Raytheon Receives $2 Billion EMD Contract for LRSO Missiles

July 1, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force awarded a $2 billion contract to Raytheon Missiles and Defense to engineer and develop the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon system, the service’s next-generation air-launched nuclear missile.

The deal, announced July 1, is for the engineering and manufacturing development phase, which is set to last through February 2027 as Raytheon will continue to develop the cruise missiles, with a goal of demonstrating full production readiness. The contract was the result of a sole-source acquisition.

“The team’s extensive work—with a major focus on digital engineering—and close collaboration with the Air Force throughout the technology maturation and risk reduction phase, has guided us to an EMD contract award,” said Paul Ferraro, vice president of Air Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, in a statement to Air Force Magazine. “Transitioning to the EMD phase is a big step toward delivering this critical capability to the Air Force to strengthen our nation’s deterrence posture.”

The announcement comes just a few months after the Air Force announced in April that the service was proceeding with Raytheon as the highly classified program’s “sole source contractor” on the technology, maturation, and risk reduction (TMRR) phase, removing competitor Lockheed Martin.

Raytheon’s TMRR deal was worth $900 million and was expected to run through 2022. The Air Force said at the time that it had “high confidence” in choosing the Raytheon missile design due to the success of the program.

The LRSO is slated to replace the nuclear AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile beginning in about 2030, equipping the B-52 and B-21 bombers as one-third of the nuclear triad. Its range is expected to be in excess of 1,500 miles, and first flight could come in 2022.

The Air Force’s 2022 budget request included $609 million for the program. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2017 that the LRSO will cost $10 billion to produce 1,000 missiles, for a unit cost of $10 million apiece, but the Arms Control Association has estimated the cost could be closer to $20 billion.

The LRSO represents just part of the Air Force’s nuclear modernization efforts. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, being developed by Northrop Grumman, is scheduled to have its first flight in 2023. The GBSD is expected to achieve initial operational capability in 2029 and full operational capability with 400 missiles seven years later in 2036.

Army, Navy Space Units to Begin Transfer to Space Force This Year

July 1, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

The Space Force will begin to convert Sailors and Soldiers into Guardians this month and unit transfers from the Army and Navy will play out over the next couple of years. But just as the Air Force is not the only service with aircraft, the Space Force will not be the only service in space.

Lt. Gen. Nina M. Armagno, the Space Force’s director of staff, told Air Force Magazine the services are agreed on which organizations will transfer. “Some services may retain their own space capabilities.” She did not provide details, but said announcements will come on transfers later this year.

Speaking at a Mitchell Institute Space Power Advantage Research Center (MI-SPARC) Space Power Forum at AFA’s Doolittle Leadership Center, Armagno said transfers must play out slowly, in the next “year or two,” because shifting control is not like flipping a switch.

“When we transfer units and missions, we have to make sure that the mission does not fail,” Armagno said. “And so that requires deep evaluation, which we’re doing today.”

In a wide-ranging discussion that covered the progress made in the service’s first 18 months, Armagno zeroed in on the current threats posed by China and Russia, describing adversary anti-satellite capabilities and the largely vulnerable U.S. space architecture.

China’s Shijian-17 satellite has a robotic arm that can be used to grab and destroy an American satellite, she said. China has said the robotic arm in its technology is for repairing satellites or conducting maintenance in space, but she called that misleading.

“If you’re going to repair something, it needs to be repairable,” Armagno said. “If it’s going to be refueled, it needs to have a fuel port. … This is not the case with their satellites.”

U.S. satellites are likewise not designed to be refueled or repaired. “So, Shijian-17, we see it as a weapon,” she said.

Armagno also cited Russia’s recent testing of a ground-based anti-satellite weapon designed to destroy small satellites in low Earth orbit. Such threats gets at the heart of the creation of the new service, Armagno said, deterring aggression and assuring space operations, which are vital to the ground forces.

Armagno listed the commands that have already stood up, including Space Operations Command (SpOC) in Colorado Springs in 2020 and this summer’s upcoming Space Systems Command (SSC) in Los Angeles, and she previewed the upcoming Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM).

She also spoke of a flattened management structure in the Pentagon headquarters to encourage efficiency and creativity. The “C suite” leadership design was assisted by private consultants and modeled after the structure of the National Reconnaissance Office. Still, only some 250 staff members have onboarded at the headquarters, about one third of the total envisioned.

Space Force now has 5,600 Guardians and about 12,000 personnel at present. Armagno said the vision is for a “lean, agile, and mission focused” service that totals about 16,000, a goal that may be some years off, she indicated.

In part, budget restrictions have limited the number of transfers from other services to just 50 this fiscal year, with another 350 planned for the next fiscal year, the Space Force indicated June 30. The Space Force in 2020 advertised 41 civilian jobs and received 5,722 applicants, demonstrating a much higher demand than growth rate.

Armagno admitted that new strategies will have to be employed to recruit and retain talent and compete with the high-paying private space industry.

“We just don’t think the traditional Air Force, if you will, or even Army, Navy recruiting methods are necessarily going to work for the Space Force,” she said. “We’re looking for a certain level of innovation and creativity.”

Congress, too, has limited how quickly Space Force can staff up.

Thousands of Air Force personnel remain administratively assigned to Space Force and have not yet been transferred. Likewise, the Army and Navy are not required to transfer their space assets, so Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond must negotiate with the services to voluntarily give up their assets, and potentially, their personnel.

Armagno said Space Force does not need new congressional authority.

“No, we don’t lack congressional authority. The services are working together,” she told Air Force Magazine.

The transfer process for personnel is stipulated by Congress to be voluntary, which means the service members in those positions may choose to stay with their service or must be counted and undergo training as Guardians. A training pipeline has to be set up to support the mission.

“I think you’ll see—this calendar year and into next—you’ll see the majority of our transfers,” she added.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected on July 2 and updated with additional information from the Space Force. The original incorrectly stated the number of units moving that will transfer and the stage of interservice negotiations about what units will move. Those decisions are complete, but not yet announced, the Space Force said.

ISIS in Afghanistan Remains a ‘Serious Threat,’ Special Envoy Warns

July 1, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

As the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan reaches its final stages, the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch in the country remains a “serious threat,” warned John T. Godfrey, the acting U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

Speaking with reporters on a call July 1, Godfrey echoed other recent warnings from American officials and generals that the Islamic State group’s presence in Afghanistan, thought to be severely diminished just a few years ago, is far from completely eradicated.

“Regarding the ISIS-Khorasan branch in Afghanistan, it is a group that we have been focused on for some time. We assess that it constitutes a serious threat. It’s one that we’ve certainly been focused on,” said Godfrey, who also serves as acting coordinator of counterterrorism in the State Department. “And I think that the assessment … by U.S. military leadership of the potential for that group to reconstitute capability within two years is consistent with what we’ve heard from other quarters of the U.S. government, so I think we would echo that.”

Concerns over the stability of the Afghan government have increased significantly as the U.S. drawdown there continues. More than 50 percent of U.S. troops are now out of the country, the Defense Department has said, and reports from Reuters and CNN indicate the formal withdrawal could be complete in a matter of days.

At the same time, the Taliban has surged, seizing a number of strategically important districts. Gen. Austin S. Miller, commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, offered a bleak assessment of the situation June 29, warning of a potential civil war, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. defense officials have said they will continue to conduct “over-the-horizon” operations in support of Afghanistan once the withdrawal is complete, though details on where forces will be stationed long-term have yet to be publicly shared.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with Uzbekistan Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov at the Pentagon on July 1. Uzbekistan shares a border with Afghanistan and has reportedly already been approached by U.S. officials about potentially letting American forces use bases in the region.

The particular threat of ISIS in Afghanistan, meanwhile, is one that cannot be ignored, Godfrey said. While the Taliban remains the largest threat to the Afghan government and has waged offenses against ISIS-Khorasan in the past, the Islamic State has shown a capability for resilience, both in Afghanistan and more broadly.

“They remain quite persistent and quite patient in terms of trying to reconstitute capability and reassert some level of presence, and in some cases control, in areas where they’ve previously suffered setbacks,” Godfrey said.

And while the organization as a whole retains hopes of re-establishing a territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria, it continues to increase its presence in other Asian and African countries, Godfrey said. That marked a key emphasis in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS’s Ministerial in Rome on June 28.

“One of the things I think is interesting about that is that they have managed to devolve some level of authority to those local wilayat in terms of organization, revenue generation, and in some cases, the authority to plot and execute attacks,” Godfrey said. “And that, I think, is something that is quite troubling and that we remain quite focused on.”

Why Frank Kendall’s Nomination to be Air Force Secretary Remains on Hold

July 1, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is holding up Frank Kendall’s nomination for Air Force Secretary over the Pentagon’s decision to award the F-35 international training center to Arkansas’s Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Air Force Magazine has learned.

Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township possessed “superior qualifications” in the bid, a Peters spokesperson told Air Force Magazine on July 1 in response to inquiries as to why Peters, along with Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Utah Republican Mike Lee, have put holds on the nomination vote.

Warren has yet to respond to a request for comment, and Lee’s office declined to confirm or deny that a hold was in place.

“Senator Peters wants—and Michigan deserves—additional information and data from the Air Force and the Department of Defense regarding its process surrounding the recent F-35 international training center decision,” the Peters spokesperson said.

At Kendall’s May 25 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Peters sought a commitment from the nominee for a fair and transparent selection process, should he be confirmed before the Air Force decision was made.

“Its location clearly exceeds all of the mission requirements,” Peters told Kendall, highlighting the existing infrastructure, runway length, and number of aircraft shelters.

“Michigan hosts the largest contiguous joint overland service range airspace complex east of the Mississippi River,” Peters added. “In addition, the folks on the ground in Macomb County have been enthusiastic hosts of this base for over 100 years.”

The Air Force announced June 3 that Ebbing Air National Guard base in Fort Smith, Ark., would be the preferred location for the F-35 Lightning II training center.

The training center initiative stems from a request by allies for a U.S.-based F-16 and F-35 training center.

In testimony, Peters said Singapore would train its F-16 and F-35 pilots there, while F-35 pilots from Finland, Poland, and Switzerland would also use the base. Meanwhile, the Swiss government announced June 30 a $5.5 billion award to Lockheed Martin to make the F-35A its preferred fighter aircraft.

Selfridge was chosen as an alternate location for the training center should Ebbing fail an environmental assessment study.

The Republic of Singapore’s F-16 Fighting Falcon training unit is currently based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, but ramp and airspace capacity constraints do not allow an expansion.

The new training center will have a capacity for up to 36 fighter aircraft.

“The reasoning provided so far does not add up,” the Peters spokesperson said. “Senator Peters is fighting for Michigan and to get to the bottom of how and why the Air Force made this decision.”

The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question as to when the senator might lift his hold and whether he intends to allow a vote before the August recess, which is slated for Aug. 9-Sept. 15.

In the meantime, John P. Roth, who has served more than 160 days as acting Air Force Secretary, will remain in that role. He is already the service’s fourth-longest-serving acting secretary and is three weeks away from becoming the longest-serving acting secretary since 1999.

Investigation: Pilot’s Reliance on ‘Seat of the Pants Feel’ Caused February T-38 Crash

July 1, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

An Air Force pilot’s mistake in raising landing gear too quickly during a touch-and-go landing was the main cause of a February crash of a T-38 trainer jet, according to an accident investigation report published June 29.

The crash, which occurred Feb. 18 at Sacramento Mather Airport, Calif., involved a pilot from the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. The pilot and the instructor pilot escaped without injuries, but the incident caused roughly $3 million in damage to the T-38A.

On the morning of the accident, the pilot and the instructor were engaged in a training mission involving touch-and-go landings, during which the aircraft briefly lands, then immediately takes off again without fully stopping.

The instructor conducted one successful touch-and-go landing, and the aircraft then circled back and the pilot took control for another attempt.

After initially touching down successfully, the pilot advanced the throttles for takeoff. While doing so, he felt the aircraft “unstick” from the ground, he told investigators. Believing the upward motion to be an appropriate climb away from the runway, the pilot then retracted the plane’s landing gear.

However, the aircraft had not established a positive climb rate and was not “definitely airborne.” As a result, the plane touched back down on the runway with its landing gear not fully deployed. It skidded about 3,850 feet, with a fire breaking out in one of the landing gear bays and the doors to the landing gear bays being ripped off.

The accident investigation board found no evidence of any maintenance or weather issues contributing to the crash, nor any problems with “unit culture, risk management, mission preparation, planning, or briefing.” Both pilots were qualified to fly the mission, and conditions were favorable.

Instead, investigators faulted the pilot for relying on a “seat of the pants feel” to decide the aircraft was airborne with a positive rate of climb instead of verifying it through available instruments in the cockpit and visual cues.

While no one was injured in the crash, the T-38 has been involved in a pair of deadly mishaps in recent years. On Feb. 19, 2021, one day after the Sacramento crash, 1st Lt. Scot Ames Jr. was killed when his T-38 crashed near Montgomery, Ala. In November 2019, an instructor and student pilot died while attempting a T-38 formation landing at Vance Air Force Base, Okla.

Donald Rumsfeld, Two-Time Defense Secretary, Dies at 88

June 30, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

Donald Rumsfeld, who made history as the first man to serve as Secretary of Defense for two Presidents and oversaw the beginning of U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, died June 30 in Taos, N.M., his family announced on social media. He was 88.

In a career in government spanning decades, Rumsfeld served as a congressman from Illinois’ 13th District, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and White House Chief of Staff, in addition to his two stints as Defense Secretary. He was a Cabinet-level aide of President Richard Nixon before becoming the youngest Defense Secretary ever under Gerald Ford in 1975. He then returned to the Pentagon as the second-oldest person ever to lead it, in 2001 under George W. Bush.

“I was saddened to hear today of the passing of former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld,” current Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a written statement issued by the Pentagon. “Mr. Rumsfeld had the singular distinction of holding that post for two nonconsecutive tenures, serving as both the 13th secretary of defense and the 21st. He also served in the U.S. Navy in 1954-57 as a pilot and a flight instructor, and he continued his service as a reservist until 1975, when he became secretary of defense for the first time.

“Over the decades of his remarkable career, from Congress to the White House to the Pentagon, Secretary Rumsfeld was propelled by his boundless energy, probing intellect, and abiding commitment to serve his country. On behalf of the Department of Defense, I extend my deep condolences to his family and loved ones.”

Rumsfeld’s second tenure in the Pentagon coincided with one of the most consequential periods in modern American history. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Rumsfeld oversaw the planning and execution of wars in the Middle East that wound up lasting years. More than 6,000 American troops have died in the region since, and estimates have pegged the financial cost in the trillions of dollars.

Rumsfeld claimed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction in explaining the Bush administration’s justification for an invasion of the country. No such weapons were ever found, and he would admit years later to making “misstatements” on the topic.

Rumsfeld also became embroiled in the controversy surrounding torture and prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and subsequent revelations about “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In the Middle East, Rumsfeld deployed a strategy of smaller, more mobile ground forces with a reliance on more airstrikes, moves that were dubbed by some as the “Rumsfeld Doctrine.” But as the wars dragged on, he came under increasing criticism, culminating in a number of retired generals and admirals publicly calling on him to resign in 2006. While President Bush initially defended him, Rumsfeld resigned after the ’06 midterm elections.

“Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was an exceptional leader who dedicated decades of his life in public service to this nation,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement. “On Sept. 11, 2001, Donald was there to help lead our nation out of one of our darkest days, including running into the Pentagon to assist the wounded and survivors. I also appreciate his help to lay some of the early groundwork for the Space Force. He was an extraordinary man and his loss will be deeply felt. I extend my deepest condolences to the Rumsfeld family and his wife Joyce as they mourn his passing.”

Davis-Monthan to Get Close Air Support, Rescue ‘Centers of Excellence’ if A-10 Cuts Approved

June 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force wants to move A-10 Warthogs and HH-60 Pave Hawks to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and create close air support and rescue “Centers of Excellence” at the base if it gets the green light from Congress to retire 42 Warthogs.

The aircraft and related units would come from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., beginning in 2022. The change would add personnel to the Arizona base—a proposal that would aim to win over the state’s Congressional delegation that has moved to block proposed A-10 cuts for years.

“Under this plan, Davis-Monthan will play a critical role in reshaping U.S. airpower as home to the Air Force’s close air support and rescue Centers of Excellence,” Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth said in a release. “This realignment will consolidate all A-10 and HH-60 test, training, and weapon school activity at one location, allowing Airmen in these mission areas to train together for future threats.”

The service, in its fiscal 2022 budget request released in late May, proposed cutting the A-10 fleet from 281 to 218, beginning with 42 aircraft in the first year. Davis-Monthan would lose 35 A-10s in 2022, with others coming from the Indiana Air National Guard.

The new plan would move 14 A-10s and 21 HH-60s from Nellis to Davis-Monthan. Affected units would be the 422nd and 88th Test and Evaluation Squadrons, the 66th Rescue Squadron, the 58th Rescue Squadron, the 34th Weapons Squadron, and the 855th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. The A-10 Weapons Instructor Course would also move.

The Active duty 354th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan would close if the aircraft retirements are approved.

USAF officials said June 22 that the 122nd Fighter Wing at Fort Wayne, Indiana, would convert back to F-16s if the A-10 cuts are approved.

The move “frees up nearly a thousand Airmen, maintainers, and operators that we can then transition into future platforms, specifically the F-35,” said Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, the deputy chief of staff of the Air Force for plans and programs, during a June 22 Senate Armed Services airland subcommittee hearing. “As we look at the F-35, we are having resource issues, mostly with manpower … We have to start replacing some platforms.”

USAF would reduce its A-10 operational squadrons from nine to seven, keeping one “full-up” at Osan Air Base, South Korea. Within the continental United States, there will be three Air National Guard squadrons, two Active duty, and one Reserve.

Kendall Nomination Held Without Explanation by Three Senators

June 30, 2021 | By

The nomination of Frank Kendall to serve as President Joe Biden’s Air Force Secretary is being held by three senators who have declined to publicly state the reason for their hold, Air Force Magazine has learned, with the Senate in recess until July 12.

Kendall’s nomination sailed out of the Armed Services Committee June 10 after a favorable May 25 hearing, but the failure to reach a nomination vote has left John Roth acting Secretary of the Air Force for 160 days.

“Everyone wants to see this move forward,” a Senate Armed Services Committee aide told Air Force Magazine at the Capitol June 30. “We’ve done our part.”

A legislative aide confirmed that the three senators holding up the nomination are Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Michigan Democrat Gary Peters, and Utah Republican Mike Lee.

The offices of Warren and Peters did not respond to requests for comment from Air Force Magazine, and Lee’s office declined to confirm or deny a hold was in place.

The reason for senatorial holds are varied, ranging from concerns with the nominee to the simple exertion of leverage.

“A hold is not necessarily saying we don’t want to vote on the nominee,” a Senate aide told Air Force Magazine. “Holds are one of the few ways that senators who aren’t on the committee can let DOD or the Secretary of the Air Force know that we are here.”

The aide explained that a hold could be a signal to the Pentagon that a letter hasn’t been answered.

“Sometimes it’s a mid-level bureaucrat that needs to answer an email,” the aide said. “These things can be resolved.”

In the case of the Air Force, with budget season in full swing, the lack of an approved nominee could slow down negotiations with Congress. Kendall, a defense industry insider with extensive DOD acquisition experience, is sought after as the Air Force retires legacy systems and plans investments in more fifth generation aircraft.

That may have to wait.

The Senate is due to return from their Independence Day recess on July 12, and the August recess is scheduled for Aug. 9 to Sept. 15, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is threatening to take away the August 9-13 week if no progress is made on Biden’s infrastructure package.

“The hold doesn’t necessarily mean that we are opposed to having a vote,” the Senate aide said. “But the senator … may want to exact leverage on Biden, on Schumer, DOD, the Department of the Air Force, or the mid-level bureaucrat.”

Kendall is not the only high-level nominee being held up by the senators. Susanna Blume, nominee for director of cost assessment, is being held by Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, who is unhappy with Biden’s Navy budget, reported Politico.

Space Force Selects First 50 Officers to Transfer from Other Services

June 30, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Out of a pool of more than 3,700 applicants, the first 50 Active-duty Army, Navy, and Marine Corps volunteers were announced for transfer to the Space Force beginning in July. A second tranche of 350 transfers will be announced in July to match Space Force specialties including space operations, intelligence, cyber, engineering, and acquisition.

The highly competitive process continues the organic growth of the military’s newest service, joining 5,200 Air Force transfers.

“We are overwhelmed by the number of applicants, and the outpouring of support our sister services have provided as we’ve partnered together to design the Space Force,” said Gen. David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations, in a June 30 press statement.

The total manpower of the Space Force is roughly 12,000 Guardians, with some 6,000 civilians and 5,500 military as of June 15. An undisclosed number of Air Force Airmen also continue to support the Space Force in an administrative assignment capacity.

A Space Force spokesperson told Air Force Magazine June 30 that the force is onboarding the first 50 transfers from other services in fiscal 2021, which ends Sept. 30. The July announcement of 350 more transfers will be onboarded in the 2022 fiscal year.

New Guardians will join the force on a staggered approach according to their own individual schedules rather than a single transfer ceremony.

“When we will get to 16,000 depends on a lot of future transfers,” the spokesperson said of the number of Guardians Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond has said will encompass a “lean” new fighting force.

The Space Force is also expected to voluntarily absorb units and mission sets from other services, including the Navy and Army. The timeline for which units will be incorporated into the Space Force and how many service members will be asked to voluntarily transfer is still to be determined.

“It’s being worked and more information will be released in the coming months,” the spokesperson said.