National Champions Crowned at AFA’s CyberPatriot XIV

National Champions Crowned at AFA’s CyberPatriot XIV

March 21, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Teams from North Carolina to California gathered March 18-20 in Rockville, Md., to compete in the national finals of the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, CyberPatriot XIV.

The culmination of months of training and competition, the finals featured 28 teams competing across three divisions—Open, All Services, and Middle School. The competition began in October 2021 with more than 5,000 teams. The field steadily winnowed down through rounds in which teams were given a set of virtual operating systems and tasked with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services.

“The competitive and creative spirit of these young people, not to mention their incredible technical acumen, is awe inspiring,” said AFA President and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright. “Cyber warfare is today what air warfare was a century ago—a new kind of combat in a new domain. These kids—champions and finalists alike—are developing the skills our nation will need to protect our way of life from bad actors seeking to infiltrate every sector of American life, from business to government.”  

In the end, teams from San Diego completed a clean sweep of the national titles: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School claimed the Open Division championship; Terabyte Falcons ​from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC won the All Services Division; and CyberAegis Cobra from Design 39 Campus won the Middle School event.

This marks the third consecutive national championship team from Del Norte High School in the Open division, while Scripps Ranch High School’s Air Force JROTC previously won the All Services division at CyberPatriot XI in 2019. 

In the final round, each team served as administrators for a small business, working to “find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities, maintain critical services, resolve injects, and defend against hostile Red Team attackers.”

“You may not realize how significant this is today, but one day this will be very significant,” Air Force Chief Information Officer Lauren Barrett Knausenberger told the finalists at the weekend’s award ceremony. “Your hobby and your passion that you have displayed this week—and really, you’ve been at this for a while—it is something that our nation very much needs. Whether you’re going to serve in the military, whether you are going to work for a corporation, we need this in our country.”

Also at the award ceremony, AFA recognized eight competitors who had reached the finals of the competition for four years in a row as CyberPatriot Cyber All-Americans:

  • Emily Foreman from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division
  • Kevin Hu from Del Norte High School
  • Emily Kelso from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division
  • ​Darius Kianersi from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Tristan Lee from Army JROTC from Roosevelt High School
  • Darin Mao from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Tanay Shah from Del Norte High School
  • William Smith from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division

Open Division

  • National champion: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up: Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)
  • Third place: TN Patriot | KaliPatriot ​from Cookeville High School (Cookeville, Tenn.)

All Services Division

  • National champion: Terabyte Falcons ​from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up: Runtime Terror from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.)
  • Third place: The Lockouts from Air Academy Cadet Squadron-CAP (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Middle School Division

  • National champion: CyberAegis Cobra from Design 39 Campus (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up:  CyberAegis Scimitar from Oak Valley Middle School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Third place: The Chunk Marios from Lawler Middle School (Frisco, Texas)

AT&T Component Winner

  • Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)

Open Division Cisco Networking Challenge

  • 1st Place: CyberAegis Chopstick ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • 2nd Place: Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)
  • 3rd Place: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)

All Service Division Cisco Networking Challenge:

  • 1st Place: Terabyte Falcons ​ from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC (San Diego, Calif.)
  • 2nd Place: Runtime Terror from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.)
  • 3rd Place: The Lockouts from Air Academy Cadet Squadron-CAP (Colorado Springs, Colo.)​

Middle School Division Cisco Networking Challenge Winner

  • CyberAegis Scimitar from Oak Valley Middle School (San Diego, Calif.)
Austin Tries to Budge Bulgaria Toward Lethal Support for Ukraine

Austin Tries to Budge Bulgaria Toward Lethal Support for Ukraine

March 18, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

Bulgaria is one of the Eastern European countries that possesses the S-300 air defense systems that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said are urgently needed to repel Russia’s air assault. The Black Sea NATO ally also has the same Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-25 fighters used by the Ukrainian Air Force.

But Bulgaria also depends on Russian gas, and so far Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has refused lethal assistance to Ukraine and ruled out transferring its jets.

The delicate dynamic is what Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III faces in meetings in Bulgaria from March 18 to 19.

Austin landed at Bezmer Air Base near the Black Sea coast March 18 and was greeted by the Bulgarian defense minister and chief of defense before visiting with American troops. The U.S. maintained about 200 troops in Bulgaria before the arrival of a Stryker brigade from Germany. Austin was expected to hold meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart and to meet with Petkov just as Russia expanded its cruise missile attacks on the once-safe western part of Ukraine.

“In the West, reports of missile strikes in the vicinity of Lviv International Airport appear to be accurate,” a senior defense official told reporters in a statement.

Russia began striking air bases and a military training center in western Ukraine on March 11.

The Pentagon assesses that Russia remains “largely stalled across the country” but has effectively isolated major cities, including Chernihiv and Mariupol, which have suffered humanitarian disasters amid indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian targets.

Russia has launched more than 1,080 missiles since the start of the war.

In a March 16 address to the U.S. Congress, Zelensky specifically asked for help acquiring S-300 missile defense systems and fighter jets. Getting those from Bulgaria will be a tough sell, a Bulgarian defense official told Air Force Magazine.

“The official position of the government is no military support, just humanitarian,” the official said. “But let’s see what’s going on in the next couple of days or weeks.”

Petkov began his term in office in December 2021. An anti-corruption crusader who founded his own party, he took office only after forming a delicate coalition government whose factions include a party sympathetic to ties with Russia.

“He’s quite keen to rely on NATO partners and NATO allies,” the official said. “But at the same time … the question is political because we have a coalition government.”

In October 2020, Bulgaria and the U.S. signed a 10-year roadmap to deepen defense ties and improve Bulgaria’s military readiness and capabilities. In the past five years, the U.S. has provided more than $160 million in security assistance to Bulgaria. Bulgaria has also purchased eight F-16s, but a recent Lockheed Martin production delay could mean Bulgaria’s air modernization may not happen until 2025.

Petkov has previously said Bulgaria doesn’t have enough combat aircraft to defend its own territory. On March 17, after a meeting with Austin, Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said his country would be willing to give up its S-300 and MiG-29s if replacements were provided.

To reassure NATO eastern flank allies, the U.S. moved two Patriot missile batteries from Germany to Poland, and the Netherlands repositioned a Patriot battery to Slovakia. Likewise, Bulgaria’s neighbor, Romania, possesses a Patriot battery, and NATO member Turkey has the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system.

The Bulgarian official said “it makes sense” that the missile defense capacity of both NATO ally neighbors could cover Bulgaria’s own small territory.

But Bulgaria has also been besieged by hybrid warfare and espionage threats from Russia. On March 18, Bulgaria expelled 10 Russian diplomats. A week prior, two Russian diplomats were expelled.

“It means something is going on,” the official said.

Meanwhile, supply routes from multiple Eastern European NATO allies continue to flow defense assistance into Ukraine, and the Pentagon assesses that the air space over Ukraine remains contested.

“The Ukrainian Air Force is continuing to fly aircraft and employ air and missile defense,” the senior defense official said.

Whether Ukraine receives the air defense systems it requires to keep its air space contested, or better protect civilian populations, may depend on the success of Austin’s latest European swing.

Lockheed Martin Aero Sees Growth Opportunities in Manned-Unmanned Teaming

Lockheed Martin Aero Sees Growth Opportunities in Manned-Unmanned Teaming

March 18, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin sees itself well positioned to pursue the Air Force’s new uncrewed aircraft programs to complement both the tactical and strategic bomber fleets, having conducted experiments in manned-unmanned teaming for more than 17 years, company aeronautics executive vice president Greg Ulmer said.

Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, or Skunk Works, has been putting “a lot of attention … on manned-unmanned teaming,” or MUM-T, Ulmer said in an early March interview.

“It really is going to be a family of systems,” and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 will likely play a central role, he said.

“We have done a lot of operational analysis in support” of the MUM-T concept with the F-35, he said. The company sees the uncrewed aircraft as “extending the range of an F-35 … beyond the F 35, in front of the F-35 … improving the survivability, enhancing the sensors” of that aircraft.

“Taking that information, and putting it in the fusion engine of an F-35, I think, is very impactful” from an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance perspective for the entire force, he said. “It enables the capabilities of everything around it,” he added.

Ulmer said Skunk Works has done “quite a bit of work from a MUM-T perspective” on both recoverable and attritable aircraft working in concert with the current manned combat aircraft fleet, having done “a lot of demonstrations” since 2005.

The Air Force has branded its fighter force structure through the early 2030s—the F-22 transitioning to the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft, F-35, F-15EX, F-16, and the A-10—as the “4+1” plan, and Ulmer said he thinks the unmanned systems are “additive” to that mix and constitute a “4+1+1 … if you will,” he said.

“We’re focused on autonomy, artificial intelligence,” he said. The uncrewed aircraft will “have its own capability set,” and the pilot will be able to direct it to go off and conduct a side mission to assist the flight with the overall objective; either reconnoitering an area, or perhaps suppressing air defenses.

The pilot “provides a high level task, and then … the MUM-T vehicle will perform that task and then provide that information.” The F-35 pilot would not be directly controlling the vehicle; it would accomplish the mission on its own, following parameters previously set for it.

“It has the autonomous capability to do the mission set on its own accord,” he said.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the AFA Warfare Symposium earlier this month that he expects an F-35 or similar platform would direct as many as five unmanned aircraft flying in concert with it. Kendall couched the new tactical unmanned system as both enhancing the capabilities of manned platforms and expanding the capacity of the force, providing numbers in a battlespace where the Air Force expects it will take losses.  

Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said March 14 that he thinks USAF’s manned aircraft should be designed as “exquisite” platforms with high capability, while the unmanned systems that accompany them should be designed to be acquired at a cost low enough that their loss would be bearable. Kendall said that for the right mission and target, the escort aircraft might be sent on one-way missions.

Lockheed Martin has discussed a number of stealthy, unmanned aircraft it has flown over the last 20 years, and it built the Air Force’s still largely-secret RQ-170 unmanned reconnaissance drone. Ulmer said this experience will be a discriminator for the company as the Air Force explores this new class of aircraft. 

Ulmer noted that Lockheed Martin has done a number of demonstrations “relative to the human interface” on how the pilot would direct a “loyal wingman”-type aircraft and how the information captured would be displayed to the pilot and made available for other aircraft in the formation and in the broader task force to make use of it. Last year, the company linked five F-35s, an F-22, and a U-2 in its “Project Hydra” demonstration, in which the various aircraft obtained and shared tactical information for all to use.

“These are really kind of stepping stones, where we work the elements as we approach MUM-T,” he said.

Lockheed Martin divisions such as Sikorsky Rotary systems—which recently flew an unmanned Blackhawk helicopter—as well as Missiles and Fire Control, Aeronautics, and Space—have been pooling their expertise to develop aircraft autonomy and the sharing capabilities needed to make MUM-T work, Ulmer said.

Although the Air Force has said it plans to phase out the F-22 starting in 2030, Ulmer said he expects the F-22 to serve beyond that point.

“I know the time horizon associated with an NGAD,” he said, but the timing of its arrival isn’t firm yet, and the F-22 will be needed until the NGAD is available.

“It’s understood … that the F-22 is in that equation” of the 4+1, he said. “It remains to be seen what the time horizon will be for NGAD. So the F-22 is going to be in play for the foreseeable future. And to me, that’s a decade-plus.”

Ulmer said he has not been told the F-22’s primary mission will change as the NGAD comes online, from air superiority to, perhaps, stealthy ground attack.

“To my understanding, for the foreseeable future, it is still the air superiority platform,” he said.

New Head Skunk for Lockheed Martin

New Head Skunk for Lockheed Martin

March 18, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

John Clark, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics vice president for engineering and technology, will take over the company’s Advanced Development Programs division, or “Skunk Works,” on April 4, the company announced.

Clark, a 23-year employee of Lockheed, succeeds Jeff Babione, who has headed Skunk Works since 2016, and is retiring.

Clark supervised 8,000 engineers and worked on “technical concepts for products and processes” in his previous position. He was also Skunk Works’ vice president of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned aircraft, which Lockheed aeronautics executive vice president Greg Ulmer said will be a major push for the company in the coming years.

In this role, Clark “focused on the modernization and sustainment” of ISR and unmanned platforms, such as the U-2 and secret RQ-170, as well as battle management and command and control.

Babione oversaw significant increases in the Skunk Works portfolio and workforce, as well as a modern expansion of the unit’s factories and facilities in Palmdale, Calif. Babione had previously served as chief engineer on the F-22 program—which received the Collier Trophy—as program manager for the F-35 and supervisor of Lockheed’s fighter portfolio, including the F-16, F-22, T-50 and F-2. He previously worked on the YF-22 concept demonstrator as an employee of Boeing.

Aviano F-16 Fighters Deploy to Croatia After Drone Crash

Aviano F-16 Fighters Deploy to Croatia After Drone Crash

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A pair of F-16s deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Croatia on March 16, taking part in agile combat employment exercises and bolstering NATO’s southeastern flank, the Air Force announced.

The F-16 fighters’ arrival comes just a few days after a military drone crashed in the Croatian capital of Zagreb amid nearby war between Russia and Ukraine. Croatian officials say the drone had a bomb, but they have not determined whether it was Russian or Ukrainian. The incident has led Croatian leaders to criticize NATO for a perceived slow response.

On March 15, Newsweek reported that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in a press conference that the U.S. would send the F-16s to “give support of Croatia’s security.”

A subsequent press release from U.S. Air Forces in Europe stated that the fighters would deploy to Croatia’s 91st Air Base at Pleso, just outside the capital.

“Our enduring alliances and partnerships throughout the European and African theaters have enabled our multi-capable Airmen to execute our mission as a dynamic coalition force,” Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, USAFE-Air Forces Africa commander, said in a statement. “Directing our strategic capabilities from any number of forward locations builds a resilient force, ready to pivot and counter aggression anywhere at a moment’s notice.”

This marks just the latest deployment of fighters to Eastern Europe. In the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, F-16s deployed to Romania, F-15s went to Poland, and F-35s landed in Germany. As the invasion first unfolded, F-35s from Germany were deployed to NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania. A B-52 also deployed to the region around the same time, as part of what USAFE called a “long-planned Bomber Task Force Europe mission over the Arctic and Baltic Sea regions.”

While President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the U.S. will not deploy forces into Ukraine to help them resist the Russian invasion, he has pledged to defend “every inch” of NATO territory. Croatia became a full NATO member in 2009.

Traditional ISR Aircraft Still Have ‘Value,’ Pentagon Intelligence Officials Say

Traditional ISR Aircraft Still Have ‘Value,’ Pentagon Intelligence Officials Say

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force has pushed to revamp its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations in recent years, focusing on new capabilities such as space-based ISR and next-generation platforms capable of multiple roles and penetrating contested airspace.

Yet there still might be a role for older, legacy platforms to play in the ISR of the future, top Pentagon intelligence officials said March 17.

Those assurances from U.S. Cyber Command boss Gen. Paul M. Nakasone and Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier came under questioning from Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who focused particularly on the RC-135 as an airframe with more to offer the Air Force.

Bacon has more insight than most lawmakers into ISR. He flew both the EC-130H and RC-135 S/V/W for the Air Force, served as commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in his state, and worked as director of ISR strategy, plans, doctrine, and force development.

And during a hearing before the House Armed Services intelligence and special operations subcommittee, Bacon took the opportunity to press Nakasone and Berrier on the usefulness of the RC-135, which has been flying since the 1970s.

“I flew in the RC-135s, you know, traditional ISR aircraft,” Bacon said. “There’s a push among some to go to all fifth-gen type of collection, capabilities, and penetrating ISR. But we know day in and day out, we do not penetrate China’s airspace, and we don’t penetrate Russia’s airspace. Right? So we still need some of that traditional ISR, because that’s what’s the bulk of our collection. So I guess my question is, are we keeping the right balance between the traditional ISR and penetrating ISR? And do you see a need to maintain some of these older platforms?”

Neither Nakasone nor Berrier offered any firm assurances on the RC-135 or other platforms. But they both expressed support for a broad range of ISR capabilities.

“With my Army hat on, coming out of the G2 job, there’s this balance between ISR in competition and ISR in conflict,” Berrier said. “And certainly, as we’re seeing this play out inside Ukraine, we would never fly those platforms into an envelope where they could get shot down or engaged. But certainly in competition, I think there is value for ISR platforms that can collect on the periphery and actually analyze and process that information.”

While ISR aircraft have been limited in where they can go since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, those aircraft were in constant use in the lead-up to the invasion—flight trackers noted an E-8C JSTARS, an RC-135V and others flying in the region, presumably gathering intelligence. 

What exactly that means for the future of the fleet remains to be seen, but Nakasone said the there will be a need for airborne ISR to complement future capabilities.

“I would offer as the SIGINT functional manager for the defense intelligence establishment here, we need to have a variety of platforms, whether or not they’re from space, whether or not they’re airborne, whether or not they’re terrestrial,” Nakasone said—”all of these, obviously stitched together for a very, very complex and very, very important look on what our adversaries are doing in many parts of the world. So I know the Chief of Staff of the Air Force is looking at a number of different platforms. But you know, from my perspective, having a wide variety of these platforms is really important for us to do our mission.”

Biden Administration Considers Splitting NSA, CYBERCOM

Biden Administration Considers Splitting NSA, CYBERCOM

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

President Joe Biden’s administration and the Defense Department are looking at the possibility of splitting up control of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, reviving a long-running debate over how the two organizations are led.

Since the stand-up of CYBERCOM in 2009, its commander has functioned in a dual-hat role as the director of the NSA, an arrangement meant to help the new combatant command get off the ground. Gen. Paul M. Nakasone currently holds both titles.

For years now, lawmakers, analysts, and DOD officials have debated when or even if to separate the two positions. In December 2020, then-President Donald Trump’s administration delivered a proposal to split the leadership roles, only for the plan to be rejected as officials said CYBERCOM had not met the conditions to do so required by law, according to The Washington Post.

The issue came up again March 17 in a hearing before the House Armed Services intelligence and special operations subcommittee, as Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) asked Ronald S. Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, for his view on the potential change.

“I would say that from a Department of Defense perspective, we certainly recognize the value of the dual-hat role that Gen. Nakasone has played for the last four years and the role of Cyber Command and NSA over the last 12 years plus,” Moultrie said. 

“I believe that the dual hat will be looked at again, just by this administration, just to ensure that we understand what the value added is, but also what the impacts are. And so that discussion is still ongoing within the department today. We understand that there’s a sentiment on both sides to really not do any harm. But I believe that it will be looked at. I think it’ll be an objective look, and we’ll make sure we reach out to you, sir.”

Nakasone, for his part, called the proposed shift a “policy discussion” but acknowledged “that is still something that is being considered.” 

Having held his position for nearly four years, though, Nakasone did continue to endorse the dual-hat arrangement from an operational perspective.

“My best military advice, as it was when I first came in the job and after three-plus years in it, is the fact that through elections, through problems with Iran, through ransomware, and now with Russia-Ukraine, what the dual hat has allowed us to do has been able to take and be able to focus efforts from the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command on very, very difficult problems: influence, ransomware, strategic competition in one domain—in cyberspace,” Nakasone said. “We both operate there, and being able to have action, being able to have unity of effort, and being able to have agility is what the dual hat has been able to allow me to do over the past three-plus years.”

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) called Nakasone’s comments “a pretty good endorsement to me,” and Bacon, a former Air Force ISR commander, also strongly urged his colleagues to oppose changes to the current arrangement.

“These cyber teams—the core of them are NSA folks. So if you have two four-stars with different visions and different direction, I don’t see how you keep a unified direction for the cyber team,” said Bacon, who served in the Pentagon as director of ISR strategy, plans, doctrine and force development for the Air Force. “But that’s just my two cents being down at the O-5, O-6, O-7 level when I was in. I like the way it’s set up now.”

US Flexes Its Muscles in the Arctic as B-52s, F-22s Link Up Over Alaska

US Flexes Its Muscles in the Arctic as B-52s, F-22s Link Up Over Alaska

March 17, 2022 | By Amy Hudson

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska—The U.S. flexed its military might in the Arctic region as Air Force B-52 bombers, F-22 fighters, KC-135 tankers, and an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system linked up over the southern coast of Alaska as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Operation Noble Defender on March 16.

The show of force is meant to send a strategic message to potential adversaries that the United States can project air power anytime, anywhere, and that it is ready and capable of defending the homeland. The demonstration comes during heightened tensions with Russia after its brutal attack on Ukraine, now going into its fourth week.

A KC-135 from the Alaska National Guard’s 168th Air Refueling Squadron launched from Eielson Air Force Base, flying south over the snow-covered Alaska Range to King Salmon, nearly 300 miles southwest of Anchorage. There the tanker refueled F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. After topping off, the Raptors flew off to practice intercepting two B-52 bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., which were acting as adversary air during the operation; while an E-3 Sentry, also based out of JBER, circled overhead. After the training, the B-52s and F-22s made their way back to the KC-135, flying in formation over the Alaskan mountains behind the KC-135.

The F-22s and tanker linked up once more, flying in circles just 1,500 feet over the Navy’s USS Curtis Wilbur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer operating in the waters off the southern coast.  

“This was a really unique mission,” said Lt. Col. Jason Park, the mission director who served as the crew monitor during the flight. “Not often do we get down and work with the Navy that low. Oftentimes we meet with F-18s [to refuel], but rarely do we get down and work with destroyers.”

As crew monitor, Park served as an extra set of eyes providing additional situational awareness for the pilots, who were in constant communication with the bombers, fighters, AWACs, and Navy destroyer, while also navigating both mountainous terrain and low-level flight over water.

“The fact that we were able to send strategic messages to threat countries in a time when the overall situation worldwide is tenuous, at best, is pretty awesome,” said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Newbern, an operations intelligence analyst with the 168th, who also was on the flight. “The fact that we’re not only comfortable doing so, but we are capable, is something I would argue that a lot of these threat countries, a lot of our adversary countries, are not able to do at that level right now.”

A portion of the Alaska-based F-22s remain on alert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, serving as the first line of defense against any Russian air assets that threaten the homeland or enter the Air Defense Identification Zone surrounding Alaska. Eielson’s tankers support that mission, but because they also continue to support other missions, the Air Force often brings in Guard members for one- or two-month tours to support the alert mission.

The March 16 aircrew included Guard members from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Alabama all working together.

“We’re very fluid, you know, people doing different missions, different jobs all the time,” said Tech. Sgt. Chatham Holt, a boom operator with the 168th Air Refueling Squadron. “Last week, I was flying a local mission where we were flying with P-8 Poseidons out over the Gulf of Alaska from down in Washington, and refueling and doing training missions with them. And, then we’re back here to the alert mission. So, we’re bouncing around a lot. Our guys are very busy.”

NORAD’s Operation Noble Defender is an air defense exercise that runs March 14-17, including a variety of Canadian and U.S. aircraft.

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Slovakia Ready to Provide S-300s and MiG-29s to Ukraine, Pending New Replacements

Slovakia Ready to Provide S-300s and MiG-29s to Ukraine, Pending New Replacements

March 17, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Slovakia has agreed to provide its S-300 air defense systems and MiG-29s to Ukraine “immediately” if it can get “proper” replacements in a timely manner, Slovak defense minister Jaroslav Nad told reporters in a joint press conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on March 17. However, Austin said he had no agreement to announce.

Austin also reiterated U.S. opposition to creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and Nad said a number of NATO countries will up their defense spending beyond the target of two percent of their gross domestic product.

“We are willing” to provide what he called the “legacy” systems to Ukraine, Nad said. “We’re willing to do so immediately when we have a proper replacement,” he added. The S-300 is Slovakia’s only strategic air defense system, he said, and if Slovakia turned its gear over to Ukraine, this would “create a security gap in NATO.”

Nad also pointed out that his first duty is to defend Slovakia and its territory, indicating he’s not willing to simply transfer the equipment without a replacement in hand.

“We’re in discussions. There are no public comments to make as of now,” he said, but he indicated that a temporary deployment of some other country’s air defenses might be acceptable while Slovakia waits for whatever it will replace the systems with.

“Should there be a situation that we have a proper replacement, or, we have a capability guarantee for a certain period of time, then we would be willing to discuss the future of the S-300 system,” he said.

Austin, asked to comment, said, “I don’t have any announcements for you this afternoon. These are things that we will continue to work on with all of our allies, and certainly this is not just a U.S. issue—it’s a NATO issue.” He said it’s a topic on which “we will engage a number of allies and partners … in terms of what they’re able to do and what would be required for backfill.” Those discussions are ongoing, he said.

Austin thanked Nad for Slovakia’s willingness to host additional NATO forces. Those forces will be protected by a battery of Patriot air defense systems. Slovakia has just one S-300 battery.

Radovan Javorcik, Slovakia’s Ambassador to the U.S., told Air Force Magazine that his government has agreed to allow the NATO unit to stay on rotations of six months, but these “can extend for one year,” and the Patriots would stay with them during that period.

Nad said the two countries are also discussing “various options for how to fill in this gap” if it also decides “not to use MiG-29s anymore” and to send those aircraft to Ukraine. Slovakia is set to receive 14 new F-16 Block 70 fighters, but the delivery of those jets has been delayed a year, from 2023 to 2024.

Javorcik said the MiG-29s will be phased out in October 2023, regardless of whether the new jets are available.

“Even if Norway were to send” their retiring F-16s right away—one of many puts and takes NATO has discussed to beef up the Eastern flank—Slovakia is still not yet ready to do more than basic maintenance for them, Javorcik said. The F-16 “ecosystem” still has to be developed in Slovakia, he said.

“The new F-16s will not come earlier than … late ‘23, early ’24,” he noted, “So we need to talk to everybody, to all allies,” about how to cover Slovakia’s air defense needs during the interim.

Asked about establishing a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine, Austin reiterated President Biden’s comments that such an arrangement would by definition put NATO into a direct “fight” with Russia, given that ground-launched missile systems and aircraft that launch missiles over Russia would be targets.

“There is no such thing as a no-fly-zone ‘lite,’” he asserted.

“In order to control the skies, you have to shut down the air defenses,” Austin said. “They’re on the ground. And some of those air defense systems are in Russia. And so, again, there’s no easy or simple way to do this. … A no-fly zone means that you’re in a conflict with Russia. So from a U.S. perspective … our position remains that we’re not going to do that.”

Austin said Russia is “using a lot of rockets and missiles and artillery” against Ukraine, and “there are a number of things that can be used to counter that. We’ve seen that the drones have been … very effective. We’ve also seen having the ability to conduct counter-fire with rockets and artillery is also very effective. And so I think increasingly we’ll see the Ukrainian forces turn to those methods to counter that.” A no-fly zone, he said, would not have solved that problem nor the threat from cruise missiles launched from inside Russia.

Nad said that during the NATO ministerial meeting in Belgium, Slovakia agreed to spend more than NATO’s agreed target of two percent of GDP on defense. That “should be just a base” amount, he said, indicating Slovakia’s spending will likely be about as much as Poland and other Baltic NATO countries have committed to, which is about 2.5 percent of GDP.

“I can confirm” that a number of NATO countries have readjusted their planned spending to three percent of GDP, he said.

The “enhanced forward presence troops” that will be deployed to Slovakia “in the upcoming days” will will “provide something that we are lacking here in Slovakia, and they will strengthen our defense and they will strengthen it in a significant way,” Nad said.

He and Austin broadly discussed the “modernization of the Slovak armed forces,” which includes building a new mechanized brigade “and other capabilities.”

Slovakia shares about a 60-mile border with Ukraine, to its east.  

Austin said part of the reason for his visit was to demonstrate NATO unity and solidarity with Ukraine. The discussions about the S-300 and MiG-29s indicate that the alliance is “working urgently” to help Ukraine defend itself, he said.

“Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad,” Austin added, referring to the NATO clause that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. “We sought additional U.S. forces to reinforce our NATO allies. And we have more on call, ready to go if NATO activates its response forces.”

Austin was asked if Russia’s attacks on Ukraine constitute war crimes, and if so, whether that requires a change in U.S. posture.

“Certainly, we’ve all been shocked by the brutality that we continue to witness, day in and day out,” Austin answered. “Purposely” targeting civilians “is a crime,” he said.

“These actions are under review by our State Department,” he added, and there’s a process underway to examine the situation and whether it demands a change.

In the meantime, “we call upon Mr. Putin to cease these horrible actions. Again, these are civilians and not combatants, and so they should not be targeted.”