Air Force Pushes to Counter China in 2022 Budget

May 28, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Department of the Air Force is asking for $212.8 billion in fiscal 2022, including $39 billion in “pass-through” funding, which is not controlled by USAF and goes to other mostly classified defense activities. The amount represents an increase of $7.3 billion over the enacted 2021 budget of $205.5 billion, for an increase of about 3.3 percent, or roughly flat, when inflation is taken into account.

Counting the “pass-through” funding, which is more than double the U.S. Space Force’s total budget, the Department of the Air Force’s budget appears to be the largest of the military services, edging out the Navy by just $1 billion.

Subtracting the pass-through, however, the Department of the Air Force’s funding falls to $173.7 billion, nearly tied with the Army for the lowest budget among the military services, despite defense leadership touting the Air Force and Navy as the primary forces for dealing with the Indo-Pacific theater. Of that $173.7 billion, the Air Force gets just $156.3 billion while the U.S. Space Force gets $17.4 billion.

Strategically, the Air Force spending plan emphasizes modernization, with “focused investments” to deal with China as the pacing threat to the U.S., along with other threats. It divests legacy systems, continues with buying new systems for strategic deterrence, “advances” key weapons and technologies, buys new aircraft and aims to “tackle the climate crisis,” particularly as it threatens USAF facilities at risk from rising sea levels, strengthening storms, and wildfires.

To help pay for modernization, USAF is asking to divest 201 aircraft in 2022—out-years spending in the future years defense program were not released with the budget—offset by bringing on just 91 new airplanes, saving $1.4 billion in the coming fiscal year to put toward new capabilities.

The defense budget overall proposes a 2.7 percent increase in both military and civilian pay. The department’s total force end strength would grow by 3,400 persons, to 515,300 people in 2022. The Active-duty end strength of the Air Force, however, would actually fall by 751 people to 328,300 people. Service officials said the level is essentially flat, having to do with the status of medical personnel brought on to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to setting people programs as a high priority, the Air Force budget targets sexual harassment and assault and “extremism in the ranks,” the service saying it will “ensure accountable leadership” in these areas, according to budget documents.

Finally, the spending plan is designed to build tighter relationships with partners and allies and “build unity” with the other services.

Air Force’s Spending Plans

To meet those goals, the Air Force has “fully funded” the nuclear enterprise, continuing the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, Long-Range Standoff missile, and the National Command, Control, and Communications infrastructure development programs, as well as development of the B-21 bomber. It “advances” the Next-Generation Air Dominance system to succeed today’s fifth-generation fighters; funds both boost-glide and air-breathing hypersonic missiles; modernizes the B-52 with new radar, engines, and connectivity, and “maximizes” production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range and the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile conventional stealth missiles. The budget calls for 48 new F-35 fighters, 12 F-15EX fighters—“to ensure near-term readiness”—and continues improving the F-22 fighter with advanced sensors. It also buys 14 combat rescue helicopters and builds Advanced Battle Management System technology.

Operations and maintenance accounts claim 40 percent of the requested monies, at $63.2 billion, while personnel costs account for 25 percent, or $38.4 billion. Research, development, test, and evaluation would get 18 percent, or $28.8 billion; procurement would be 15 percent, or $22.9 billion, and military construction two percent, or $2.9 billion.

In operations and maintenance, flying hours would be reduced slightly, from $7.8 billion enacted in 2021, to $7.6 billion in 2022, a reduction of 87,000 hours.

Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget Maj. Gen. James D. Peccia III, briefing the press on the budget, said the reduced flying hours could be attributed to “the change in global posture overseas,” including reduced operations in Afghanistan, which accounted for 66,000 hours of the reduction.

The remaining hours “were really risk that we could take on peacetime flying,” Peccia said. He noted that the Air Force hasn’t been able to execute its full flying hour program for a few years, and the change reflects that reality. The same approach was taken in 2021, he said.

Because the Pentagon has eliminated the Overseas Contingency Operations, the separate war account known as OCO, those costs are absorbed in USAF’s base budget and account for $7.9 billion of the O&M accounts as “direct war and enduring costs.” Including personnel and other costs, such as replacement of materiel, the total war cost estimate is $10.1 billion for the Air Force, which, with the elimination of the OCO account, comes out of hide.

The pay raise costs $573 million for uniformed personnel and $361 million for civilians, with another $183 million for civilian bonuses and awards. USAF is asking for a 3.8 percent increase in the basic allowance for housing, at a cost of $221 million, and a 2.3 percent increase in the basic allowance for subsistence, costing $56 million.

In RDT&E, the $28.8 billion requested in 2022 represents an increase of $200 million over the 2021 enacted amount. The biggest item in these accounts is the B-21, which would grow by $30 million to accommodate preparation for initial production, from $2.843 billion to $2.873 billion. The GBSD is set to nearly double, from $1.447 billion to $2.554 billion. The NGAD would grow by more than 50 percent, from $902 million to $1.525 billion.

Development of the F-35 would increase from $816 million to $1.055 billion, as the Block 4 upgrade takes shape and the Tech Refresh 3, which underlies it, is improved. Development of new radars, engines, and connectivity for the B-52 would see an increase from $483 million to $716 million.

The Advanced Battle Management System, centerpiece of USAF’s connectivity push, would see an RDT&E increase of just $46 million, to $204 million. The Air Force said this increase mostly funds “info sharing across fifth-gen [tactical air] and [command and control] nodes.” Hypersonics weapon development—and specifically “prototyping” of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFIRE), and Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) systems—would increase from $386 million to $438 million. The Air Force told Air Force Magazine that spending on new test facilities and wind tunnels for hypersonic systems development adds up to only $2,000.

In procurement accounts, the Air Force sees a decrease from $26.1 billion in 2021 to $22.9 billion in 2022. It will buy 48 F-35 fighters for a cost of $5.095 billion, 12 F-15EX fighters for $1.335 billion, 14 KC-46A tankers for $2.6 billion, 14 HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters for $930 million, and other aircraft. The Air Force updates sensors on the F-22 for $468 million in fiscal ’22.

USAF requests a steep drop in procurement of Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs, from 16,800 in 2021 to just 1,919 in 2022. Peccia said the service is “comfortable with where we are” on JDAM inventories and decided to reduce the buy and put the money toward developing new weapons.

Purchases of Small Diameter Bomb 1 would likewise decrease from 2,462 in fiscal ’21 to 998 in ’22. The SDB II buy would grow slightly, from 743 in ’21 to 998 in ’22. The AGM-114 Hellfire, AIM-9 Sidewinder, and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles all would see reductions, as well.

Senior Pentagon leaders touted sharply increased production of the stealthy, long-range AGM-158 JASSM-ER, from 400 units in ’21 to 525 rounds in ’22, describing the missile as key to a counter-China strategy.

For the first time, the Air Force gave procurement numbers for the AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile, saying USAF will buy 12 rounds in 2022 at a cost of $161 million, for a unit price of $13.4 million each. Pentagon officials said the objective price of the weapon will be much lower, but the Air Force did not offer any official out-years insight into its cost.

Air Force military construction projects total $2.924 billion in 2022, up 40 percent from the $1.77 billion enacted in 2021. Of these, bed-down projects for the B-21, KC-46, and F-35 total $333 million, $160 million, and $129 million, respectively, with another $62 million supporting Air National Guard projects for the F-35, F-16, and C-130. Three GBSD-related construction projects would get $98 million in total.

The Air Force would also buy two new dormitories for basic military training worth $172 million, projects worth $185 million supporting the European Deterrence Initiative, 13 projects in the Indo-Pacific worth a collective $572 million, and $105 million for family housing projects.

Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, president of the Air Force Association, said the budget submission is evidence that Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is “doing what he promised: accelerating change.” Congress and the Defense Department now “need to do their part to ensure that capacity traded away today for capability tomorrow is not lost forever, but ultimately replaced with the capacity needed to deter any and all adversaries and to fight and win when needed.”

Wright said the “pass-through” budget “deprives both the Air Force and Space Force of the funds they need to modernize and equip their forces.”

Douglas Birkey of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said that while it’s one thing to retire KC-10s “knowing that a KC-46 will backfill” it, it’s “quite another to retire an aircraft and hope the requirement will be filled years from now.” The Air Force has “almost always lost” the game of trading current capacity for future capability, he said, adding “numbers still matter.” Congress has yet to weigh in, and the Air Force “has yet to secure its full support” for its approach.

The service “needs to either better communicate the requirement, or adjust plans, understanding that support remains weak.” He also said it’s unrealistic to expect that two services—the Air Force and Space Force—“will be able to exist within the confines of funding originally allocated to one,” a problem exacerbated by the “pass-through” problem.

Air Force Wants to Cut 32 Tankers to Free Up Space and Personnel for KC-46s

May 28, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force is again targeting its old tankers for retirement, proposing a cut of 18 KC-135s and 14 KC-10s in fiscal 2022, after the service presented a new “roadmap” for its tanker fleet to gain the approval of U.S. Transportation Command. Along with the proposed cuts, the Air Force wants to buy 14 more KC-46s.

Maj. Gen. James D. Peccia III, the Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget, said the tanker cuts will be front loaded, rather than a one-for-one swap with new KC-46s, to ensure the new Pegasus aircraft and aircrews can be ready.

“Part of it is to clear the way for ramp space for the KC-46s to come in; part of it is to use the manpower that is already in the KC-135 and KC-10 programs and transfer that over so we can get them trained and ready to go,” he said. “So part of it really is to clear the way, or to give us some space, for the KC-46s to come in.”

Last year, U.S. Transportation Command boss Gen. Stephen R. Lyons pushed back on proposed cuts to the legacy tanker fleet, warning that aerial refueling already was the most stressed part of his command. Congress agreed and largely blocked USAF’s efforts to divest legacy tankers.

This year, the Air Force was able to present a clearer roadmap on how it plans to bring on the KC-46, coinciding with increased confidence of aircrews operating the plane, Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost told Air Force Magazine in a May 26 interview. Air Combat Command leaders have flown on the KC-46 and watched it refueling first-hand and have agreed to let the tanker refuel fourth-generation fighters more. Additionally, AMC plans to offer the KC-46 for limited operations in the coming months.

AMC conducted an analysis and presented the “roadmap” to TRANSCOM on the planned retirements. This included retiring KC-135s as it brought on new KC-46s, allowing for the advanced work to prepare for more Pegasus tails to arrive.

“All that together … demonstrated how this is going to work,” Van Ovost said.

Lyons, in testimony to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee last month, said the Air Force’s steps, along with increased operations by Air National Guard and Reserve tanker crews, make him feel more comfortable sending some KC-135s to the boneyard.

“I really appreciate the support of the Air Force,” Lyons said. “I’ve talked to the Chief about this. I think we’re in a very good place. I do think it’s the right decision to allow the Air Force to retire the KC-135s that they requested to retire,” Lyons told appropriators.

DOD’s $715 Billion Budget Request Focuses on Research and Development to Counter China

May 28, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon’s $715 billion budget request for the fiscal year 2022 aims to increase research and development, with a key focus on what is needed in the Indo-Pacific, and it will chop old aircraft to do it.

The Biden administration’s first budget request, released May 28, includes the biggest total of research funding in Defense Department history—$112 billion, a 5.1 percent jump from its request last year. The research in new weapons systems and emerging technology is required to “meet the array of security challenges that we face today and in the future,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks said.

“To deter aggression, the U.S. military will need to be ready,” Hicks said in a budget roll-out briefing. “The FY 2022 request provides the resources necessary to ensure that DOD maintains that credible deterrent by sustaining readiness and protecting investments in critical capabilities. The budget also documents some of the tough choices we had to make. We lessen our reliance on vulnerable systems that are no longer suited for today’s advanced threat environment or are too costly to sustain.”

As previewed in the “skinny budget” announcement last month, the 2022 request does away with the Overseas Contingency Operations fund. Instead, funding for enduring operations is moved into the base budget. This request includes $42.1 billion for these operations, down 22 percent from 2021 as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and draws down its presence in Iraq and Syria.

The budget proposal includes a total of $245.6 billion for investment, $52.4 billion of which is for aircraft and related systems—down from $56.9 billion in the 2021 budget request. Major buys include a total 85 F-35s, 12 F-15EXs, 115 helicopters, six drones, and 73 logistics and support aircraft. Major cuts include 42 A-10s, 18 KC-135s, and 14 KC-10s.

Countering China’s growth is the key driver of the Pentagon’s budget priorities, which includes the creation of a $5.1 billion Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) for buying more long-range fires, ships, and funding for more exercises to grow the U.S. influence in the region. The PDI is based on the similar European Deterrence Initiative, which gets a $3.7 billion request.

“To defend the nation, the department in this budget takes a clear-eyed approach to Beijing and provides the investments to prioritize China as our pacing challenge,” Hicks said. “The [People’s Republic of China] has become increasingly competitive in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. It has the economic, military, and technological capability to change the international system and American interests within it.”

Nuclear modernization is another big-ticket item. The request calls for $27.7 billion for nuclear enterprise modernization, to include fiscal 2022 spending totals of $3 billion on the B-21 Raider and $2.6 billion on the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent. Additionally, the budget requests $20.4 billion for missile defeat and defense.

On the personnel side, the budget proposes a 2.7 percent pay raise for service members and calls for a total end strength for the Air Force of 506,900, down from 507,755, with 328,300 in the Active duty. The Space Force will grow under the request, to a total end strength of 8,400 and a budget of $17.4 billion.

The request includes $617 million for climate-related spending, largely for strengthening installation resilience in the aftermath of major damage to bases such as Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, from natural disasters. The spending also includes science and technology investments aimed at reducing the department’s energy demand and research to improve energy efficiency of current platforms.

The Pentagon wants to increase support for DOD families, with $8.6 billion for family support initiatives, including child care, morale, and recreation programs, and non-medical counseling support.

Air Force Asks to Retire 201 Aircraft in 2022 and Will Buy 91 New Ones

May 28, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force will ask Congress to let it retire 201 aircraft in its 2022 budget request, though it plans to buy just 91 new airplanes, as it looks to free up cash from legacy systems for new technologies needed to keep pace with peer adversaries such as Russia and China in a high-end fight.

“As Secretary of Defense [Lloyd J.] Austin has emphasized, the DOD will evaluate and divest legacy systems and programs that no longer meet mission and/or security needs, while investing smartly for the future,” the Air Force said through a spokesperson. Divesting old iron frees up manpower and resources “to field more capable systems to address emerging threats” and will save $1.4 billion, presumably through operational cost avoidance.

AIR FORCE DIVESTMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET

AIRCRAFT TYPE	FY 2022 DIVESTMENTS	FY 2022 SAVINGS (in millions)
A-10 Thunderbolt	(42)	($343.9)
F-15C/D	(48)	($248.9)
F-16C/D	(47)	($30.9)
KC-135	(18)	($112.7)
KC-10	(14)	($174.0)
C-130H	(8)	($83.1)
E-8 (JSTARS)	(4)	($106.5)
RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk	(20)	($273.3)
TOTAL	(201)	($1,373.3)

Source: USAF budget documents

AIR FORCE PROCUREMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET

AIRCRAFT TYPE	FY21 ENACTED	FY22 BUDGETED
F-35A Lightning II	60	48
HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter	19	14
KC-46A Pegasus	15	14
F-15EX	12	12
MC-130J Commando II	4	3
TOTAL	110	91

Source: USAF budget documents

The largest hit would be to the fighter inventory, which would see a net reduction of 77 aircraft. The Air Force would retire 48 F-15C/Ds, 47 F-16C/Ds, and 42 A-10s for a total of 137 fighters retired. The service will buy 48 new F-35s in 2022 and 12 new F-15EX Eagle IIs.

Air Force Magazine has previously reported that USAF plans to reduce its fighter inventory by 421 jets over the future years defense program ending in 2026, while bringing on just 304 new fighters. The fiscal 2022 budget documents released May 28 do not show FYDP plans. Officials say those numbers are still being worked out.

The tanker fleet would decline by 18 KC-135s and 14 KC-10s, for a total of 32 airplanes, and USAF plans to buy 14 new KC-46s in 2022.

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft would decline by 26 airframes, the bulk of which would be Block 30 RQ-4 Global Hawks, reduced by 20 aircraft. The E-8C Joint STARS fleet would be reduced by four airplanes, and the two OC-135 Open Skies treaty verification aircraft would be deleted, now that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Open Skies treaty.

A large number of puts and takes would affect the fleet of C-130s in its various configurations for both mobility and special missions. USAF would retire 13 C-130Hs, but will bring on five new C-130Js, for a net decrease of eight Hercules in the tactical transport role. It also plans to procure three new MC-130J Commando IIs, one less than the 2021 enacted budget.

The Air Force will buy 14 new HH-60W combat rescue helicopters. Budget documents do not show a reduction in its HH-60G fleet, which the W models are to replace.

The bomber fleet shows no further reductions in 2022 after divesting 17 B-1s in 2021; the first Lancer retired to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on Feb. 17. The bomber fleet holds at 44 B-1s, 20 B-2s, and 76 B-52s, for a total of 142 airframes.

Notable inventories remaining unchanged also include the C-17 transport fleet, holding at 222 airlifters; the F-15E fleet, at 218 fighters; the U-2 ISR fleet, steady at 31 airplanes; and the T-38A and C trainers, flat at 59 and 445 aircraft, respectively.

Although the Air Force is already planning a replacement to the MQ-9 fleet of hunter-killer drones, it would increase their numbers by 21 aircraft in 2022, to 351 airframes. A service spokesman said the increase is due to aircraft being delivered that were added by Congress in fiscal 2020, though the service is not buying any new ones. Even so, USAF said it is “maintaining 56 government-owned, government-operated MQ-9 combat lines,” which include several aircraft each, in fiscal ’22, having reduced those GOGO lines by four.

The Air Force believes it has “sufficient quantities of MQ-9s in the inventory” to support combat requirements while it asses a “follow-on capability that better aligns” with the National Defense Strategy. There’s money in fiscal 2022 to pursue a so-called “MQ-X,” but “that line of funding remains classified,” the spokesman said.

News Editor Amy McCullough contributed to this report.

Budget to Include ‘Largest Ever’ Research and Development Request, Aims to Deter China

May 27, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The first budget request of the Biden administration, to be released May 28, will trade off aircraft and other capabilities not relevant in future fights in exchange for the “largest-ever” request for research and development, with a particular focus on what is needed to compete against China, top Pentagon leaders told lawmakers May 27.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III told members of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee the budget will “create the right mix of capabilities to defend the nation and deter any aggressors.” Austin would not provide specifics until the budget rolls out but said the Pentagon needs to work with individual services to retire equipment that might be relevant now but won’t be in the future.

The budget has “substantial investments in the modernization of the nuclear enterprise, missile defeat and defense, Navy forces, long-range fires, and the largest-ever request for [research, development, test, and evaluation] for the development of technologies,” Austin said. “So our effort, again, is to make sure that we have the ability to leverage quantum computing, to begin to leverage [artificial intelligence], space-based platforms. Not only begin to leverage them, but to network them in ways that they’ve never been networked.”

The White House announced in April that the budget would include $715 billion for the Pentagon, with a total of $753 billion for national defense.

Austin said the Pentagon has “taken a hard look” at White House guidance and will use its funding request to ensure it is “focused on acquiring the right kinds of capabilities that we need to be relevant in the future fight.”

This tradeoff for the Air Force is expected to mean cuts to legacy planes such as KC-135s and MQ-9s—cuts that some lawmakers have already come out against because combatant commanders regularly call for more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Air Force Magazine previously reported that the Air Force plans to ask Congress to retire 421 legacy aircraft through 2026, replacing them with just 304 new fighters, so it can shift savings toward acquiring new systems such as the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter later this decade and a new Multi-Role fighter, called MR-X, in the 2030s. However, many of those changes are likely to be implemented in 2023, following the completion of USAF’s tactical aircraft study, which will determine the right mix of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. has said.

Austin said future investment “puts us in a good place, and what it requires us to do is work with the services and take a hard look at those capabilities that will not be relevant in the future fight, and really begin to no longer invest in those capabilities … and focus on those things that we know we’ll need.”

The driving force behind the shift is China’s increased capabilities and intent to compete with the U.S. The budget will include funding for a proposed Pacific Deterrence Initiative, along with money for technologies relevant in the Asia-Pacific.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, testifying with Austin, said China has shown it is advancing rapidly, though it is not more capable in the region.

“They are a very, very significant competitor to the United States,” Milley said. “They are not yet our equal, but their intent is to be our equal.”

Air Force Did Not Effectively Oversee Development of KC-46 Refueling Boom, DOD IG Says

May 27, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force didn’t effectively oversee the development of the KC-46’s refueling boom, leading to additional delays and costs and a lingering deficiency that prevents the tanker from refueling some USAF aircraft, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report.

The Defense Department Inspector General, in a report released May 27, said the Air Force’s KC-46 Program Office didn’t effectively manage the development of the refueling boom, specifically following a redesign of the system in 2012. That year, Boeing presented a system design during the preliminary design review that “differed significantly” from the initial design from the 2011 contract award.

Despite the new design, the Air Force did not “ensure that critical technologies for the refueling boom were demonstrated in a relevant testing environment,” and it “did not verify full functionality” of the boom in accordance with the program’s own plan when performing flight tests, the IG found.

The Program Office didn’t revalidate changes to critical technologies “at any point during the engineering and manufacturing development phase, since revalidations were not required by DOD policy,” the report states. The office decided, with approval from the Pentagon, in 2014 that reduced flight testing was fine to evaluate the performance of the tanker in support of a 2016 Milestone C decision. Officials believed, since the KC-46’s boom is based on the proven system on the KC-10, further assessment of boom technologies was not necessary.

“Despite encountering flight test failures in January 2016 that required Boeing engineers to redesign the refueling boom, the KC-46 Program Office officials did not change their decision to perform reduced flight testing prior to the Milestone C decision. This reduced flight testing did not include the stressing conditions under which the refueling boom problem could potentially occur.

Because of this, in 2018 when the company tried to test full functionality of the boom system, test results showed the boom was problematic during refueling of A-10, C-17, and F-16 receivers. The KC-46 still can’t refuel the A-10 and some variants of the C-130, with operational limits on several other airframes, according to the DOD IG.

These problems led to August 2019 and March 2020 contract modifications at a cost of $100 million to redesign the KC-46’s refueling boom, with a retrofit not estimated to begin until January 2024.

“Had KC-46 Program Office officials effectively managed the development and testing of the refueling boom for the KC-46A tanker, the Air Force would not have had to spend an additional $100 million for the redesign of the refueling boom to achieve its required performance,” the IG’s report states.

Going forward, the IG recommended that the Pentagon’s acquisition officials conduct “knowledge-building technology readiness assessments” throughout the buying process, including at preliminary design review, critical design review, and Milestone C “at a minimum.” The Defense Department also should develop and execute technology maturation plans “for critical technologies that have not been demonstrated in a relevant testing environment.” The Pentagon’s director of Development, Test, Evaluation, and Assessments agreed with these recommendations.

Trainer Aircraft Mission Capable Rates Rose in Fiscal 2020 With Investments

May 27, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Investment in parts and facilities, proactive maintenance, and reorganization helped Air Education and Training Command drive a 17 percent improvement in the overall mission capable rates of its trainer aircraft—substantially better than USAF’s overall performance, according to figures provided by the Air Force and AETC.

Three of AETC’s four main trainer aircraft improved more than most other Air Force aircraft in mission capability rates in fiscal 2020; outscored only by the F-35 strike fighter, the MC rate for which increased 16 percentage points.

Overall, the Air Force saw about a 2.5 percent improvement in its MC rates across all fleets, from 70.27 percent in fiscal 2019 to 72.74 percent in FY ’20. The Air Force provided the MC rate data to Air Force Magazine, and AETC commented on the results through a spokeswoman.

“Mission capable” refers to aircraft available and ready to do at least one of their assigned missions.

AETC scored increases with the T-1A Jayhawk, used for advanced training for pilots on the tanker/transport track; the T-6A Texan II turboprop basic undergraduate trainer; and the T-38C advanced supersonic jet trainer. Only the T-38A saw a mission capable rate decline in AETC’s stable.

Mission Capable Rates for Air Education and Training Command Trainers

Trainer	2019 Mission Capable Rate	2020 Mission Capable Rate
T-1A	60.51 percent	68.43 percent
T-6A	63.29 percent	73.57 percent
T-38A	74.48 percent	71.29 percent
T-38C	63.05 percent	65.44 percent

Source: USAF

An AETC spokeswoman said the improvements were due to several factors. The command increased investment in sustainment—“the parts, supplies, and maintenance capabilities we needed,” and it restructured “some known problems” by rewriting aircraft maintenance contracts to improve MC rates, she said. There was also “sustained leadership emphasis and a reorganization,” about which AETC didn’t elaborate.

An engine test cell facility was returned to service, which eliminated “long wait times to return out-of-service aircraft” to flying status.

There was also a shift to “removing and replacing items prior to the established mean-time” between failure, so the aircraft avoided predictable breaks.

With the exception of the T-1, the break rates on the four fixed-wing trainers stayed about the same from fiscal 2019 to 2020. The T-1’s break rate improved from 10.54 percent to 8.85 percent. The T-6’s break rates stayed the same, at 5.29 percent, and the T-38A and C saw marginal improvements of less than half a percentage point each, from 6.78 percent and 7.38 percent, respectively in fiscal 2019, to 6.67 percent and 7.12 percent, respectively, in FY ‘20.

The aircraft are neither the youngest nor oldest in USAF’s inventory. The T-1A averages 25.9 years; the T-6 averages 14.9 years; and the T-38A and T-38C average 52.91 and 52.17 years, respectively, although the T-38C has undergone more extensive service life extension and modification to include new wings, intakes, and cockpit upgrades.

Among specific investments, AETC put $34 million into T-6A spare parts in fiscal 2020 and boosted T-38 spares and repairables in Fiscal ’19, the spokeswoman said.

AETC is in the midst of a drastic overhaul of its fixed- and rotary-wing pilot training programs, shifting a greater amount of the syllabus to simulation, with a corresponding decrease in overall flying hours, both per-aircraft and per-pilot. The objective of the overhaul is to turn out better pilots more quickly, according to 19th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Craig D. Wills. Aircraft utilization rates were not immediately available.

AETC is evaluating whether to phase out the T-1, which is nearing the end of its planned service life, or to continue to use it for specialized accession of commercial pilots into the Air Force. The T-38A and C will be phased out over the next decade as the T-7A Red Hawk supplants it for advanced pilot training. Both the T-38A and C models have received upgrades and service life extension, but both also will need additional improvements to serve until the full complement of T-7As comes online.

Senator Who Flew Space Shuttle Shocked that China, Russia Hardly Engage on Space Debris

May 27, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

A first-year senator may perceive the perils of space debris multiplying in low-Earth orbit from a more visceral vantage point than the Space Force or Defense Department officials who testified May 26 on threats to U.S. military activities in space.

“With regards to LEO [low-Earth orbit], in particular, do you—as we’re tracking relatively small objects [debris], there’s thousands of them—when you get a state vector on one of those and you can see that’s it’s going to approach not only our ally’s, but sometimes our adversary’s, satellites in orbit, … do you always share that information? Because there’s also benefit for us,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), a retired Navy pilot who flew or commanded four space shuttle missions and is a member of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces. Kelly said sharing such information gives any satellite operator, even an adversary, a chance to maneuver out of the way and not contribute more debris from a crash.

Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson said the USSF’s 18th Space Control Squadron does “that deconfliction” anytime it’s aware of such a close approach. Then John Hill, who is performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for space policy, added that while most space operators “are very glad to engage with us … there are two countries that often don’t pick up the phone or answer the email.” He later specified that he meant China and Russia.

Kelly had assumed the DOD would have a “direct line” to a Russian agency, for example, in such an event. “So, they don’t respond when there’s a conjunction?” Kelly asked incredulously.

“We have established communications in some circumstances—it’s not 100 percent” radio silence, Hill said, not specifying whether he meant China, Russia, or both. “We end up having to use diplomatic channels, and it’s a much more complicated process.”

Referring to an earlier remark on counterspace threats, Kelly said a Chinese anti-satellite weapon test in 2007 that created a debris field had “presented an interesting problem” for him.

“I was the commander of the space shuttle on the very next shuttle mission to launch, and it became an issue. I had to maneuver the space shuttle out of the way of some of that debris. And it presents an increasingly complex hazard,” Kelly said.

The officials briefed members on counterspace threats including anti-satellite missiles and directed-energy weapons, as well as the lack of accepted norms of behavior in space. Thompson characterized China’s and Russia’s pursuits of counterspace technology as “attempting to take … away from us” existing abilities to conduct communications and surveillance, for example, from space.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) wanted to know how the Space Force plans to defend against cyberattacks on space systems. Thompson said the service is assessing “bolt-on” cyber defenses for existing platforms “when and where and how we can.” And unlike in the past, when cybersecurity in space wasn’t necessary, the USSF will “absolutely design our systems” with “a cyber threat in mind,” he said.

“Then the third piece is, we’re building out what we call mission defense teams,” Thompson said. “Those are cyber defense teams for every system, for every operational organization, who understand the cyber capabilities, are highly trained in defense, and [are] hunting and finding threats and addressing them and providing that first line of defense.”

Thompson went over some of the DOD’s and Department of the Air Force’s organizational plans for the Space Force, saying that as of the hearing, the USSF had about 6,400 uniformed members. About 6,000 of those transferred in from the Air Force plus there are interservice transfers now underway and another 218 officers entering from the Air Force Academy’s 2021 graduating class. About 6,000 civilian employees are also assigned to the Space Force.

Meanwhile, the USSF has activated its first of three field commands, the Space Operations Command, and plans to stand up both the Space Systems Command and Space Training and Readiness Command in 2021, Thompson said.

Here Are the Scoring Charts for the Air Force’s New Fitness Test

May 27, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

As Airmen prepare for the return of physical fitness tests July 1, the Air Force released updated scoring charts May 26 to reflect the changes to those tests.

As previously announced, PT tests will no longer include the controversial waist measurement as a scored component, though Airmen will still be tape-tested once a year. Without the waist measurement, the maximum point value of the sit-up and push-up components will increase from 10 each to 20. The 1.5-mile run will remain at 60 points.

Airmen will now be scored in five-year age groups, instead of 10-year cohorts like the previous test. The new age ranges start with all Airmen younger than 25 and then increase every five years until reaching 60 years or older. In order to pass, Airmen need to accumulate 75 total points and meet the minimum requirements for their age and sex in each individual component.

The minimum requirements in the new scoring charts are lower across every age category for both men and women, while the standards for a maximum score were lowered for those who now are in the 25-29, 35-39, 45-49 and 55-59 age ranges.

“Physical fitness is an important part of our everyday lives. It’s more than just a test—it’s a way of life, our readiness, and ultimately our future success,” Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass said in a press release. “July 1st is a chance to refocus on building a lifestyle of fitness and health, and I know our Airmen will be ready.”

The Space Force will continue to follow these new guidelines until service-specific fitness policies are developed and fielded.

The Air Force also has developed alternative “strength and cardiovascular testing exercise options” and plans to release them in the coming weeks, with the aim of Airmen being able to select which testing option is best for them, according to the release.

Those new testing options, however, won’t be available until January 2022. While the May 26 announcement didn’t detail what new exercises would be included, some of the options explored by the Air Force Fitness Working Group included a 20-meter shuttle run, row ergometry, planks, and burpees.