UN Committee Advances Proposal on Rules Governing Behavior in Space

UN Committee Advances Proposal on Rules Governing Behavior in Space

Nov. 2, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

A United Nations panel overwhelmingly approved a resolution Nov. 1 to create a working group aimed at preventing an arms race in outer space, setting up the measure to pass in the General Assembly.

The resolution, introduced by the United Kingdom with the support of more than 30 other nations, including the U.S., would establish an open-ended working group that would “​​make recommendations on possible norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviors relating to threats by States to space systems.”

The measure was approved by the U.N.’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security threats, in a landslide 163-8 vote, with nine abstentions. Those opposed included Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria.

The U.K. introduced the resolution Oct. 14 after its Permanent Representative to the U.N.’s Conference on Disarmament, Aidan Liddle, told the First Committee that the body “must look broadly at the behaviors, actions, and omissions that could lead to conflict, not only at capabilities or placement of weapons.”

The resolution echoes that language, saying the working group would “consider current and future threats by States to space systems, and actions, activities and omissions that could be considered irresponsible.”

If approved by the General Assembly, the working group would meet twice for five days each in both 2022 and 2023 and submit a report to the General Assembly at its 78th session, scheduled to begin in the fall of 2023.

U.S. civil and military officials, including Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, have increasingly pressed for countries to adopt a basic set of norms and rules for operating in space. In April, Raymond compared the domain to the “Wild West.”

In July, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III signed a memo pledging the Pentagon to follow five “tenets of responsible behavior in space”—operating in space with “due regard” for others and in a professional manner, limiting the creation of space junk, avoiding harmful interference, maintaining separation and safe trajectories, and communicating to enhance safety and stability.

The U.S. has also introduced the Artemis Accords, a document that articulates principles for the peaceful exploration and use of the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids, looking to build on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. 

However, Russia and China, two of the biggest global spenders on space programs, have not agreed to any set of norms nor the Artemis Accords.

That may change with the formation of the new working group. Michael Byers, co-director of the University of British Columbia’s Outer Space Institute, called a working group “the first step in treaty negotiations” during an Oct. 12 webinar. Byers is UBC’s Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law and also a law professor at Duke University. He is among a number of experts who signed an open letter in September calling for a limited-scope treaty to ban kinetic anti-satellite weapon tests similar to past tests performed by the U.S., China, Russia, and India.

Also included in the U.K. resolution is a provision that “encourages those States that have not yet become parties to the international treaties governing the exploration and use of outer space to give consideration to ratifying or acceding to those treaties.”

Biden Nominates Navy Adm. Grady to Replace Hyten as Vice Chairman of JCS

Biden Nominates Navy Adm. Grady to Replace Hyten as Vice Chairman of JCS

Nov. 2, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

President Joe Biden has nominated Adm. Christopher W. Grady, head of the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, to take over as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff just weeks before Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten is set to retire from the position.

The nomination, received in the Senate on Nov. 1, was first reported by Politico and Military Times and officially announced soon after.

Hyten, who took on the role of vice chairman in November 2019, announced last year that he would not seek another term as the military’s No. 2 officer behind the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In recent weeks, Hyten has made headlines by criticizing over-classification, bureaucracy, and risk aversion in the Pentagon, warning that China could soon overtake the U.S. in military power if action is not taken.

Now, with less than three weeks remaining before Hyten’s departure date of Nov. 20, Grady’s nomination would have to be rushed through in near-record time to avoid a vacancy. Hyten’s own nomination process stretched on for more than five months, and every Chairman and Vice Chairman in the last decade has taken at least a month to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Grady has led the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command/U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command since May 2018. He has also held the duties of commander for U.S. Naval Forces Strategic Command and U.S. Strategic Command Joint Force Maritime Component since February 2019.

Prior to that, Grady also served as commander of the 6th Fleet and the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, as well as deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa. He has also worked on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an aide to the Chief of Naval Operations.

Assuming Grady is confirmed by the Senate, it will mark the first time since July 2015 that an Air Force general will not be serving as either Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley ascended to the role of Chairman in October 2019, and his term is set to last until 2023.

AF Research Lab’s Newest Executive Hired to Cater to the Space Force

AF Research Lab’s Newest Executive Hired to Cater to the Space Force

Nov. 1, 2021 | By Shaun Waterman

The Air Force Research Laboratory has named the new senior official who will represent the interests of the lab’s Space Force customers and be a single USSF point of contact within the AFRL leadership.

Andrew Williams, an 18-year veteran of AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate, will be the first full-time permanent deputy technology executive officer (D-TEO) for space science and technology, the lab said in a press release Nov 1.

The appointment means the changes the lab laid out last year to make it more responsive and useful to its new Space Force customers are finally complete.

Williams’ new role “will ensure integrated development and execution of Space S&T efforts across AFRL and serve as the primary focal point for AFRL integrated Space [science and technology] activities,” the announcement states. As previously reported, the role is that of a “conductor”—ensuring that all of the lab’s directorates, not just the four centered on space, are focused on the needs of the new service as the directorates plan and execute their research activities.

The appointment was welcomed by Joel Mozer, chief scientist for Space Operations Command and whose job it is to tell AFRL what the new service needs for its operations. “Great choice,” he told Air Force Magazine by email. He said Williams would be “excellent” in the role because “he has the background and experience to cover the broad AFRL space portfolio.”

“Dr. Williams is exceptionally well-qualified, experienced, and a respected leader within AFRL, the USSF, and our Science and Technology stakeholders,” said AFRL Commander Maj. Gen. Heather L. Pringle in the release.

Williams takes the post from Kelly Hammett, the head of the lab’s Directed Energy Directorate, who has been dual-hatted in the new role on an interim basis since September 2020. In that post, Hammett headed a working group that drew up the plans to serve the new Space Force by realigning the lab’s governance, rather than reorganizing or restructuring it to break off the space-related parts of the institution.

The new permanent D-TEO position is just one of a series of changes the AFRL leadership has made to ensure the lab is more responsive and useful to its new customers, Hammett told Air Force Magazine in October.

Pringle praised Hammett’s performance in the interim role. “I couldn’t have had a better leader to take on this challenge, and I am grateful to Kelly for putting us in a fantastic position to carry out the space technology of the future,” she said.

Williams received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, his master‘s in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, and his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of New Mexico.

His career in the Space Vehicles Directorate culminated as the directorate’s Space Mission Area lead. In that role, “I oversaw AFRL’s space science and technology investment strategy, ensuring synchronization with the technology needs for Space Force, Space Operations Command, and Space Systems Command and that experience will be very valuable in my new role,” he said in the release.

He reflected on the profound transformation of the space domain that occurred over his nearly two-decade tenure.

“Throughout my career I’ve experienced the dramatic changes and challenges that led to the stand-up of the Space Force, and I’m excited as the D-TEO to be part of that and ensure AFRL delivers science and technology necessary to advance our national defense, in the space warfighting domain,” he concluded.

Pentagon Cites Safety in Removing 140,000 Afghanistan War Photos, Videos From Public Site

Pentagon Cites Safety in Removing 140,000 Afghanistan War Photos, Videos From Public Site

Nov. 1, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

The Defense Department said Nov. 1 that to protect the identity of Afghans who helped U.S. and coalition forces, it has archived more than 124,000 photos and 17,000 videos from the Afghanistan War previously available to the public on its official media distribution site.

“We were concerned that [the Taliban] were going to seek out people who helped us over time, or relatives and families,” Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby told journalists.

“I think those concerns were valid, and we make no apology whatsoever for making this decision,” he added.

For 17 days in August after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the U.S. military helped evacuate 124,000 American citizens, Afghans, and third-country nationals in round-the-clock C-17 flights that departed from Hamid Karzai International Airport. Since the U.S. departed Aug. 31, the State Department believes about a hundred Americans remain and several thousand Afghans desire to relocate to safety in the United States.

The Defense Department’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, makes available DOD-related photos, videos, and stories from across the globe on a daily basis. The images of Afghans going back more than a decade will be archived until an undisclosed time.

Kirby said he personally made the decision and that it was coordinated with the National Security Council and the State Department, which is still helping to evacuate endangered Afghans and their families.

“My guidance was I want any imagery that could be used to identify individuals and or family members over the last 20 years of war—I want it to be unpublished for a temporary period of time,” he said. “It was done out of an abundance of caution.”

Kirby said there was no specific threat or indication that the Taliban was using DVIDS to identify and target Afghans.

He added that DOD had been quietly archiving the media content throughout the noncombatant evacuation effort in August and into September.

“I still believe that was the right thing to do,” he said. “Nothing’s been deleted from the record. It’s simply being archived until we believe it’s the appropriate time to put them back up.”

Air Force Discharges Trainees, Prepares to Discipline Troops Who Aren’t Vaccinated

Air Force Discharges Trainees, Prepares to Discipline Troops Who Aren’t Vaccinated

Nov. 1, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

The Department of the Air Force is preparing to discipline thousands of Airmen and Guardians who will miss a Nov. 2 deadline for full vaccination against COVID-19.

The Pentagon confirmed that some have qualified for exemptions. Meanwhile, a security expert told Air Force Magazine that the department is likely monitoring for any effects that numerous discharges could have on readiness.

As of Oct. 25, an estimated 10,000 Airmen and Guardians remained unvaccinated, with vaccination levels improving only slightly over the past several weeks, the department said.

While disciplinary action against uniformed service members will not be administered by their commanders until after Nov. 2, the Air Force recently discharged nearly 40 basic military and technical trainees as of Oct. 26 for refusal to vaccinate.

“An Airman or Guardian who is not vaccinated by Nov. 2 will be in violation of a lawful general order and subject to discipline under Article 92, [Uniform Code of Military Justice],” the department told Air Force Magazine in a statement. “Even if a service member has stated they will refuse the vaccination, the order would not be violated until the deadline passes.”

Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said during a Nov. 1 press conference that some of the 10,000-or-so Airmen and Guardians who have not been vaccinated have already received exemptions.

“The Air Force has received and has granted some exemptions, administratively and from a medical perspective,” Kirby said. “So, some of that number—that is definitely going to be inside approved exemptions.”

While thousands of Airmen potentially face discharge, RAND defense manpower specialist Beth J. Asch told Air Force Magazine the Air Force is ready for shocks like this.

“The Air Force has made this a readiness issue,” Asch said. “From a service perspective, there’s always a focus on deployability.”

Asch said the Air Force has one of the highest retention rates in the military and that typically, fewer positions are available than people willing to re-enlist after the first term. Should Airmen face the most severe punishment of discharge for refusing to vaccinate, Asch believes the Air Force can make the adjustment.

“It’s not trivial, but it’s not like, ‘Oh, my God, the force is going to be hollowed out because of this, either,’” Asch said. “What they might do is just allow more people to stay in than they might usually.”

Kirby clarified that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III does not want commanders to use the most severe punishment for those who refuse to vaccinate.

“He wants them to execute the mandate with a sense of compassion and understanding,” Kirby said.

The spokesman also declined to say whether Austin considers a non-vaccinated service member deployable.

“The Secretary will delegate that specific decision down to commanders at the appropriate level,” he said in response to a question from Air Force Magazine. “When you say deployable, what does that mean? There are different units—different services define deployments differently—and so he wants to let the services manage that decision-making process for themselves and commanders specifically.”

Since September, recruits have been briefed on the requirement to vaccinate and the consequences of refusal. Beginning Oct. 10, trainees were required to also sign a memorandum stating that they understood the requirement to vaccinate against COVID-19 upon entry into the service. Ninety-nine percent of trainees had arrived fully vaccinated or had started their vaccinations at BMT as of Oct. 19.

“If [trainees] refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, their squadron commander will issue a written order that states they must receive the vaccination. If they refuse a second time, meaning they have now disobeyed an order twice, they will then be processed for an entry-level separation,” Air Force spokesperson Rose Riley said in a statement Nov. 1.

Riley said the department is preparing to release midday Nov. 3 a breakout of Total Force vaccinations and exemptions by type. Department of the Air Force exemptions to vaccination include administrative exemptions, such as a religious exemption, and medical exemptions.

The Air Force declined to elaborate further on the types of exemptions available, the numbers of outstanding applications for exemptions, or any update to the number of vaccinated Airmen and Guardians since the Oct. 25 numbers were released.

Prior to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, service members have access to health care providers and chaplains to answer their questions or address concerns about the vaccine.

Commanders, meanwhile, “retain the full range of disciplinary options available to them under the UCMJ and must consult with their servicing Staff Judge Advocate for additional guidance on vaccination non-compliance,” an Air Force statement read.

Riley said the range of disciplinary actions extends from verbal counseling to discharge. 

She added that the Air Force does not maintain a breakdown of vaccination by Air Force Specialty Code, which would indicate how many specialists are refusing vaccination and could potentially impact readiness.

As of Oct. 25, 96.4 percent of the Air Force was fully or partially vaccinated. Kirby said 97 percent of Active-duty service members across the DOD have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, with Sailors at 99 percent, Marines at 93 percent, and Soldiers at 90 percent.

In recent weeks and months, civilian and military Air Force leaders have encouraged service members to vaccinate by the deadline, but a review of the archives of recent weeks of vaccination rates indicates only a minor improvement overall.

Asch said Air Force personnel experts likely will be studying specifically who is refusing to vaccinate.

If, for example, many who refuse have similar time in their careers, a significant pool could be unable to transition to a given rank.

The department has “capability for dealing with this sort of thing. Things happen, and they have to respond,” Asch said. “I have no doubt that they’ll be looking at this closely and figuring out what they can do to make up gaps.”

Photos: B-1 Escorted by Fighters From 4 Partner Nations in Flight Around Arabian Peninsula

Photos: B-1 Escorted by Fighters From 4 Partner Nations in Flight Around Arabian Peninsula

Nov. 1, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

A B-1 bomber flew with aircraft from four U.S. partner nations Oct. 30 as it circled the Arabian Peninsula during a bomber task force mission.

F-15s from Saudi Arabia and Israel and F-16s from Bahrain and Egypt escorted the bomber during a five-hour mission that “originated in the Indian Ocean, flew over the Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman,” according to a press release from U.S. Central Command. At least one American KC-10 also participated in the exercise.

“We are stronger together,” Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., head of CENTCOM, said in a statement. “Military readiness for any contingency or mission—from crisis response to multilateral exercises to one-day presence patrols like this—depend on reliable partnerships.”

The Saudi Arabian and Israeli air forces also took to social media to feature images and videos from the mission.

While Central Command’s press release did not specify where the B-1 flew from in the Indian Ocean, B-1Bs and Airmen from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., recently deployed to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for the first time in 15 years as part of a bomber task force mission. Diego Garcia is located more than 2,000 miles from the Arabian Peninsula.

This marks the fifth “presence patrol” mission U.S. bombers have undertaken in the Central Command area of responsibility this year. It is the first since March and the first to involve a B-1. In January, B-52s flew over the Middle East on three occasions, followed by another mission in March.

The Air Force introduced bomber task forces in 2020 as an alternative to continuous bomber presences outside the continental U.S. In addition to the B-1Bs at Diego Garcia, B-1s from 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, deployed to RAF Fairford, England, in October as part of a bomber task force for U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Re-Engining the F-35: How GE’s AETP Could Boost Speed, Payload, and Range

Re-Engining the F-35: How GE’s AETP Could Boost Speed, Payload, and Range

Nov. 1, 2021

Fighter jet engines are an inherent compromise. If you want more power, you pay by giving up range. Want more range? It’s going to cost you in power. Each generation of jet engines has dealt with this unbreakable rule.

But maybe there really is another way to meet that challenge.

GE’s work in the Air Force’s Adaptive Engine Technology Program overcomes that inherent trade-off by incorporating the ability to change the power dynamics on the fly. Its XA100 engine can reconfigure itself in flight to produce power of greater efficiency.

“The Air Force came to the conclusion in the early 2000s that with the existing fighter-engine technology, trying to squeeze out the next incremental improvements in legacy architecture wasn’t going to get them where they wanted to go,” said David Tweedie, general manager for Advanced Combat Engines at GE Edison Works. “They determined they needed a generational leap in propulsion capability.”

Getting more efficiency out of the turbofan engines that power the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, and now the F-35 Lightning II, didn’t seem possible. The Air Force needed another solution. Now, 14 years after the Air Force began adaptive cycle engine technology programs, GE says it has an answer that’s ready to deliver that generational leap in capability—not just an incremental improvement—for the F-35A and F-35C.

The GE XA100 and its three-stream, adaptive-cycle engine design offers critical advantages never seen in a single fighter jet engine: 

  • Flexibility: The XA100 can adapt on the fly from high thrust for maximum power to high efficiency for long endurance and loiter time. 
  • Improved thermal management: The XA100’s third-stream architecture enables the engine to keep on board computers cool–a critical need on the F-35–which is packed with sensors and computer hardware that generate a tremendous amount of heat. 
  • Advanced manufacturing: The XA100 leverages techniques proven through millions of hours of operation in GE’s commercial engines, including advanced ceramic matrix composites and additive manufacturing that improve performance, reduce parts count, and increase time on wing to bring down hourly operating costs.

“The F-35 is a great aircraft,” Tweedie said of the aircraft Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. dubbed the “cornerstone” of the Air Force fleet earlier this year. “What our engine offers is drop-in capability that significantly enhances F-35 capability, providing huge returns on the Air Force’s investment.”

The XA100 enables a 30 percent increase in range, 20 percent increase in acceleration, and doubles the engine’s thermal-management capacity. The engine’s advanced materials provide increased durability and readiness in harsh operating environments. All these improvements align with Air Force and F-35 Joint Program Office objectives to increase the capability of a jet that’s flown around the world. 

“The F-35 is what our allied partners are going to fly for decades to come,” Tweedie said. Those allies need range. “The XA100 helps overcome the tyranny of distance.” 

A second-order effect of extending range and loiter time is less demand for tankers and the ability for tankers to stay further away from contested airspace. There’s also another advantage to the engine’s fuel efficiency: less fuel means less CO2 put into the atmosphere, a growing consideration as the military looks at options to reduce its carbon footprint.

“There’s already a significant amount of Air Force and GE money invested in this technology and the XA100’s design,” Tweedie said. “The engine is not a concept. We’ve successfully tested one engine and are currently testing the second, and the data we’re gathering continues to validate the engine’s unmatched capability.”

“What that amounts to is the XA100 as the lowest-risk solution with the shortest timeframe to bring dramatic capability improvements to the warfighter.”

Richardson Takes Over SOUTHCOM, Only the 3rd Woman to Lead a Combatant Command

Richardson Takes Over SOUTHCOM, Only the 3rd Woman to Lead a Combatant Command

Oct. 29, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

A Black Hawk pilot who commanded her assault helicopter battalion in Operation Iraqi Freedom took over U.S. Southern Command in a ceremony Oct. 29. 

Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson, who received her fourth star Oct. 18, became the third woman to lead one of the U.S. military’s 11 unified combatant commands and the first to lead SOUTHCOM. She assumed command from Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller, who is retiring.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, a retired Army general who led U.S. Central Command, presided over the command change that took place in the gymnasium of Southern Command headquarters in Doral, Fla., near Miami.

In his remarks, Austin recalled first meeting Richardson when she was assigned as a Senate liaison escorting congressional delegations into Iraq. 

“I’ve been impressed with her ever since,” Austin said. “Most recently, she led U.S. Army North doing everything from fighting wildfires to helping Americans get vaccinated. It was an extraordinary time, and she did an extraordinary job. … As the President says, she is pushing open the doors of opportunity for all women in our military.”

As an ROTC cadet, Richardson graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver, later earning degrees from the Army Command and Staff College and National Defense University. She has commanded “from the company to the Theater Army level,” according to a command statement. Her spouse, whom she met at flight school at Fort Rucker, Ala., according to Austin, is Lt. Gen. James M. Richardson, deputy commanding general of Army Futures Command.

After accepting command, Laura Richardson acknowledged recent challenges and said the command “will focus on rebuilding regional resilience; expanding our security, cooperation, and multilateral exercises; and increasing training and education. 

“We will synchronize our efforts across all combatant commands to narrow the seams our competitors are trying to exploit. We will draw upon the strength in our neighborhood from partners who share our values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and gender equality.”

Richardson joins the small club already comprising Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, who took over U.S. Transportation Command this month; and retired Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson, who headed U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command from 2016 to 2018.  

Encompassing more than 16 million square miles, Southern Command’s area of operations includes the Caribbean and Central and South America. Its five service- and special operations-affiliated components, plus three joint task forces, counter international organized crime in the region, especially the drug trade; provide relief from natural disasters along with other humanitarian aid; and take part in multinational military exercises.

A recent example: an earthquake in August.  

“The men and women of this command were ready for a quiet Saturday after a busy work week,” Austin said, evoking that day. “But at 8:30 in the morning, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, and churches and schools and homes collapsed. Boulders blocked the roads. One of America’s neighbors needed help, and so you raced to respond—all of you, from Adm. Faller on down. 

“You sent aircraft to survey the damage and helicopters from Joint Task Force Bravo in Puerto Rico’s National Guard; delivered food and aid; and working together with [the U.S Agency for International Development], you saved hundreds of lives. It was a massive effort, but, you know, that’s what SOUTHCOM does time and again.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley put the command’s significance into perspective, describing its international partnerships as critical to securing half the globe. 

“Southern Command has built an incredible reputation for regional expertise for interagency cooperation and partnership,” Milley said, and it has “really put meat on the bones of a concept that SecDef Austin has introduced to us called integrated deterrence. And it means a great deal, not only in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, in the Middle East—but it means a great deal right here, … to counter the malign influences of adversary nations that dare to come into the Western Hemisphere.”

Milley estimated that 23 of the 47 allies and partners throughout the region were represented at the ceremony, “and we’re all shoulder to shoulder in that common cause to protect our hemisphere from any international threats. … Deterrence against our potential adversaries such as China, or Russia, or Iran, or terrorists, or drug cartels, or human traffickers, or any other threat will be met with a unified level of resistance by every single country in this hemisphere.”

In his farewell speech, Faller said he “wasn’t sure” if he’d be “smiling or crying” and settled on, “thank you—the two best words in the English language,” he said. 

“Martha and I are filled with gratitude,” Faller said, referring to his wife. “That’s the way I would describe how I feel, how we feel, about today. We’re grateful for the opportunity to have served this great nation and in this wonderful command.”

Turkey’s Erdogan and Biden to Face Off Over F-16 and F-35 Debacle

Turkey’s Erdogan and Biden to Face Off Over F-16 and F-35 Debacle

Oct. 29, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

President Joe Biden can help smooth tensions with Turkey and prevent the NATO ally from further defense purchases from Russia if he throws his support behind the acquisition of 40 F-16s and about 80 modernization kits at an expected meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome set for Oct. 30-31, experts believe.

Kicked out of the F-35 program for acquiring the Russian S-400 air defense system, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to lobby for $1.4 billion in credit toward a $6 billion renovation of Turkey’s aging air force. The deal could also improve U.S. relations with the Black Sea NATO ally, which have been strained since the Trump administration sanctioned Turkey’s defense industry and Congress blocked the transfer of six F-35s.

Turkey had originally hoped to purchase 100 of the fifth-generation aircraft.

“This deal is a positive if it goes through ultimately,” said Kadir Ustun, executive director of the SETA Foundation, a Washington think tank financed by private Turkish donations. “Turkey would feel reassured, and it wouldn’t have to turn to third countries for fighter jets because it’s no longer in the F-35 program.”

Turkey has had an on-again, off-again defense sales relationship with the United States in recent years. Turkey fields a fleet of F-16s but was denied the right to purchase Reapers a decade ago. When the U.S. pulled its Patriot missile system out of Turkey in 2015, a deal could not be reached to sell the American aerial defense system to Turkey. That’s when Russia stepped in and offered the S-400.

NATO allies balked at the thought that Russian technicians could be manning the controls of an S-400 as it studies the vulnerabilities of the F-35. Turkey went ahead with the purchase anyway, securing Russia’s most sophisticated radar and missile defense system for $2.5 billion in 2019 and triggering a mechanism that ultimately kicked Turkey out of the F-35 program in September of that year.

Turkey reportedly even tested the new system on American F-16s.

Still, U.S. officials are hoping a deal between Biden and Erdogan can put the two countries back on the right course, even if lingering issues such U.S. support for Kurds in northern Syria and the S-400 remain unresolved.

“The United States and Turkey have longstanding and deep bilateral defense ties, and Turkey’s continued NATO interoperability remains a priority,” a State Department spokesperson told Air Force Magazine.

The State Department acknowledged that Turkish officials have publicly expressed their interest in purchasing F-16s but said the negotiation about the $1.4 billion paid into the F-35 program is separate.

“The United States has not made any financing offers on Turkey’s F-16 request,” the spokesperson said.

The new F-16 Viper block 70 and 80 modernization kits provide advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with a new avionics architecture, structural upgrades to extend aircraft life by 50 percent, new software, and advanced datalink, targeting pod, and weapons, according to Lockheed Martin.

The Defense Department announced Oct. 27 that a high-level meeting took place between the DOD and the Turkish Ministry of Defense in Ankara to discuss remaining issues resulting from Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program.

“The meeting demonstrates the commitment of the United States Government to conclude respectfully Turkey’s prior involvement in the F-35 program,” Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Anton T. Semelroth said in a statement. “Discussions were productive, and the delegations plan to meet again in the coming months in Washington, D.C.”

The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment from Air Force Magazine.

DOD spokesperson Jessica R. Maxwell told Air Force Magazine that consultations are ongoing.

“The six aircraft Turkey has a financial interest in remain in U.S. possession and have been placed in long-term storage awaiting final disposition in consultation with Turkey,” she said. Maxwell declined to comment on the potential F-16 acquisition pending formal notification to Congress.

The position of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which approves foreign military sales, is mixed.

In July, Chairman Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, voiced strong opposition to Turkey’s alleged human rights violations and anti-democratic activity, and he made the S-400 a red line.

“Under no circumstances will I support the lifting of CAATSA [Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act] sanctions if the S-400 remains in Turkey,” he said in a committee hearing on the U.S. policy toward Turkey. “Nor would I support Turkey rejoining the F-35 program. I am proud of the role played by Congress to advance these sanctions and ensure their implementation. The message should be clear—any effort to weaken NATO from within or outside will be met by a robust response by the United States.”

Menendez’s office did not respond to an inquiry from Air Force Magazine about its position on the proposed F-16 acquisition.

The office of Ranking Member James E. Risch, an Idaho Republican, provided a more nuanced tact.

“Senator Risch has been clear Turkey will never have the F-35 as long as it has the Russian S-400,” a spokesperson told Air Force Magazine. “That said, he does recognize that Turkey does have a credit and has already spent a considerable amount of money that now cannot go towards the F-35.”

Ustun believes the future of the U.S.-Turkey defense partnership, and even Turkey’s participation in NATO, may lie in the hands of the U.S. Congress.

“If the U.S. refuses, once again, to kind of give those F-16s to Turkey, they’ll probably have no choice but to turn to Europe, but again, Russia will probably try to give Turkey a good deal,” he said.

Reports indicate that Erdogan has made overtures to Moscow to buy Su-35s and Su-57s fighter planes and jointly produce military aircraft engines.

“I think a presidential involvement will be necessary,” Ustun said of Biden’s potential role with Congress. “He would need to probably convince congressional members, and then if they insist on Turkey getting rid of S-400, that’s a deal breaker.”