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

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.”

BAE Systems: A Trusted Partner in Aircraft Survivability

June 29, 2022

BAE Systems, Inc. has formed a unique relationship with the U.S. Air Force over the service’s 75-year history. As one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense technology companies, BAE Systems is trusted by the Air Force with highly classified work, particularly in the field of electronic warfare (EW).

BAE Systems’ EW partnership with the U.S. Air Force dates to the 1950s, when it was known by its legacy company name, Sanders. Today, the company delivers superior situational awareness, even in the most complex battlespaces, with fifth-generation electronic support, electronic protection, and electronic attack capabilities.

“Our company’s EW heritage began in the 1950s with signals intelligence,” said Nick Myers, director of strategy and growth for BAE Systems’ Electronic Combat Solutions business area, and a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel. “Once you understand signals intelligence, providing countermeasures is the next step, and the Air Force’s U-2 programs are really what got us involved in the countermeasures business for electronic warfare and protecting aircraft.”

By continually providing EW hardware, BAE Systems has been building off the legacy of Sanders and the U-2 program by adapting to rapid technological advancements.

“Our systems are designed for today’s and tomorrow’s evolving threats,” said Myers. “When it first started, the U-2 flew so high that there weren’t any threats capable of reaching it. But over time, threats advanced and so we used our signal intelligence background to develop a countermeasure. It’s a cat and mouse game that continues today, only it’s become extremely complex with today’s technological advancements.”

BAE Systems provides EW capabilities for unique mission sets, such as the EC-130H Compass Call and the future EC-37B platform.

“Radios use the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to transmit voice, data, and other communications, so an enemies’ radio provides information to their system that in turn make them a target for our countermeasures,” Myers said. “For the EC-130H that is transitioning to the EC-37B, that’s a unique mission because it’s protecting other aircraft by providing blanket and surgical electronic attack coverage so they can successfully get to and from the target.”

But the EW systems BAE Systems provides can be found across a variety of Air Force platforms including the F-35, F-15, F-22, and others, enabling Airmen to effectively complete their missions.

“Pilots can better avoid threat systems to perform their missions, which would be extremely more difficult if they didn’t have one of our systems on board,” Myers said.

F-15E Strike Eagles with the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., form up behind a KC-135 Stratotanker with the 121st Air Refueling Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, June 15, 2018. The Stratotanker had just finished refueling the Strike Eagles. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Tiffany A. Emery)

BAE Systems remains committed to its Air Force partner and continues to adapt to the EW threats of the future.

“We’re designing our systems not for just 2025 or 2030, we’re looking beyond 2040, at how the technology is advancing, and putting our internal investments against those future threats,” Myers said. “That way, when we design our systems, they’re not outdated by the time they’re delivered to the Air Force. Our experts have consistently done that as a part of our heritage – the ability to anticipate the advanced threat is a unique trait of BAE Systems.”

The Air Force has continually turned to BAE Systems as a trusted partner for solving challenging problems, including efforts to enhance and sustain fourth-generation fighters along with fifth-generation platforms.

“The Air Force has committed to keeping fourth-generation fighters around longer because our EW systems have evolved to the point that they can help keep those platforms protected from the advanced threat,” Myers said. “Our EW systems give the Air Force alternative options instead of divesting all these platforms because they’re not survivable. The Air Force has more flexibility in their force structure because its fourth generation platforms can remain relevant.”

The AN/ASQ-239 system is an advanced, proven, and cost-effective electronic warfare suite, providing the F-35 with end-to-end capabilities, now and into the future.

BAE Systems values its role as a trusted Air Force partner, which is demonstrated through the company’s mission statement.

“Our company mission, ‘We Protect Those Who Protect Us®,’ is ingrained in the very fiber of this company,” Myers said. “That means something to me as someone who has worn the flag of this nation on my arm. We live and breathe the mission at BAE Systems every day.”

Space Acquisition Chief: Diversifying Orbits With Smaller Satellites Is Trick to Resilience

June 28, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

The Department of the Air Force’s new space acquisition chief said he will seek to expand the types of orbits used by the Space Force’s future satellite constellations in the interest of improving their resilience. At the same time, he would aim to acquire smaller satellites that can be produced more quickly.

Frank Calvelli worked for 30 years at the National Reconnaissance Office, including eight years as its principal deputy director, before his confirmation to the long-vacant DAF position of assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration in April.

“You get the sense that we really, really need to do something with our architecture,” Calvelli said at a media roundtable discussion June 28.

“I think the day without space is a horrible day for the nation, right?” he said, reflecting on the threats posed by Russia and China in space. “The nation depends on space,” he said.

A week prior, the new space acquisition chief spoke at an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies webinar, describing how he would apply his NRO experiences to program management to the Space Force.

At the Pentagon, Calvelli commended the work of the Space Development Agency for proposing its constellation of proliferated low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for added resiliency.

“For too long, the DOD side of the house has just predominantly worried about [geosynchronous] orbits … I think you’ve got to shake things up,” he said. “From a resiliency perspective, I think we get it by proliferating the architecture more.”

“I think orbit diversification, getting into LEO, getting into [medium Earth orbit], getting into elliptical orbits, like a polar orbit or a halo orbit—even trying some crazy things on other orbits that are available—I think is really going to add a lot of resiliency,” he said.

Achieving space architecture resiliency will also require faster production of satellites. Calvelli believes that can be done by producing smaller satellites.

“We want to build as fast as we can and launch them as fast as we can,” Calvelli said in response to a question from Air Force Magazine. “To go a little bit faster, you got to build a smaller-sized spacecraft.”

Calvelli learned at the NRO that building large systems takes years, from sourcing the materials to developing the physics and constructing the system. In turn, those large systems are designed to last more than five years.

Small spacecraft can be constructed faster and used for shorter periods of time.

“You could actually just do a two-year design life or a three-year design life and use more readily available components,” he said. “Launch has gotten so inexpensive that it’s cheaper to replenish than it is to keep building.”

Space Force Poised to Get a New Plans and Programs Chief

June 28, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Pentagon has nominated Maj. Gen. Philip A. Garrant for a promotion to three-star general and to take on the job of Space Force deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements.

If confirmed, Garrant would be just the seventh lieutenant general in the Space Force. The new service has been building up its small general officer corps in recent months, with five new brigadier generals confirmed in May.

As the deputy chief for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, Garrant would also be responsible for the USSF’s budget, all in all an expansive portfolio that is slated to grow in the years ahead.

Lt. Gen. William J. Liquori Jr. currently serves as deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis. A Space Force spokesperson could not immediately tell Air Force Magazine whether Garrant’s slightly different title means the position is changing or splitting into multiple roles, or what Liquori’s next position might be.

Garrant currently serves as the program executive for ground-based weapon systems at the Missile Defense Agency. In that role, he oversees a portfolio that includes the “Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, four Joint U.S. and Israeli programs, and several classified programs collectively valued at more than $3.4 billion annually,” according to his official bio.

At the MDA, Garrant was promoted to the rank of major general in 2020.

Prior to that, Garrant had spent the better part of a decade working at the Space and Missile Systems Center—now Space Systems Command—in various roles across two different stints, culminating as vice commander of the center.

In addition to Garrant, another Department of the Air Force major general is in line for a promotion. Maj. Gen. Donna D. Shipton has been nominated to be the military deputy to the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Shipton currently serves as deputy director at the National Reconnaissance Office. If confirmed, she will succeed Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, who recently took command of Air Force Materiel Command.

NATO: Turkey Agrees to Admit Finland, Sweden; Ready Force to Expand From 40K to 300K

June 28, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

Turkey has agreed to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO after early negotiations at the Madrid NATO Summit on June 28. President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III are attending the summit.

The early breakthrough, announced on NATO’s website and detailed by The Associated Press, means Sweden and Finland will meet Turkish demands to lift defense embargoes against Turkey and will take steps to extradite alleged terrorists. Turkey considers members of the opposition PKK group to be terrorists.

“I strongly welcome the signing of this trilateral memorandum,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement following the signing ceremony. “I strongly welcome the constructive approach all three countries have shown during the negotiations. Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO is good for Finland and Sweden, it is good for NATO, and it is good for European security.”

The accession of Finland and Sweden, who formally applied to join NATO in May, had been an open question going into the summit after Turkey resisted.

Turkey’s list of demands for ceding to the ascension also previously included lifting its ban on participation in the F-35 program, which was imposed after Turkey purchased and deployed the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met earlier in the day, but details of their meeting were not made public. No public announcement was made regarding Turkey’s desire to rejoin the program.

Once the 30 NATO members vote to formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, they could become members in a matter of months.

Readiness Forces up to 300,000

The move to formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance means leaders can focus on decisions to expand NATO’s high readiness force and to include China in the alliance’s new strategic concept. They were also expected to agree to more defense assistance for Ukraine.

“We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000,” Stoltenberg said at a June 27 press conference prior to the start of the summit.

The expansion of the multi-national land, sea, air, and special forces NATO Response Force (NRF) from 40,000 to 300,000 will include more pre-positioned equipment and forward-deployed capabilities, including air defense, stronger command-and-control, and upgraded defense plans.

“Together, this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defense since the Cold War,” Stoltenberg added.

Troops will exercise together and familiarize themselves with local terrain, facilities, and pre-positioned stocks in order to more rapidly respond in the event of an emergency, he added.

The larger readiness force will be coupled with an expansion of NATO’s battlegroup presence on the eastern flank up to brigade levels. The battle groups, expanded to approximately 9,640 troops just prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, are located in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

To pay for the upgrade, Stoltenberg said nations are meeting the goal to reach a defense spending target of 2 percent of their gross domestic products (GDP) by 2024.

In a report released by NATO on June 27, nine nations had already met the target, and 19 more were on track to do so by the target date. The remaining countries had “concrete commitments to meet it thereafter,” Stoltenberg added. Summit host Spain spends just 1.01 percent of its GDP on defense, but Spain participates in Baltic air policing and NATO’s training mission in Iraq, and it hosts U.S. and NATO battleships in its southern port city of Rota.

Those NATO countries that meet the 2 percent threshold include Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

By year’s end, NATO members will have spent an additional $350 billion on defense since the benchmark was established in 2014.

Madrid Strategic Concept

Stoltenberg said a principal goal of the Madrid Summit is the creation of a new NATO Strategic Concept.

“I expect it will make clear that allies consider Russia as the most significant and direct threat to our security,” he said.

Alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Stoltenberg said June 28 that the so-called Madrid Strategic Concept will be a “blueprint for NATO in a more dangerous and unpredictable world.”

“We will agree [on] a fundamental shift of our deterrence and defense with more high readiness forces, with more forward defense, with more pre-positioned equipment,” Stoltenberg explained.

For the first time, China will be part of that strategic concept, identifying how China and its rapidly growing military pose challenges to NATO’s security, interests, and values.

Ahead of travel to the summit, Austin spoke by phone with the Baltic nation defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

According to a readout from acting Pentagon press secretary Todd Breasseale, “The leaders shared concern over Russian threats against Allies and consulted on plans to enhance deterrence and defense on NATO’s Eastern Flank.”

Stoltenberg also said the alliance would be working on a comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine. While NATO itself has not directly provided assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia, the NATO allies have done so, through a coordination center in Germany operated by U.S. European Command and promoted by Austin through monthly meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which now includes more than 50 nations.

In recent weeks, U.S. defense assistance to Ukraine has reached $6.5 billion and now includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). President Biden has promised to meet Ukraine’s request for new air defense systems, but no new announcement has yet been made.

NATO leaders will conclude their Madrid Summit on June 30.

New USAFE Commander: It’s Time to Concentrate on Russia, China ‘24-7, 365’

June 28, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on and NATO looks to deter further aggression in Europe, a number of the top U.S. military leadership positions on the continent are changing hands in quick succession—starting with a change of command for U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa.

Gen. James B. Hecker pinned on his fourth star, formally succeeding Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian in a ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on June 27. The command change capped a rapid process that started with Hecker’s nomination just three weeks ago.

Hecker most recently served as commander and president of Air University. He has also spent time as vice director of operations for the Joint Staff, commander of NATO Air Command-Afghanistan, commander of the 19th Air Force, and commander of the 18th Wing.

Now, he takes command of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa as well as NATO’s Allied Air Command at a pivotal moment. The U.S. has significantly increased its troop presence in Europe in response to Russia’s aggression, particularly along NATO’s eastern flank, and that’s resulted in a high operations tempo for USAFE personnel. USAF Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin noted during the change of command ceremony that over the past few years, the major command has been involved in thousands of enhanced air policing sorties and tens of thousands of hours of missions devoted to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

And in his first remarks as commander, Hecker indicated that he would continue to bring a fierce focus on China, which the Pentagon has repeatedly called the U.S.’s “pacing challenge,” but most immediately on Russia.

Recalling his first assignment at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in the early 1990s, Hecker said he and his colleagues were primarily focused on the former Soviet Union.

“That’s what we concentrated on 24-7, 365,” Hecker said. “Any free time that we had, we spent in the vault studying our adversary. And we knew everything about that adversary. We knew the airplanes they flew. We knew their capabilities. We knew how they thought. We knew who their leadership was. …

“It’s time to get back to that. Because we took a little timeout for 30 years and hung out in the Middle East. And our adversaries caught up to us a little bit. Our national security strategy talks about making sure that we’re ready for the strategic competition, particularly China and Russia. … Recent events … make us need to concentrate more on Russia. And that’s what I can guarantee you that we’ll do here at USAFE-AFAFRICA.”

Commander of U.S. European Command Gen. Tod D. Wolters offered enthusiastic praise of Hecker, saying he had the right temperament and skill set to lead USAFE, AFAFRICA, and Allied Air Command through the current crisis.

“As we all know, we are in challenging times,” Wolters said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “And for this command, and all of EUCOM and all of NATO, our charter is to ensure that we don’t start a war with Russia on Ukrainian soil. And more importantly, it’s to ensure that we do everything within our power to protect every single inch of NATO territory. And our third objective is to make sure that we’re going to do everything within our power to support Ukraine. And I don’t know of one Airman that exists in this United States Air Force that is more qualified to embrace those strategic tasks and achieve success” than Hecker.

Wolters will be working alongside Hecker for only a few days. Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli was confirmed by the Senate to be Wolters’ successor on June 24, and that change of command ceremony is scheduled to take place July 1. Cavoli, who previously served as commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, formally handed over that role June 28 to Gen. Darryl A. Williams in another change of command ceremony.

Wolters, meanwhile, is poised to retire alongside Harrigian. The two have known each other since the beginning of their careers, they said, and Wolters called Harrigian “the most outstanding field leader that we’ve seen in these United States Air Force in 37 years,” praising his leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic, the military’s withdrawal from Somalia, the noncombatant evacuation out of Afghanistan, and the most recent conflict in Ukraine.

Harrigian, for his part, reflected on his tenure at USAFE-AFAFRICA by saying he “left it all on the field” and thanking Airmen for their service during such key moments.

“We had multiple opportunities to make a difference, to put our stamp on history. You, all of you, did just that. And you did it not once, but you did it multiple times. I want to thank you for what you do each and every day. I’m proud to have been a part of your team,” Harrigian said.

Air Force to Start Tactical Autonomy Research Partnership With HBCUs

June 27, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

The Air Force will look to the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in a closed solicitation that will create the Air Force’s first university-affiliated research center (UARC), Air Force leaders said June 27.

The center will study tactical autonomy. The DAF will select the center’s location from one of 11 qualifying schools. The current plan would make the chosen HBCU the leader of a consortium of other HBCUs studying the topic.

“Part of the future of the military is going to be autonomy—there’s no doubt in my mind of that,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in making the announcement.

Kendall said artificial intelligence is a “gap in our suite of research institutes” that is increasingly appearing on the battlefield.

“It’s here to stay, and we need to be at the front edge of that. This is an opportunity to tap into that,” he said. “I am very focused on the threat of Chinese military modernization and what that means in terms of our forces for the future.”

The Department of the Air Force will provide $12 million per year for five years to fund the research. DOD currently maintains 14 UARCs affiliated with the Army, Navy, and Missile Defense Agency. The first Air Force UARC will help close the gap of research dollars going to HBCUs, which currently receive less than 0.05 percent of total DOD research dollars, according to a news release.

Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said that in targeting HBCUs, the Air Force is following proven scientific strategies for better problem-solving.

“We’re one of the most innovative countries in the world because of diversity,” she said in response to a question from Air Force Magazine.

“It’s a diversity of different ideas coming from a diversity of backgrounds that helps you to solve the most challenging problem with innovative ideas that you, maybe within your own perspective, wouldn’t have thought of,” she added, referencing her time working in a team of diverse engineers.

Shyu also said targeting HBCUs encourages American students to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and opens them up to the possibility of joining the military or defense industry later on.

“One thing we ought to be doing is [tapping] into and growing our STEM education through universities, [where students] are U.S. citizens, rather than looking only externally for immigrants,” she said.

Chief scientist of the Air Force Victoria Coleman said the tactical autonomy center will look at trust, collaboration between platforms, and human-machine teaming.

“What we mean by that is systems that act delegated and bound to authority, in support of tactical short-term actions that are associated with a more strategic long-term vision,” Coleman explained.

While Coleman did not provide any specific examples, Kendall cited the battlefield in Ukraine, which has seen extensive use of unmanned aerial systems.

By partnering with HBCUs, Coleman said DOD is also responding to a call in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to increase diversity; and that doing so will help the Air Force develop a new pool of talent.

Among the more than 100 HBCUs in the country, with over 220,000 students, just 11 qualify for the Air Force’s solicitation, meaning they have a research activity rating of R2. The R1 and R2 qualifications mean the university has “very high” or “high” research activity, as determined by the Carnegie Classification.

The eligible schools include Prairie View A&M University, Texas; Southern University and A&M College, La.; University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Tennessee State University; North Carolina A&M University; Morgan State University, Md.; Florida A&M University; Clark Atlanta University, Ga.; Jackson State University, Miss.; Howard University, D.C.; and Texas Southern University.

Tawanda Rooney, deputy director of the Air Force’s Concepts, Development, and Management Office, and herself and HBCU graduate, said research dollars may lift the schools from R2 to R1 and develop long-term relationships for the Air Force.

“One of the things we’re talking about is building that capacity,” Rooney said in response to a question from Air Force Magazine.

Added Coleman: “This is a very deliberate effort to have much better access in those schools.”

The Air Force plans to hold an industry day Aug. 8 and open solicitations Aug. 15. Kendall said he wants to make a decision on the AI university partner by year’s end.

New Space Acquisition Chief Wants to Apply Contracting Lessons from NRO

June 27, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

The new head of space acquisition for the Department of the Air Force plans to import lessons he learned at the National Reconnaissance Office—especially the “relentless pursuit of program management discipline”—to the Space Force.

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli also said that “for now” he doesn’t think the Space Force will need to acquire commercial space data, such as imagery, separately from the NRO.

In his first public remarks in the role, Calvelli spoke to Explorer Chair for Space Warfighting Studies retired USAF Gen. Kevin Chilton of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in a webinar June 24. Calvelli served as principal deputy director of the NRO for eight years prior to his DAF confirmation in April.

Calvelli said he’s “so impressed with the portfolio of programs across the department” that his priority will be “to deliver on the things that got started over the last couple of years.”

Among “several things” he’d borrow from his experience at the NRO, Calvelli listed the project management culture and practices and a preference, in certain situations, for firm-fixed-price contracting as themes he expects to carry with him.

Discipline in estimating costs and schedules translates to faster space acquisition by reducing the need to replan a program after it’s deemed impossible to execute, Calvelli said.

“There’s a real solid project management culture at the NRO. Our program managers, when I was there, and still today, pride themselves on delivering on cost and on schedule,” Calvelli said. “It’s a culture, and I really hope to steal from the lessons I’ve learned at the NRO to bring that culture to Space Systems Command, the Space Development Agency, and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.”

While “really pushing for cost realism and schedule realism in their competitive [requests for proposals],” the NRO’s program managers came up with the idea of scoring the bids on how realistic the cost and schedule appear to be. Independent cost estimators within the department get to weigh in, “and that seems to be working,” Calvelli said.

“You bring independent cost folks on the cost team with you, and if they tell you, “Eh, I think they’re low bidding this,’ you … rate [the bid] a high risk and throw that proposal out.”

Another characteristic he’d like to introduce into the Space Force’s contracting is for program managers to “be proactively managing cost, schedule, and performance.”

“Our government PMs need to proactively manage the baseline,” Calvelli said. “I call it the relentless pursuit of program management discipline. … You drive that discipline into it, and you’re going to start to achieve some speed.”

Calvalli also said firm-fixed-price contracts can help keep programs on schedule and that they have “a lot of benefits we want to explore on the Space Force side of the house,” citing the Space Development Agency’s choice to award fixed-price contracts and success with the contracting method in space acquisition at NASA as well.

Asked whether he envisioned a role for the Space Force in acquiring commercial space sensing data, such as photography and radar imaging, to provide to U.S. Space Command or other combatant commands, Calvelli said he didn’t see an immediate need.

“The NRO has a whole Commercial Systems program offices that deals with commercial industry, and they work in partnership with [the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] and the commercial sector,” Calvelli said. “I would see first going through [NRO] to see if they could satisfy those needs.”