Frequency (RF) sensing.

“Customers need a diverse set of imagery because there is still that day-night weather challenge with panchromatic and even hyperspectral imagery,” Kim said. “The good thing about SAR and RF sensing is they can see and sense through the weather, no matter if it’s day or night and provide that additional capability on top of panchromatic, hyperspectral, and multispectral imagery.”

For current context, Kim points to the long Russian convoy that was based outside of Kyiv, Ukraine for several days.

“[The convoy] was parked on the roads for several days and if there’s no movement, that’s where RF signals could really come into play,” Kim said. “If everything is visibly static but you’re seeing a lot of radio signals, then you’re starting to get information that shows there’s going to be some impending change and movement. That’s an example of how the RF sensing can help.”

Similarly, because SAR relies on radar signals, it can also provide relevant information that isn’t visible with panchromatic, hyperspectral, or multispectral.

“SAR picks up radar signals that are pinging the background and the scenes even through clouds and poor weather,” Kim said. “You can then process that data and turn it into these virtual images and that allows you to look through the cloud cover and gives you that added information that you’re not always getting with the other sensing modalities.”

Using a variety of different sensing modalities to quickly identify areas of interest and to detect potential threats will enable time-critical decisions to be made on tactical timelines.

“Warfighters have to find, fix and track targets to engage and assess in what is called the ‘kill web,’” Kim said. “These ISR modalities are a critical part of that sequence of events and the faster we can do that with higher confidence in quality-assured data, the more you speed up that kill web. Speeding up that timeline for the warfighter will ensure they can perform what they need to do to keep us safe.”

NATO Summit Closes With More Warnings on China, Air Defenses to Ukraine

NATO Summit Closes With More Warnings on China, Air Defenses to Ukraine

June 30, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

President Joe Biden previewed $800 million in new defense assistance to Ukraine, including “a new advanced Western air defense system,” in closing a NATO summit in Madrid that saw formal invitations offered to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.

Also during the historic summit, mention of China was added to the new NATO Strategic Concept to better prepare allies to defend against threats to the international order.

“At this summit, we rallied our alliances to meet both the direct threats that Russia poses to Europe and the systemic challenges that China poses to a rules-based world order,” Biden said at a closing press conference June 30 before returning to Washington, D.C.

Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a strengthening of the alliance and the U.S. force posture in Europe.

“The United States is doing exactly what I said we would do if Putin invaded: enhance our force posture in Europe,” the President said.

Biden said that meant increasing the number of Navy destroyers stationed in Spain from four to six; more air defenses in Italy and Germany; more F-35s in the United Kingdom; the permanent headquarters of the Army Fifth Corps in Poland; an additional brigade combat team in Romania; and more rotational deployments in the Baltic countries.

Both Russia and China figured prominently in the new NATO Strategic Concept, last updated in 2010. At that time, it referred to Russia as a “partner,” and it did not mention China.

Indo-Pacific allies, including South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, were also invited to attend the summit.

In referring to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the strategic concept said that the “Euro-Atlantic area is not at peace.”

“Russia has violated the norms and principles that contributed to a stable and predictable European security order, and poses the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” according to the document.

On China, NATO’s security assessment said China’s ambitions challenge the alliance’s interests, security, and values.

The document also warned of the growing partnership between Russia and China.

“Russia and China are developing a strategic partnership and are at the forefront of an authoritarian pushback against the rules based international order,” the document said.

New Aid to Ukraine

On Ukraine, Biden said the United States and its allies would continue to provide Ukraine with defense assistance for “as long as it takes,” even if that meant Americans would continue to pay premiums at the gas pump.

“I don’t know how it’s going to end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine,” Biden said.

The President highlighted Ukraine’s success retaking Snake Island earlier in the day, a strategic outpost just 30 miles from Romania and NATO’s coastline in the western portion of the Black Sea.

“We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the Alliance is going to stick with Ukraine, as long as it takes,” Biden said.

Ukraine’s strategic victory, retaking an island taken by Russia on the first day of the invasion, may help the country loosen a naval blockade by Russia that has prevented grain exports and commercial vessels from reaching the port of Odessa.

In discussing America’s commitment to Ukraine, Biden previewed a new $800 million defense assistance package.

“In the next few days, we intend to announce more than $800 million more, including a new advanced Western air defense system for Ukraine,” Biden said without naming the system.

A Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine that recent media reports indicating that the system would be the joint Norwegian/American NASAMS air defense system were correct. Raytheon and the Norwegian firm Konsberg make the system. Raytheon calls it the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System while Konsberg calls it the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to Air Missile System.

The short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system has been used to protect Washington, D.C., since 2005, according to its makers.

In recent weeks, the United States has provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to allow Ukraine to more precisely target Russian assets in the Donbas region, where Russia has seized some 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since Feb. 24.

Biden also said the package would include counter-battery radars, additional ammunition for the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system, and more HIMARS from other countries.

AC-130J Crews Awarded 2021 Mackay Trophy for Safeguarding Afghanistan Evacuation

AC-130J Crews Awarded 2021 Mackay Trophy for Safeguarding Afghanistan Evacuation

June 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A pair of AC-130J Ghostrider crews have been tapped to receive the 2021 Mackay Trophy, awarded by the Air Force and the National Aeronautic Association for the year’s most meritorious flight. The trophy is in recognition of their actions during the withdrawal from Afghanistan that aided in the rescue of some 2,000 American diplomats.

All told, 18 Airmen from the 73rd Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla., received the recognition June 30.

As the U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, the Taliban seized territory at a rapid rate. On Aug. 15, Taliban fighters entered the capital city of Kabul, forcing the U.S. to rapidly evacuate its embassy in the city.

In the midst of that evacuation, two AC-130Js, call signs Shadow 77 and 78, alert-launched from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates to provide close air support for the evacuating personnel.

According to the NAA citation, the crews “maintained visual custody of all American personnel” headed to Hamid Karzai International Airport and provided real-time video to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley. 

The citation also notes that the crews flew the longest unaugmented flight in the AC-130J’s young history—the gunship first flew in 2014.

With the AC-130Js providing close air support, 2,000 Americans were able to evacuate with zero casualties. 

The following Airmen crewed Shadow 77 and 78:

Shadow 77

  • Capt. Lawrence S. Bria
  • Capt. Sam B. Pearce
  • Capt. Aaron M. Rigg
  • Maj. Joshua T. Burris
  • Capt. Michael G. Shelor
  • Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Mayle
  • Staff Sgt. Kevin P. Heimbach
  • Senior Airman Denver M. Reinwald
  • Senior Airman Timothy J. Cisar

Shadow 78

  • Capt. Culley R. Horne
  • 1st Lt. William A. Bachmann
  • Capt. Ryan M. Elliott
  • Capt. Benjamin A. Hoyt
  • Staff Sgt. Dylan T. Hansen
  • Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Malinowski
  • Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Blue
  • Staff Sgt. Gregory A. Page
  • Senior Airman Miguelle B. Corpuz

The crews of Shadow 77 and 78 are the latest Airmen to be recognized for their efforts in the evacuation of Kabul amid chaotic conditions. A number of C-17 crew members, who landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport to airlift personnel and civilians out, have been recognized with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

The Mackay Trophy was first awarded in 1912 and is on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. A ceremony to present the trophy to the crews of Shadow 77 and 78 will occur at a date to be determined, the NAA said.

A-10s, AFSOC Aircraft Land on Michigan Highway to Practice ACE

A-10s, AFSOC Aircraft Land on Michigan Highway to Practice ACE

June 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A Michigan highway traded pickup trucks and minivans for A-10s and U-28s as members of the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and Air Force Special Operations Command trained for agile combat employment.

All told, five different kinds of fixed-wing aircraft landed on and took off from a 9,000-foot section of Michigan Highway M-28, located on the state’s upper peninsula, on June 28 and 29, according to a Michigan National Guard release—the A-10, U-28A, C-145, C-146, and MC-12W.

Not only did the aircraft land on the highway, they also performed integrated combat turns, in which Airmen quickly refuel and rearm the aircraft while the engines are still running, enabling the jets to take off again as quickly as possible. It is the first time integrated combat turns have been executed on a public highway in the United States, according to the release.

The training was part of the Michigan Air National Guard’s exercise Northern Agility 22-1 and builds off of Exercise Northern Strike 21-2 last summer, in which four A-10s and two C-146As landed on a different highway in Michigan. That was believed to be the first time the Air Force has purposely landed modern aircraft on a civilian roadway in the U.S.

A month later, a C-130J landed on a highway in rural Wyoming. The Air Force’s interest in landing aircraft on civilian roads is part of its overall larger push to embrace and develop the concept of agile combat employment, in which smaller teams of Airmen are able to move quickly and operate in austere, nontraditional locations.

ACE was originally developed by Pacific Air Forces, and exercises have often focused on operating on smaller airstrips without the resources of a typical Air Force installation. But roads have also been utilized, too—in 2016, A-10s landed on a highway in Estonia.

During this exercise, Airmen from six different units were involved in the highway landings: AFSOC’s 1st Special Operations Group and 6th Special Operations Squadron; the Air Force Reserve’s 119th Special Operations Wing; the Michigan ANG’s 127th Wing; the Oklahoma ANG’s 137th Special Operations Wing; and the Maryland ANG’s 175th Fighter Wing. An MQ-9 Reaper drone from the North Dakota ANG and operated by the Michigan ANG was also involved.

“Northern Agility 22-1 is an historic exercise that supports the Air Force’s directive to ‘accelerate change or lose,’ as well as the ability of our Airmen to generate combat power anytime, anywhere,” Brig. Gen. Bryan J. Teff, commander of the Michigan ANG, said in a statement. “Michigan is a champion for Agile Combat Employment, so when it comes to leveraging our state’s unique partnerships, training environment and resources to ensure the Joint Force stays one step ahead of our adversaries, today was a huge success.”

Space Flag Becomes USSF’s First Joint Accredited Exercise

Space Flag Becomes USSF’s First Joint Accredited Exercise

June 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force’s Space Flag exercise has been accredited by the Joint National Training Capability initiative, joining a small group of exercises across the Department of Defense that have received such a designation, the service announced June 28.

The accreditation, affirmed by the Joint Staff, will give the exercise access to joint funding and support and will better allow the Space Force to integrate with joint partners as part of the exercise, according to a Space Training and Readiness Command release.

Only three dozen other exercises that have JNTC accreditation, and Space Flag is the first for the Space Force. It now joins the likes of the Air Force’s Red Flag and Green Flag exercises as well as the Army’s Joint Warfighter Assessment and the Navy’s Fleet Synthetic Training.

These exercises share the capability “to provide a realistic environment which includes applicable elements of joint context,” according to JNTC guidelines.

Space Flag, which officials have said is modeled after the Air Force’s Red Flag exercises, first began in 2017, before the Space Force even stood up. In 2020, it was held for the first time under the Space Training and Readiness Delta Provisional, which officially became STARCOM in August 2021.

Space Flag is run by Space Delta 1’s 392nd Combat Training Squadron, and recent editions have included participants from the Army’s 1st Space Brigade, the National Reconnaissance Office, and partner nations such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Space Flag “has advanced Delta 1’s initiative to ensure all combat training and exercises are underpinned by relevant and recent intelligence, with a focus on winning in competition and conflict,” Col. Jason Schramm, commander of Space Delta 1, said in a statement.

While Space Flag is the Space Force’s premier joint exercise, the service is looking to expand its training exercises in other ways in the coming months. STARCOM commander Maj. Gen. Shawn Bratton said earlier this year that USSF will conduct a command-and-control-focused exercise in the fall called Polaris Hammer. The service is also planning a “Black Skies” exercise, a more focused version of Space Flag that will be patterned off the Air Force’s Black Flag exercises.

“I think there’s nothing too creative going on here, but we replaced ‘Flag’ with ‘Sky,’ and I see the Space Force going down that road of Black Skies, Blue Skies, Red Skies exercises to get after the needs of those specific training audiences,” Bratton said at the time.

The Air Force uses Red Flag exercises for aerial combat training, Black Flag exercises as a way to test large weapons and capabilities, and Blue Flag exercises to train participants at the operational level.

Experimental IR Satellite Heads to GEO to Advance Hypersonic Missile Warning and Tracking

Experimental IR Satellite Heads to GEO to Advance Hypersonic Missile Warning and Tracking

June 29, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

The Space Force’s experimental satellite bound for geosynchronous orbit should inform plans to improve space-based missile warning and tracking.

The Wide Field of View Testbed satellite (WFOV) is one of two payloads scheduled to launch on a ULA Atlas 5 rocket during a two-hour window starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time June 30. The second payload on the USSF-12 mission is a ring-shaped adapter with its own propulsion that will carry multiple classified experiments for the Space Test Program.

The work planned for the WFOV satellite relates to the Space Force’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) constellation, characterized as “the cornerstone” of the U.S.’s future architecture for missile warning, tracking, and defense.

Hypersonic missiles are challenging the U.S. military’s ability to provide sufficient warning. The hypersonic missiles maneuver, and they generate a dimmer infrared signature.

“The threat is certainly evolving at an unprecedentedly fast pace that we haven’t seen before,” said Space Force Col. Brian A. Denaro during a call with reporters June 28. “We’re looking at a range of targets and missiles in the hypersonic domain that are more maneuverable; they’re dimmer—harder to see; and that’s requiring a new approach to how we both detect and then track all of these missiles throughout their flight.

“If you could imagine, with our current systems, they largely rely on a ballistic trajectory of those missiles, with a predicted impact point. The change in the threats that we see coming online today are highly maneuverable, and so it’s hard to predict where those missiles are going to go. … We’re seeing these developments both in China and in Russia at a very fast pace.”

Built by Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems, the WFOV satellite will monitor Earth’s atmosphere for infrared signatures at a higher resolution and over more of the Earth than the existing Space-Based Infrared System satellites.

L3Harris Technologies built WFOV’s new large-focal-plane infrared sensor—”4k by 4k,” or 4,000 pixels by 4,000 pixels—to provide “an OPIR capability on orbit with enhanced sensitivity that can track dim targets over large areas,” said Col. Heather B. Bogstie of the Space Force’s Space Systems Command during the call. SSC is one of three Space Force field commands organizationally similar to Air Force major commands. It’s the successor to the former Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

Bogstie said the new sensor also features “reduced noise.”

From the faraway GEO belt 36,000 kilometers above the equator, the WFOV satellite will have a role in proving the equipment works, but that’s not all. Teams will also test aspects of future activities such as mission planning, data handling, and algorithm development, the officials said.

“This mission will give us unprecedented 24/7 coverage across 3,000-plus kilometers over the Pacific theater,” Bogstie said. She said WFOV “is integral to the nation’s missile warning and missile track[ing] architecture” and that its large-focal-plane sensor is appropriate for other orbits besides GEO. The Space Development Agency and SSC are working on plans for infrared missile warning and tracking constellations in low and medium Earth orbits, respectively.

WFOV is “really going to be an important pathfinder for our future MEO missile track[ing] systems,” Bogstie said. “The data exploitation, the mission planning pieces for the Wide Field of View Testbed, [are] going to be very critical in how we operationalize the data that goes to the warfighter and also ultimately gets put into the integrated missile warning/missile tracking/missile defense architecture. …

“So that’s why it’s important, knowing that the threat’s imminent right now, how this particular mission is a pathfinder for what we are looking to field here in ’26.”

Altogether, the mission, including the two satellites and the launch, cost $1.1 billion, according to an SSC spokesperson.

ULA placed the two satellites in position at the top of the rocket June 15, encapsulated within their Atlas 5 fairing. As of June 29, the forecast for favorable weather for the June 30 launch was 60 percent, with the possibility of cumulus clouds. A second launch window was on July 1. 

“Also unprecedented,” Bogstie added, “is the launch of the SBIRS GEO-6 mission later this month, which means there will be two OPIR satellites launching in a very close timeframe, further increasing the U.S. missile warning capability.”

One Year in, Air Force’s Spectrum Warfare Wing Focuses on Connecting ‘Pockets of Excellence’

One Year in, Air Force’s Spectrum Warfare Wing Focuses on Connecting ‘Pockets of Excellence’

June 29, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

It has been almost exactly one year since the Air Force activated the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, the first of its kind, as part of the service’s effort to build back electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum capabilities after years of letting them atrophy.

And in some ways, the service’s lack of focus over the past couple decades is allowing it to start fresh and take a more comprehensive, integrated approach, the 350th SWW’s commander said June 29.

Throughout the joint force, there are “pockets of excellence” when it comes to spectrum warfare, Col. William Young said during a virtual event with the Hudson Institute. But those pockets have not been integrated well—different capabilities are configured for different hardware platforms and are not easily shareable.

It’s a problem David Tremper, director for electronic warfare in the Pentagon’s acquisition office, sees in a service such as the Navy, which even so has taken the lead on EW in many respects.

“If you look at how the Navy does EW, you’ve got [tactical air] EW systems that are platform specific, surface platform specific, submarine specific, right?” Tremper said. “There is no really connective tissue across those.”

By contrast, both Young and Tremper said the Department of Defense’s current strategy for EW is focused on “missionware”—software-focused capabilities that can be used across different platforms.

“You could think of it as the missionware sits on top of the [operational flight program], which drives the underlying hardware,” Young said. “And so we’re going to hopefully continue to learn ways to acquire hardware faster, and then we’ll get better at OFP development—folks are working on that. But it’s the addition of the missionware, which in the field, increasingly closer and closer to the edge, gives us the ability to change the behavior of our underlying systems.”

Missionware has become one of the key pursuits of the 350th SWW, Young said, as the wing is trying to connect those “pockets of excellence.”

“My direction from my four-star [Gen. Mark D. Kelly], commander of Air Combat Command, is that we are the services’ integrator and deliverer of EMS capability,” Young said. “So now … that capability begins to take the form of missionware, which gives us the ability to change the behavior of the underlying hardware.”

As part of that effort, the wing is set to conduct a flight demo in which it will try to do “the equivalent of taking Android apps and running them on an iPhone,” Young said. Specifically, the demo will take four “app-like capabilities”—two from companies, one from the Air Force, and one from the Navy—and run them all on a system they weren’t designed for.

In this pursuit, the Air Force is building off a “clean slate,” Young said—at least one benefit after some 30 years in which Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. has said the service was “asleep at the wheel” when it came to electromagnetic spectrum warfare.

One of the challenges, however, is the need to increase awareness of and preparedness for spectrum warfare across the force so it is no longer an afterthought for most warfighters, said Brig. Gen. AnnMarie K. Anthony, deputy director of operations for joint electromagnetic spectrum operations at U.S. Strategic Command.

“What does the average joint force operator need to understand about [electromagnetic spectrum operations]?” Anthony said. “Getting that training at the very beginning, at your accessions, getting the training as you go through your initial weapon system training, and then having that reoccurring training. … Now you’re out in live-fly exercises, you’re actually going into a contested and congested environment and testing out everything and preparing, and then all the way into when you have to actually employ it for real. So it has to be completely embedded and part of our entire thought process, not a Band-Aid that you put on at the very end.” 

When it comes to better research and capabilities for that training, Young said he sees the 350th SWW as unique—and just getting started.

“I think what’s been missing in the past is that you’ve never really had that sort of operational unit to transition all the greatness that exists in the silos of excellence, and [to] couple that with a warfighter need and do that in near-mission planning timelines,” said Young. “And so as we get to do that more and more and scale that, I think that is potentially a game-changer in EMS.”

Air Force Initiates New Next-Gen Tanker ‘Family’ With Request for Information

Air Force Initiates New Next-Gen Tanker ‘Family’ With Request for Information

June 29, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force has pounded another nail into the coffin of a potential bridge tanker competition with the launch of the Advanced Aerial Refueling Family of Systems (AAR FoS) program. In a request for information by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the service informed the aviation industry that it’s seeking significant improvements to existing tankers while looking to define a far more capable future system. Among the new missions for tankers will be electronic warfare and refueling uncrewed aircraft.

In a June 22 announcement, the AFLCMC called the AAR FoS “an evolutionary approach to add new capability to the current tanker fleet (KC46A/KC-135R/T), while developing the overall requirements for a new tanker aircraft.” This dual-track approach will “most effectively implement solutions that improve tanker fleet operations.”

While some of the “new and mature technologies” sought from industry will be used to upgrade the KC-46 and KCX-135, others “in early stages of development and maturation” will continue to be developed for the still-undefined KC-Z effort, which has been described by transport leaders as a potentially smaller and stealthy aircraft that can escort fighters and bombers into heavily-defended enemy airspace.

“Current and future tankers will be required to effectively command, control, and communicate globally, navigate accurately in degraded environments, and perform at a high operations tempo in contested environments,” the Air Force said.

Among the capabilities tankers will need are:

  • connectivity: “resilient line of sight (LOS) and beyond line of sight (BLOS) airborne connectivity with the future Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) environment”
  • open architecture design, federated systems & data streams;
  • Alternative forms of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)

Tankers will also have to have “enhanced survivability and mission effectiveness, increased situational awareness that enhances situational understanding, on-board electronic warfare (EW)/electronic attack (EA) and … interoperability with off-board Autonomous Collaborative Platforms.”

The latter, known as ACPs, are uncrewed aircraft that will escort future manned combat aircraft, performing missions such as electronic attack and suppression of enemy air defenses, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and as flying magazines of extra weapons. The manned aircraft designates the target for the unmanned missileer to shoot at.

The Air Force has several times ginned up a program to equip the B-52 with a theaterwide electronic warfare capability called the B-52 Stand Off Jammer, but the program was axed each time due to budget considerations. Service officials have long said tankers would be well suited to this role because of their proximity to the action.

The Family of Systems’ capabilities need to inject agility into the mission, facilitating “quick-turn operations, improved fuel efficiency, improved maintenance procedures, improved airfield access, [and] reduced maintenance and logistics support requirements,” the Air Force said.

As these new capabilities are inserted into existing tankers, and as new technologies are developed, the combination will “shape the requirements for future tanker aircraft,” the service asserted.

The minimum requirements for improved tanker capabilities may involve, but are not limited to, “survivability (kinetic and non-kinetic defensive systems); Real-time Situational Awareness; Connectivity/Data; Interoperability” and “autonomous refueling operations as both tanker or receiver to manned and unmanned platforms, in both boom and drogue configurations.”

In pitching new technologies, the Air Force wants respondents to state the technology readiness level of the capabilities being proposed. A TRL states whether a new technology is still at the concept/experimental stage (TRLs 1-2) or practically ready for production (TRL 6-7), or already proven operationally (TRL 10). The service also wants cost estimates and proposed timelines for inserting these technologies, whether they’ve been applied in other programs, and any form/fit/function issues that might arise.

The Air Force wants to hear back from companies interested in offering new capabilities by July 8.

Since the fiscal 2023 budget request was presented to Congress, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has downplayed the possibility of a “bridge tanker” competition for the so-called KC-Y, saying that the requirements developed so far would probably be most cost-effectively achieved by an upgraded version of the KC-46A, built by Boeing. Air Force officials have also said privately that if it can avoid doing so, the service would like to avoid adding a new platform, which would require the logistics support of a depot, a spare parts pipeline, and military construction to accommodate a different airplane.

The House last week declined to adopt an amendment to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Air Force to compete the next stage of tanker recapitalization, but Alabama representatives promised to revisit the issue next year.

Lockheed Martin has been promoting the LMXT, an Americanized version of the Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport design that lost to the KC-46, as a contender for the KC-Y requirement. It has also promised to build the aircraft in Alabama if it were selected to build the jet, prompting a wave of condemnations of the KC-46 by Alabama representatives in recent armed services committee hearings.

The KC-46 has a deficiency with regard to its remote viewing system, which allows the boom operator, seated behind the cockpit, to see refueling aircraft in low light and in 3-D. The Air Force and Boeing have reached a cost-sharing agreement on upgrading the RVS to meet new USAF requirements, but the improved system will not be operational for several years.

The Air Force has been certifying the KC-46 to refuel various aircraft in USAF, Navy, Marine Corps, and foreign inventories and has now cleared about 90 percent of all users to take fuel from the aircraft.

In NATO Speech, Biden Cites US Air Power Additions in Europe

In NATO Speech, Biden Cites US Air Power Additions in Europe

June 29, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

President Joe Biden highlighted the already planned positioning of two F-35 squadrons in the United Kingdom, along with new air defenses in Italy and Germany, when naming the U.S.’s European force posture moves to deter Russian aggression at the Madrid NATO summit June 29.

“Today I’m announcing the United States will enhance our force posture in Europe and respond to the changed security environment, as well as strengthening our collective security,” Biden said alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a NATO press briefing.

“We’re going to send two additional F-35 squadrons to the UK and station additional air defense and other capabilities in Germany and in Italy,” Biden said, recounting recent Defense Department decisions. “We’re going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions, across every domain: land, air, and the sea.”

A defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Biden in Madrid clarified to Air Force Magazine that the president’s announcement does not constitute the addition of two more F-35 squadrons beyond those planned for RAF Lakenheath and announced in December 2021.

“It’s the same two squadrons that we announced in December,” said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anton T. Semelroth by phone from Madrid.

“The President’s comments at the NATO Summit and the Department’s fact sheet that was released today provided a recap of what the U.S. has done and how we are postured today and into the future,” he added. “It is clear we have bolstered our presence in Europe, and I believe our actions are reassuring to our Allies and partners.”

Semelroth said DOD’s December announcement to incrementally replace F-15s stationed at Lakenheath with the new F-35 squadron was a show of force and commitment to the alliance.

“Those deployments are forward-stationed squadrons that we’re talking about here—that’s still happening,” he said.

The air defense movements in Germany will consist of an air defense artillery brigade headquarters and short-range air defense battalion. In Italy, the United States will station a short-range air defense battery.

In a White House background call June 29, former DOD press secretary and current National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby clarified that much of the force repositioning described by the President were moves from positions in Europe closer to NATO’s eastern flank.

Those included F-15s from the UK to Poland in February; a Stryker brigade combat team from Germany to Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary in February and March; and Patriot batteries from Germany to Slovakia in March.

The F-15 repositioning was a February deployment of eight F-15s from the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Lask Air Base, Poland, to augment the eight F-15s already there from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K.

“All of those were already there, and the President saw fit that they needed to be moved around closer to the eastern flank to shore up that readiness and deterrence posture,” Kirby said.

Kirby also pointed to the new air defense measures that will be put in place.

“I would also point to the significant air defense and air domain capabilities that will come along with these new posture changes to support the broader package of U.S. combat credibility in the NATO [area of responsibility],” he said.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe did not immediately respond to questions from Air Force Magazine about the changes, and the Pentagon could not provide additional details about the new air defense measures beyond the fact sheet that was released.

At the conclusion of the first full day of the NATO summit, Biden sat down with the leaders of Japan and the Republic of Korea. Australia and New Zealand were also invited to participate in a NATO summit that will approve a new strategic concept that will for the first time address the threat posed by China.

The Madrid NATO Summit has already made history for a breakthrough with Turkey June 28 to clear the way for an invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.

“Putin was looking for the ‘Finlandization’ of Europe,” Biden said alongside Stoltenberg, referring to Finland’s longtime neutral status. “He’s going to get the ‘NATO-ization’ of Europe. And that’s exactly what he didn’t want, but exactly what needs to be done to guarantee security for Europe.”