Two Injured in Rocket Attack at Al-Asad

July 7, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Two U.S. troops were injured when rockets hit al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, on July 7, the latest in a series of rocket and small drone attacks on American positions inside the country.

Fourteen rockets impacted the base and its perimeter, and “force protection defensive measures were activated,” Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said in a statement. After a full accounting, two personnel sustained minor injuries. Overall damage is still being assessed, he said.

“Each attack against the [Government of Iraq], the [Kurdish Region of Iraq], and the Coalition undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions, the rule of law, and Iraqi national sovereignty,” Marotto said. “Coalition forces are co-located with our ISF and Peshmerga partners on ISF bases. Each attack against the Coalition endangers the lives of ISF and Peshmerga forces.”

On July 6, explosives from drones impacted the Erbil International Airport in Kurdistan, which houses U.S. troops, Marotto announced on Twitter. No casualties or damage was reported. The day before, an armed drone was shot down over the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Al-Asad was targeted again on July 5, with three rockets impacting the base perimeter. However, no injuries or damage was reported in that attack.

The series of attacks represent an increase in hostilities likely from Iranian-backed militias following the June 27 U.S. airstrikes on three militia facilities on the Syria-Iraq border. USAF F-15E and F-16 aircraft hit buildings where militias were building and storing the small drone weapons used to attack U.S. and partner bases.

A militia leader vowed a response to the strikes, which killed four members of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, The Associated Press reported.

Al-Asad is the site of the January 2020 Iranian ballistic missile attack, in which more than 100 U.S. troops sustained brain injuries.

MacDill Opens Its Gates as Elsa Heads North

July 7, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., cleaned up limited flooding and debris after then-Hurricane Elsa passed through early July 6 and headed north into Georgia and South Carolina.

After the storm passed the Gulf Coast base, MacDill moved to “recovery operations” for several hours to clean up before lifting its hurricane condition and fully reopening. The base had sent its KC-135s to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in anticipation of the storm.

The storm made landfall at MacDill as a Category 1 hurricane but has since been downgraded back to a tropical storm as it moved north through Florida’s panhandle and inland, where it was expected to continue to lose its intensity.

The storm passed through Moody Air Force Base, Ga., during the afternoon of July 7. The base was expecting strong winds and heavy rain, with a flood watch for the area, but it did not disclose if it moved any aircraft in advance of the storm.

“The safety of our Airmen and their families is our top priority,” said Col. Russell P. Cook, 23rd Wing commander, in a release. “I encourage everyone to take precautions, have supplies ready, and take care of each other.”

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., posted warnings urging personnel to prepare for potential flooding on roads in and around the base.

The National Hurricane Center reported Elsa would carry heavy rainfall and potential flash, urban, and river flooding through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. The storm will carry heavy rainfall across the Northeast and New England through the end of the week.

Three C-130s Now Fighting California Fires

July 7, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

A third specially equipped Air Force C-130 joined firefighting efforts in California this week as flames burned in five large fires in northern California.

The latest Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130H from the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing began operating out of the former McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif., on July 5. The C-130 flew three of the 13 total MAFFS retardant drops that day.

“It’s an honor to do this mission—we take it to heart,” MAFFS Mission Commander Capt. Jennifer Kanakis said in a 1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern release. “We’re responding with urgency to help suppress the fires.”

MAFFS 8 joined MAFFS 9, another C-130H from the same unit, and MAFFS 6, a C-130J from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing.

As of July 6, the aircraft have made 52 drops on five fires, dropping more than 152,000 gallons of fire retardant.

The five fires are part of the Salt Fire north of Redding, the Lava Fire near Mount Shasta, and the Dotta Fire north of Portola. Two had been suppressed with the help of the aircraft: the Tangle fire north of Tangle Blue Lake and the Juniper Fire in far northeast California, according to 1st Air Force.

The first C-130 was activated June 29 to start fighting the fires. The aircraft are equipped with the MAFFS, which is a roll-on system with a 3,000-gallon tank that shoots water or retardant from the rear parachute door.

Russia Simulates Bombing Exercise in Black Sea as NATO, US Forces Exercise

July 6, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Vladimir Putin is not happy about recent American and NATO exercises in the Black Sea, ordering the bombing of simulated enemy ships and conducting aerial denial tests in a region he believes to be within Russia’s sphere of influence. And Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby says that’s just fine.

“I know of no infringement on our ability to exercise in Sea Breeze by Russian activity,” Kirby said of the two-week exercise hosted by Ukraine that concludes July 10.

The U.S. and Ukrainian navies, including Airmen from the 7th Special Operations Squadron, 5,000 military personnel, 30 ships, and 40 aircraft from the U.S., Ukraine, and NATO ally and partner nations, are helping to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to protect its territorial waters after losing 70 percent of its naval fleet to Russia in 2014.

The 7th SOS conducted coordinated operations with Ukrainian and British counterparts to support maritime and ground forces. U.S. aircraft also conducted intercept and formation training together with Ukrainian and British fighters.

As to whether Russia announced their aggressive exercises in advance or created a deconfliction channel, Kirby referred Air Force Magazine to Moscow.

Meanwhile, on July 2, NATO partners Greece, Romania, and Turkey participated in air defense exercises in the Black Sea. The U.S. maintains a steady rotational presence in the countries of the Black Sea in order to deter Russian aggression. Crimea is just 200 miles from NATO shores.

Two NATO air policing fighter jets are on constant standby at Romania’s Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, an air base subsidized by American European Deterrence Initiative funding and used by some 200 American troops on rotation in the country.

“Joint air policing missions contribute to the development of response and deterrence capacity,” the Romanian Ministry of Defense told Air Force Magazine in a statement about the role of its F-16’s.

The July 3 Russian exercise with Sukhoi fighters and bombers practiced missile and bombing strikes against mock enemy vessels, according to Reuters. Only days earlier, al Jazeera reported that Russia tested its S-400 air defense systems, part of the anti-access and area denial system placed on the heavily militarized Crimean peninsula.

Russia’s aggressive response is in addition to a massive disinformation campaign that portrayed the American ships as entering Crimea’s territorial waters in a provocative way.

Kirby said the naval exercises have been operating in international waters.

“It’s a defensive exercise, and it’s one of the most robust Sea Breeze exercises we’ve conducted to date,” he said. “We are proud of the interoperability and the capability that it’s showing that we can have with international partners in that international seaway,” he said.

Afghanistan Withdrawal Nearly Complete After US Leaves Bagram

July 6, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is almost complete after American forces abruptly left the largest operating base in the country July 1, a move the Pentagon said was needed because of operational security.

As of July 5, 90 percent of the withdrawal had been completed, with about 984 C-17 loads of equipment flown out of the country, according to U.S. Central Command. More than 17,074 pieces of equipment are being destroyed.

U.S. forces reportedly did not tell the Afghan commander of Bagram that they were leaving, with the last troops turning off electricity and taking off during the night. This allowed looters to briefly come on to the base before being pushed out by Afghan troops. The U.S. left behind about 3.5 million “small items,” such as thousands of bottles of water and meals-ready-to-eat, but also large items, including thousands of personal vehicles and hundreds of armored vehicles, according to The Associated Press.

Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby, during a July 6 briefing, said there was coordination with senior Afghan officials in advance of the turnover, but he “can’t speak to the level of information that went down the Afghan chain of command.”

U.S. officials did not tell Afghan leaders the “exact hour” of when they would leave as a matter of operational security.

“We have to consider that this drawdown could be contested by the Taliban,” he said. “We have to take that into consideration. It would be irresponsible … to give the exact hour. That would not have been a prudent thing to do.”

Also July 6, Gen. Austin Scott Miller, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and the Resolute Support mission, visited NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO’s headquarters to assess the withdrawal and the current security situation, Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

Kirby said U.S. officials are still pursuing new basing agreements in nearby nations to help provide counterterrorism support while maintaining that American aircraft from bases in the Persian Gulf region are able to provide adequate support from “over the horizon.”

The U.S. is still determining how to provide maintenance support to the Afghan Air Force from outside of the country after the withdrawal. Contractors remain on the ground in the country while this planning is underway, Kirby said.

New B-21 Stealth Bomber Image Shows Stealth Windows

July 6, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force’s newest rendering of the secret B-21 bomber shows an exotic layout of cockpit windows. The image, the third released so far, offers a new oblique view of the aircraft from below its port side, showing a deeper keel and wider weapons bay than that of the B-2 bomber it will succeed. But the air intakes, which have been redesigned, are obscured.

The new B-21 Raider image was published July 6 along with a new fact sheet. The Air Force identified it as an “artist’s interpretation.” It shows the aircraft taking off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where it will be flight tested beginning early next year. The prior official illustrations were released in January 2021 and in February 2016.

The new picture shows a triangular, curved main forward cockpit window and a wide, arcing side window with no apparent interior framing. That departs from earlier views which showed B-2-style windows. Just aft of the side window is the Global Strike Command badge and stenciling for ground rescue instructions.

The nose of the aircraft confirms a more pronounced “Beak” or “Hawk’s bill” than on the B-2 Spirit, which the B-21 generally resembles. The underside of the aircraft seems to be deeper than the B-2, although details are obscured. When compared with the artist’s rendering released in January, the B-21 seems to have a greatly pronounced chine, or flattened leading edge, which then tapers into the blended-wing fuselage. This chine also marks a departure from the B-2, which has a more classic wing-like chord shape in cross section.

Northrop’s stealthy YF-23, which lost out to the F-22 in USAF’s Advanced Tactical Fighter competition some 30 years ago, also featured extended chines on the leading edges. The company’s X-47 autonomous carrier aircraft demonstrator featured an extended Hawk’s bill like that on the B-21.

The image obscures details of the B-21’s air intake, which underwent a “major redesign,” according to Program Executive Officer Randall Walden. He told Air Force Magazine early this year such a change is typical for a complex new aircraft program. New aircraft often have “installed engine inlet/exhaust integration issues that have to be resolved,” he said. Previous images have shown the intakes as shallow and straight-edged, unlike the B-2’s scalloped, rounded, and deep intakes.

Also absent from the new image is any detail of the exhaust, although it continues to show a tapered, pointed single tail in silhouette.

The image also suggests a two-tone paint scheme on the aircraft, with lighter gray above and darker gray below. There’s a sharp color break below the window, and the GSC badge is in dark gray, whereas such markings are in light gray on the B-2, to better contrast with that aircraft’s FS 36118 overall “Gunship Gray” paint scheme.

The January 2016 image also revealed that the B-21 rests on two two-wheel main landing gear, while the larger B-2 has four-wheel bogeys on each side. The new image suggests a thickening of the outer wing as well.

The new fact sheet released with the image mentions major program milestones and emphasizes the jet’s open-mission systems concept, which will make upgrades easier and quicker to incorporate. It does not provide any details on performance or dimensions but notes that the first B-21 operating base will be at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

The fact sheet also mentions that the B-21 is part of the “larger family of systems” for conducting conventional long-range strike. This family includes “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic attack, communication and other capabilities,” the Air Force said. The fact sheet confirmed that the B-21 will be nuclear capable and is “designed to accommodate manned or unmanned operations … It will be able to employ a broad mix of stand-off and direct-attack munitions.”

The B-21’s name “Raider” honors the Doolittle Raiders who conducted the first bombing of Japan of World War II in retaliation for that country’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The April 1942 strike was carried out by B-25 Mitchell bombers flown off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The designation “B-21” refers to the first Air Force bomber of the 21st century.

The average procurement unit cost of the new bomber is $550 million in base year 2010 dollars; inflated to 2019, the cost is $639 million each, the fact sheet said.

Pentagon Cancels JEDI, Looks to New Cloud Contract

July 6, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon on July 6 canceled the massive and controversial $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud after years of challenges to its award to Microsoft.

The Defense Department said the move comes because the contract, which has been long delayed due to those challenges, no longer meets its requirements. The department is now looking to a new multi-vendor replacement, called the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability. While the Pentagon will reach out to industry for additional providers, “research indicates” that Microsoft and Amazon Web Services are the only providers able to meet DOD requirements, according to the DOD.

“JEDI was developed at a time when the department’s needs were different and both the [Cloud Service Providers’] technology and our cloud conversancy was less mature,” acting DOD Chief Information Officer John Sherman said in a statement. “In light of new initiatives like [Joint All-Domain Command and Control] and AI [artificial intelligence] and Data Acceleration, the evolution of the cloud ecosystem within DOD, and changes in user requirements to leverage multiple cloud environments to execute mission, our landscape has advanced and a new way-ahead is warranted to achieve dominance in both traditional and non-traditional warfighting domains.”

The Pentagon in October 2019 awarded the JEDI contract to Microsoft, with Amazon Web Services and Oracle quickly challenging the process of the contract award. AWS, an expected favorite for the award, challenged it in court, saying it was denied because of the Trump administration’s views on then-Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos.

Oracle on June 30 filed a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court aiming to overturn an initial ruling that said potential conflicts of interests in the award did not affect the company’s position.

Microsoft, in a blog post, said it understands the department’s rationale, based on a likely years-long litigation battle. The company said it is confident that it will “continue to be successful” as the Pentagon moves forward for the next contract.

“What matters now is the way forward, as the DOD has a critical unmet need to bring the power of cloud and AI to our men and women in uniform, modernizing technology infrastructure and platform services technology,” the company wrote. “We stand ready to support the DOD as they work through their next steps and its new cloud computing solicitation plans.”

Amazon, in a statement, also said it agreed with the Pentagon’s decision to move on from JEDI.

“Unfortunately, the contract award was not based on the merits of the proposals and instead was the result of outside influence that has no place in government procurement,” an AWS spokesperson said in a statement. “Our commitment to supporting our nation’s military and ensuring that our warfighters and defense partners have access to the best technology at the best price is stronger than ever. We look forward to continuing to support the DOD’s modernization efforts and building solutions that help accomplish their critical missions.”

The delayed progress on JEDI came as the military pushed ahead on cloud-based capability on high-tech initiatives such as Joint All-Domain Command and Control and the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, which will depend on secure and fast cloud-based data for its mission to speed up data sharing and decision making. JEDI aimed to bring the efforts under one DOD-wide umbrella, while individual services moved ahead on their efforts.

MacDill Sends KC-135s to McConnell as Tropical Storm Elsa Approaches

July 6, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., closed its gates to non-mission-essential personnel and sent its KC-135s to Kansas as Tropical Storm Elsa approached Florida.

MacDill moved to Hurricane Condition 2-Non-Evacuation the morning of July 6, expecting wind gusts of 60 mph, more than eight inches of rain, and a storm surge of up to five feet. On July 4, MacDill KC-135s moved to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in advance of the storm.

“We’ve got the airfield buttoned up and closed down so that we can focus on taking care of our families and make sure that they are safe,” 6th Air Refueling Wing Commander Col. Benjamin R. Jonsson said in a video statement posted on Facebook.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm would bring hurricane conditions to the west coast of Florida beginning late July 6 into July 7. The storm will move into coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and southeastern Virginia later in the week.

The WC-130Js from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Hurricane Hunters,” flew into Elsa as it approached, collecting information on the storm’s characteristics to help predict its path.

Other Air Force and Space Force bases in the region have not announced changes to their hurricane condition levels.

It is the beginning of a hurricane season that is expected to bring several storms following a record-breaking 2020 storm season. The Air Force has said it wants to adjust how it invests in its installations to make them better prepared for storms. The service is rebuilding Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., into a “base of the future,” capable of withstanding natural disasters, after it suffered massive damage from Category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Last US Troops Leave Bagram After Nearly 20 Years, Full Afghanistan Withdrawal Slated for August

July 2, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie and Brian W. Everstine

Looters were left to enter and take what remained of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after U.S. forces withdrew July 1 without fanfare or an official announcement.

“The silence was deafening,” Florida Congressman and Afghan war veteran Rep. Mike Waltz told Air Force Magazine on July 2, describing his thoughts when he heard the news that America’s most important base in Afghanistan has been fully vacated.

“The thing that strikes me was that this was the first place that you came every deployment. That was the last place that you saw when you left to go home,” said the former Green Beret, who recalled attending ramp ceremonies at Bagram to view flag-draped coffins loaded on Air Force transports to go home.

“It’s just really, I think, symbolic and emotional for a lot of people,” he added. “Not even an official announcement, nothing. It just is, you know, like I said, closed with a whimper, that was really, just left me with very mixed emotions.”

The sprawling base served as the hub for American operations for about 20 years, hosting hundreds of thousands of American troops and scores of USAF combat deployments. The base grew to 30 square miles, its runway was 12,000 feet long, and it had more than 110 revetments and a village that had hosted fast food restaurants and other amenities for troops.

The Air Force’s 455th Air Expeditionary Wing oversaw the base, first activating in April 2002 with A-10s beginning to fly from Bagram in the early months of the war. Now, with no combat aircraft based in the country, American military leaders say air support will be provided from “over the horizon.” Pentagon leaders have said that means MQ-9 Reaper missions departing from the Persian Gulf until the U.S. government identifies a closer basing option.

Afghanistan Withdrawal Will be Complete by August

As of June 28, the Defense Department had flown out 896 C-17 loads of equipment from Afghanistan, largely from Bagram. The base is the seventh facility to be handed over to the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

The local district administrator for Bagram told The Associated Press that the last U.S. forces left the base overnight and did not coordinate with local officials, and as a result looters were able to enter the base early July 2.

The withdrawal from Bagram is a major step in the total retrograde from Afghanistan, which President Joe Biden said in April would be completed by Sept. 11, though the Pentagon indicated July 2 that full withdrawal will wrap up by the end of August.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with the defense minister of Uzbekistan on July 1 and with his counterpart from Tajikistan on July 2. At both meetings, officials discussed the possibility of a U.S. basing agreement on Afghanistan’s northern border, without which the Afghanistan counterterrorism mission requires a four-hour commute each way from Gulf bases.

Taliban Make Advances

As American forces vacated Bagram, so, too, did close air support to the Afghan Armed Forces fighting the Taliban.

In recent weeks, security experts say the loss of U.S. air support has allowed the Taliban to make advances across the country. In his visit to Washington, D.C., on June 25, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani implored American leaders for continued close air support through the summer fighting season into September, Waltz said.

“It was critical to Afghan security forces because that’s where the majority of our close air support came from,” said Waltz, who had dinner with Ghani during his visit to the capital.

“The bottom line from the president of Afghanistan was that air power was key to stem the Taliban advances,” he added. “The Taliban are out in the open now, and he was confident their momentum could be stopped with continued air power.”

In advance of the withdrawal, Austin ordered B-52s to deploy to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower offshore to provide air support for U.S. troops and allies as they exited the country. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby confirmed July 2 that with the closure of Bagram “strike capabilities … are no longer in Afghanistan,” though “some aviation elements” remain in Kabul.

Kirby also said command authority for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan will transition in the coming weeks from Gen. Austin S. Miller to commander of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.

Additionally, Austin approved the creation of U.S. Forces Afghanistan-Forward with Rear Adm. Peter G. Vasely taking command. Vasely, currently the commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, will be responsible for protection of the U.S. Embassy and other American personnel in Kabul. Also, Brig. Gen. Curtis A. Buzzard, currently the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Management Office-Afghanistan, will administer funding and other logistical support to the Afghan military from Qatar, Kirby said.

The Pentagon has emphasized that counterterrorism capabilities will still be conducted from “over the horizon,” but Waltz has his doubts.

“I think the over the horizon is a talking point, and it is a little bit of a pipe dream,” Waltz said. “The reality without local allies on the ground, without local intelligence on the ground, without a base in country, the distances involved—or, in the region for that matter—the distances involved from the Gulf makes it incredibly complicated.”