Small Diameter Bombs Collaborate in Golden Horde Test

May 26, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Six GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs dropped from two F-16s set up their own network, changed their targets in flight and synchronized their strikes in a multifaceted final flight test of the current phase of the Golden Horde collaborative weapon technology, the Air Force Research Laboratory said.

Two F-16s from the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, flying over White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, dropped a total of six Boeing-made Small Diameter Bombs—four from one of the fighters and two from the other—in the May 25 test. The munitions established communications with each other and a ground station using the L3Harris Banshee 2 radio network and then reacted to a new high-priority target.

The In-Flight Target Update demonstrated “the ability of Golden Horde weapons to interface with the larger joint all-domain command and control network,” AFRL said. This capability is key to developing future “networked, collaborative, and autonomous,” or NCA weapons, according to a press release.

The new mission called for two of the weapons to make a synchronized time-on-target attack on a single location, while two other munitions made synchronized attacks on two targets, something that had previously been tested.

The synchronized time on target algorithm, supplied by Georgia Tech Research Institute, “was able to flexibly support the new target requirement without any software changes,” the AFRL said.

AFRL Commander Maj. Gen. Heather L. Pringle said the test is a technological leap not unlike the advent of laser-guided bombs in the 1960s.

“These technologies are completely changing the way we think about weapon capabilities,” she said in a press release.

Golden Horde is one of the Air Force’s Vanguard programs—technology demonstrations that will pave the way for new applications of weapons technology and manned/unmanned teaming.

The successful test will lead into “Colosseum,” the next phase of Golden Horde development, which will implement “digital engineering, hardware-in-the-loop, and surrogate [unmanned aerial vehicle] testing to rapidly integrate, develop, and test transformational NCA weapon technologies,” AFRL said.

Kendall Hints At Weapons Dual-Sourcing for Air Force

May 26, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Frank Kendall, nominee to be Air Force Secretary, told Congress he may support dual-sourcing munitions in order to ensure a surge production capability.

Among 58 pages of written answers to SASC committee member questions prior to his May 25 confirmation hearing, Kendall said he will revisit the munitions requirements process if he is confirmed, such that it involves allies who use similar munitions. He will take a look at “the cost and benefits of creating additional industrial capacity to meet surge requirements to support contingencies.”

Kendall also said he’d oppose any new jointly run acquisition programs, particularly command and control systems, and hinted that he doesn’t think the Air Force’s mix of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft will be “optimum” for the next decade or more. Such answers for the record must be carefully worded such that the nominee does not seem to be presuming confirmation.

The Air Force suffered several bouts of munitions shortages in the 2000s and 2010s, driven both by its underfunding munitions accounts and because allies drew upon U.S. stocks during conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Iraq. It was later revealed that some allies expected to draw on U.S. stockpiles in any coalition conflict, with the plan to reimburse the U.S. for those weapons expended. The Air Force has since urged allies to restock, warning that the USAF may be able to fund only its own munitions needs in the future.

Kendall said he would “assess the requirements system to ensure our partners remain combat relevant in support of combatant commander regional objectives.” He also said he would see to it that “ally capability and capacity requirements are understood and integrated” into Department of the Air Force processes.

He would further explore “consolidation of program elements to generate flexibility to meet changes in replenishment rates,” as well as more efficient business practices, including multi-year procurements “based on design maturity.”

During the Cold War, the military services often maintained dual-source industrial capacity on radars, engines, munitions, and other critical defense goods to ensure sufficient surge capability in wartime. Frequently, a competition was held for a system, and the winner’s design was developed and produced, with a second source—often the loser of the competition—later brought in to offer a similar product that met the same form, fit, and function. Annually thereafter, the two sources competed for the larger share of production orders. The inherent inefficiencies of dual-sourcing were often overcome by aggressive competitive pricing between bidders. A noteworthy example of this approach included the “great engine war” between Pratt & Whitney and General Electric on the F100 and F110 fighter engines.

Kendall also discouraged pursuit of jointly managed acquisition programs, saying they have an “abysmal record” and that acquisition success is far more likely if one service runs a program that the other services then simply buy.

Joint acquisition programs, “especially [command, control, and communications] programs, have an abysmal record,” he said. The most successful joint programs have “a single-service lead and are purchased by other services once they get into serial production.” Directly answering whether he would encourage such efforts, Kendall said he would suggest joint programs only “where there was a clear lead service, strong commitments by all participants, and strong economic incentives.”

Kendall, whose last job at the Pentagon was as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, has previously criticized joint programs for poor performance; notably the structure of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

If confirmed as Air Force Secretary, Kendall would likely have to argue against an overall joint multi-domain command and control system, potentially pushing for the other services to simply adopt the standards and architecture of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System.

He further hinted at this in other answers, where he said there are “challenges in making the Air and Space Forces more effective contributors to joint and combined operations.” Some of these, in which the Department of the Air Force “will play a critical role,” include, “the operational resilience and support to operations provided by the Space Force, and the achievement of integrated command and control between both the Space Force and the Air Force and with our other services and allies.”

Asked about the right mix of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, Kendall answered that “some mix” of the two kinds of aircraft “will be a reality for over a decade.” Based on his previous experience as the USD/AT&L, “it will still be some time before we can purchase enough fifth-generation fighters to have an optimal mix,” suggesting he thinks the Air Force won’t have enough of the more advanced aircraft. He said he understands that the Air Force has recently wargamed the ideal mix of fourth- and fifth-gen fighters alongside the developmental Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. Once he’s able to review those results, he can “apply appropriate budget constraints and choices that balance near- and longer-term risk.”

Kendall also said he endorses the 2018 National Defense Strategy, but said it fell short in that it “underemphasized the importance of our allies and partners.” He also said that as the Biden administration conducts its Global Posture Review, USAF will have to explore new operational concepts.

It will require “an understanding for the need to make some global presence tradeoffs as we reprioritize for near-peer competition.”

Inside a KC-46 Refueling Flight

May 26, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

ABOARD A KC-46 FLYING ABOVE LAKE HURON—As the flight of four F-16s approaches the Air Force’s next-generation tanker, the boom operator presses a few buttons on a digital display in front of her and the jet’s boom system springs to life.

The large black-and-white screen, the focal point of years of frustration inside the Air Force and negotiations with Boeing, sharpens to a clear image. It shows the refueling boom lowering from the rear of the plane and beginning to move side to side and up and down, testing to ensure it is ready to offload about 5,000 pounds of fuel to each Viper. A familiar “fasten seatbelt” ding plays to passengers to announce the start of the refueling—a reminder that the KC-46, at its heart, is an airliner.

The KC-46 is the sole Pegasus playing in Air Mobility Command’s large-scale Mobility Guardian 2021 exercise, AMC’s premiere training event held every two years. This year’s iteration is focused on new ways of fighting and the development of new technology. Air Force Magazine attended the waning days of the exercise and is the first independent news organization to fly on a KC-46.

The tanker’s envelope has expanded to fuel more aircraft, and the May 25 morning is perfect for the RVS to show what capability it has.

“Got ’em in sight,” the boom operator says over the radio.

Buzz 21, the first of the four F-16s from the Ohio National Guard, pulls up behind the KC-46, call sign Fred 11. When the black-and-white view of the F-16 is clear through the jet’s 3D view, you can make out the hoses extending from pilot’s oxygen mask, as well as the patches on uniform sleeves, from the end of the boom.

However, even with the 3D goggles, depth perception is difficult. Moving the refueling boom around the F-16’s canopy to then line up with the receptacle, flying at 290 knots, is a delicate process. While wearing the goggles, the center of the screen is sharp, but when you look to the edge of the screen, it gets blurry and disorienting.

The camera feed does not accurately show the end of the boom—there’s about another foot and a half beyond what is visible on the screen, so boom operators use the shadows to gauge where the tip is before connecting to the receptacle. If there’s no shadow, on a cloudy day, for example, the operator has to rely on experience, rather than technology, to make the connection.

These photographs, shown during a presentation during the 2020 Airlift Tanker Association conference, shows problems with the KC-46’s troubled remote vision system in both shadows and direct sunlight and examples of “adequate” images during ideal settings. Photos from Air Mobility Command Powerpoint slide.

The weather above Lake Huron, after taking off from Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport—a former USAF base that closed in 1993 and has become a depot and maintenance facility for Kalitta Air—is ideal for showcasing the existing RVS capability that day. A high cloud ceiling prevents the direct-sunlight washout that has plagued the system—during an earlier sortie in the exercise, the screen washed out while a gigantic C-5 attempted to refuel. The only shadow darkening part of the screen comes when the KC-46 lines up directly between the sun and the receiver. That only happens a couple times as the tanker runs its tracks, but when it does, it makes depth perception a little more difficult.

A set of three screens above the main one shows a blurry, wide-angle view of the rear and side of the KC-46, highlighting the heat signature of the F-16 engines.

The first connection with Buzz 21 takes a couple tries, as the operator pulls the boom back several feet to avoid scraping the F-16. “Money,” the instructor says as the connection is made. Buzz 21 takes on its fuel and moves to the right side of the jet. Buzz 22 moves in from the left to take its turn for fuel.

With the ideal day-time conditions, the refueling was “pretty by the book,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Edsall, a boom operator with the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, who was the instructor on the flight. While the daytime can bring the issues with glare and shadows, the RVS system is best at night, he said.

Scenario of the Day

The F-16s are providing defensive counter air coverage to protect bases in the region from an advancing force, which for the exercise had contracted “Red Air” simulating Su-35s and Su-30s. It’s “Day 30” of the war, and the enemy is at about 75 percent capability, with simulated Sa-8 short-range air defense systems protecting its key locations across the border. Earlier in the exercise, aircrews focused on tactics for a high-end fight, including takeoffs in radio silence and the first KC-46 night vision landing. Even the jet’s call-sign, Fred 11, is a diversion during the exercise since Fred is a nickname for the C-5. KC-135s are going by Herk, KC-10s are going by Moose, in a small attempt to deceive a would-be enemy.

The tanker is flying a track over Lake Huron to refuel the F-16s, and a nearby KC-10 is refueling two A-10s as part of the exercise. Because of the “stiff boom” Category One deficiency on the KC-46, one of several remaining with the program, it can’t refuel the Warthogs because lighter and slower aircraft such as the A-10 have a difficult time disconnecting after refueling. During a pre-mission brief, planners said KC-135s and KC-10s would have to be on standby if A-10s needed fuel, because the KC-46 couldn’t help.

AMC on May 26 said the KC-46 can refuel F/A-18A-F and E/A-18Gs using its drogue without restrictions. The Pegasus can pass fuel, with varying restrictions, to B-52s, C-17s, F-15s, F-16s, F-35As, HC/MC-130Js, other KC-46s, E-3Gs, C-5Ms, RC/TC-135s, F-22s, and B-1Bs. In the coming months, the aircraft is projected to be able to receive limited aerial refueling certifications and clearances for CV/MV-22s, E-8s, B-2s, and P-8s.

The boom operator makes the connection with Buzz 22, Buzz 23, and Buzz 24 on the first try. Then with the operational refueling requirements of the day’s mission complete, the nearby KC-10 swings over and practices making connections with the KC-46. Each time the massive KC-10 connects, it feels like the smaller KC-46 is in a minor fender bender as passengers feel a slight push forward.

Boom operators Airman 1st Class Crissy Hall and Staff Sgt. Ryan Edsall, both with the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, operate a KC-46's refueling system during a May 25 flight. — Boom operators Airman 1st Class Crissy Hall and Staff Sgt. Ryan Edsall, both with the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, operate a KC-46’s refueling system during a May 25 flight. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Karla Parra.

Flying the KC-46

In the cockpit, the KC-46’s avionics and situational awareness show how advanced it is compared to the older KC-10s and KC-135s. The pilots have plugged the flight path into the jet’s navigation system, and it flies itself on a refueling track. Aside from the better air conditioning, this is one of the biggest upgrades after coming from a KC-135, said mission pilot Capt. Daniel Dixon, with the 344th Air Refueling Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

“It’s a lot smoother to fly,” Dixon said. “It flies itself a lot more. That allows us to focus on tactical data link and the bigger picture—the other threats to the aircraft—and pay attention to the flight at large rather than maintaining our air speed and bank angle and making sure that we stay within our airspace.”

The co-pilot on the mission changes one of the screens in front of her to a camera view of behind, showing the KC-10 connecting to the boom.

Another screen in front of the pilots displays the jet’s Tactical Situational Awareness System, bringing in information collected through line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight links displaying nearby jets and threats into an easily viewable display for the aircrew to know what’s around them. This is built in to the KC-46, while the KC-135 relies on a roll-on system for a similar capability, but those are only available in small numbers, are owned by Air Combat Command, and sit in the back of that plane instead of in front of the pilots. A key focus of Mobility Guardian was integrating the KC-46’s system with other Tactical Datalink Systems across the mobility fleet.

KC-46 Fixes

USAF officials have long said the situational awareness upgrade is a major focus of the KC-46 program, and pilots who have flown the jet told Air Force Magazine it is a huge upgrade, though they are taking small steps to move toward full capability.

The jet’s biggest and most famous issue is the set of cameras, screens, and sensors connecting the boom operators to the receiving aircraft. Boeing and the Air Force announced in 2020 that they had reached an agreement to overhaul the whole system with new cameras, displays, and sensors. The current black-and-white video feed will be replaced by a color 4K view. The boom will be affixed with a new actuator to alleviate the stiffness issue, which will allow the A-10s to be able to connect with the KC-46.

Included in the new “RVS 2.0” package will be a laser ranger for aircraft distance measurement and augmented reality to assist with the boom operations, which should address the problems of depth perception and accurately show the length of the boom itself.

New screens will replace the current ones in the boom operator position, which is reminiscent of a remotely piloted aircraft operator’s cockpit. The new screens and systems will actually move the entire position a few inches, causing a third seat used by instructors and guests to be shifted from the middle to the side.

Boeing will cover the cost of the new RVS system, which is in addition to the more than $5 billion in cost overruns that the company is responsible for.

RVS 2.0 is currently undergoing its preliminary design review, and AMC boss Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost told Air Force Magazine in an interview she has seen some of that work, and “our boom operators have seen that work, and they are pretty happy with what they see. So, I’m cautiously optimistic.”

As more boom operators have worked with the current system, they have become more confident in working around RVS issues. AMC now wants to open its envelope to more training sorties with combat aircraft. Air Combat Command leaders have flown on KC-46s and seen how it operates and have said “’OK, let’s do this with fourth-generation airplanes,’” Van Ovost said

The new system will start to be installed on delivered KC-46s in 2023, and it will be incorporated on the production line the following year. In the meantime, Boeing has also developed an interim RVS “1.5” using software upgrades to improve the system’s image quality. While the interim step is welcomed by the Air Force, service leaders have said the priority is the full 2.0 overhaul and 1.5 can’t change that timeline.

The tanker during the May 25 mission, tail number 76026 from McConnell, has the original RVS system. McConnell is the biggest operating base for the KC-46, with more than 100 aircrews trained and flying the jet. The base has sent their KC-46s on an around-the-world mission including a stop at the Dubai Air Show, and on training events in the Pacific and in Europe. Air Mobility Command will offer the KC-46 to U.S. Transportation Command for limited operations as soon as July.

KC-46 crews used the exercise’s operations tempo, and the small, towerless airfield, to practice flying in a combat environment. During the May 25 flight, the KC-46 did a “tactical arrival,” or a “teardrop” landing. This involved approaching the runway from the wrong direction and doing a sharp turn and climb to turn around and land quickly.

“Traditionally, tankers [fly] very wide patterns, come in and fly [a] very smooth, precise approach to land. We’re used to taking off and landing from the same field at Al Udeid [Air Base, Qatar] or Al Dhafra [Air Base, United Arab Emirates], which is very safe, controlled. And so there’s not a lot of threats nearby,” said Maj. Thomas Gorry, the chief of group training with the 22nd Operations Group at McConnell.

The KC-46 program brings together aircrew from different backgrounds. Gorry comes from a C-130, which regularly flies tactical approaches to austere airfields, so he wanted to bring that approach to the KC-46.

“When you’re thinking about that next fight, the airfield you’re landing and taking off from might not be as secure, so the tactical arrival is another piece to that puzzle that we’re not just good at yet,” he said, adding, “We just don’t know where we’re going to be landing next. It’s not going to be [Al Udeid], and it’s not going to be Dhafra.”

Brown or Raymond? Milley Hints One Will Replace Him as ‘Next Chairman’ of Joint Chiefs

May 26, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

The next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could well be an Airman or Guardian, hinted Gen. Mark A. Milley, the current CJCS, while speaking at the graduation ceremony for the U.S. Air Force Academy on May 26.

Milley pointed toward Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond as the obvious candidates.

“I want to thank the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—it’s going to be either Brown or Raymond. Take your pick, Space or Air Force,” Milley said in a half-joking tone after thanking Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth for his attendance.

Milley then playfully polled the crowd of graduates and family members in attendance, asking them to cheer if they wanted Brown, then Raymond. He proceeded to acknowledge others in attendance, including senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez.

Milley began a four-year term as Chairman in October 2019 as the 10th member of the U.S. Army to hold the position. In contrast, Gen. Richard Myers was the last Airman to serve as CJCS, holding the job from 2001 to 2005. Since the founding of the Air Force as a separate branch in 1947, only four Airmen have ever ascended to the role.

The Space Force, founded in 2019, has never had a Chairman come from its ranks. In fact, Raymond is the first leader of the nascent service, which falls under the Department of the Air Force.

Getting Airmen into higher level joint roles was a top priority for the last Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. David L. Goldfein.

The importance of joint cooperation between branches was a common theme in Milley’s commencement speech, as he noted early on that “the reason I am alive today, it is you.”

“The reason so many other United States Army infantry, Special Forces are alive today, it’s because we had pilots of enormous courage, who went through thick or thin, when we called in close air support, and we said, ‘Mark my boss, purple smoke, 200 meters due north,’ and you rolled in, and all we cared about was steel on target,” Milley said. “We didn’t care about the color of your uniform. We’re a joint force—one team, one fight, every day, all day, day and night, and the enemy should never forget it.”

Milley also stressed the importance of deterrence, noting increasing tensions with other global superpowers and the need to maintain “real capability” to ensure peace.

“We are now in the 76th year of the great power peace following World War II, and the structure is under stress. We can see it fraying at the edge. With history as our guide, we would be wise to lift our gaze from the never-ending urgency of the present and set the conditions for a future that prevents great power war. Right now, we’re in a great power competition with China and Russia. And we need to keep it at competition and avoid great power conflict.”

Central to preventing tensions from flaring into war, Milley said, will be Airmen and Guardians making “hard choices with imperfect information,” a similar message to one Brown has sounded.

With the growth of technology, “revolutionary change is going to occur” while this year’s graduates are still in service, Milley warned, and it will occur at such a pace that the next generation of USAF leadership will “likely have very little time to correct the mistakes that my generation has made.”

To that end, Milley urged the new graduates to be aggressive in trying to confront and solve future problems now, hoping to give the U.S. a competitive advantage in the future that will either deter or win wars.

“You, the members of the Air Force, the members of the Space Force, are going to be key to our nation’s deterrence. In addition to your innovation, your skill, your readiness, your competence, the real military capability that you’re going to develop, you’re also going to need something else. You’re going to need an incredible character in order to deter, and if deterrence fails, in order to win.”

Brown on Future Combat: ‘I Can’t Predict the Future, But I Can Shape It’

May 25, 2021 | By Tobias Naegele

The defense budget coming out May 28 will contain few big surprises. Plans to retire some older planes have already been reported, and the longer-range plans typically surfacing at budget time—known as the Future Years Defense Program, or FYDP—are still being debated. But inklings of the service’s direction will be sprinkled throughout, all of them designed to maximize options going forward.

“I can’t predict the future,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. in a virtual conversation hosted by the Center for New American Security on May 25. “But I can help shape it.”

Shaping the future means ensuring U.S. forces can’t be stymied in the face of opposition or by failed programs that don’t deliver. “I want to make sure we have options that we’ve actually taken a look at,” Brown said. Streamlining today’s fighter aircraft inventory and investing in future fighter and bomber capabilities now will help set up those options in the future.

Experimenting with and fielding capabilities as they become available is also part of that plan. The USAF announced days earlier that it will begin fielding the first fruits of the Advanced Battle Management System this year, creating a pod that will fly on the KC-46 that will leverage the aerial refueler to help F-22s and F-35s communicate.

This is the concept behind JADC2, connecting “the right sensor to the right shooter,” Brown said. “It’s really about the movement of information and data to help drive decision advantage” and will ultimately involve sharing data and situational awareness across every domain—air, land, sea, and space. “We don’t do any one of these in isolation,” Brown said. “We’ve got to be able to work together,” so data must be shareable. “I don’t need to use every piece of data from every other service,” he added. “I want to make sure it’s available in case I need it, and vice versa. I want my data available and usable [by joint partners]. That’s where JADC2 comes together: when we have a shared understanding to sense, make sense, and then act and execute.”

The resulting “sensing grid” will provide multiple pathways for channeling information from platform to platform across the battle space, forming and reforming connections in the face of jamming and interference.

Training Airmen to operate under those conditions will be as critical to enabling JADC2 as developing new technology, Brown said.

“The Air Force just released our newest doctrine document, where we talk about, you know, centralized command, distributed control, and decentralization execution,” he said. “For our Airmen … to employ that new doctrine in mission-type orders, [they need] to understand that communication will be contested. And you will not have perfect information, and you’re going to have to be able to make decisions at a lower level. We’re not going all the way back up to the highest level of command to make those decisions.”

That’s a theme Brown has pounded on for his entire nine months as Chief, a theme that is closely tied to his bumper-sticker objective to “accelerate change or lose.” He applies it not just to warfare and new technology development, but also to the way systems are developed and acquired. The Air Force is going through a “cultural shift,” moving away from fully integrated hardware and software solutions in favor of acquiring hardware that might be able to do different things in the future as new software solutions emerge. Such an open architecture would be more flexible and allow for new capabilities to roll out over time, much as new apps and operating system enhancements are rolled out on phones and other devices.

“It is a different mindset,” he said. “It’s a different approach. And as we’ve worked with our industry partners, I’m seeing that we are moving in that direction. And we’ve got to continue moving in that direction.” Software development works that way, he acknowledged, but acquisition rules don’t, and that’s one of the challenges the services have to overcome.

New programs and innovations can help fuel that, from the Air Force’s software factories to collaborations with non-traditional and even traditional contractors. Airmen need to be willing to take chances, he said.

“You can’t be innovative and risk averse at the same time,” Brown added. “We’ve got to be able to take a little bit of risk, and some things are not going to work. But as long as we’re failing forward, that’s [what] we need to be, so we can accelerate change. So we don’t lose.”

Kendall Says Countering China is Why He’s Coming Back to Pentagon

May 25, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Frank Kendall, the Biden Administration’s nominee to be Air Force Secretary, said his concerns about China’s rapid modernization, and the desire to defend against it, are his principal motives for agreeing to return to work in the Defense Department.

“That is the reason, perhaps, that I’m interested in coming back into government…and hopefully to be confirmed, is to address that problem,” Kendall said in colloquy at his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing May 25.

Kendall also said he supports a fleet of at least 145 B-21 bombers, a continuing robust buy of the F-35, retaining the A-10 close air support jet and MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft fleet. He also views “command climate” as a key roadblock to stopping sexual assaults within the military, and will work to change it.

Kendall, whose last job in the Pentagon was as the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said he became aware of China’s rapid military modernization “and how successful they had been” in 2010, and has been concerned about it ever since.

In his prepared statement, Kendall said China studied the U.S. victory in the 1991 Gulf War and has subsequently worked to emulate America’s capabilities, “with the clear goal to defeat the ability of the United Sates to project power near China.”

While he said “we have made progress” against the threat posed by China, and also Russia—which he said has emphasized modernization of both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons—“there is still much to be done.” He’s looking to organize, train and equip the Air Force and Space Force to better deter China and Russia, and if necessary, “fight and win, against all adversaries.”

Kendall effectively endorsed the last Administration’s National Defense Strategy, saying “there’s been a lot of additional attention on this in the last several years. The National Defense Strategy…takes us in that direction. And I think there’s general consensus, now, that China is the pacing threat” to the U.S.

In written answers to committee questions, Kendall said the Air Force’s responsibilities for two legs of the nuclear triad are “by far its most important” mission. He added the national command and control network to the triad, calling it the “quad” of deterrence.

Under questioning from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kendall said he believed the defense budget to be forwarded to Congress Friday will be “adequate,” but said he would “fight” for the necessary resources to modernize the Air Force and give it the capacity necessary for all its missions. Sullivan asked if Kendall thought a 3-5 percent increase in defense spending, as recommended by the commission on the national defense strategy, is appropriate.

“Rather than pick a number, I will commit…to fight for the budget that’s necessary to fulfill the National Defense Strategy, whatever that may be. And if it’s three percent, yes, if it’s five percent, ten percent, I will try to get the money that is needed by the Department of the Air Force if I’m confirmed, so the Air Force can support combatant commanders as they need to, to carry out that strategy,” Kendall said.

Kendall supported a figure of 145 B-21 bombers mentioned by former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein at a posture hearing in 2020.

“I think that…is a reasonable number, at this point,” Kendall said, adding that “We’re a long way from achieving that, and requirements may change over time” but it’s a sound number to form the basis of the program and its management, he said.

The Air Force has been shifting its position on the number of B-21s from “at least 100” to 145 over the last two years, with Global Strike Command now quoting 220 as the “right-sized” bomber force, of which 75 would be upgraded B-52s.

Kendall called himself “a proponent” of the A-10, “because of my background” in the Army, saying it presents a “unique” capability for close air support, and is the aircraft ground commanders tend to ask for by name.

“There remain hard trades to be made,” he said, “and I think there’s a question of how [much] inventory can be maintained,” now that a number of the A-10s have been re-winged. “But they provide a unique capability and I would be reluctant to see them come out of the inventory entirely.”

Kendall endorsed the F-35, agreeing that it is the “cornerstone” of the Air Force’s fighter fleet.

“The F-35 is the best tactical aircraft of its type in the world, and it will be so for quite some time,” Kendall said. “It’s a complex, expensive weapon, unfortunately, but it is a dominant weapon when it goes up against earlier-generation aircraft.”

Kendall said he has not been briefed on the Air Force’s tactical aircraft study and can offer no insight on it yet, but said “We have to get to an affordable mix, that meets our needs, that is driven by the National Defense Strategy. That’s what should guide those investments.”

As for the F-35, Kendall said he has a “long history” with it.

“It has struggled, certainly, and since I left government, four years ago” the sustainment cost and delays with the Block 4 version have multiplied, Kendall said, citing press accounts.

But he seemed to endorse a robust continuing procurement of the F-35, telling Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) “the key to getting the cost down in an air fleet is getting the numbers up. There’s a very strong correlation between the size of the fleet and the cost to sustain that fleet. So if there’s one thing that would continue to drive costs down overall, it would be to continue to buy” the F-35.

While there’s some debate over what the final F-35 buy should be, “my own view is that we’re well short of that number, and what we should be working on is keeping the cost down and keeping procurement at a rate that makes sense.”

The MQ-9 has “served us incredibly well in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Kendall said in answering a question on the drone’s future, but it cannot persist in “a high-threat environment.” He said it would be worth “some investment” to give the MQ-9 fleet additional survivability capabilities and “look what we can do to sustain it” in the force.

“It would be a shame” to retire the MQ-9 fleet “after all that investment” that’s already been made in it, Kendall added.

Kendall said he will look closely at the “command climate” in the Air Force, saying that, in certain places, it may underlie many of the sexual assault problems in the service.

“My overall assessment, throughout my career, of command climate, is overwhelmingly positive,” Kendall told Sen. Kristin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). “But there are exceptions. There are cases–and I think Ft. Hood has been a recent example, in the Army—where investigations have revealed that there are problems.”

“What I can commit to you is, if I am confirmed, I will take command climate and the culture that is created within the Air Force extremely seriously in this regard. I think it is, frankly, at the root of the problems that we have with sexual assault and sexual harassment, and if we can’t address that, we’re not going to be successful in prevention.”

Contract Red Air Jet Crashes at Nellis, Killing Pilot

May 25, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fatal Mirage F1 crash on the south side of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, around 2:30 p.m. May 24. The Mirage was owned and operated by Florida-based Draken International, which has flown adversarial air against pilots training at Nellis since 2015.

The pilot’s name has not yet been released. No one else was on board at the time of the crash, according to a release.

“Draken has received news of a downed aircraft out of Nellis AFB and the tragic loss of one of our pilots,” the company said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people and families affected by this event. We are doing everything in our power to assist them in this time of need, and we are working closely with federal, state, and local authorities. Draken US is also cooperating with investigating agencies to determine what led to this tragic accident.”

It’s not clear whether Draken’s fleet is now grounded. An Air Combat Command spokesperson told Air Force Magazine, “there’s no immediate operational impacts that we’re aware of,” and referred any addition questions to Draken. A company spokesperson said no additional information is available at this time.

Draken originally started flying so-called “Red Air” missions at Nellis in 2015, using L-159 Honey Badgers and A-4 Skyhawks. The company recently started introducing French-built Mirage F1s, acquired from the Spanish air force, and Atlas Cheetahs, acquired from South Africa. The first F1 adversary air flight was just over a year ago, when F1s challenged USAF F-15E Strike Eagles on March 18, 2020.

In June 2018, Draken won a $280 million contract, which runs through December 2023, to continue flying at Nellis. Draken contractors fly from 18 to 24 adversary air sorties a day at the base, “supporting the USAF Weapons School, operational test missions, Red Flag exercises, Formal Training Unit syllabus rides from Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as well as combat readiness training out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah,” according to a 2018 release.

In addition, the company is under contract to provide adversary air in support of the F-15E FTU at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, and the F-16 FTU at Kelly Field, Texas. The company also supports exercises at locations such as Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona; MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina; MCAS Miramar, California; and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland

Draken aircraft currently are assigned to provide Red Air support for Air Mobility Command’s Mobility Guardian 2021 exercise in Michigan. They flew on May 24, but did not fly the day after the crash. Air Force Magazine is embedded with USAF forces during the exercise.

The company owns 22 F1s, 12 supersonic Cheetahs, nine Aermacchi MB-339s, 27 MiG-21s, 21 L-159s, 13 A-4s, five L-39s, and one T-33, a company official previously told Air Force Magazine.

The last time a contractor-owned and operated adversary aircraft crashed while supporting USAF operations was in February at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Two Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) Mirage F1 pilots were treated for non-life threatening injuries at the time. In 2018, the Hawaii Air National Guard also temporarily suspended Exercise Sentry Aloha after an ATAC Hawker Hunter crashed in the waters a few miles off the coast. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued by a civilian sailboat.

Draken and ATAC were among three companies awarded contracts in July 2020 worth up to $433.6 million to provide 5,418 annual sorties of adversary air at five bases. Tactical Air Support also received a contract. The awards are part of a potential $6.4 billion Combat Air Force/Contracted Air Support indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that could include up to 40,000 hours of adversary air at 12 fighters bases, plus 10,000 hours of close air support at nine bases.

The service has authorized a total of seven companies to bid on contracts, and Nellis is expected to be the next big award. In addition to Draken, ATAC, and Tactical Air Support, other companies include Top Aces Corp., Air USA, Blue Air Training, and Coastal Defense.

“The CAF/CAS contract remains in the base year execution phase, with requirement adaptations ongoing as anticipated,” an ACC spokesperson said. “However, any mishap of this magnitude always has an impact on the flying community. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family, friends, and our partners at Draken during this time.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 2:06 p.m. on May 26 with additional information from the Air Force. We also corrected an earlier version, which incorrectly stated when the last contract adversary air crash took place. It was February 2021 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

Mobility Aircraft, Airmen Practice For New Ways of War

May 24, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

ALPENA COMBAT READINESS TRAINING CENTER, Michigan—Air Mobility Command wants to overhaul how it operates so it serves as more than the “bus drivers” for combat forces, and it’s practicing how to do that right now across the upper Midwest.

Exercise Mobility Guardian 2021 is underway at multiple locations in Michigan and Wisconsin, with about 1,800 personnel across all of AMC’s mission sets. This includes 18 mobility aircraft and 57 aircrews, contingency response Airmen, aeromedical evacuation Airmen, and others, plus combat aircraft support from A-10s and F-16s. The blue force is going against adversary aircraft, cyber teams, and ground opposition forces in a three-phase “war” bringing new tactics, operational structures, and technologies as they test out a potential new type of mobility air force.

“We’re looking 10 or 15 years in the future when, ‘OK, what are we going to need in that future fight?’” said Lt. Col. Brian Thomasson, MG21’s exercise director. “The U.S. military is really good, obviously, at the skills we’ve been practicing in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past few decades, but our potential adversaries have watched us operate. They know how we act … and so we need to make sure we’re ready for the future fight, whatever that could look like, and that we’re preparing new technologies, new ways of organizing our force, etc., so that we’re ready for that.”

This is the third Mobility Guardian, which first started in 2017 as the command looked to move away from the previous “mobility rodeo” competition toward a large-scale exercise in which mobility forces were the focal point instead of the supporting force. The 2019 event was much larger than the current iteration and included dozens of partner nations in an exercise that focused on the global mobility mission. The 2021 exercise is U.S.-only and is focused on future tactics and emerging technologies.

For about two weeks, ending May 27, the mobility and combat crews are operating from three separate locations—airlifters at Alpena; fighters at Volk Field, Wisconsin; and tankers at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, Michigan—plus five other operating locations across the region.

The “war” is playing out over four phases, designed to practice key mobility mission areas along with tasking them in some roles not typically handled by airlifters and refuelers.

The groundwork for the exercise, dubbed “Phase 0,” started with contingency response Airmen arriving and evaluating the airfields for operations, offloading of equipment, and setting up the basic infrastructure at the “bare bases.” In Phase 1, mobility aircraft took off in radio silence, and fighter aircraft flew against threat emitters in the region. Mobility aircraft contributed to offensive operations by evolving two new capabilities, both of which came from the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System demonstrations and are continuing to evolve.

Airlifters carried an Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and used its capabilities onboard to retarget the system after rolling it off.
A C-17 carried palletized munitions in another step toward firing the systems from the back of the airlifter.

The second phase focused on sustainment operations, with aircraft flying “dynamic taskings,” including on-call airdrops and close air support. A special operations force infiltrated using an expeditionary airlift package. During this phase, the exercise simulated a mid-air collision of aircraft and a downed pilot, forcing tankers to stay on station and help coordinate with A-10s for a rescue operation.

The third phase included aircraft and Airmen at the different locations practicing “agile combat employment” tactics to continue operations. This included a C-130 carrying a fuel bladder and munitions to reload and refuel A-10s quickly. Another C-17 offloaded fuel from its wings into a truck, which then quickly refueled F-16s.

Throughout the operations, adversary cyber teams targeted communications systems. Exercise participants were forced to operate with unreliable connections to higher ups, with a major goal of Mobility Guardian to practice “mission-type orders.” This means an aircrew would have a commander’s intent of what to accomplish, but they would not have a typical air tasking order or regular communication with an air operations center for direction. Instead, they would have to make operational decisions on the fly.

“You may not be the person expected to make those decisions currently, but maybe in the future you might be, so we’re training those people under mission-type orders to take and leverage some of the authority that they’ve been given and then, with agile combat employment, they’re going to actually move their forces and maneuver their forces,” said Capt. Alexander Hutcheson, the lead air planner for the exercise.

As part of the push for more agility, the exercise built a different structure for its operating locations. Forces are under the umbrella of an air expeditionary wing overall, with individual exercise groups at the three main bases. There, forces are organized as “mission generation squadrons” with all the Air Force Specialty Codes needed for operations. For example, instead of individual squadrons for maintenance, intelligence, logistics, operations, etc., Airmen from those specialties are assigned together into one “MGS” to build and sustain aircraft ops.

“What we’re challenging for the next echelon of command below the wing level is for that squadron commander to present, in almost an autonomous capability: ‘Hey, if I need to move this capability around the theater, I can do that in a package type of way and still produce rapid global mobility,” said Col. Scott M. Wiederholt, commander of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, who is serving as the commander of the exercise’s 443rd Air Expeditionary Wing.

Most of the Airmen involved in the exercise haven’t worked under the ACE construct or used some of the new technologies involved, which is why the exercise is designed so that failing is OK. Individual scenarios are run through multiple times, so if it doesn’t go well the first time, Airmen can iterate and fine-tune until it works.

After the exercise wraps later this month, AMC will work through the lessons learned to shape new training and eventually new guidance for how to operate.

“Airmen are going to leave this exercise with a deeper understanding of where we are going as a Mobility Air Force and some of the … critical thinking skills that we are asking Airmen to think about and challenge,” Wiederholt said. “’Why do I do this this way? Is there a better way for us to do that?’ This will energize those thought processes when they’re back in their home station and they’re going through their own evolutions of training and exercises.”

Kendall Facing Senate In Quest To Become Air Force Secretary

May 24, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

Frank Kendall III will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 25 in a hearing that will likely lead to his confirmation and eventual swearing in as the 26th Secretary of the Air Force.

If confirmed, Kendall would succeed Barbara M. Barrett as the Secretary of a department that includes both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, where he would be responsible for organizing, training, and equipping some 697,000 Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians. John P. Roth has been the acting Secretary since Jan. 20, when President Joe Biden was sworn in as Commander in Chief.

Kendall, 71, was undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, a position Congress split into two jobs four years ago. Serving under the Obama administration, he oversaw research and engineering, sustainment, testing, contract administration, and logistics.

Now he hopes to bring that defense-wide experience to the Department of the Air Force. His confirmation hearing, coming just three days before the White House releases its fiscal 2022 budget request, will be marked by Senators’ probing questions about the Air Force’s commitment to major acquisition programs ranging from the F-35A stealth fighter to the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent—a replacement for the force’s 400 aging Minuteman III nuclear missiles. He will also be asked about Air Force plans to trade near-term fighter capacity for long-term modernization, which could have major implications for bases and manufacturers spread across the country.

If confirmed, Kendall will get the tough job of selling Congress on those plans while fighting for a bigger share of overall defense spending at a time when budgets are projected to be relatively flat but modernization needs are getting squeezed and peer adversaries such as Russia and China are ramping up their military investments.

Air Force Magazine reported on “pre-decisional” Air Force plans calling for retiring 421 older fighters from 2022 to 2026 while acquiring just 304 new ones, a net reduction of 117. That plan seeks to phase out the F-15C/D fleet, reduce the size of the F-16 fleet by 124 aircraft, and retain the A-10 attack jet until the 2030s while building up the F-15EX and F-35A fleets. By then, the plan suggests, it will be time to retire the F-22 fighter and introduce the Next-Generation Air Dominance platform.

Another area of questioning Kendall will face is nuclear modernization. The Air Force operates two of the three legs of the nation’s nuclear triad: nuclear-capable bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing to “pause” the Ground Base Strategic Deterrent program rather than move forward with tens of billions in investment to replace the Minuteman III.

Questions will likewise focus on the nascent U.S. Space Force and what its requirements will be over the coming years. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson told members of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces May 24 that the service has made significant progress creating a blueprint as it works to establish a “truly digital service.” In its second year, Thompson said, the Space Force is working on building partnerships with the Joint Force as well as with allies and partners.

Kendall’s acquisition experience will be put to the test as some lawmakers question the pace of space acquisition reform. “Progress in addressing longstanding acquisition issues has been disappointing so far,” said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) during the Department of the Air Force posture hearing earlier this month. Similar questions are likely to come up during the confirmation hearing.

As acquisition chief in the Obama years, Kendall’s signature “Better Buying Power” initiative sought to streamline defense acquisition. That experience could be valuable in a service that is historically on the cutting edge of technology where existing acquisition processes often aren’t flexible enough for emerging solutions.

Former Air Force Undersecretary Matthew P. Donovan, now director of AFA’s Mitchell Institute Space Power Advantage Research Center, said Kendall will have his work cut out for him. If confirmed, Kendall will face “a familiar challenge of declining defense budgets at a critical time for the Department of the Air Force and its fledgling U.S. Space Force,” Donovan said. “He would need to strongly support all Airmen and Guardians, staunchly advocate for the crucial importance of air and space power in support of the joint warfighter and great power competition, and set clear visions for the future” of both the Air Force and Space Force.