Progress on B-21 Means Current Bombers Need a Fast Retirement

July 15, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force needs to move quickly as it brings on the B-21 and modernizes the B-52, because operating four bombers at a time is not sustainable. This means the venerable B-1s and B-2s need to head to the boneyard for retirement ASAP, the service’s top planner said.

The secretive, next-generation B-21 Raider is being built right now and will be flown in the “not-too-distant future,” said Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, during a July 14 AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event. When that happens, the Air Force will be flying the B-1, B-2, B-52, and B-21 simultaneously.

“That is not affordable,” Nahom said. “The B-1 and B-2, as phenomenal as they are, we’ve got to get those out of service as the B-21 comes on and we get ourselves to that two-bomber fleet, which is a B-21 and a modernized B-52.”

Lt. Gen. David Nahom, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, speaks with retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, on July 14.

In the near term, B-52s are undergoing significant modernization, including re-engining, upgraded avionics, and a new “digital backbone,” Nahom said. B-52s will leave service to receive the upgrades, making fewer bomber available for tasking.

“We’re going to have a deficit in availability while those airplanes are being modified,” he said. “That is my biggest concern on the bomber fleet … over the next, I’ll call it, five to seven years as we bring on the B-21 and then just beyond that when we start bringing out the B-1s and B-2s. I think this is the critical time,” Nahom said.

The Air Force eventually wants to grow to a fleet of 220 bombers. As the B-21 comes online, the service will begin sending B-1s and B-2s to the boneyard.

The Air Force expects the first B-21 to roll out of the factory and make its first flight in 2022, when it heads to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for testing. The first of 17 B-1s planned for retirement already flew to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., as the service prepares to draw down that fleet to 45 aircraft, split about evenly between its two operating bases: Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

Minot B-52s Head to Guam for Bomber Task Force Deployment

July 15, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

B-52s returned to the Pacific this week for a bomber task force rotation during which they will take part in a large-scale, Australian-led exercise.

The B-52s deployed from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., touching down at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on July 14, according to a Pacific Air Forces release. The deployment comes after the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., deployed to the base in April.

As part of this deployment, the bombers will take part in Talisman Saber 2021. The exercise will include more than 17,000 personnel from Australia and the U.S., along with participants from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. India, Indonesia, France, and Germany will observe, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said during a July 14 briefing.

The exercise “will strengthen our relationships and interoperability among key allies and partners and enhance collective capability to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.

The B-52 deployment shows that the Stratofortress is still carrying the load for the Air Force’s bomber fleet, as the B-1 faces readiness issues that include a stand down earlier this year. B-52s are also currently deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

B-1s last deployed to Andersen as part of a bomber task force in October 2020. The Air Force shifted to the bomber task force model from the continuous bomber presence mission in April 2020, favoring smaller, less predictable rotations of aircraft to the region.

National Guard Could Run Out of Funds if Congress Doesn’t Reimburse $521M Spent to Protect Capitol After Insurrection

July 15, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Party politics may prevent the National Guard from conducting critical training in the final months of the fiscal year unless senators on both sides of the aisle can agree on how to reimburse some $521 million in expenses related to the protection of the Capitol compound for five months following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Two dueling bills languish in the Senate Appropriations Committee, while the House passed on party lines a Democratic-sponsored bill in May.

The problem is the price tag.

Sen. Patrick Leahey (D-Vt.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced a hefty $3.7 billion bill July 12 that includes $1.83 billion for the Defense Department. In addition to the requested $521 million in Guard funding, $1.3 billion is slated to cover COVID impacts to the department; $761 million is for COVID testing and treatment; and $549 million is for personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.

The comprehensive security bill pitched by Leahey also provides $22 million to the Department of Justice to help pay for prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection and $25 million for judicial security. Citing unmet COVID-19-related needs, $425 million is slated for programs to support women and children, including domestic violence, sexual assault services, and child welfare.

The $1.9 billion bill passed by the House in May, by a narrow 213-212 margin, similarly provides $40 million to pay for the prosecution of Jan. 6 insurrectionists and $170 million to protect federal judges and courts. It would also invest heavily in protecting against future attacks on the Capitol by following recommendations from a special panel led by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré. Proposed measures include $250 million for retractable fencing, $200 million to establish a National Guard quick-reaction force, and $160 million to harden windows and doors.

Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) $629 billion bill seeks only reimbursement for the Capitol Police and National Guard.

“Funding for the Capitol Police and National Guard must not be held hostage because the Democrats insist on billions more in spending that lacks full support at this time,” Shelby said in a July 13 statement.

GOP Call for a ‘Clean Bill’

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) is demanding that Congress pass a “clean” funding bill that would reimburse the National Guard’s expenses for compensating Soldiers and Airmen and leave out other Democratic priorities.

Bank accounts are running dry, which means annual trainings, drill weekends, and operational maintenance will be canceled in August and September, National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson told Pentagon reporters June 23.

“It will have a very significant impact on National Guard readiness,” he said. “It’s critical for us to get it this year because the funding will be required for us to complete not only our drills but all operations and training we have scheduled.”

The National Guard Bureau told Air Force Magazine that its finances have not improved in the three weeks since Hokanson spoke at the Pentagon, and the same dire consequences exist for Airmen and Soldiers.

That means Congress has three weeks to act before its monthlong recess.

The National Guard had one of its busiest years on record in 2020, deploying more than 21 million service days to respond to missions that included the domestic COVID-19 response, natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, overseas missions, and the protests that followed the death of George Floyd.

By far the Guard’s largest deployment, peaking at 26,000 service members from all 50 states and four U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, was the mission to protect the U.S. Capitol, which ran until late May with a price tag of half a billion dollars.

“This partisan bill harms our National Guard,” Rogers wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, referring to the House bill, in a letter made public July 12. “We must come together and pass a clean supplemental to ensure the National Guard, which remained unnecessarily at the Capitol with your support, has the funds needed to train for and fulfill their mission.”

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said the security bills to reimburse both the Capitol Police and the National Guard need to be about more than just paying old debts, but also preventing such incidents from ever happening again.

“If we fail to provide secure doors, windows, tunnels, street barriers, and grounds, then we could be leaving [the Capitol] vulnerable to another Jan. 6 style attack,” Reed said in a statement July 13. “If Senate Republicans refuse to plug needed security gaps it will be a disservice to the brave men and women who defend the U.S. Capitol.”

Reed also called for supporting the Leahey bill that would pay for safeguarding Afghan translators who worked for the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and could be targeted by the Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal is complete.

‘Operation Allies Refuge’ Will Fly Interpreters Out of Afghanistan, White House Says

July 14, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The White House on July 14 announced Operation Allies Refuge, an effort to fly interpreters who helped the U.S. military in Afghanistan out of the country.

The operation is beginning as the Taliban is makes major gains in the country now that the U.S. has withdrawn about 95 percent of personnel and equipment. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the interpreters, and others from Afghanistan who helped the U.S., are “courageous individuals” who have proven their value.

The State Department is leading the effort, and Psaki, citing operational security, provided no details on the number of interpreters who would leave or exactly when flights would begin.

Defense Department spokesman John F. Kirby, in a separate briefing, said the Pentagon has not been asked to provide military transportation for the personnel, likely meaning chartered flights will be used to fly them out of Afghanistan.

The Pentagon’s role in the operation is to identify locations, including military installations, that could be used to temporarily house the Afghan individuals as they await their special immigrant visas to come to the United States.

“We have identified some as potential candidates,” Kirby said. “We have not made final decisions on them. … Some are not U.S. installations and therefore would require, if they’re in foreign countries, require those host nations to agree. And so, we’re just not at that final stage.”

The Pentagon has an “action group” embedded in the State Department to help identify Afghan individuals who may not be in the special immigrant visa program but should be in it, Kirby said.

President Joe Biden previewed the effort during a White House address last week, telling those who helped Americans, “There is a home for you in the United States if you so choose. We will stand with you, just as you stood with us.”

Pick to Lead DOD Acquisition Withdraws His Nomination

July 14, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Michael Brown, the Pentagon’s nominee to lead Defense Department acquisition, has withdrawn his nomination, citing ongoing scrutiny for allegedly circumventing hiring regulations while leading the Defense Innovation Unit.

Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said July 14 that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III received a letter from Brown “expressing his desire” to withdraw from the nomination process. Brown raised concerns about a lengthy investigation and a desire not to slow down the nomination process, Kirby said.

Brown has led the Defense Innovation Unit since 2018, and when asked if he would still lead that unit, Kirby said he did not have personnel changes to announce.

President Joe Biden nominated Brown for the role in early April. Later that month, Defense One reported that Brown allegedly circumvented hiring regulations, with some employees having received special treatment. This allegedly included the DIU writing job descriptions specifically to eliminate other applicants.

The Defense Innovation Unit, established in 2015, is the Pentagon’s direct line to Silicon Valley and other technology hubs for outreach between the Defense Department and tech industry.

The news of Brown withdrawing was first reported by Inside Defense.

More than 40 F-35s Without Engines, Air Force Leaders Say

July 14, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

More than 40 F-35s across the U.S. Air Force are currently without engines according to the most recent data, top officials told Congress on July 13.

Speaking before the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Darlene Costello said 41 of the fifth-generation fighters don’t have an engine due to maintenance issues, while 56 F135 power modules are currently being repaired at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. There are 272 F-35A jets in the Air Force’s inventory, meaning nearly 15 percent are without an engine.

Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick, F-35 program executive officer, confirmed Costello’s numbers while noting that the exact number can be calculated in different ways.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), however, expressed discomfort about providing funds to buy more F-35s while a significant number of jets are already in the service in need of engines.

“The idea of rolling [out] a new aircraft with an engine while others are sitting—and I’m hearing the numbers and we can argue over which ones they are—but [that is] certainly something that is a real concern,” Norcross said.

Norcross was just one of several representatives to voice concerns about the F-35 program during the July 13 hearing, with others hitting on familiar topics of high sustainment costs and delayed production while discussing the 2022 budget request for fixed-wing tactical and training aircraft programs.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) cited a Government Accountability Office finding that fewer than four percent of F-35 engines have been delivered on time, asking if the military was looking at alternative engine options to keep sustainment and operation costs down.

“Engine costs in sustainment are challenging,” Fick acknowledged, while also noting that no F-35 delivery has been delayed because of an engine. “And as we rapidly approach the 2,000-hour first scheduled engine removal, we will start to bear those costs in the sustainment of the air system. And we also know that we have begun to reach a flat or a flatter spot in the learning curve relative to the overall cost of production engines.

“When I couple that with the notion that post-the current Block 4 content, we will likely need increased power and increased thermal management capability from our propulsion system, I think that the need to look for options from a propulsion system perspective is present.”

In the meantime, Fick said, the joint program office is taking a three-pronged approach to close the engine gap, working to shorten repair time at Tinker, stand up repair operations at other facilities, and keep engines in planes longer.

For engine power modules in particular, Fick said, the program office now anticipates supply meeting demand by 2024, with the backlog being cleared by 2029.

The Block 4 upgrade, which the Air Force has said is key to ensuring the F-35 can win a peer fight, also came under scrutiny. Jon Ludwigson, director of contracting and national security acquisitions for the GAO, reiterated concerns from his office that the timelines attached to full production capability and the Block 4 have been too optimistic, setting up the program to miss deadlines. That, combined with supply chain issues and sustainment costs, “raise questions about how many aircraft can realistically be produced on time in the near term while supporting fielded aircraft,” Ludwigson testified.

Without Block 4, though, the Air Force decided not to add any F-35s to its 2022 unfunded priorities list, said Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs. For every F-35 the service buys before the Block 4 upgrade, he said there will be a cost to retrofit with the new capabilities. And in certain cases, Ludwigson added, those retrofits could happen before the aircraft are even delivered to the Defense Department in the first place.

The question of just how many F-35s the Air Force will order in the near future remains open ended; Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. has said the results of an ongoing tactical aviation study will determine if the service will surge its production of the jet. On July 13, Nahom told the subcommittee that he expects that study to be completed by the end of the summer.

USAF Defends C-130 Cuts as Service Looks to Future of Tactical Airlift

July 14, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force faces an uphill fight with its plans to cut five units worth of C-130s, largely from the Guard and Reserve. The service, however, says the tactical airlift fleet can afford to absorb some risk and that there could be future lift possibilities outside of the venerable Hercules.

USAF wants to cut 55 C-130 tails, down to a fleet size of 255. Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, said that number “covers what we need for our tactical airlift fleet and includes support to the homeland.”

Nahom, speaking during a July 14 AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, said the Air Force is “taking into account all the missions that our C-130 crews do every day.” But both Congress and the National Guard have questioned recently whether that is true. National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee in May that he needs the Guard to “retain every single one of those flying squadrons because of what they bring for our nation.” Plans, such as the Mobility Capabilities Requirements Study, do not take into account what C-130s do at home, he said.

Lawmakers have largely agreed. The same House panel on July 13 passed its version of the fiscal 2022 Defense funding bill, which includes four more C-130s than what was requested in the Pentagon’s proposal.

Nahom said the Air Force is working closely with the Guard and Reserve to find ”mutually agreeable replacement missions, and we’ve been successful in some places.”

For example, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., has been selected to host the Air Force’s MH-139 Grey Wolf formal training unit. This mission would replace the Reserve’s 908th Airlift Wing and its aging C-130Hs.

“There’s ways we can do this, and in a very positive way with the Guard and Reserve, and we’re certainly going down that road,” Nahom said.

Additionally, airlift capacity and capability is in a relatively safe position, compared to other missions, such as combat aircraft. This means the Air Force can more safely remove some capacity and resources from tactical airlift and shift it to areas that need more funding and personnel.

Going forward, the Air Force is also looking at new ways to meet tactical airlift needs.

“When you say tactical lift, everyone goes straight to the C-130,” he said. “I’m looking at some future tactical lift. There’s some technologies out there right now that I think we need to stick our nose in and keep an eye on. Because when you look at logistics under attack and how we’re going to move things in a modern battlefield, it may not be in a Herk.”

This could include AFWERX’s “Agility Prime” effort to create a “flying car” for both commercial industry and the military. The Air Force is watching the Army’s Future Vertical Lift program, which is developing a next-generation helicopter for that service. And, the Air Force is talking with industry about some other capabilities that could provide lift in areas with smaller runways, or no runway at all, he said.

Biden Nominates First Commander for Space Systems Command, New Boss at AMC

July 14, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

President Joe Biden has nominated new commanders for the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and the Space Force’s Space Systems Command.

Lt. Gen. Mike Minihan has been tapped for a fourth star and to replace Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost as head of AMC. Minihan currently serves as the deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. He is a command pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours in the C-130, KC-10, and C-32.

“He has commanded in garrison, crisis, and combat and at the squadron, wing, and task-force levels,” according to his bio. “He also held staff assignments at Headquarters Air Force, U.S. Transportation Command, and Pacific Air Forces. Most recently, Lt. Gen. Minihan served as Chief of Staff for United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea, and then U.S. Indo Pacific Command.”

Biden nominated Van Ovost to lead U.S. Transportation Command in early March. Her nomination has been pending Senate approval since then, but the Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to schedule a confirmation hearing. Van Ovost is the U.S. military’s only female four-star general, and if confirmed she will become just the second woman ever to lead a combatant command, following retired USAF Gen. Lori J. Robinson, who led U.S. Northern Command from May 2016 to May 2018.

Biden also nominated Maj. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein to receive a third star and for assignment as commander of Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Guetlein, who currently serves as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, would be the first commander of the Space Force field command, which will be tasked with overseeing the new service’s acquisition and launch services.

Space Systems Command is expected to officially stand up this summer. The Space and Missile Systems Center will be redesignated as the SSC headquarters. Launch operations at Patrick Space Force Base, Fla., and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., also will be realigned under SSC, as well other Air Force units once the command stands up, the department has said. Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, who currently leads SMC, will retire, according a July 1 senior leader announcement.

Biden also nominated the following for lieutenant general and for new assignments:

Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and commander of 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan, has been nominated to serve as director of staff at Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon.
Maj. Gen. James A. Jacobson, Air Force director of training and readiness for the deputy chief of staff for operations, has been nominated to serve as deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
Maj. Gen. Tom D. Miller, director of logistics, engineering, and force protection for Air Combat Command, has been nominated to serve as commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
Maj. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington, commander of 8th Air Force and commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, has been nominated to serve as deputy commander of Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

DOD’s Artificial Intelligence Efforts Gain Momentum as US, Allies, and Partners Look to Counter China

July 13, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

The Defense Department’s push to operationalize artificial intelligence, which leaders say will change the way the military conducts war but not the laws of war, is gaining momentum.

More than 600 AI efforts are in progress across the department, “significantly more than just a year ago,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III told a live audience at The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s Global Emerging Technology Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 13. AI is “one of the top technology priorities” in the department’s $112 billion research, development, test, and evaluation budget request for 2021—the largest RDT&E request ever, he added.

“In today’s department, innovation cannot be an afterthought. It is the ballgame,” Austin said. “As President Biden has noted, we’re going to see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50. And we know that some of our competitors think that they see an opening, but we’re determined … to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future.”

All the conference speakers, which included senior members of Congress and the U.S. national security team as well as leaders from India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, NATO, and the European Union, agreed that China is the pacing threat. China already has stated it intends to be globally dominant in AI by 2030.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, opened the full-day conference with a stark warning: “China has reared a generation of innovative technologists, and let’s not underestimate the enormous skills and talents of the Chinese people,” he said. “In many areas, we’re now seeing Chinese competitors launch both products and new technologies in advance of all Western competitors.”

Warner said China is expanding its global influence by offering other authoritarian regimes a chance to monitor dissidents.

“China, I believe, is hoping to control the next generation of technological innovation and digital infrastructure and hopes to impose its values on those developments,” Warner said. “All of this again, I think, puts into question principles of transparency, accountability, sovereignty, [and] free, fair, and reciprocal relations.”

That’s why the Defense Department is focused on responsible artificial intelligence, which Austin said is the culmination of “cutting-edge technology” and “timeless values.” He emphasized that the U.S. will not choose between the two.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan agreed, saying the U.S. and its allies and partners need to “muster the will, the energy, and the resources to alter the course of the digital revolution.”

He outlined three waves to this revolution. The first was based on the premise that technology would favor democracy and human rights, while the second was the authoritarian counter to that revolution.

“So, the question before us today is whether we have the will and determination to usher in that third wave of this digital revolution—whether we can reboot and ensure that critical and emerging technologies work for, not against, our democracies and our security,” Sullivan said. “I believe that third wave is within our reach, if across party lines, across the public and private sectors, and across borders to allies and partners, we invest in our enduring advantages, we promote our shared values, we protect our technological ecosystem, and we mobilize and organize the rules of the road for the 21st century with our partners and allies.”

Austin said the Defense Department is “working with other like-minded friends to advance global norms grounded in our shared values,” noting DOD leaders meet several times a year with representatives from 15 allied and partner nations on the topic. He said he expects that number to “mushroom, going forward.”

Austin said artificial intelligence is a “transformative technology” that will require new processes, policies, and procedures. Last year, DOD adopted ethical principles for AI development and use and in June it announced the creation of the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, which “helps us get promising tech across the so-called ‘Valley of Death’ and into new prototypes, capabilities, and concepts,” Austin said. The Department also recently launched a new AI and data acceleration initiative aimed at harnessing data at scale and speed.

“We’re going to compete to win, but we’re going to do it the right way. We’re not going to cut corners on safety, security, or ethics … We don’t believe for a minute that we have to sacrifice one for the other,” Austin said.