European Nations Deploy Fighters to Indo-Pacific, Joined by USAF

July 5, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Nearly 50 aircraft from the German, French, and Spanish air forces are embarking on a series of exercises across the Indo-Pacific region from June to August, with the U.S. Air Force jumping in on several as well.

Dubbed ‘Pacific Skies,’ the massive deployment highlights Europe’s growing interest in the region, even as the war in Ukraine continues to dominate the continent.

The European aircraft, accompanied by over 1,800 military personnel from the three nations, will conduct exercises across Alaska, Australia, Japan, Hawaii, and India. The air forces of the three partners are already collaborating on the Future Combat Air System, an in-development, sixth-generation fighter aircraft.

“With Pacific Skies 24, we as Europeans show our face in a part of the world that is so important to all of us,” Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, the German Air Force service chief, said in a release. “Together with Spain and France, we are deploying to the Indo-Pacific region and taking part in five different exercises.”

A dozen German Tornados will be joined by eight German and four Spanish Typhoons, four French Rafales, four German H145M helicopters, four German, two Spanish, and three French A400M transport aircraft, as well as seven A330 MRTT multi-role tankers, totaling 48 aircraft from the three countries.

The ‘Arctic Defender‘ exercise launched in Alaska as the first event in the series. Aircraft from the three nations are engaging in joint tactics and techniques to improve interoperability with U.S. Airmen from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, incorporating F-22 Raptors from the 3rd Wing. Led by Germany, the exercise aims to train fighters to NATO standards, focusing on primary flight operations and simulated air combat conditions until July 18.

Next on the itinerary is ‘Pitch Black,’ an annual exercise hosted by Australia, running from July 12 to Aug. 2. The U.S. is deploying six F-22s to that exercise as well. This year’s iteration will be the largest in Pitch Black’s 43-year history, featuring over 140 aircraft and a total of 20 participating nations including Singapore, Italy, India, the U.K., and the Philippines.

A German Air Force PA-200 Tornado taxis during German Air Force-led deployment Pacific Skies 24 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 2, 2024. Aircraft and personnel have been conducting low-level flying training as part of the deployment. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Shelimar Rivera Rosado

These exercises underscore Europe’s concerns over China’s increasing military capabilities. During a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in May, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized Germany’s commitment to promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Over the last few years, France and the U.K. have also expanded their regional deployments to bolster regional deterrence missions. Spain has encouraged the European Union to focus on security in the Indo-Pacific, stressing that the region is a “key interest.”

Pacific Skies is a significant milestone for the German Air Force, as it will be the final global appearance of their Tornado aircraft. The fighters have been in operation for the nation since the 1980s and carried combat missions during Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War. As the last European nation to hold on to these jets, Germany is finally phasing out the fleet between 2025 and 2030.

After Arctic Defender and Pitch Black, some of the aircraft from France, Germany, and Spain will head to Japan for joint training with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, marking the first simultaneous deployment of air force units from the three countries in the nation. The Japanese defense ministry highlighted that this also marks the first training collaboration between Japanese Airmen and the Spanish Air Force in Japan, and only the second with the German and French air forces. Scheduled from July 19-20 and 22-25, the training will feature combat and tactical missions with Japan’s four F-15 fighters and two F-2 jets.

After completing training in Japan, three German Typhoons will participate in the latter part of the ‘Rimpac’ (Rim of the Pacific) exercise in Hawaii, the world’s largest international maritime exercise organized by the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Then, the Airmen from Germany, France, and Spain will join the ‘Tarang Shakti’ exercise in August, the Indian Air Force’s first multinational aerial exercise, inspired by the USAF’s Red Flag exercise.

Space Force Adds Two New Launch Providers

July 5, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Space Systems Command is adding to its roster of small launch providers, the Space Force’s latest move to fuel increased industry competition.

Blue Origin and Stoke Space are now authorized to compete for launches under USSF’s Orbital Services Program-4. OSP-4 is for fast-turnaround launches and small payloads, with launch contracts awarded 12-24 months in advance and mission requirements starting at 400-pound payloads. It was the vehicle used to award the launch contract for the Space Force’s “VICTUS NOX” mission, which moved a satellite from warehouse to orbit in five days last year. Firefly Aerospace, the launch company, got the contract 12 months in advance.

All told, there are now a dozen companies in approved for OSP-4: Blue Origin, Stoke Space, ABL Space Systems, Aevum, Astra, Firefly Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and X-Bow. One previous participant, Virgin Orbit subsidiary VOX Space, has dissolved.

Seven launches have been awarded through OSP-4 so far: three to Northrop Grumman and one each to Firefly Aerospace, Astra Space, Rocket Lab, and VOX Space. The program, which has a $986 million maximum spend for an estimated 20 launches, must wrap up by October 2028.

SpaceX and ULA are members of both the OSP-4 and larger National Security Space Launch programs, and remain the dominant players in the launch industry. ULA held a virtual monopoly on national security launches for years, but SpaceX has surged ahead, accounting for 90 percent of U.S. launches in 2023.

Other companies, like ABL Space Systems, Relativity Space, and X-Bow, have yet to launch a military satellite. Some have yet to even put a spacecraft in orbit.

The two newcomers have vastly different backgrounds and experience with DOD. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has already secured a place in NSSL Phase 3 and is gearing up to unveil its New Glenn rocket, an upgraded, larger version of its New Shepard rockets, by September.

Stoke Space only recently test-fired its first-stage rocket engine and is still working on its Nova rocket. Recently retired Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw, former deputy commander of U.S. Space Command, joined the company’s board of directors in April.

More Competition

Space Force officials want increased competition as a lever for driving down the price of launch. It split NSSL Phase 3 into two “lanes:” Lane 1 to prioritize commercial-like missions, where USSF expect to muster a higher tolerance for risk, and Lane 2 for no-fail missions.

When the service announced contracts for Lane 1 in June, Blue Origin was selected alongside SpaceX and ULA. But enabling new competitors to join OSP-4 offers a glimpse at what’s to come for NSSL, which might also add other authorized bidders to the program.

“As we anticipated, the pool of awardees is small this year because many companies are still maturing their launch capabilities,” said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for assured access to space, in a statement. “We expect increasing competition and diversity as new providers and systems complete development.”

OSP-4 could be a proving ground for start-ups like Astra and Rocket Lab, which are scheduled to launch missions in the next few years. Rocket Lab is also on contract to launch a satellite for VICTUS HAZE, the follow-up to VICTUS NOX, though that contract was awarded through the Defense Innovation Unit and is not part of OSP-4.

‘The Black Jet’: F-16 Squadron Gives Its Flagship an F-117 Paint Scheme

July 5, 2024 | By David Roza

The 8th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., took a page out of the history books last month when it unveiled its F-16 flagship painted in a black and grey color scheme honoring the squadron’s past life flying the F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first operational stealth aircraft.

“We decided to highlight a unique facet of our history which aligns perfectly with the identity of our unit,” instructor pilot Maj. Daniel Thompson said in a July 1 press release.

Though the unit is now a training squadron for F-16 pilots, from 1992 to 2008 the 8th Fighter Squadron flew the F-117, an arrowhead-shaped jet designed to sneak past radar systems and strike targets deep in enemy territory. Development first began in 1978, with a first flight in 1981, but it was not until 1988 that the Pentagon acknowledged the existence of “the Black Jet.”

f-16 black — U.S. Air Force Maj. Colton Steen, 8th Fighter Squadron chief of weapons prepares for take-off at Holloman Air Force Base, June 25, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Michelle Ferrari)

The F-117 debuted in the 1989 invasion of Panama and flew more than 1,000 sorties dropping precision-guided munitions in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, the Black Jet joined “The Black Sheep” of the 8th Fighter Squadron, which earned its nickname flying P-40, P-47, P-38, and P-51 fighters over the Pacific Theater in World War II. To this day, the squadron emblem is a black sheep standing on a lightning bolt.

“Symbolic of the ‘daredevil’ qualities of fearlessness and boldness, he characterizes the squadron and its personnel,” according to one squadron history. “The lightning upon which he stands indicates the unit’s striking power.”

The F-117 greatly enhanced that striking power when the 8th deployed to the Middle East in the 1990s as part of Operation Southern Watch and to Europe in 1999 as part of Operation Allied Force, NATO’s effort to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. That March, the 8th’s Lt. Col. Darrell P. Zelko was shot down by a Yugoslavian surface-to-air missile but was picked up by Air Force rescue teams later that night.

Several F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters assigned to the 8th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, launch on a mission from Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH 1998. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. James D. Mossman)

The 8th and its Nighthawks returned to Iraq in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, where F-117 pilots struck targets where Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was suspected to be hiding.

By the time Iraqi forces responded to explosions in Baghdad, “I was already gone,” one Nighthawk pilot told Air Force historian Brian Laslie in a recent book.

Pilots from the 8th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, brief prior to launching a mission in their F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH 1998. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. James D. Mossman)

The Black Sheep continued to fly the Black Jet until 2008, when the squadron inactivated and the Nighthawk retired to climate-controlled storage facilities at Tonopah Test Range, Nev. But both the squadron and the F-117 have enjoyed a busy afterlife. The 8th returned in 2009 as an F-22 fighter squadron, then inactivated again in 2011 before reactivating a second time in 2017 as an F-16 training squadron.

Meanwhile, the F-117 reemerged at least as early as 2020 to serve as aggressor aircraft against U.S. fighter pilots in large scale exercises such as Red Flag and Sentry Savannah. There are about 45 Nighthawks that can fly or be brought back to flight, and the Air Force expects to keep the F-117 flying for test and training purposes through at least 2034.

An F-117 Nighthawk flies over the Nevada desert. Air Force photo by SSgt. Aaron Allmon II.

All of that legacy was painted onto the 8th’s flagship F-16 with the help of the fighter maintenance depot at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

“The F-117 paint scheme preserves and honors the legacy of the 8th Fighter Squadron from 1992 to 2008 and fosters a sense of pride continuity, reinforcing the unit’s identity and traditions,” Martha Whipple, historian for Holloman’s 49th Wing, said in a release. “This paint scheme bridges the past and present, educating the new generations of maintainers and pilots about the history of the Black Sheep.”

The F-16 flies as a daily trainer aircraft and represents the squadron at air shows.

“We were striving for a design that allowed the jet to perform in training and look good from all angles,” said Thompson, the instructor pilot. The paint job “never fails to make me smile whenever I catch a glimpse of it.”

Former USAF European Commanders: Let Ukraine Take the Fight to Russia

July 3, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

If Ukraine is to make strides in retaking its territory, the U.S. must stop being deterred by concerns about a broader conflict with Russia, and give the green light to use American weapons that can strike Russian staging areas, former Air Force European commanders said.

“This is bigger than airpower,” retired Gen. Phillip Breedlove, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command said during an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

“We are nearly completely deterred right now,” Breedlove said of U.S. reluctance to take actions or provide Ukraine with weapons that could strike inside Russia.

“There are a myriad of options that I think could be considered and used,” he added, including ATACMs and air-delivered weapons that could strike Russian staging areas and air bases in far eastern Ukraine or inside Russia itself.

Basic military doctrine advises: “Seek the initiative and maintain the initiative, and we have blown both of those. We are deterred, and we are reactive,” Breedlove said. “We need to step up, and have the courage to address this.“

The event was to roll out a new paper from the Mitchell Institute, co-authored by retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute, and Christopher Bowie, airpower analyst and historian, on the significance of airpower for the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Retired Gen. Tod Wolters, also a former SACEUR and EUCOM commander and retired Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, former commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, also participated in the discussion.

Deptula recently returned from a visit to Ukraine, during which he conferred with and advised the country’s military leaders, offered suggestions about steps the U.S., NATO, and Ukraine should take to regain the initiative in the war, the beginnings of which date back to 2014 but devolved into an all-out conflict in 2022.

Wolters pointed out that it takes unanimous agreement on the part of all NATO allies—now numbering 32 members—to take offensive action, or actions that could be perceived as offensive. He said the U.S. is succeeding in making the case with its allies for a more proactive approach in Ukraine.

“We are in a position, after two years of great coaching in all domains to where we can take advantage of offensive capabilities,” Wolters said. “I believe that we’re getting closer and closer to be able to do that.”

Once momentum is regained by Ukraine, NATO should be “in a position to where, irreversibly, Ukraine becomes a member of NATO in six months [to] two years or three years from now. And those are the kinds of campaign momentum items that we have to be prepared to do,” Wolters said.

“We need to continue to put pressure on it to get those policy shifts to where we can begin to strike targets at range that are critical infrastructure that Russia possesses, that they are using against Ukraine to strike Ukrainian sovereign soil, and those are certainly justifiable targets in anybody’s observation,” he noted.

Wolters also noted that wars can last longer than expected and it is necessary to act now to achieve results down the road.

“You better have a steady, positive military campaign momentum, so that you can be the strategic victor,” he said.

Deptula said the war has devolved to a “ground-centric, attrition-focused grind,” which ultimately favors Russia. To break out of that rut and restore Ukrainian momentum, he offered a number of suggestions, which he said he discussed with Ukrainian officials.

“If Ukraine is to have a shot at victory, then we need to empower them to break out of this stalemate, and that requires effective air power, plus rules of engagement allow them to use it decisively,” Deptula said.

Air superiority “can provide Ukrainian forces the freedom from attack and the freedom to attack that’s absolutely necessary for them to achieve advantages relative to the larger and stronger Russian forces,” Deptula said. Western limits on how Ukraine can use weapons provided to it have given Russian forces “a sanctuary.” Those limits on long-ranged weapons must be “completely removed” he said, and Ukraine freed to attack “any Russian forces, materiel, or infrastructure that could be potentially used against Ukraine.”

To gain air superiority, Ukraine needs to discard its old, Soviet-style methods of using airpower purely to support ground operations.

“Only with the kind of integration that creates a synergy between surface and air operations can Ukraine further its military momentum on the battlefield,” Deptula said.

Ukraine must also be provided with the right weapons “in numbers sufficient to achieve strategic gains in the battlespace,” he said. These include both crewed and uncrewed aircraft, precision weapons, cyber and electronic capabilities, and intelligence and special operations which can all “play a significant role if coordinated in an integrated campaign.”

By integrating low-cost drone use with High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), ATACMS, and cruise missiles, Ukraine can “suppress enemy air defenses. In this way, they can help establish air dominance in times and places of Ukraine’s choosing,” Deptula said.

Harrigian noted, however, that suppression of enemy air defenses is a skill gained through experience and practice and will not materialize quickly for Ukraine.

The F-16s that Ukraine will get from NATO donors “can create effects across a much broader and strategic target set,” Deptula said. They will expand radar detection range, expand threat warning and situational awareness through Link 16 and, along with Mirage 2000s being donated by France, “also deliver heavy weapons in mass that, with their superiority, can disrupt Russian ground forces and pave the way for Ukrainian army progress and breakthroughs.”

Deptula and Bowie’s recipe for success requires the U.S. and NATO no longer deter themselves with “escalation management” and allow Ukraine to shoot ATACMS against Russian air bases that generate sorties against Ukraine.

They also urge greater provision of timely intelligence for Ukraine “to make quick and decisive determinations on when and where to employ its forces to achieve windows of air dominance.” Ukraine must stop treating aviation “as extension of ground forces,” and Deptula urged Ukraine to incorporate air leadership on its general staff “to foster and facilitate integrated, all-domain concepts, planning and employment.”

Breedlove argued that “we are not giving Ukraine everything they need.” Rather than a “silver bullet” in the form of F-16s, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or any other particular system, “what we need is the ability to broadly use those tools that we bring to the to the fight that are an integrated ability to hold Russian targets at risk before the Russian forces can be brought to bear on Ukraine.”

As it now stands, “We have to wait for them to come across the border, except for a couple areas that we’ve authorized, we have to wait for Russia to fire or strike before we respond, and we need to break out of that and use all the tools” in the Air Force’s toolbox and “would hold targets much deeper in Russia at risk.”

Air Force Will Swap in F-15EX and F-35 Fighters on Japan

July 3, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The U.S. Air Force will shift and upgrade its fighter presence in Japan, placing F-15EXs at Kadena Air Base and F-35s at Misawa Air Base, the Pentagon announced July 3.

The announcement comes more than a year and a half after the Air Force announced it would start bringing home the 48 F-15C/D Eagles at Kadena Air Base, without naming a permanent replacement.

The F-15EX, a much upgraded version of the F-15, was long seen as the likely replacement at Kadena but had not been confirmed to this point.

Misawa, which currently hosts F-16s, is the first announced foreign air base in the Indo-Pacific to host USAF F-35 fighters, and just the second overall, after RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom.

The number of fighter aircraft at each base will shift. Kadena will go from 48 to 36, while Misawa will go from 36 to 48.

A Department of Defense release did not specify a timeline for either base’s transition. The Air Force has already announced several planned locations for the F-15EX and F-35, and it is unclear if the Japanese bases will jump them in line to get new aircraft.

In the interim, fourth- and fifth-generation fighters will continue to rotate through Kadena. Located just 400 miles from Taiwan, Kadena is a key strategic location and can swiftly deploy fighters for Pacific Air Forces exercises. F-15s have been at the base, on the island of Okinawa, since the 1980s.

Most recently, the base has hosted F-22s from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., as well as F-16s from the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing and from the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing.

Misawa, by contrast, is located at the far north end of Honshu, Japan’s main island, and is closer to North Korea and Russia than China. It is more than 1,500 miles from Taiwan.

The Pentagon also announced that the Marine Corps will adjust the number of F-35Bs it hosts at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.

“The Department’s plan to station the Joint Force’s most advanced tactical aircraft in Japan demonstrates the ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan and both countries’ shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the Pentagon said in a release.

F-15EX Locations

Portland Air National Guard Base, Ore.

Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, La. (planned)

Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif. (planned)

F-35 Locations

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

Hill Air Force Base, Utah

Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

RAF Lakenheath, U.K.

Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Truax Field, Wisc.

Dannelly Field, Ala.

Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Burlington Air National Guard Base, Vt.

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas (planned)

Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Fla. (planned)

Kingsley Field, Ore. (planned)

Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass. (planned)

Moody Air Force Base, Ga. (planned)

KC-10 Tankers Get Their Final Inspections at Travis Before Retirement

July 3, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Editor’s Note: This story was updated July 8 to correct the fuel and cargo capacity of the KC-46.

The 60th Air Mobility Wing, the last active-duty wing to operate the KC-10, conducted its final inspection on their Extender fleet ahead of the aircraft’s retirement in September.

Maintenance teams at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., concluded the A-check for the K-10 on June 28, a routine biannual inspection assessing wear and tear, engines, landing gear, flight controls, avionics, and other critical components. A base spokesman told Air & Space Forces Magazine that this marks the last evaluation for the tankers, with no further inspections scheduled.

“An A-check is a weeklong inspection performed on a KC-10,” Master Sgt. Wessley Chandler, 60th MXS maintenance flight superintendent, said in a statement. “If the inspection does not happen, the aircraft is grounded until the inspection is performed.”

Maintainers at Travis and other bases have long upheld the KC-10’s readiness with comprehensive A-checks, addressing repairs and confirming system functionality to ensure operational readiness.

With the final inspection at the aircraft’s last operational base complete, Airmen are preparing to bid final farewell to the KC-10 fleet. Once decommissioned in September, the Travis aircraft will relocate to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. There the tankers will be put in open-air storage and preservation, overseen by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.

One of the Travis’ KC-10s is serving its retirement as a display aircraft at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Ohio, instead of at the Boneyard. An Extender with a serial Number 84-0191 was delivered to the museum in April. This particular aircraft played a pivotal role in 1986 during Operation El Dorado Canyon, serving as the primary refueling aircraft for the Air Force’s F-111s targeting a Libyan terrorists in Tripoli, according to the museum.

The Extender, fondly known as “Big Sexy,” has been in the service for 42 years serving a variety of combat and humanitarian missions. The aircraft served its final combat sortie from its last deployment assignment at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in October. The last KC-10 left the East Coast in June 2023, leaving Travis as the only Extender base left.

“It’s a bummer that the KC-10 is leaving,” said Senior Airman Thomas Mihalyi, 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron inspection section team member. “We are moving to a whole new era of aircraft. We have already done four or five A-checks on the KC-46, and we are all learning.”

As the base transitions from the KC-10 to the KC-46 Pegasus for air refueling, crews will complete cross-training on the Pegasus before the Extender fleet’s decommission in two months.

Travis received its first KC-46A Pegasus in July 2023. The spokesperson added that the number of remaining KC-10s or incoming KC-46As at the base won’t be disclosed, citing operational security. The new tanker promises greater survivability than the aging Extenders in contested environments, equipped with numerous self-protection, defensive, and communication features. It can also carry more than 212,000 pounds of fuel and nearly 65,000 pounds of cargo. The Air Force expects a total of 179 Pegasus aircraft to be delivered by 2028.

AFSOC Gets a New Commander, Resumes Osprey Flights in Japan

July 3, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Lt. Gen. Michael Conley succeeded Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind as the head of Air Force Special Operations Command in a ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., on July 2, while halfway around the world, an AFSOC CV-22 Osprey took flight at Yokota Air Base, Japan, for the first time since last November.

Conley, a career CV-22 pilot, is making a two-grade jump, from brigadier to lieutenant general. Among his challenges will be to keep the valuable Ospreys flying.

At Hurlburt, Bauernfeind, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, and the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, Gen. Bryan Fenton, all acknowledged that the recent past has been “the most challenging of times,” following the fatal crash of Gundam 22 off the coast of Japan last November. The crash killed all eight Air Commandos aboard, making it the deadliest Air Force mishap in five years. The Air Force grounded its Ospreys after that. In May, AFSOC was shaken further when Senior Airman Roger Fortson was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Florida, who had come to the wrong door in response to a complaint. The shooting unleashed outrage and grief throughout the Air Force community.

Baurenfeind, meanwhile, was guiding AFSOC through a transition after decades of asymmetric warfare in the Middle East as the command adjusts to today’s era of great power competition with China and Russia.

Allvin made clear that such a transition is not a black-and-white shift. “In this business, we don’t have the luxury of doing ‘or,’” he said. “We can’t help the unit heal or continue the mission,” Allvin said, praising Bauernfeind for his “engaged leadership” through the multiple crises and their fallout.

Bauernfeind noted the importance of community and how Airmen rallied together in the wake of the crash and Fortson’s killing.

“We’ve got to keep improving the conditions for our families, so that our Air Commandos continue to serve and continue to go forward to take the fight against our adversaries,” Bauernfeind said. “And I especially appreciate what you did in crisis.”

AFSOC must now continue to fulfil its role in Special Operations Command’s push to reinvent itself.

Fenton credited the command with pioneering new technologies and concepts for communications, counter-drone weapons, and “air drop insertion of unmanned systems,” while Allvin noted that “it’s no mistake that many of the things we’re pursuing are being birthed right here at AFSOC.”

One of those “things” is the “Power Projection Wings” that AFSOC is building, which combine different systems and capabilities from across the command.

“Transforming to Power Projection Wings so that every theater special operations command and air component command has access to every AFSOC capability is groundbreaking and is going to be the basis of our future Deployable Combat Wings,” Bauernfeind said.

Allvin also noted the command’s role under Bauernfeind in contributing to Air Task Forces, the forerunner to Combat Deployable Wings, and Agile Combat Employment, the idea of creating small teams of Airmen that can move quickly and operate from remote or austere locations—much like Air Commandos can do.

Work on these changes will now continue under Conley, who was Bauernfeind’s director of operations and will now go straight to the top of the command.

“He’s ready,” Allvin said. “He has not only proved his qualifications, but also his currency. … His leadership qualities have been demonstrated over and over again in the squadrons and wings throughout AFSOC throughout his career. Unblemished records, fantastic personal accounts of his leadership. He also possesses the breadth. The assignments he’s held give him a larger perspective.”

Conley previously commanded at the group and squadron level, and has worked at both Air Mobility Command and U.S. Space Command. Conley’s “leadership qualities have been demonstrated over and over again in the squadrons and wings throughout AFSOC throughout his career,” Allvin said, citing his “unblemished records, fantastic personal accounts of his leadership” and the breadth of his assignments as all contributing to “give him a larger perspective.”

The incoming commander kept his own comments to a minimum. Conley thanked family, friends, and teammates, then focused on the mission ahead. “We must remain ready to fight tonight, just like our teammates that are currently in the fight down range,” he said, “but also adapt and prepare for future battles and future battlespaces.”

For Conley, the gradual return to full flight operations for the Osprey will be a major initial focus.

U.S. Air Force CV-22B Osprey assigned to the 21st Special Operations Squadron, takes flight for the first time since last November at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July 2, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Samantha White

Ospreys Fly at Yokota

The start of Osprey flight operations at Yokota on July 2 comes nearly eight months after the Gundam 22 crash, and leaders emphasized the meticulous approach taken to get there, with additional safety measures in place.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the safety of the men and women who operate our aircraft and the safety of our community both on base and in Japan,” 21st Special Operations Squadron commander Lt. Col. Matthew Davis said in a statement. “These safety mitigation measures have been taken seriously, and we would not fly this aircraft without full confidence in the measures, the maintenance professionals implementing them, and the skilled professionals who fly it.”

Yet even with its return to flight, the CV-22 is not yet out of the dark. Defense Department officials said last month that the V-22 will continue to fly under restrictions until mid-2025. In the meantime, Osprey pilots and crews who haven’t been airborne in months must regain their currency and familiarity, while learning new flight protocols to avoid further incidents.

CSO Sports New Mess Dress Look, But Space Force Says Design Not Finalized

July 3, 2024 | By David Roza

About a month after the top Guardian was spotted wearing a unique black mess dress uniform to an event in Los Angeles, Calif., a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said the Space Force is still working on its official mess dress design.

On June 7, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman attended the 50th Annual “Salute to Space Systems Command,” an event hosted by the Gen. Bernard A. Schriever Los Angeles chapter of the Air & Space Forces Association. Several other Space Force luminaries also attended, including Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, head of Space Systems Command, and 15 other Guardians, Airmen, and civilian Space Force employees who were recognized for their contributions to Space Systems Command.

While most of the uniformed Guardians wore blue mess dress coats similar to the current Air Force mess dress, Saltzman wore an all-black coat and trouser set that had some social media observers wondering if it was the service’s new signature mess dress. That uniform is still under development, but in the meantime the Space Force wants its top Guardian to stand out, said Sarah Fiocco, a spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force.

“Part of establishing a meaningful culture within the Space Force requires shaping our own identity as a service we can be proud of and build upon throughout the years,” Fiocco told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“Developing a new USSF mess dress uniform is another example of how we are moving forward building that identity leading up to our fifth anniversary,” she added. “While the designs are not finalized, it is important for the service chief to be more easily distinguished from the other services when representing the Space Force in public engagements.”

Saltzman was not the only one with a unique outfit. Standing to his left in the same photo, Garrant and Chief Master Sergeant Jacqueline Sauvé, senior enlisted leader for Space Systems Command, wore grey trousers and what appeared to be a darker shade of cummerbund, lapels, and tie than the usual Air Force mess dress uniform. Those outfits are one of several potential mess dress variations currently being tested by senior Space Force leaders and selected wear testers, Fiocco said.

The Space Force mess dress is still in the early stages of the design process, she explained. After a design is chosen, the service will need to collect Guardian feedback, conduct fit and wear testing, and complete other development and production processes.

“We understand there is a lot of Guardian interest in developing distinct, professional, and comfortable uniforms they can proudly wear that represents the identity and culture of the new service,” Fiocco said.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, left, Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman sing “Semper Supra,” the Space Force service song, during their change of responsibility ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 15, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich

The Space Force made waves when it first unveiled its service dress uniform in 2021. With a dark blue coat, upturned collar, and diagonal row of six buttons, the uniform reminded some of science fiction uniforms, but Space Force uniform designers said it was intended to be “more futuristic looking.”

Service members wear mess dress at formal “black-tie” events, and service dress at less formal events. In September, the Space Force announced that its prototype service dress uniform had entered the final stage of wear testing, with more than 100 Guardians trying on the outfit around the world. The Space Force expects the uniform will roll out to Guardians everywhere in 2025.

In the meantime, Guardians can still enjoy their unique physical training gear, which on March 8 became the Space Force’s first ever finalized service-specific uniform. The PT gear includes black shorts, a dark gray T-shirt, black sweatpants, and a black windbreaker, with a patterned “USSF” on the sleeves of the shirt and jacket, “Space Force” on the back of the shirt, and the Space Force’s Delta logo on the left side of each item.

What It’s Like to Fly a KC-46 Around the World in 45 Hours

July 2, 2024 | By David Roza

A KC-46 touched down at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., on July 1 after a record 45-hour nonstop flight around the world. The mission, called Project Magellan, saw the two crews aboard test their limits as they refueled Air Force jets around the planet.

“Air refueling is a very specific process: you have to be at a point at a certain time,” Col. Brent Toth, aircraft commander and head of the 22nd Operations Group at McConnell, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “And we did that four times all around the world without missing a beat.”

Project Magellan is the latest maximum endurance operation, the term for long-haul missions meant to test Airmen as transport and tanker crews under Air Mobility Command prepare to carry the rest of the military’s troops and equipment across the vast distances of the Pacific in a possible conflict with China.

“In an era of great power competition, crews need the ability to operate longer than they have in the past, and Project Magellan is the next step in getting AMC crews experience in the game-changing new construct that is MEO,” Capt. Cody Donahue, 22nd Operations Group executive officer, who took part in the flight and played a key role planning it, said in a press release.

A U.S. Air Force KC-46 Pegasus from McConnell Air Force Base’s 22nd Air Refueling Wing, departs after flying in formation with a KC-135 Stratotanker from McConnell Air Force Base’s 350th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, July 1, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo

The idea for Project Magellan first came to tanker crews at McConnell about two years ago, but the team had to work fast over the past month once the coordination with units around the world finally took shape.

“Once that came together, we had to move out very quickly,” Toth said. “The sprint for the last 30 days has been pretty hard, but we had a fantastic planning team.”

At the end of the sprint was the mission itself, which broke new ground for the KC-46. In 2019, a McConnell crew first flew a Pegasus around the world, but that trip included six stops and overnight stays. Project Magellan marked the first time the new tanker flew around the globe nonstop.

Besides the length of the flight, the MEO also stood out for carrying just two basic crews. Normally, three Air Force pilots can fly as an augmented crew for up to 24 hours, but Air Mobility Command now wants crews of four pilots to fly up to 48 hours to prepare for future conflicts, Donahue explained.

When the KC-46 took off from McConnell at about 4 p.m. on June 29, it carried just four pilots, two refueling boom operators, two flying crew chiefs to oversee the health of the airplane, and a flight surgeon to oversee the health of the crew.

The next 45 hours saw Magellan take gas from another KC-46 off the coast of California; give gas to a C-17 transport jet training near Hawaii; and take on more gas from two other McConnell-based KC-46s as they approached Guam.

A 22nd Air Refueling Wing pilot flies a KC-46A Pegasus from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, that is participating in a Maximum Endurance Flight around the globe called Project Magellan June 29, 2024. (Courtesy Photo)

Over the Middle East, the thirsty Pegasus received more fuel from a pair of KC-135 tankers flying out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, where one crew was from McConnell and the other was from the Utah Air National Guard. The Magellan crew went on to refuel two F-15E Strike Eagles flying a combat sortie over Iraq, then meet two KC-135s for more gas over England: one from McConnell and one from RAF Mildenhall. The McConnell tankers had been prepositioned around the world to support the MEO.

The KC-46 enjoyed a hero’s welcome back over the continental U.S., where the jet met up with another McConnell-based KC-46 and the two refueled three B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., then offloaded fuel onto another McConnell Pegasus with Brig. Gen. Gerald Donohue, AMC’s director of operations for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration onboard as an observer.

When they finally landed back at McConnell at around 1 p.m. on July 1, Magellan had taken on 454,000 pounds of gas—about the weight of two blue whales—over the course of four refuelings from seven different tankers, and contributed to a combat sortie and a training exercise.

“This wasn’t just taking off and landing someplace,” Toth said. “We did complex missions in each part of the world.”

A view outside a KC-46A Pegasus from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, participating in a Maximum Endurance Flight around the globe, June 30, 2024. Courtesy Photo

Part of what enabled such a long string of midair meetings was a suite of systems allowing beyond line of sight communications between the Magellan crew, planning teams at McConnell, and crews around the world. Tactical data networks such as Link 16 allowed them to track and communicate with receiving aircraft hundreds of miles away to find out what direction they were traveling, how much fuel they needed, and other factors which normally would not be communicable until the aircraft were much closer within radio contact.

“We knew more about what was happening on this flight than I’ve known on most of the flights that I’ve been part of throughout my career,” Toth said. “So even though it was more complex than anything I’ve ever done, I felt like I was more notified than I’ve ever been before.”

While Link 16 is already widely available in other parts of the Air Force such as Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command is still getting up to speed in terms of connectivity. Last year, AMC boss Gen. Mike Minihan set a goal to connect 25 percent of the tanker and transport fleet with beyond line of sight communications by 2025.

The relatively new KC-46 has more modern communication equipment compared to its older siblings in the mobility fleet such as the KC-135 and the C-130, but flying between four combatant commands and quickly syncing with each one on the same flight is an achievement in its own right, Toth and Donahue explained.

“We always talk about air refueling being a sort of force multiplier, well, same thing with this tactical data link,” Donahue said. “Now you are talking about two force multipliers on one platform, so you’re exponentially multiplying your force.”

Two 22nd Air Refueling Wing pilots fly a KC-46A Pegasus from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, that is participating in a Maximum Endurance Flight around the globe called Project Magellan June 30, 2024 Courtesy photo

Besides solid communications, Magellan also benefited from years of research in human performance. Flying an aircraft is a tiring task, and Air Mobility Command wants to use the latest science in sleep and nutrition to keep crews as well-rested as possible on long sorties.

At first, the two Magellan crews took 10-hour shifts, but over time those shrank to between six and seven hours. When not at work, crews slept on bunks in a rest area that was kept dark throughout the flight. Other Airmen have said the KC-46 is a more comfortable experience than past refueling tankers.

“I was able to get five or six hours of sleep multiple times with a sleep mask and noise-canceling headphones or earplugs,” Donahue said. “It’s really not too bad and it allowed us to just keep this sustained operation with only four pilots flying 45 hours.”

To prepare for the flight, the first crew tried to go to bed at around 4 a.m. and sleep until noon about three days prior to takeoff, while the second crew went to bed at four in the afternoon and woke up at midnight.

“It was pretty amazing how quickly we were able to adjust to that new timeline,” Donahue said.

A McConnell Airman marshals a KC-46A Pegasus at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, July 1, 2024 after the KC-46 circumnavigated the globe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Paula Arce)

It also helped that one crew member made cookies using the galley onboard, and another, instructor pilot Capt. Daison Batangan, brought a birthday cake to celebrate turning 31 years old midflight. By the time they were back over the U.S., the crew were feeling the effects of a very long day, but they still safely accomplished what Toth described as one of the most complex operations he’s seen near McConnell in a long time.

“Meeting up with another tanker for a midmission join-up and then doing formation aerial refueling against three B-2s, it was pretty fantastic,” he said.

“I’d fly 45 hours just to refuel B-2s any day of the week,” Donahue added.

When they landed back at McConnell, the crew had experienced just one sunrise and one sunset on their long westbound flight, “so even though it’s been 45 hours, we’ve really experienced only one solar day,” Toth said. “So that is a bit of a mind trip.”

Even more than a test, the colonel thinks Project Magellan demonstrated AMC’s ability to reach anywhere on Earth.

“Taking off from the [continental U.S.], refueling a C-17 over the Pacific and a combat sortie over Iraq, and coming back to support global strike aircraft showcases that we really can provide air refueling and support global reach anytime, anywhere,” he said.

The complete crew list included Col. Brent Toth, aircraft commander; Capt. Cody Donahue, instructor pilot; Capt. Daison Batangan, instructor pilot; Capt. T.J. Buckley, instructor plot; Master Sgt Jonathan Lauterbach instructor boom operator; Master Sgt Patrick Murray, instructor boom operator; Capt. Jacob Heyrend, flight surgeon; Staff Sgt Alejandro Melendez, flying crew chief; and Staff Sgt Dustin Shaffer, flying crew chief.